Three Hectic Days

Monday, The Sanchez household was up and gone much earlier than what we would ever need to be. Cole catches a bus at 6.20am, then Drew at 7.30 while Beth is gone at 6.45am. Danny was required to do Jury duty this week which meant he could leave at 7.30am. We, on the other hand, managed to get another lovely sleep-in till 8.30. While the girls and I packed up and tidied/stripped beds Adriano Zumbo went to Walgreens and purchased eggs, bacon and fresh bread to cook us a wonderful and hearty breakfast out of essentially nothing.

Into the car and into the big city of Denver where we planned to go to the Colorado Historic Centre (an interactive museum about the history of the area). We thought we would be there for 45mins or an hour at the most; 2 hours later we decide to leave and walk to the 16th Street Mall (from the block between 12th and 13th). Cities are always interesting places filled with very 'interesting' people; regardless of the many homeless, the streets were clean and we found a wonderful coffee place just at the entrance to the mall. So with coffee and hot chocolates in hand, we set off to wander through the mall.

Throughout the malls of both Boulder and Denver, there are some strategically placed public pianos that anyone can play on at any time of the day or night. Sometimes you get some fabulous tunes, while others not so in-tune. We had "burgers and fries" at a place called Smash Burger it was yummy. We started walking back to the other end but found the free bus a much quicker option. Probably a good choice since Christopher Columbus took a few wrong turns on our way back to the carpark .... we discovered a few new areas, set down a flag and conquered a new country ...... okay so a slight exaggeration!!! We just walked a little further than we did the first time.

Tuesday: We have spent the last two days enjoying the wonderful company of the McCall family. They have two girls, Rhegan (9) and Kenleigh (5) and a large playroom with plenty of dolls for Hayley AND a dog, Bodie (an 11yr old golden retriever). We were spoilt with beautiful meals, conversation and lots of playtime for the girls. On Tuesday, Greg Norman went with Tony and JB for a round of golf, while the girls and I went with Jennifer to the Parklands Shopping Centre via an indoor skydiving centre; yes the girls went indoor skydiving. What an experience - they had a GREAT time, what wonderful memories!!

After flying, Jen took us to eat at a place called The Cheesecake Factory. Unlike Australia where they only sell cheesecakes, this place was a restaurant and we worked out that there was most probably 400 dishes on offer, which wasn't helpful at all when trying to make a decision. We then wandered through the mall (shopping centre), found a new cap for Miranda, yes that's correct a new cap and went into the biggest sports store I have ever seen and yes it sold guns, and then when to "American Girl". Now this is a doll shop, and no we are not talking about Barbie or a collection of various dolls we are talking about one doll, which is dressed in a multitude of outfits with slight differences between dolls, these being hair colour, hairstyle, length of hair, skin colour and maybe freckles and no freckles.

This collection of dolls has EVERY accessory you can imagine ......

Prams, cots/cribs, change tables, table and chairs, baby monitors (yes real working monitors), horses, wheelchairs, crutches, horse stables ... yes it is endless!!! But there are a few unique aspects of this company that is beyond a mere jaw drop. You can get your doll styled ...... Yes, you can come in with your ($120) doll and have her hair done for $20 or her ears pierced; you can choose a doll that looks like you, with hair colour and length; if your doll's hair gets cut by accident or an arm gets pulled off or your little brother or sister puts felt pen colours all over her face, you can package her up and send her to the American Girl Hospital and have her repaired and finally while taking her shopping, you can ask for an American Doll high chair (in any restaurant) and the doll can have her own seat!!!!!!!!!!! It's a doll!!!

A multimillion dollar company that works on the idea that every little girl needs a doll; it is ingenious. They have the doll costumes made into little girls clothes - everything is matching!! They even have a set of twins! Okay so I think you can tell that I walked around the shop with my jaw at my ankles while Hayley walked around saying "can I have one.....can I pleeaaaasse have one". I think I need to design an Australian Girl!!

So after shopping, we went back to the McCalls where the girls all went to their club (like a golf club) for dinner (yes everyone eats out quite a bit) while Peter and Tony went to an ice-hockey game. The girls and I had planned to go; however an early start on Wednesday put the girls off, so instead, Hayley and Miranda enjoyed some more play-time with their 'new sisters'.

Wednesday: A 5am start, to shower, have a quick brekky, pack the car and leave by 6am. The McCall family all hopped out of bed to come down to give us hugs and say goodbye -> they are a wonderful family and one with whom we will keep in touch. Hayley and Rhegan became very good little friends - hopefully, one day they may get to see each other again (when they can pay for their own flights ... ha ha ha). So to the car rental place, on the shuttle to the airport, check-in, catch the airport subway (non-driver electric see-through train) to get to our terminal, and finally a coffee with a little more brekky.

I am currently sitting in the Chicago Airport typing this. Yes there is snow at Rochester and yes apparently another storm is hitting Buffalo; according to Sal (who lives in Rochester) it is "just snowing". We will make contact with him while we have 2hrs in Chicago ..... and so the adventure continues!!!!