As I'm posting, it's our son's birthday, September 11th, one of our Happiest Days in our lives 38 years ago; that took a sad turn 16 years ago with 9/11/2001. We are so proud of him!
He has worked so hard: Wake Forest U. BA finance, MA CPA graduate, and now PWC partner; and made so many excellent choices: his beautiful, intelligent, compassionate wife/mom and his darling, brilliant daughter Elise Charlotte; better known as Elle Belle.
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| Think this was his 6 months photo |
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| Katie and Mike at their Punta Cana wedding |
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| Mike and C Mike |
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| Mother/son dance at their wedding |
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| He and his family celebrating his PWC partnership announcement |
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| Teaching Elle Belle to eat solids |
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| Elle Belle and Mike at her first birthday celebration 2017 |
Moving on...Having a retired US Navy Captain in the family we usually are pro Navy, but we gotta say, the Air Force really knows how to build officers lodging for visitors! WOW! We have returned to the US Air Force Academy twice to stay, not only because the lodging is so reasonably priced and the rooms comfortably beautiful, but the Academy and it's surroundings are so gorgeous!!!
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| Some of the planes on display on the major road entering the Academy |
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| Driving around this campus is challenging since it's a nature preserve, so there are plenty of critters everywhere. |
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| The gates are new since we were here last |
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| The Chapel is set for a very expensive renovation |
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| Unlike West Point and the Naval Academy which are fairly compact, this Academy's campus is HUGE & much more Contemporary in appearance. |
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| Mike tried to give you a view of the campus spread out around the Chapel. Peterson Air Force Base sits right next to the Academy so it's isn't unusual in good weather to see the Thunderbirds practice.
Lori and Ed Bun's daughter Abby graduated from here, so they have lots of great stories. My favorite story which occurs often goes something like this... For the student and staff's safety they will make announcements that can be heard throughout the campus; such as: "Please stay inside, a bear has been spotted on campus." Which Abby told her parents is guaranteed to empty out the buildings (if they aren't in class), as the cadets run to take photos. I feel so much safer now...LOL!!! Kids are kids, even the best and the brightest!!!
The drive from NM is simply spectacular...lots of free range areas once again; not to mention, all the deer or elk crossing signs which always amuse me! "I didn't know they could read?"
San Luis, CO is so proud of being the oldest town, that you see it written everywhere. Mike took this photo so you can see the cultural diversity making Colorado so colorful. We have the Medical Marijuana Clinic in the foreground, the Steps of the Cross church on the left side of the hill and a McMansion Contemporary Adobe style structure on the right...the thing missing is the truck with a cowboy driving it... And, no we didn't check out the dispensary...Shucks!!! The hippy chick in the car was all over it, the judge/captain didn't want to cross the state line with any in our procession...Just sayin...
I just can't keep up with all the beautiful mountain ranges we see unless I see a sign.
And, yes once again our ears were popping!
We were slow leaving Taos, as we relaxed in our little Taos Casita with fresh coffee provided by our AirBnB hostess, Sadie...a bonus! Plus, both of us were researching Hurricane Irma's latest course. So maddening!!!
As we were arriving at the Air Force Academy Hurricane Irma was hitting the West Coast of FL. We can't begin to thank everyone for all their prayers and concern for us as they reached out to us in multiple ways... I truly believe with everyone on our side praying, and with Don & Lori Williams & Mike Park, Harbor Towers terrific manager assisting us and our other neighbors, we were truly blessed!!! What damage we incurred at our condo is repairable and even Moondance, our trawler was left in one piece!
We went to a terrific place to eat last night,"Bourbon Brothers Smokehouse and Tavern,"
https://www.bourbonbrothers.com/ but upon our arrival we discovered the extent of our condo damage and loss our appetites.
Madison, our compassionate and professional waitress kept the drinks coming (to clarify: 2 glasses of wines for me, two beers for Mike, we had to drive) while Mike and a split a dinner. Thank Goodness, we did! It was immense even split!
Their menu looked excellent and the reviews were as well, if our simple meal was any indication, I would love to come back for a do over!!!
After Lori and Don Williams assured us once again that our condo wasn't badly damaged, we finally got ourselves out of here to go to breakfast and sightseeing. Lori Buns had suggested we go see Garden of the Gods and to the quaint town of Manitou Springs, CO a short distance from Colorado Springs. Uncle Sam's Pancake House in Manitou couldn't get more Americana if they tried! We had a wonderful home cooked, simple but tasty breakfast of pancakes, eggs and bacon. Perfect!
I truly felt bad that we hadn't worn red, white and blue in there
Hadn't see this explanation before...funny!
This place made us nostalgic since the last time we had been here was with our kids, Mike and Bekka
Thanks to the Charles Elliot Parker family, this park remains relatively untouched
"Perkins did purchase two-hundred and forty acres in the Garden of the Gods for a summer home in 1879. He later added to the property but never built on it, preferring to leave his wonderland in its natural state for the enjoyment of the public. Perkins died in 1907 before he made arrangements for the land to become a public park, although it had been open to the public for years. In 1909, Perkins' children, knowing their father's feeling for the Garden of the Gods, conveyed his four-hundred eighty acres to the City of Colorado Springs. It would be known forever as the Garden of the Gods "where it shall remain free to the public, where no intoxicating liquors shall be manufactured, sold, or dispensed, where no building or structure shall be erected except those necessary to properly care for, protect, and maintain the area as a public park."
Thanks to the rain showers rolling in the cloud formations were really wonderful!
  
I don't know which one this is but to me it looks like a fist with the middle finger pointing....
Thought I would be able to keep track of which place was which but not so much!
Think this area was the Three Graces but really not sure
The best part of this park is so much of it is handicap accessible
A close up of the Three Graces or not???
This one amused me because it was simply called Gray Rock, Really???
A close up view of it with the rain showers closing in fast
Looking down into the Valley of the Gods
Balanced Rock close to the Old Trading Post
I can remember getting photos here with Bek and Mike
This Miramont Castle reminded us of an enlarged version of the Castle folly we stayed in Wales in 2002?
From their website: Our mission is to preserve and restore the architectural integrity of Miramont Castle Museum and to provide educational experiences and resources on the history of Manitou Springs, its indigenous people and artifacts.
We invite you to join us and experience life as it would have been in Victorian times, from the Castle itself where you can view 30 rooms resplendent in authentic Victorian furnishings, to the Queen's Parlour Tea Room where you can feast on Victorian (and modern day) fare made fresh daily.
Sadly, it was closed on Monday or might have talked Mike into going there...
Manitou Springs was quite charming
The Main Drag: Manitou Ave.
A last look at the US Air Force Academy.
After talking to Mike and Katie, we had decided to stay in, and enjoy our Marie Callender,'s frozen microwave dinner of "Meatballs and Sausage Marinara." After a couple of glasses of red wine, it tasted just fine! LoL!!!
...Some how our frozen dinners led us into a whole conversation. If we remembered our mom serving them when we were growing up??? Mike thinks he remembers his mom using them to feed him because of his high school sports schedule? (Salisbury Steak, Fried Chicken and some type of Turkey?) I don't really remember eating them until Mike was in Vietnam and I didn't really want to prepare a meal for one.
In any case, the meal was enough to sustain us so we could go to bed early...
Off to Lawrence, KS and possibly a stop at the Abilene, KS to see President Eisenhower's Museum? We will have to see how we feel and what time we make it there?
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