A Successful Solo Trip

Life has been a little hectic again.  From travelling, to having our granddaughter visit, to now being in the midst of getting our entire house re-floored, we have been busy.  Of course the best part of all this chaos is having our granddaughter come for her first solo airplane visit.

We got to the airport early and were thrilled that Southwest gave both Irv and I passes to go through TSA so we could both meet her at the gate.  We had thought only one of us would be allowed.  She was the first one off the plane!  She told us that she sat in first class because she was in the second row.

The first order of business was getting her Colorado Rockies shirt ready for the game the next day.  When I initially ordered it, I ordered long sleeves because it's supposed to be chilly in Colorado at the end of September.  The forecast was for 90 degrees so we cut off the sleeves and blinged it up.

How do you like my blue wave, cat lady t-shirt?  It's so fun when people on the street realize the meaning behind the shirt--at least from those who appreciate a childless cat lady.

The next morning G and Pappy tried to make me think they were too sleepy to go to the game.  I didn't fall for it though.

Instead of driving into downtown Denver for the game, we parked on the south side of town and took the light rail.

It was about an hour ride because the train was running at the slowest of slow speeds that day.

We had lots of fun on the way.

We arrived at the stadium grabbed some junk food and found our seats.  We had to kick another group out of our seats and that seemed to be a recurring event around us.  Everyone who arrived at our section had to kick others out of their seats.  What the heck?

We had also invited Irv's nephew and his family to join us.  They stayed about 15 minutes and left even though they're supposedly big baseball fans.

We got to see LA's most famous pitcher.  It was really hot at the game and G asked me why they couldn't just close the top of the stadium--that's what they do in the Valley of the Sun.

When we got home we had a list of options for our next day's activity.  Much to our surprise, instead of choosing the North Pole (an amusement park in the mountains) she chose to go kayaking.

We had a picnic lunch and then explored some of the nearby hoodoos before hitting the water.

For the first lap I tethered her to my kayak just to make sure she was under control.  

We took her to a small lake in the mountains where it's shallow and the wind doesn't become crazy.  After going around the lake once she was an expert.

Then pappy untethered her and off they went to explore.

The girl is naturally athletic.

They examined a bird in the middle of the lake.  What is it?

Then down one of the little streams to take a closer look at the beaver dam.

By then the wind was starting to come up and it was time to leave.

She even took a turn portaging the kayaks back to the truck.

Then it was off to a nearby National Monument where she could get her fourth grade National Parks Pass--Every Kid in a Park.

Over the years I processed many of these vouchers for other fourth graders.

I was really happy to be there when she got hers.

We grabbed a Junior Ranger book and started a one mile trek to learn about the fossil beds.

That's a giant redwood petrified stump behind her.  Something you wouldn't expect to find in the Rocky Mountains.

She had to complete five pages in the book so we had to keep our eyes peeled along the trail.

At the conclusion of our hike she turned the book into the ranger and received her Junior Ranger badge.  Grammy go to swear her in.

The next day she wanted to start a painting so her and I picked out a reference photo and I taught her how to use tracing paper and then transfer paper to get the image onto a canvas.

She also wanted to ride her horse, Doc.  I think she was a little intimidated by him.  He might be 27 years old, but he's still spunky.

The next day was her biggest surprise of the trip--an overnight stay at the Great Wolf Lodge.  Her girl scout trip had spent a day at one of these lodges earlier in the year, but G couldn't participate in any of the water activities because she had a broken arm.  The smile on her face went from ear to ear.

We even reserved a special room with her own cabin with bunkbeds and her own TV.

Then we were off to explore.  This girl loves the arcade.

She decorated a bag to go trick or treating.

And then visited the trick or treat stations.

She had no problems on the ropes course.  She says it's because she's a figure skater and has great balance.

A round of putt putt golf.

Pizza for dinner follwed by ice cream.  I think she chose more toppings than ice cream.

Then she went panning for gemstones and came out with a big bag full.

Not pictured is the fantastic water park at the lodge.  None of us took our devices into the swim area.  She only wanted to do one of the giant water slides which is exactly one more than I was willing t do.

The next morning we had to pack up and head home, but not before she got to meet the wolf.

I think she loved the lodge!

Back at home we played card games.  G is the queen of Trash, usually.  This time pappy dominated the game.

Then she worked on her painting some more.  Notice how Sophie is keeping an eye on her.

We talked about color blending and impressionism.  The painting turned out fabulous.  She refused to leave it for Grammy.

Our next projects was to make her other grandma a comfort blanket.

Her Nana is going through some medical issues and we thought it would be nice to let her know we're thinking about her.

I thought this project would take a couple of days, but it only took a couple of hours because this girl stayed with it.  It turned out really nice!

Our last activity of the week was a birthday party for my grand dog, Willow, who turned one year old.  We held the party at the Pub Dog brewery which has a gigantic play yard for our four legged friends.

Presents, dog cake and the whole nine yards.

It was hard getting the three dogs to pose for a group photo.

Then it was time to head to the airport for the return trip.  Always a sad day, but she was missing her parents and friends.

Southwest Airlines was so good to her and helped ease her nervousness.  I've never been given a seat in the cockpit!  Both legs of her solo flights went perfectly.

A little while after arriving home G texted me and said she missed me and when was I moving there.  My heart broke just a little.  Oh, how I love this girl!