December 10 through 13

Written December 15

Dear Friends and Family,

Part 2 of the Christmas Trip was to Colorado to see Jen, Brian and still-growing Richard. I drove down to Reagan National Airport very early, so was treated to no lines at all.

In Denver, Brian was waiting and we both waited a few more minutes for Marianne to arrive from California. It was very nice for her and me to be together, after over a month separated by nine time zones. That evening we went to the Longmont Christmas parade, a local display very much like Lynchburg's parade a couple of weeks before.

After the parade, we met one of Marianne's old teaching buddies Sharron and her husband Dick since they live not too far way. After the parade it was hard to get reservations for our party of seven but we ended up at a great India restaurant, served by a friendly Polish server. Everyone had good food and good fun, the way the Christmas season should be.

On Sunday we went to a combination rock and model train show, with trains being Rich's passion. For me it was a chance to try some pictures of small, moving, colorful trains. Another occasion for more photography experience, even if it did not yield once-in-a-lifetime photos.

And, speaking of photos, we had noticed that on Sunday the pin of the sunrise had cast a wonderful glow on the front range of the Rockies and I wanted to try some pictures on Monday morning. Brian knew of a hill where the view should work and we went there Sunday night to check it out. That evening's moonrise picture was nothing to rave about but, once again, I learned lessons (mostly about how cold it can be after the sun goes down.)

The next morning Marianne and I tried again, but the sky was hazy and the lighting was blah. Oh well, this was my third lesson on the patience needed for decent pictures, but I'm showing even the blah ones, just as a record of "I tried".

	Another Xmas parade	Traditional Indian Xmas Dinner	Fun reading
	This is "Big Boy", a train designed to negotiate the twisty Rocky Mountain tracks.	The "Galloping Goose" was another famous mountain transport solution.
A cold evening moonrise	Sunrise pictures, again very cold.

Jen came down with a bad case of stomach "flu", so excursions were limited after that. Unfortunately, that wasn't the last of that old stomach bug, but that's another story.

Until then.

John