May 24-26 May 27 May 28 May 29 May 30 May 31 June 1 June 2 June 3-5 June 6 June 7-10	Sunday, June 7 We slept in and plan a lazy morning. We left the hotel about 8 heading for IHOP for breakfast and the Denver Sunday paper. We had a fairly relaxing time, considering the crying kids at nearby tables... Our waiter mumbled... After an hour or so there, we drove back to the motel for the rest of the paper and to kick back for a while. Since it was a big breakfast, we just snacked on bananas, cherries, and cookies for lunch. We left again about 1:30 for REI. We had gotten part way down the interstate when hail started pelting the car. In the distance we spotted a tornado touching down, sending debris flying. So, we pulled off into one of the shopping centers along the way to wait it out. The hail hitting the car was about pea sized and it sounded like someone was throwing gravel at the car. I was concerned that the windshield might break... Something electrical exploded at the base of the tornado while we were watching it - good sized ball of light. It finally passed on. The funnel lasted a lot longer than I expected. It didn’t always touch the ground, but was clearly visible in the sky. And it turned horizontal as it passed over us in the parking lot. It was a fascinating experience. The hail didn’t seem to hurt the car... And both the cameras were back at the hotel.... Later, on the evening news, we found out that this was the first of five tornados to touch down in the greater Denver area (this one hit a rural part of Thornton and didn’t do much damage). We were about three miles away from it. Photos on the newscast compared the hailstones from the various tornados to golf balls, eggs, and baseballs. Officially, the largest hailstones were 3" in diameter. The hail finally stopped and the rain let up a bit, so we drove on to REI, where we wandered about until 4:30. The primary parking lot there was completely full and more cars were pulling in as we circled back out of it. We wound up parking in the auxiliary lot and walked across the street. Then we drove back to the Westminster area to wander around there for a while. We stopped at the Westminster Mall for a while. It’s an older mall and seems to be succumbing to the same fate as so many malls around the country. Three of the six anchors were deserted. About 1/3 of the stores were vacant. Then we drove around the blocks surrounding Environs. It’s getting less intimidating with exposure... We stopped at City Park Fitness Center. Very nice! Much nicer than our local gym and membership fees (for non-senior residents) are about the same as our gym. They also have a 60+ rate break! We’ll definitely be back. They gave us two passes to use the next time we’re in town. They were in the process of closing for the day, so we just barely looked around. So we continued on to Sweet Tomatoes for our final treat of the trip. Then back to the hotel to settle in for the night. Monday, June 8 We got up a bit earlier this morning. It’s a foggy morning. We packed up, mostly, then went down to breakfast. The place is really dead this morning - we’re the only ones there at 7 am. We packed up the car and checked out, driving to the Metro North Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber of Commerce in Longmont was more helpful. This one had almost no information or handouts for potential residents... Then on to Walgreen’s for some soap and lutein, then we were on the road east. Lunch was in Burlington, CO, at Arby’s. And we stopped for the night at a Holiday Inn Express in Abilene, KS, birthplace of Dwight D. Eisenhower. Dinner tonight was at the Kirby House downtown. Their steak special was good. The wine was excellent. The rest of the meal was so-so and the carrot cake was just wrong. It was definitely not a $70 dinner... How can I be so tired after doing so little today???? Fell asleep early. Tuesday, June 9 We got up a little after 7 - later than I planned on. We repacked the suitcases, ate breakfast, then packed the car and got on the road about 9 am. Very dark skies overhead today. We had thunderstorms most of the morning with the rain very heavy at times. Lunch was at a Cracker Barrel in Independence, MO. The soup and tea felt great! The rain finally let up about 2. St. Louis was a mess - traffic was a pain. We’ll have to find some way around the city when we return on this route... We’re in a Mount Vernon, IL, Comfort Suites for the night. They had a happy hour going on with some really weird wine... I had the Catawba, which was too sweet. Carl tried the Reisling, which was also too sweet. For our second coupon, we picked up two cans of root beer... Then we walked over to Pasta something for soup and salad and the worst shiraz I’ve ever had... Oh, well. Back to the hotel to crash for the night and watch a couple of House episodes. Wednesday, June 10 This should be our last day on the road. We were up early. The hotel’s internet connection was not cooperating this morning... There are storms still threatening today. They fixed the internet connection during our breakfast. So, we finished packing up and headed out. Storms may have been threatening, but we had blue skies for a while and some rain, but not as heavy as it has been. And we just had to stop in Metropolis, IL, to see their giant statue of Superman. The newspaper there is called the Daily Planet.... The two photos above show the giant Superman statue in Metropolis, IL. Carl's posing in the right one... Lunch was at a Cracker Barrel in Nashville - soup for Carl, sandwich for me. It was a fairly uneventful day. We stopped at Ingles (grocery store) for supplies and pulled into the garage about 7 pm, unloaded car, and had a late dinner of scrambled eggs. Simple is nice, too. Then we watched a dvd, hit the hot tub, and crashed by 11.