August 19, 2015-Wednesday- We are now at the end of the week, the end of our stay here at St. Vrain State Park &.....the end of our stay in Colorado!!!!We had nothing blog worthy to post today! We are just loafing, well I did clean the RV thoroughly, it's sooooo dusty here! We did go fishing tonight but in reality we were just getting rid of our worms!!! This is no fish story, Len did have a good size fish on his hook, & yes it got away....but we saw it, you'll just have to picture it!!!!
August 20, 2015-Thursday- This could be another lazy do nothing day before we leave but......Len's research has found us a couple of Tours to go on! Wait to you see where we're going!!!! We leave Otis at the RV to suffer in the A/C while we leave shortly before lunch heading to Boulder!
We grab a quick lunch at Burger King, it wasn't the sandwich of our immediate choice....the first restaurant we walked in to, was called SNARFS, a sandwich place, as we got inside, we assume the manager, approached us & told us the restaurant doesn't open till MONDAY!!!! Wow talk about the early bird!!!! Burger King was close to our Tour Destination & that's why we ate there, besides the fact I've been wanting Chicken Fries ever since they first started advertising them......!
Our first Tour Destination is......
If you've ever seen a Greeting Card by Leaning Tree, this is where they come from, right here in Boulder, Colorado. Len & I got there a little too early for the tour, so we walked around the Sculpture Garden till the Tour Guide came outside & joined everyone in the tour.
This was a fun tour!!!! When you went in to register, they give you your Tour Group, then....a little tea cup & you can go about & taste any or all of the teas on display! You pour your own so you can have a dribble or a whole cup! If they don't have on display what you want to sample, just ask for it & they will give you a taste!
We heard our tour group being called. Once again we start with a short video to learn the history of Celestial Seasonings.Before going into the actual plant, because it is a food, we are given a required hair net to wear & any man with facial hair was given a beard net!!!! why didn't I take a picture of Len in that get-up!?! Inside the plant.....NO PHOTOS! As soon as we walked through the doors you smelled TEA!!!! They took us in the peppermint room! Talk about a sinus opener!!!We saw all aspects of the tea process & by the way...this little tea factory is the one & only Celestial Seasoning Tea plant. they have about 200 employees & run 3 shifts 5 days a week, 6 days during prime time between Thanksgiving & Christmas.The most interesting job at Celestial Seasonings is the job of the Brewmaster! I don't know how he qualified for the job, but he's held the job for 47 years. It's a 5 year apprentice program to become a Brewmaster, right now there is a gal who is 2 years into the 5 year program. The Brewmaster tastes EVERY SINGLE BATCH OF BREWED TEA! It does not pass for production unless he gives the thumbs up! I bet the Brewmaster is not allowed to suck a lemon drop or throat lozenges before reporting to the job!?!
These pictures don't show the true color I wanted to show. the setting sun in these pictures are BLOOD RED! Cause by, as we learned on the news.....the thick haze from the California wildfires.
It's sad how destruction in one state caused added beauty in another state????
Really......should people be that skinny!?!
I was glad Lennie decided to knock on Janet's door & I think he was too!
After the ALL YOU CAN EAT Italian Buffet for lunch......dinner was not necessary! But of course Otis still demands his nightly walk! Lennie put our bikes on the back of the car & connected the car to the RV before we take Otis out.
August 20, 2015-Thursday- This could be another lazy do nothing day before we leave but......Len's research has found us a couple of Tours to go on! Wait to you see where we're going!!!! We leave Otis at the RV to suffer in the A/C while we leave shortly before lunch heading to Boulder!
The mountains in the background barely visible due to the haze from the California wildfires!
Our first Tour Destination is......
Lennie & I jumped the gun because the sculpture garden was part of the tour.....& now she was taking all of us back around the different sculptures, this time explaining the stories behind the pieces! On to the actual card factory!!!! First a short video telling how Leaning Tree got started, then....into the plant where NO PHOTOS WERE ALLOWED!!!! Our tour guide took us though the start, stacks & stacks of card stock to the end, of making a greeting card. We even got to make a envelope, by hand, but for production a machine does it all! I think the most interesting was the cutting machine, called the guillotine! We watched as a worker lifted a block of printed cards, a foot deep, pressed a button & in one quick swipe a blade came down & cut the cards. I asked if they'd ever had an accident.....& she said No the machine had too many safety features! At the end of our tour, each person was allowed to pick out a greeting card apiece to keep!
Our next Tour was only 2 blocks away!!! Here we are at......
Having to wear a hairnet during the tour reminded me of my working days at BRK where we were required to wear hairnet while handling the PC boards!
That was 2 fun tours & both tours are free to the public!
"Hi Mom, Hi Dad! 'Bout time you got home, did you bring me anything!?!"
After dinner & dishes are done, Otis demands his nightly walk!
That's it for tonight! Good-Night!
August 21, 2015-Friday- There should be no posting today as today is our last day & it's more work than pleasure!
This is the morning sun at 6:30am. Once again you can't see how truly Blood Red the sun was!?! Again caused by the wildfire haze....
We had to run to Walmart for a few items & also to Sam's Club for a few bulk items. Before we left the RV we'd already decided to stop at that Italian Buffet for another luncheon!!! No pictures necessary, we were animals again, just picture that!
As I stated before this Italian Restaurant was less than 10 minutes from Lennie's half sister, Janet's house. We drove by her house again, I didn't know Lennie was going to do stop again???? He pulled in the driveway & said he was going to go knock on the door!He was nervous, it's been 40 years since he's seen her. I told him I would wait in the car till I saw how he was received!?! He rang the bell, the inside door was open, he peeped in, he could see no one, but kept knocking....he came back to the car & asked if I had anything to write a note on???? I did....we left a brief note & phone number & continued on our errands. We finished at Walmart, we finished at Sam's Club when Lennie's phone rang! It was Janet & she asked him if we would come back, she wanted to see him!We had an ice cooler in the car (Be Prepared!) we put our few cold things in & drove back over there. We didn't know what to expect so we thought maybe a quick "Hello & Good-bye" we wound up spending 3 hours there. It was a very nice visit!
Lennie & Janet
Really......should people be that skinny!?!
I was glad Lennie decided to knock on Janet's door & I think he was too!
After the ALL YOU CAN EAT Italian Buffet for lunch......dinner was not necessary! But of course Otis still demands his nightly walk! Lennie put our bikes on the back of the car & connected the car to the RV before we take Otis out.
We are ready for take off in the morning!
Our last sunset here at St. Vrain State Park, even with the thick haze beautiful!
Those statues are quite impressive in the sculture garden. Especially love that horse. I'm so glad Lennie got to have a nice visit with his half-sister. That sure was nice. I bet he's glad he overcame his doubts and knocked on that door. You said that was your last night at St. Vrain State Park. I had no idea you were over your vacation until this morning when I got the e-mail saying you were in Illinois. WOW...that was fast. Everything OK at the home state? I thought you'd be meandering that way with other albums to show.
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