Hi Gram,
I’m having a great time on this trip. Monday, I woke up and headed downstairs for breakfast. I was glad to see a couple sitting there eating yogurt, as the last few hotels haven’t had yogurt available. I asked them where they got it, and received the reply “habla español?” I tried answering with my limited Spanish knowledge, we had a short interaction of words, pointing, and shrugging, then waved goodbye as my Spanish was too rusty to be able to converse. After some fluffy waffles, I headed back upstairs to pack my things and see if Nicki was home. She was headed to Home Depot, so I found the local library and pointed my GPS that way.

When I left the hotel, everything was sunny and bright but the highway was taking me right under some dark ominous clouds. By the time I parked near the library, the rain had started falling in large drops. I took this as a chance to re-arrange my bags to make sure I could get at my backpack quickly once I left the car and made a run for it. The tempo of the drops seemed to swell in magnitude, leaving me to finish the podcast that I was listening to before it finally died down a little. Sensing this might be my only chance, I grabbed my backpack and left the safety of my dry car. I walked quickly to the library entrance just as the rain came to a complete stop and the sun came out.

I brought my laptop and backpack intending to find a quiet spot and get some tasks done, but first I walked around to get a feel for the library. There was a wall of magazines, so I grabbed the recent issue of “Time” and had a seat. Well, that was all the distraction I needed, apparently, and spent the next hour or more reading through the magazine cover to cover. When I turned the last page and closed the back cover, I glanced at my watch and saw how much time had passed. I put the magazine back, grabbed my backpack, and headed back towards the car. At the entrance, there were two guys standing just outside blocking both doors in what appeared to be a drug deal. They were both glancing around furtively before exchanging something between fists, which immediately went to pockets. Now I’m no expert in the ways of the world but I would think if you’re going to have that sort of exchange, maybe right in front of the main doors to a building where children and adults will be coming and going might not be the most discrete choice. I pushed past them, saying “excuse me” and walked to my car shaking my head.

I quickly arrived at Nicki’s, where I was greeted with a hug and talk about what we had both been up to. She showed me around her enormous house and I carried in my bags before her cousin Max arrived with lunch. The three of us sat around the table conversing over fried rice and stories, a great welcome to her home. I went downstairs and did a little Duolingo for a while, trying to learn some bahasa Indonesian, then headed back up to see what they were up to. He had left for the day and the rain stopped so I decided to go for a walk. Nicki pointed out a local path on a map, so I headed that way. I am loving that a lot of the neighborhoods that my friends live in have paths winding through nature, behind houses, along creeks and ponds. I did a little over 2 miles, and was happy that it didn’t rain on me.

When I got back from my walk, Nicki and I sat chatting for a few hours before she reminded me that I hadn’t gone to the grocery store as I had planned. I headed out to King Sooper’s, picked up a few items for the next week, and headed back. After unloading my bags, we chatted briefly before deciding that we were both tired, so I headed down to my room. I was elated to find a comfortable bed in a nice cool basement. I crawled in bed and immediately passed out.