Day 1450. Once again Sammy was up way too early, some time between 6 and 7 am. The noise soon woke up Emmy, and some time later also Tammy, and they all went upstairs, where they congratulated their niece for her birthday and said goodbye to them all. As for me, I got up and started packing. The kids then came downstairs before I was done, which made the task harder for me. I got them dressed, and after I was done doing my part, I went upstairs to have breakfast. While I was eating, Randy closed the suitcases up and loaded everything into the car. Just before 9:30 we drove off to continue our journey west.
We had a 5-hour drive ahead off us and went straight into the mountains of Colorado. We drove up and down mountains, and then everyone had to stop right there on the interstate because of construction. We all sat there for about 20 minutes, then they let us continue. The landscape was really beautiful to look at and changed quite a bit in the way it lookes. We also passed by a few famous ski towns. I had looked up Chick-Fil-A and McDonald's, as they both have playgrounds, but the first did not exist outside the big cities, and several of the second that I looked up did not have a playground. The only one I found with a playground was further away, but we decided to go for it.
Just after 1 pm we pulled up by the McDonald's in Rifle, and it had been worth it. They had a big and really nice playground that the kids immediately started playing in. I ordered the food, and soon we all sat down to eat. Then they played some more. At 2:30 pm we decided to continue on our way.
We had nearly 2 more hours ahead of us. Soon the mountains were behind us, and instead we were in a plain, with the mountains in the distance, and it just stayed flat the whole time. All three kids had fallen asleep after we had left McDonald's, and as usual, Sammy did not sleep long and was up first. However, I was amazed he'd slept at all, as it had already slept half an hour from 11 to 11:30, which had surprised me. Emmy woke up after about an hour, and Tammy only woke up just before we arrived at our destination.
At 4:15 pm we pulled into our friend's driveway in a little, rural town. Sammy had already been talking for a while about the horses he was about to see, as I had told him about it. My friend had 3 horses, and the kids immediately went over to see them. Tammy was the only fearless one petting them, while Emmy wanted to but was too afraid. Sammy wanted to as well, but was also afraid. Still, they stayed around them and kept trying. Then they brought some food out onto the porch, and we all ate some. Soon the kids went back to the horses, and were excited, when they saw the cat.
Then my friend put a saddle on one of the horses so the kids could ride it. And so our kids all rode on a horse for the first time. All three loved it. Later she got another horse out that the kids got to ride on without a saddle. This time Sammy even sat on it by himself, while he had been with our friend the first time. Our friend also showed us different tricks she had taught the horse. The kids weren't that interested in watching those, especially Tammy. She preferred cleaning the chair and the table with a brush she had found.
We then decided it was time to go to our lodging. Originally we were going to stay there, but their exchange students had arrived, so that there was no room. Before we left, Emmy found the American flag hanging off the side of the house and flying in the wind and caught it.
At 7:15 pm we left, following our friend's car through the town until we arrived at 7:30. It was a unique Airbnb. The owners had their house there, as well as lots of animals, and had set up a big house-tent on their property, where they were putting up Airbnb guests. He showed us where the outhouse was, with the toilet and shower, and then our house, a round tent set on wood. The kids were really excited, when they saw the trampoline right there, and there was also a see-saw and swings. They got on it all. There was also a dog who had followed us there.
We then said goodbye to our friend. The kids wanted to see the animals, so we walked there and saw the goats, geese, chickens and dogs. There was also a shy cat. The man's wife came outside as well, and we ended up talking with both of them. She was a nurse and immediately recognized Sammy's condition. She was also really sweet of them. She encouraged the kids to throw apples that were on the ground inside to the goats, who eagerly ate them up. We talked for quite some time, then returned to our tent. Randy then unloaded the car, while the kids were watching some TV. After we had all our stuff, we made a pilgrimage to the shower, then walked back wrapped up in towels.
There were two bedrooms in the tent, but they were quite far apart. Emmy said right away that he did not want to sleep there. And so we blew up our air mattress and put it next to our bed. There was also a crib which was perfect for Sammy. And so it was Tammy and Emmy who had to share a bed tonight, and it was not working well. Instead of their heads being on opposite ends of the mattress, I ended up putting them right next to each other, head by head, and then they finally fell asleep. It was already close to 10 pm by then. And it was high time for me to start working on today's pictures and write my report. And as I had a lot of pictures today, it got way too late. It's 2 am now and high time to go to bed for me. Tammy has already crawled into our bed, which she does half-way through the night.
