Less rocky than you'd expect

So I went to Denver last week to visit my gramma and aunt, who live there, and my dad, 5-year-old sister Yi Rong, and 11-year-old brother Micky, who were visiting. It was 95 degrees and humid, which was a nice change. I love vacationing in hot places. You just sit around in the hammock and read until you fall asleep or you hear the ice cream truck. That's the life.


Not that we hung around doing nothing all the time. In fact, it seemed like there was always something going on. This must be what it's like having kids: You're always in motion, chasing after them, playing with them, entertaining them. Then again, you can also fill a small plastic circle with water and they'll be happy for hours by themselves. Unless they get too cold. See, Yi Rong is allergic to cold. Yes, cold. Her doctor said he'd only seen 2 other such cases in 20 years. Summer is actually harder than winter for her, because she can't go swimming in the rivers and streams that they usually go to. And air conditioning gives her headaches. Not that my dad has air conditioning.

Anyway, us being Strachotas, we had to go bowling. It's in our blood. Micky bowled his first three games with big balls (in New England they have candlepin bowling, with balls the size of shotputs and skinny pins that you get three tries to knock down, which is all heresy to Midwesterners). Here he is, rocking the headband for some reason:


We also went to both the Museum of Modern Art, where they had an awesome video about the Roden Crater owned by artist James Turrell (who Paul has worked with). He's been working on it for 20-odd years, and when they asked him what it had cost him, he replied, "two marriages and a longtime girlfriend." Ouch.

The museum also had this chair out front.


The next day we went to the Museum of Science and Nature, where they had this horse made from car parts.


And here we have Yi Rong as a sad cowgirl. She really doesn't like wearing hats.


But you know what she does like? Restaurants with mariachi bands, waterfalls, cliff divers, turrets, Black Bart vs. the sheriff, fire jugglers, and scary caves. Okay, so she wasn't so keen on the scary cave. In fact, I was afraid I traumatized her forever in there. But she turned out okay.


Where were we? At Casa Bonita, the Disneyland of greasy Mexican restaurants. Russ and Megan turned me onto it, and told me how an episode of South Park had been based around it. It was pure gold, save for the fact that grams had to walk about 10 miles just to get to the food, not to mention climb up seven stories to get to our table. She almost made it too, before she took a big spill on the steps right by the table. You'd think a 91-year-old would be sprier.


We also went to a Rockies game and hooked up with Brent, Marlo and Sunil, who all happened to be in town. Afterwards, we got wasted with all the other white people at a bar with an outdoor patio on its roof. It's really amazing how creamy colored this city is.


Megan would've loved Coors Field. They frown upon PDA so much that they have a sign about it. Hey, if you call it "Mile High" Stadium, then you'd better be ready to pay the piper.