Colorado, July 08

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the Diabetes in Youth conference that was sponsored by the Barbara Davis Center. It was located in the mountains at Keystone, Colorado. The speakers were excellent, the topics very timely and the opportunity to network with other Pediatric Diabetes Educators was a benefit. It was interesting to get view points from professionals from around the world.

John went with me and he spent the time hiking, kayaking, and investigating old mine sites and such. Then we had 2 days of sight seeing, hiking, and mountain train riding. We took an interesting tour of an old silver mind. The mountains certainly showed off the majesty of God. In contrast it was very sad to see that some of the quaint historic cities that we had visited 30 years ago have been taken over by casinos and are fast becoming ghost towns.

Trip to San Antonio

John had business meetings in San Antonio the last week of April / first week of May so we added a few days and spent a little time in the great state of Texas. The San Antonio Riverwalk was a pleasant, enjoyable stroll. We enjoyed eating outside along the river and observing the sights and sounds of the area. A cold front had just passed through as we were arriving so they were experiencing record cool temperatures and low humidities so it was very pleasant. It gave us a small taste of summer before we came back to the cool wet weather of Michiana.

We spent a day and drove down to the Gulf Coast. Along the way we stopped at a small cafe for lunch and the hope of "a bit of local color". The "Mom and Pop" business along the interstate was very busy and overwhelmed with 6 total customers. Just before we got our sandwiches "Mom and Pop" received an urgent phone call. One on the cows back on their ranch was in dire need. She was struggling to deliver- probably twin calves- and the buzzards were tormenting this poor mother to be. We heard the entire play by play several times as we sat and waited to be served and then again as we ate our meal. The cafe needed to be closed down so this cow could be rescued but alas another 4 patrons entered for lunch. When it rains it pours....

The weather at the gulf coast was warm but very windy. The sand blew around and drifted like snow. We were impressed by the ferry that transported us on and off the barrier island. There was no additional charge for the ferry and it was very efficient and organized. I guess the government can do some things well.

We were impressed by the patriotism displayed in Texas. The American and Texas Flags flew proudly across the state. A traveler also certainly got the messages "Don't mess with Texas" in addition to "Go Spurs!"