Our travel plans for Colorado were fairly convoluted. Don drove Hana out to Colorado Springs for college (leaving on Sunday 8/21). Laura, Sierra, and Kade flew to Niwot to visit her MIT friends the Chakrabortys and Olkins on Thursday 8/23. On Saturday, we rendezvoused at Don’s parents house in Lakewood. The denouement wasn’t much simpler- Don drove the minivan 1000 miles to Reno on Friday, picking up Laura et al. on Saturday to go to the Stanford Sierra Camp near Lake Tahoe. Thank god for the 75 mph speed limit on I-80. All this worked surprisingly well, apart from all Sierra’s shoes getting packed in the minivan- she now has an extra pair of Crocs.
Sierra was never far from a swimming pool, which suited her nicely. Don joined her in the pool with a new Sanyo Xacti E1 waterproof camcorder – some of the footage can be seen in the movie. Kade was never far from a train, riding a miniature one at Tiny Town and a narrow gauge at Georgetown, plus playing with Fisher Price GeoTrax toy trains at the Charkarborty’s (and at the Starks, after a quick trip to Target). Keeping Sierra and Kade gruntled remains the key to a serene vacation- just add water and locomotives.