Well we finally made it to Colorado. The big one. This is the state that everyone talks about when speaking of
the Journey of Hope. People say it
is the most fun state on the trip because of the events that are planned and
the beautiful scenery you get to look at on the road. After the normal stop at the border to take pictures of the
state line, we were off to Ft. Collins.
I am not sure if I explained this picture at the beginning of the trip,
but it is one that I will look back on and be thankful we had it. At the first state line – Idaho – one
of my best friends on the trip, Chris Hamilton, decided he wanted to take a
picture with me at the sign. He
said, “come on we are taking a picture, get over here.” Then he guided me to
stand in a certain spot and said, “stay right there.” I had absolutely no idea
what he was about to do. Then he
just jumped in my direction, and thankfully out of instinct I caught him like I
was carrying my wife into the honeymoon suite. Ever since that state line, we have taken an identical
picture at each sign. It probably
sounds lame to some people, but it’s cool to have something like that to look
back on at the end of the trip.
We had lunch at a place calling Ragin’ Cajuns. It was unlike any burger or fast food
place I had ever had. There was so
much food for so little money. The
cyclists were not please when they realized that after eating so much food,
they had to get back on their bikes to ride into lodging because of the short
distance. We are staying at a
senior center here in Fort Collins and I can honestly say I did not know senior
centers like this existed. It is
basically a YMCA for senior citizens.
There is a gym, game room, pool, workout room, and everything else a
YMCA has. We had a lot of downtime
in the afternoon, and since we were just hanging out in the lobby watching TV,
we had a lot of people approach us and ask about us. It was cool to have somewhat of a friendship visit
incorporated into lodging because a lot of us interacted with members of the center
and played games with them.
That night, we walked over to a local park that has numerous softball fields. In Fort Collins, they have a night softball league specifically for special Olympic athletes. We got to watch the first game in which our clients played, and then it was time for dinner. It was a pretty standard “cookout in a park with baseball going on” and we had burgers and hot dogs and all of that good stuff. Because there were more games to be played that night, we were able to provide batting practice to the teams before their games. We were all out in the field getting the balls they hit and had fun with throwing it around a little. Once they had to go to their games, we walked over with them to cheer them on, and some of us even got to be in the game with them. They needed a pitcher and a couple other fielders, and apparently it is custom to have a couple able athletes play along. It was cool to see our guys in the games with the special Olympic athletes and how able-bodied the special Olympic athletes showed themselves to be. After an extremely fun friendship visit that incorporated a style of the game I love so much, it was time to head back to lodging to practice. Yes I said practice. Tomorrow I do my ride along. I am riding a bike 45 miles to Boulder, Colorado. Needless to say I am excited and nervous because it is the first time since about 8th grade or freshman year that I will ride a bike. Wish me luck!!
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