usa: colorado: colorado springs

When I'd been looking at flights to and from Colorado Springs, the way back was going to be heaps cheaper if I left on Tuesday instead of Sunday or Monday. Since I knew Layna lived in Colorado Springs I asked her if I could stay with her those two nights. She was at most of the reunion in the house, leaving only occasionally to take care of her kids.

After saying goodbye to everyone after brunch, I drove to the Garden of the Gods. I'd visited the area once before, with another gapper, and I was happy to return. It's free, has a number of walking and hiking areas, and is really photogenic.

The way the rocks come out of the ground is just stunning.

Finding parking was a bit of a hassle, but it happened soon enough. I walked a number of the trails, climbed a bunch of rocks, and generally enjoyed myself. I was surprised at the number of people who were there but seemed afraid of heights. It's not a high place, but why come here if you don't want to climb even a little?

After a couple hours, I drove to Layna's flat. She'd left a sign on the front door telling me where she was, so I walked and found her.

It was nice to finally meet her kids, as I'd seen a few photos over the years. It was also nice to finally meet her boyfriend, who I'd been hearing about for even longer.

Since Layna and I did our tour of Asia together, we had even more to catch up on. Despite having talked for the whole weekend already, we still had plenty to say. I love Garmischers.

The next morning I got moving slowly, so did everyone else in the flat. Layna drove the kids to school a bit later than normal, but these things happen.

Then she and I figured out a plan for the day. I wanted to hang out with her, and I wanted to see something new in the city. One of my travel apps told me about the US Olympic Training Center, which wasn't far away. There was also a cemetery listed, as well as a lake, and just walking through downtown Old Colorado City.

The training center offers tours every half hour, and if you're paying with a credit or debit card, it has to be a Visa. I'm pretty sure Visa is one of their sponsors, otherwise they'd take more cards.

The tour started with a 15 minute video about several athletes, their typical day, and a basic description of what they have available at the training center. After the video we left the visitors building and started walking through the campus.

We got to see the weight room, which is huge, of course. We got to see one of the physical therapy rooms, which had a couple anti gravity treadmills. Somehow those get rid of 80% of the feel of gravity, so athletes who are injured can continue running while healing at the same time. Amazing.

We got to see the wrestling area, which is actually the home of USA Wrestling. We got to see the pool, though many of the swimmers were away in Budapest, at the world competition. We got to see the indoor shooting range and the gymnasium in which a gymnastics competition had just been held. We got to see the front of the building in which the dining hall is located, which is not the kitchen.

We also got to see part of the kitchen where the science of food takes place. It doesn't always come to mind first, but for an athlete to perform their best they have to be taking in the best food.

Each athlete has a different diet, based on how they need to perform best in their sport. The food available varies a lot around the world, so if someone is preparing to compete internationally, they're probably going to be eating some of what is available in that location. That way their bodies will already be used to the difference, and won't react badly.

After the tour we were 'released' and everyone wandered through the rest of the visitors center. There is a gift shop, with all kinds of Team USA clothing (and other gear,) available.

I might have bought something if it had just said USA, but all of it said Team USA, and I feel like that is something that has to be earned, not just bought. There is also a media room, with a series of screens going around the room that show various Olympic athletes through the years. Its fun to see how many you recognize, and to note the changes in fashion. If you've paid attention to the Olympics over the years, you get chills when you see some of the iconic photos again. Amazing performances by amazing people. 

Out front I took photos of the statues in the garden, just because I could. 

After seeing everything we could, Layna and I drove around the city a bit. We drove through the cemetery, which felt pretty big to me. There were definitely different sections, I think some of them were military. Layna showed me the house in which she'd lived previously, it was right near a lake.

We drove through downtown Old Colorado City, then walked the main street. It's full of shops and restaurants, and is generally cute.

At some point one of us looked at a watch and realized it was time to pick up the kids.

Since we were driving my car they had quite a surprise when they came out of the school building. From there we went out to dinner at a pizza place. It's the kind of place where the staff are all wearing old school dresses and uniforms, and the arcade is relatively cheap. A nice fun evening.

I went to bed early that night, but didn't get any sleep. Amazingly enough, I was productive enough to pack everything the night before flying! My alarm went off at 0330, and I drove my car to a petrol station at 0345. Layna met me with her van after getting coffee, and she followed me to the care hire place.

I left my car there and dropped the keys in the box, then Layna took me to the airport.

Amazingly, both my flights were on time. Yay!!

It is always good to spend time with a Garmischer, anywhere and everywhere. It's even better when it's in a cool city.