well, we’ve returned from the big C of O. i enjoyed it muchly. i could list all the stuff we did, but i think i will most likely just list the stuff i enjoyed. firstly, i got to see my sister Nina, finally, and the beautiful house that she shares with her husband Dave. he’s a carpenter, so they’ve really done a lot of work on it, and it’s coming along very nicely. while abe and i were with them, after going to dinner at Johnny Corino’s (a place remarkably similar in exterior appearance to the Olive Garden, but much more casual) we visited a little suburb on the edge of Longmont called Prospect. it was quite the amazing place, and probably one of the most impressive things i’ve ever seen. imagine a suburb where the houses are actually different. every color you could imagine was found there, with unthinkable combinations like orange and yellow. and the most surprising thing was that it all worked beautifully. i could definitely see myself living there someday, despite the fact that the single-family homes start in the low $300’s. Anyway, aside from going to prospect (twice–briefly on Tuesday with my sister, abe, and dave, and for a longer visit Friday with abe and his parents), we also drove out to Vail, and meandered about in Vail Village. it was pretty nice, since the majority of roads are closed to cars, and left for buses, bikes, or pedestrians. it reminded me of Europe, particularly Austria, if i remember right. we also visited Breckenridge, another nice little town, even though i have to admit to being burnt out at that point. the highlight of that city was seeing one of my very favorite bikes, the Trek Y 5-0. it was for sale, and quite a deal. unfortunately, i missed out on the job that i applied for, otherwise i would own yet another bike. last Monday was abe’s brother’s birthday, so we went to St. Mary’s glacier and hiked about (it is one of his favorite things to do). on the way up, we came across a guy with two dogs, both of which had wolf in them. we howled with one, which was pretty great. she had incredible copper-colored eyes. of course, we also spent a day checking out Denva. i wasn’t really in the mood so i called it quits after 1/2 day, and spent the rest of the time playing Shenmue, which i bought for 12.99 along with a red VMU for the Dreamcast. ah yes, the drive. under some circumstances, the 14-hour trip might have been punishing. however, given the fact that we took a brand new Saab 9-3, and had a power inverter so we could play the Dreamcast in the car, it was more like a reward. i think that that was my favorite road trip ever. well, i think i’ll stop going on about Colorado, since you’ve probably read all you wanted, but i’ll leave you with this: where are we going to get enough squirrels to make a kite? (10 points if you can tell me where i got that).