American Boy

Jake was up at his usual time for breakfast. No wake-up calls needed when you travel with him. We headed over to Vail Village to watch their parade. Jake’s bump is pretty “meaty” right now so we’re changing his bandages daily. Today we decided to improvise a patriotic theme with red, white and blue stripes. Dan bought him a flag bandana last week so we added that to complete the look. Jake was definitely a hit. Lots of smiles from people. Kids running over to pet him. We were searching for a shady spot to watch the parade.

There was a sweet little restaurant, Marketplace on Meadow Drive, right on a busy corner. We stopped to buy a couple drinks on their patio and noticed one table was empty, but had a sign that said, “Reserved for Julie & Larry”. Not surprising considering the prime viewing location. However, the parade hadn’t started so we asked the hostess if we could sit there until they arrived. Normally I wouldn’t even try something like that but having Jake around always alters the process a bit, and now I’m finding it always improves the outcome. Like a lucky charm. Eventually the manager came over to us and told us he seated the group in another location and that we were welcome to have the table for the day. SCORE! We ended up with this incredible view of the passing parade as it rounded the corner right in front of us. We had a couple extra chairs and when we noticed a family standing nearby, we asked them to join us. A grandmother, her daughter and their brand new grandchild…”Nana”, Lisa and Cadence. Great parade. Perfect setting. New faces and conversation. Such a fun outing and so wonderful to share the unexpected good fortune with someone else, too.

Jake, Dan and I headed back to the Westin for an afternoon nap.