Denver Botanic Gardens

Denver is some 66 miles from where we live in Colorado Springs. So, anytime we head in that direction, we try try to mix business — or errands, as the case might be — with pleasure.

With delightfully warm and sunny weather forecasted for today, we arranged to meet up with our friends Sonia and Boris before heading off to Denver International Airport for our Global Entry interviews. Of course, this being COVID times, I suggested an outdoor venue for our get together.

Winter doesn’t offer colorful flowers at the Denver Botanic Gardens ... especially since places like the conservatory remain closed. We knew that and were OK with that. Regardless, we enjoyed a meandering walk outdoors, chattering away like magpies as we caught up with the goings on in each others’ lives. We even found a warm spot in the sun where we partook an al fresco picnic with sandwiches that we brought from our respective homes.

That we seldom ran into anyone else was perfect for these times that call for social distancing. Especially at the two art exhibits we checked out in one of the buildings on the grounds. We weren’t expecting that any of the indoor attractions would be open, so these two exhibits — each colorful in its own way — came as a lovely surprise.

A beautiful day ... a great time with friends.

P.S. And yes, we did eventually get to our appointments at DEN. Our membership in the Global Entry Program has now been renewed and we’re good until our birthdays in 2025. The process might have taken 13 months to complete — we submitted our renewal applications in December 2019, but then ... well, you know ... all that disruption due to the Coronavirus — but once we got in for our appointments, the interviews were completed in less than ½-hour.

(More photos are at this online gallery: https://eenusa.smugmug.com/North-America-US-Can…)Read more