The early morning after breakfast was spent on last minute packing and sorting out the kitchen, so that just enough was left for lunch. We had permission for a late checkout, so could stay until our transport for the airport arrived. We went to have a final coffee with our friends and say goodbye, then back to lunch.
Our transport arrived on time, and as we were the last, I was able to sit in the front of the minivan and take pictures through the windscreen. They weren't all successful, as the windscreen was quite dirty. However, they do show the countryside. This is a view of Lake Dillon as we drove past Frisco.
It is completely iced over at present, though probably not for much longer, given the high temperatures.
We drove on, gradually descending. There was still a lot of snow on the high peaks, though there was none in the valley.
The land not covered with snow is rather bare, apart from the trees. Some of the slopes are too rocky and bare for trees, and some are too steep for the snow to lie.
On the way down, we passed another ski resort, called Loveland.
These look more like my sort of slopes - not too steep! However, you may be able to see there is hardly anybody on them, so possibly they are like the lower slopes in Breckenridge - icy or slushy. As far as I can see, those rather bare upper slopes should be the more difficult slopes, but they don't seem to have enough snow for skiing.
A couple of hours after we left Breckenridge, we were at Denver Airport.
The building is quite distinctive. It is supposed to represent the peaks of the Rocky Mountains. It is quite a busy airport
We were fortunate to find that all our bags were within the weight limit - only just within! Paul's suitcase was 22.9 kilos, mine was 22.9, and the ski box was exactly 23. Next time, we will both cut down on the number of clothes we take, bearing in mind that we have to get ski boots, helmets and goggles into our cases these days.
I just had time to wander round a few shops before our flight was called. The plane was very full, so there was no stretching out this time. However, we had a bulkhead seat, so there were only two seats and we had slightly more space. The centre block of seats next to us were occupied by a couple with two small children, so it wasn't exactly restful. We didn't get much sleep. I remember the stress of flying with two small children when we came back from Hong Kong via various places many years ago, so felt quite sympathetic. I don't remember my children making quite that much noise, but perhaps time has cast a rosy glow over the journeys.
We landed soon after 9.30 and were reasonably quick getting through Immigration and finding our baggage, so we were on our way to London not much more than an hour later. King's Cross proved difficult with so much baggage, but we were at Euston about 80 minutes before our booked train, so there was plenty of time to collect the tickets and have some lunch.
I don't remember much of the train journey, as we both slept, being utterly exhausted by then.
Our daughter-in-law collected us at the station, but we couldn't fit everything into her car, so Paul had to take a taxi anyway. Then I looked after our grandson, while Paul was driven off to the storage to collect our car. After dinner, we drove to our hotel to check in.
We know we have some busy days ahead. Our son has bought a new house, but cannot move in right away, as so much work needs to be done to it. We are going to camp in it, and help to oversee the work. Once it is in a reasonable state to have the baby, they will move in and we will move into their flat until the summer, when we will move back to London.
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