Day 10
Got up, packed and left Dundee Cottage.
We ate breakfast at a pancake house in Manitou Springs. It was rather old fashioned and was filled with Americana but the food was really good.
We got to the Courtyard Marriott around lunchtime and it soon started to rain.
The kids and I spent some time in the pool and whirlpool then we prepared to go out to a biking/hiking trail near the Flatirons. The forecast said it would clear up by 3:00 p.m. It was still raining when we arrived at the Flatirons viewing trails so we waited in the car for it to ease off. After a little while Rob and David set off cycling while Rachel, Helen and I set off walking. David had not gone far before he had a mechanical problem. He and Rob returned to the van where Rob fixed David's bike but he had lost confidence and decided he did not want to ride any more. He caught up with Rachel, Helen and I. As we walked it drizzled on us and the kids did not have much fun.
In the evening we went to Pearl St. Mall - a 3 or 4 block section of Pearl St. that is pedestrianized. There were street performers everywhere. The intersection of Pearl St. and 13th St. seemed to be the hot spot and we watched a couple of performances.
None of us could finish our dinner at the Cheesecake Factory so we left with a box that I intended to give to a homeless person who had been sitting on a bench near our patio table. After speaking to him for a few minutes, we found he was completely off his rocker and did not want or need the food. Helen remembered someone who further up the Mall who had been challenging people to play chess and who had a sign saying "homeless and hungry". He was very grateful for the food and Rachel, Helen and I returned to the car with a good, warm feeling.