Day 12
This morning we got Rob to Denver International Airport a bit before 9.00 a.m. We said our goodbyes straight away, so he could get through security in time, and went our separate ways for breakfast.
After breakfast the kids and I set off for the Butterfly Pavilion where Helen, Rachel and I held a rose-haired tarantula. The kids enjoyed the various exhibits, butterflies, and live and pinned insects.
We then made our way to Casa Bonita - a unique Mexican restaurant in a strip mall nr. downtown Denver. What a treat it was!! We did not know exactly what to expect. While the kids looked at the large fountain outside the entrance, I went in to see if we could get a table. I was soon outside again to tell the kids they needed to come in with me because this was not like any ordinary restaurant. Once inside the building, we were guided through the restaurant by means of chained off "lanes" like getting onto a Disney ride. The first person we encountered took our order and gave us a receipt for it. We then moved along to where we picked up cutlery and trays and our food. All the while we could not see the main seating area at all. We were then guided to a table which, as luck would have it, was in a really good viewing area. We found ourselves in a 2-storey room with lots of fake palm trees, a man-made rock formation over which a waterfall spilled into a deep pool below. All around were passageways leading behind the waterfall and into various other seating areas; One was in the style of a cave (complete with stalagmites and stalactites), another emulated a gold mine and another was a very ornate room with mirrored ceilings and its own stage. A waitress whom I asked said their seating capacity is 1,100! Every 15 minutes there was some sort of show which always involved someone either diving or falling off the rocks into the pool below. The kids LOVED it.
After leaving Casa Bonita we drove about 3 hours to Burlington. The scenery was fairly flat at first, giving way to rolling mounds (not really big enough to be called hills).
The whole town of Burlington smells like horse manure which the kids hate. If the smell hasn't gone by tomorrow then they don't want to visit Old Town which was the reason for stopping here!
P.S. I forgot to mention that we saw 2 huge trucks today, each one carrying an aircraft wing.