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Pueblo, CO: Day 2

I woke up feeling refreshed and at peace, happy to have the chance to sleep in and in no rush to be anywhere. I took my time showering and preparing what I wanted to do for the day. The computer I had been lugging around finally sold on eBay, so I made it my mission to get it shipped and out of my car!

I headed to the nearest post office, found out I needed to wrap it myself, then proceeded to find a Wal-Mart superstore. I walked in and found myself staring at a large selection of groceries. This would be prime time to stock up! As I made my way around, I got the bright notion of making dinner tonight as my way of thank you for all of Kevin's hospitality. After calling him to ask for his permission and getting an excited affirmative, I kept going down the isles, checking off items in my head. Now, I'm not the most time efficient shopper, considering I linger at every product making sure I get the most bang for my buck. So after a few hours, I finally walked out of Wal-Mart with my shipping materials, groceries, and menu for that evening! I threw the items in my car then proceeded to package my computer in the parking lot, a process that got me lots of strange glances. When I had it wrapped as securely as I could manage, I backtracked to the post office and said goodbye to my old friend, my first computer, as it joined the sea of other packages.

By this time the sun was high in the sky and I had the rest of the day to myself. I decided to drive the 30 minutes to Colorado Springs and check out the Garden of the Gods, which I was told was a sight to be seen. Once again I found myself on the road, but had a sense of peace that I had a home to go back to at the end of the day and felt a little more at ease. I think having someone to talk to also made a significant difference, I had never gone that long without any human interaction and the easy companionship was most welcoming!

I found myself lost and navigating the streets yet again, then finally found myself at Garden of the Gods. Although beautiful, I admit it wasn't as impressive as i thought it would be considering I was expecting more colorful greenery. After lingering in the visitor center, eyeing the attractive attendant, and shifting through a list of nearby tourist points of interest, I decided on checking out the historic Manitou Springs. So once again I got in my car and fiddled with the GPS, which was proving to be a useful purchase! I parked near the historic district and walked around the little town, snapping pictures here and there of colorful trees and old buildings. After awhile, the loneliness once again kicked in. I couldn't help but smile sadly at the thought that I missed the stupid bickers Josh and I would always have when it came to seeing sights like this. He always dragged his heels and insisted on the rote boring-ness of walking around a town, while I always insisted it was part of the adventure. As I passed store after store selling the usual tourist item, I sadly admitted in my head that he was right-stores can get extremely boring. I got a call from Kevin letting me know he was back at home but that I should continue enjoying my day. By that point it was later in the afternoon and I was starting to get bored and somewhat tired. This adventure was proving to be a difficult one to enjoy. Perhaps I needed to be more sociable with complete strangers on the street? As this thought crossed my mind, I passed by several pedestrians, most of which were either high hippies or homeless men. I immediately shook off that thought, kept my head down, and rushed back to my car.

When I got back to the house, Kevin was comfortably sitting at the computer awaiting my arrival. I got to cooking and although he insisted on helping, I told him I would take care of it. He pulled up a chair and we talked as I cooked. I kept finding out more and more about him and became are more and more intrigued at how much he reminded me of me. It's not that I keep saying that in a narcissistic, self-loving type of way, I just finally felt like I met someone with the same ideals that I had. I always felt like an outsider looking in, in my own world that nobody else seemed to understand or relate to, but meeting Kevin opened my eyes that the world is a large place full of people that share the same beliefs, dreams and interests as I do. It's just a matter of finding them and being open to new encounters. I made chicken and vegetables with rice and we once again ate in the living room, sitting crossed leg on the floor. I loved the informality of it all and the ease in which we continued to talk. As usual after dinner, I immediately had a craving for something sweet, and he read my mind by suggesting we go for ice cream. We walked to the local supermarket, then returned home and pigged out on ice cream while watching two movies. We both joked at how lame we were for just being lazy, and suffice it to say, I almost did a triple take when I saw him walk out in his pajamas, the same adornment of plaid sweatpants and bulky sweater that I too wore every night to bed. The coincidences were just getting stranger and stranger!

Like clockwork, at 10 we both began to yawn and decided once again to get our "old butts" to bed. By this point, I felt like I was continuing on in a familiar, comfortable routine. I snuggled back in bed with Mr. Minky and drifted off. Since Kevin had decided to stay home from work the next day, in the morning we walked to get what Kevin claimed were, the "best breakfast burritos in town." I soon learned that apparently there is a competition amongst restaurateurs in Pueblo to make the best green chile sauce. And that's exactly what we ordered, breakfast burritos smothered in green chile sauce. Yet again, my palette was delectably surprised! Trying something new and loving it!

As we walked back to the house, I noticed the shift in conversation to silence as the time for me to leave grew nearer. It wasn't so much an attraction as it was a comfortable companion that we both had found. We said our goodbyes and I thanked him profusely yet again for his generosity and hospitality, then headed off down the road. My next destination: Dinosaur tracks in the Comanche Grasslands in the lower south of Colorado.