Us, December 26, 2017: Leo, Shadow, Roy, Ondine, John
Us, December 26, 2017: Leo, Shadow, Roy, Ondine, John
John and Roy spent last weekend in Colorado Springs for the UCCS freshman orientation and registration! They flew out Friday afternoon on Frontier Airlines, which had a direct flight from SAN to COS. We called Roy in sick from school Friday because the departure time was too close to the end of school and if we'd pulled him out for college registration it would be an unexcused absence. Silly, but there you go. We also had to call him in sick Monday.
Ondine dropped them off Friday and then turned around to pick up Leo from school. John had bought carry-on upgrades and seat assignments online, and later checked in online and printed boarding passes so getting to the gate was a quick and easy process.
Frontier Airlines was great, by the way. People complain and leave bad reviews because Frontier charges for everything, even carry-ons and seat assignments, but the website couldn't be more transparent and easy to navigate, and you don't pay for anything you don't need. Plus, the overhead bins actually had plenty of room, because everyone who put something in it had had to pay. The seats were comfy too. John had bought Roy an upgrade to "stretch seating," which is the exit row, and had chosen a standard seat for himself somewhat further back. As it turned out, the regular seats had more room than some business class seats, and the stretch seating was downright limousine-like. There were no seatback entertainment systems, but the upside was a lot more space in every seat! On-board snacks and drinks, too, are charged for, but it was a short flight.
John's rental car was from Dollar, which shared space with Hertz. He got a Mazda 3, which was great except for the smell of cigarette smoke in the air conditioning. Their hotel, the Quality Inn and Suites Garden of the Gods, was perfect, ideally located and comfortable, with two double beds, a spacious refrigerator and microwave, and a super nice desk chair (a Chinese knock-off Aeron). Their room was on the second floor. The Quality Inn also offered a decent breakfast bar with hot foods including eggs, waffles, and pancakes, plus yogurt, cereals, and pastries.
Friday night they settled into their room and had dinner at Applebee's (2 for $22, such a deal, plus 10% off with the room key) a few steps away across the parking lot and past a Circle K.
Saturday morning it was off to the UCCS student orientation! That's Pike's Peak in the background and Roy beneath an umbrella in the middleground.
Prior to the official kick-off, they went through a well-oiled series of stations, with Roy getting his student ID photo taken, logging into his online student portal, and meeting various clubs and organizations. Roy was interested in a few, and feigned interest in one to get a free screen cleaner. Afterwards, students and parents were separated for most of the day, reuniting for lunch. Students registered for classes and parents learned about financial stuff. John attended a professor's presentation and a student panel. Afterwards, there was an optional campus tour, which Roy and John did together.
So, Roy is now registered for classes and has his schedule! He also has his housing assignment and roommate names and emails. It's a shared two bedroom suite with two students in each bedroom. By chance, he has a private bedroom for the time being because no one is assigned to share with him yet!
One of the things they'd done during orientation was ask about the theater, and it turned out there was a performance of Amadeus at the Ent Center, a huge, brand-new theatrical complex to which students get in free! John bought two of the last tickets to Saturday night's show, front row stage left. His ticket was $53; Roy's, because by then he had his student ID card, was free! Time was of the essence, so they had dinner at Chick-Fil-A (excellent chicken sandwiches and fries) and went to see the show!
The Ent Center (named after a local hero, not the Tolkein tree creatures) has at least two theaters inside, a large traditional one and an intimate studio theater with the stage set between two banks of seats. John and Roy, in the front row, actually had their feet on the stage floor. This was not a college performance, but a professional company production by TheatreWorks. Amadeus was wonderful, with a great cast delivering fabulous performances. Roy came away with lots of ideas to improve his own musical, and mourning the lack of time because he's in rehearsal right now. The Ent Center, by the way, is where Roy's technical theater classes will be held, so he'll be taking advantage of the free UCCS student bus pass to get there.
Sunday they had a full day to explore. They thought about driving up Pike's Peak, but John was still not fully acclimated to 6,100 feet so going to 14,100 wouldn't be smart. Instead, they went to Garden of the Gods, a park with easy trails meandering through soaring red rock formations. They got there shortly after the park opened, which was good because the main parking lot was already 2/3 full. After about a 2-mile stroll amid the formations, they drove through the rest of the park, past the crowds at the balanced rock, to the gift shop and museum. There, John bought omiyage for Leo and Roy bought omiyage for his two leads. Here are some photos from Garden of the Gods!
Lunch was Panera (where Roy needs two full meals to make a meal) and dinner was at Applebee's again where they chose different 2 for $22 entrees and watched a fat bunny contentedly munching grass right outside their window.
Monday they packed up and checked out of the hotel right after breakfast. They topped off the rental car with gas, picking up some in-flight snacks at the same time, and returned it to the Hertz area. They got through security with nearly three hours to spare.
Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS) is a nice little place. It has 12 gates and the food court has four options: a coffee place, a beer place, a Pizza Hut, and a Quizno's, each with a limited menu. John and Roy opted for Quizno's for lunch. Frontier Airlines started boarding right on time, and because John had paid to get assigned seats they got priority boarding. John had no problems carrying on his CPAP as an extra personal item, other than needing to unpack the pump section for separate scanning at COS.
The return flight was easy and, like the outgoing flight, arrived early. We're liking Frontier Airlines! The seat space is wonderful, and it's really easy to buy the options you want. Plus, they actually leave on time and arrive early!
Ondine, meanwhile, had the weekend with Leo. She took him to judo Saturday and took him to connect with his friend John. Monday, she took time off work to pick up Leo from school and John and Roy from the airport. She finished her workday from home, and we went to Souplantation for dinner. What a lot of dining out!
Tuesday our schedules returned to normal, with John taking the kints to school and picking them up. Roy is in the midst of rehearsals for the musical he wrote. John took his car to John's Automotive for an oil change, fog light bulbs, and a belt noise, and it ended up getting belts, a valve cover gasket and left CV joint boot as well. So it should be good for a while longer! Roy thinks he's coming down with a cold.
Neighborhood gas prices are about $3.79 per gallon, but in Colorado prices were about a dollar less.
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