Barbi’s journal for theKodai class of ’61 reunion in Estes Park – 2014

September 22. My Husband and I left Colorado Springs late morning for the YMCA camp at Estes Park for my high school reunion, driving without the RV. We stopped in Loveland for lunch at Chipotle (and G kindly indulged me at JoAnn Fabrics for a few minutes where I found some yarn to finish an incomplete sweater) and arrived at the reunion mid afternoon, very shortly followed by other groups of attendees. It was SO nice to see everyone again! During the day several of us started working on a Taj Mahal puzzle Nancy had bought at a thrift store. We hoped it had all the pieces! The rest of the afternoon we spent catching up with each other. Dinner was chilli and/or pulled pork with cole slaw and cornbread. I hadn’t let anyone know about our whole foods, plant based eating because we were prepared to eat around what was served and had brought a couple of packaged alternatives we could microwave in the event we didn’t want to eat the available food, but I hadn’t thought that making it known after we arrived would cause consternation for those who prepared menus! After dinner I noticed that one of the others had turned on the Monday night football game so I sat down and joined him. Others came over and soon we had a good conversation going as well. (I was knitting all the while and soon a classmate asked if she could buy one for her upcoming great grandchild! It was my first sweater sale!) we set up a table of mementos – old Eucys, photos, books on India, etc. I’m sure before the reunion was over everyone sat down and took a look.

September 23. Started the day with a brisk morning walk of about 1/2 hr. Peggy, Martha and I went into town for some personal groceries and I found a bottle of my favorite German Reisling, Piesporter. After lunch several of us drove into Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) for some scenic photos and came upon a gorgeous, intense full rainbow amongst all the ‘turning’ aspens! There were others there for the same reason…a couple of artists in ‘plein art’ mode. Back at the house to fix dinner then back into the park to see the elk. It’s mating season – ‘the rut’ – and the area we stopped had 6 bull elk, three of which had harems of cows around them leaving the other three hanging around, ever hopeful. The bugling between bulls announcing their mating territory was very dramatic. So worthwhile to make the effort to see that! Dinner was vegetable or lamb curry with chapatis and papads…jelebees and gulab jamun for dessert. Jan – with Marilyn’s help - performed a skit in which she stood behind a sheet and ‘fed’ Marilyn, in front of the sheet, some food. It was hilarious to see one person’s arms feeding another person’s face without seeing what was happening. We all – including Marilyn - were in tears laughing. Our ‘white elephant’ exchange led to more hilarity. Several items were ‘stolen’ more than once, but everyone went away with something new to enjoy.

September 24. Another wonderful morning walk. I saw a group of Ornithology (bird enthusiast) conference attendees out running a 5K AND a young buck elk (with 2 points) out looking for a partner, but I don’t think he was going to find her in the YMCA camp! The temps were in the mid 40s. After breakfast we began with group photos, the women in Indian garb…saris and salwar kameez. Our photographer was, of course, Jim Allen. Afterward, many wanted to drive into the Park to walk around Bear Lake, the most visited scenic site in the Park so we went in two cars. One made the wise move of believing the signs that indicated Bear Lake parking lot was full and took the shuttle. The other decided to take a chance on someone pulling out…and lost that bet so returned to the cabin to try again tomorrow. (Fortunately, all from the second car will be here until our departure two days hence.) After lunch one of our old schoolmates, Jane Cummings -who lives in Boulder and led tours back to India for years - dropped in to visit. It was great to catch up with her and exchange Kodai alumni news. Late in the afternoon, Jack (Peggy’s husband) left to attend Rosh Hashanna services in Ft. Collins. Our evening meal consisted of pilau with shrimp or chicken curry, salad and a choice of dessert: ladu, rice krispy drops, pecan pie. After dinner we had a candle remembrance ceremony to reflect on those who were no longer here: Dave, Sandra and Judy’s sister, Alice. It was very satisfying to remember them in this way. Later we began discussing our next reunion, when and where it should be and if it should be organized differently. (Hint: WA in 3 years!) Then to bed. Tomorrow 5 of us will be leaving a day early.

September 25. Jack drove to Ft. Collins after breakfast for Rosh Hashanna services. The 2nd car load of people who didn’t make it to Bear Lake yesterday got off mid morning – after saying goodbye to three early departers - to try again and this time we found a parking spot, courtesy of Jan’s handicap tag. G and I took off around the lake at a brisk pace – gorgeous scenery! It is easy to see why this is the most visited spot in RMNP. Four others preferred a slower pace for their walk around the lake. We had agreed to meet at the parking lot at 12 so with the extra time, G and I hiked up to Nymph Lake, only1/2 mile, but UP all the way. It was also beautiful - worthwhile after the climb. We stopped on the way out of the park for more scenic photos and made it back to the cabin before the last two left. G and I went into Estes Park to scope out a place that had vegan options for breakfast and another that sold highly rated pies and we ordered one to pick up in the morning and take with us. Martha also decided to buy one of my baby sweaters …maybe there is a small business in my future! Taj puzzle completed! There are several missing pieces in it, but we are going to keep it as is. Jim took a picture of it so he could ‘photoshop’ in the missing pieces; I will take it home and ‘glue’ it together, maybe create the missing pieces. After dinner we began cleaning up the cabin, organizing our stuff and dividing up the leftover food. This evening we saw a short video our classmate, David, made reflecting on his life a few months before he died. So powerful and very a good idea to consider if one has time before the end of life. And so our reunion ends.

In considering future reunions, many of us are impressed that the conversations are not as much ‘Kodai centered’ as they are about here and now - more current life issues. Personal sharing is deep and wonderful taking place in small groups or two or more. I say this to encourage those who have not attended reunions in recent years. You might consider coming is you know that we are very interested in each other’s current lives and interests. It was a very relaxed and comfortable setting, with casual sharing while cooking, walking or having coffee or wine, (depending on the time of day, of course!) We truly missed many of our classmates who did not attend, and we spent some time catching up on news about them, if we had it to share. We called and talked to some classmates who could not attend because of illness – Jane Donahue, Linda DeJong – and heard an update about Chris Hellinger. (BTW, all are doing well, just not up to travel at this time.) All of us at this reunion plan to come to the next one AND hope others in the class will find their way to the new location to enjoy the camaraderie of a reunion. “