I'm on vacation in Colorado. Sara in Cleveland has become Sara in Colorado for the next 10 days. My adventure began yesterday morning...
Traveling with my parents can be a true trial of patience, more specifically traveling with my father. Our family travels, quite a bit. I travel more than the rest but my parents have certainly flown in recent years. However to the casual observer no one would have guessed that about my dad.
As we are standing in the slow moving security line my dad starts asking me... Do I have to take my belt off? (yes) Do I have to empty everything from my pockets? (yes) What about my phone, my watch, etc etc. Then several more minutes pass and he suddenly goes, "Do you have to take your liquids out?" I was so very frustrated explaining that yes you have to take your liquids out, they're supposed to be in one ziplock baggie, and yes eye drops, bug spray, and lotions all count as liquids. Miraculously we made it through, I didn't have an anxiety attack, and my parents weren't held for questioning.
Originally all assigned seats in different areas of the plane the lady at the desk was able to put my mom and dad together in a row two ahead of me. Then once on the plane they needed to shuffle people and lucky me- I ended up sitting with my parents. We all were in the emergency exit row which usually costs extra because there was so much leg room. (To all my tall friends- it might be worth the extra $20 or however much.) It was now that Dad struck again. When the steward came by to ask if in case of emergency we were able to help our fellow passengers Dad responds with "I hope so, guess we'll see" instead of a "yes." The steward was not amused and told my father he had to read the pamphlet and decide if he actually could or not.
The flight went smooth and our baggage was ready and waiting for us at baggage claim. At the Denver airport I was really impressed by the friendly senior citizens in western garb who were there to provide information and directions. One nice woman directed us towards the right carousel at baggage claim and another man told us about the rental car company and toll roads and gave us directions. It was just one of those extra perks that made traveling that much more enjoyable.
We rented our car from Enterprise and I don't have much to say about it other than I felt the girl taking care of us, Sara(h), was very efficient and knowledgeable. She gave advice about which car to take and had us on the road in no time. We were off to Northern Colorado to see my dad's sister and family in Fort Collins.
It's been years since I've seen my cousin and her husband and children. We had a lot of fun catching up for a short bit and playing with the dog. Her daughters have gotten so big and were so social I was impressed. I'd never met her 2 year old son and he was absolutely a ball of adorable energy that was hilarious to watch.
So adorable, and grown up!
To end our night we headed out to the Charco Broiler which is apparently a well respected restaurant for steak. We met up with my friend Thomas who I met 9 years ago in Maine and have stayed in contact with over the years. Dinner was good, my steak was the most oddly shaped piece of meat- picture a 3inx3in cube. It was tasty and the fries were really good. I think my dad might have had a bit of altitude sickness though.
After dinner Thomas came back to my aunt's house to see the view and to catch up some more. I wasn't sure what it'd be like seeing someone in person again after all that time, but it was really fun. I always enjoy talking as I'm sure most of you know and it seemed he was willing to listen.
Traveling with my parents can be a true trial of patience, more specifically traveling with my father. Our family travels, quite a bit. I travel more than the rest but my parents have certainly flown in recent years. However to the casual observer no one would have guessed that about my dad.
As we are standing in the slow moving security line my dad starts asking me... Do I have to take my belt off? (yes) Do I have to empty everything from my pockets? (yes) What about my phone, my watch, etc etc. Then several more minutes pass and he suddenly goes, "Do you have to take your liquids out?" I was so very frustrated explaining that yes you have to take your liquids out, they're supposed to be in one ziplock baggie, and yes eye drops, bug spray, and lotions all count as liquids. Miraculously we made it through, I didn't have an anxiety attack, and my parents weren't held for questioning.
Originally all assigned seats in different areas of the plane the lady at the desk was able to put my mom and dad together in a row two ahead of me. Then once on the plane they needed to shuffle people and lucky me- I ended up sitting with my parents. We all were in the emergency exit row which usually costs extra because there was so much leg room. (To all my tall friends- it might be worth the extra $20 or however much.) It was now that Dad struck again. When the steward came by to ask if in case of emergency we were able to help our fellow passengers Dad responds with "I hope so, guess we'll see" instead of a "yes." The steward was not amused and told my father he had to read the pamphlet and decide if he actually could or not.
The flight went smooth and our baggage was ready and waiting for us at baggage claim. At the Denver airport I was really impressed by the friendly senior citizens in western garb who were there to provide information and directions. One nice woman directed us towards the right carousel at baggage claim and another man told us about the rental car company and toll roads and gave us directions. It was just one of those extra perks that made traveling that much more enjoyable.
We rented our car from Enterprise and I don't have much to say about it other than I felt the girl taking care of us, Sara(h), was very efficient and knowledgeable. She gave advice about which car to take and had us on the road in no time. We were off to Northern Colorado to see my dad's sister and family in Fort Collins.
It's been years since I've seen my cousin and her husband and children. We had a lot of fun catching up for a short bit and playing with the dog. Her daughters have gotten so big and were so social I was impressed. I'd never met her 2 year old son and he was absolutely a ball of adorable energy that was hilarious to watch.
To end our night we headed out to the Charco Broiler which is apparently a well respected restaurant for steak. We met up with my friend Thomas who I met 9 years ago in Maine and have stayed in contact with over the years. Dinner was good, my steak was the most oddly shaped piece of meat- picture a 3inx3in cube. It was tasty and the fries were really good. I think my dad might have had a bit of altitude sickness though.
After dinner Thomas came back to my aunt's house to see the view and to catch up some more. I wasn't sure what it'd be like seeing someone in person again after all that time, but it was really fun. I always enjoy talking as I'm sure most of you know and it seemed he was willing to listen.
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| My Canoe Guide: Thomas |
So far this trip has been great. I haven't had any altitude sickness yet so I'm trying to remember to hydrate and to get rest. (The fact that I started writing this at around 7am local time may indicate otherwise.)
Later today we check into the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park and the 2012 Family Nature Summit will commence. I'm so excited to see my old friends, make some new ones, and get some fresh mountain air. I hope to be blogging regularly throughout the week so check back!
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