Day 6 – July 4^th, 2016

Colorado Springs – NW Denver

101 Miles/1 hour 40 minutes

Fourth of July. We kicked off the holiday in a patriotic way. We visited the United States Air Force Academy. The campus is beautiful, although, of course, I was the only one impressed. To be fair, even I was bored during the 20 minute introduction video. We snuck out early.

I do have a funny Allie story to tell. In the visitor’s center we were waiting on Audrey, who was in the bathroom for an unusually long time. I went in and found her hiding in a stall - texting! I told her that we were going to leave, and she insisted that she had to use the bathroom. “Then go!” I told her and watched her go back into the stall. I told her she had three minutes and left. I collected the boys, who were in the gift shop, and then returned to the bathroom. I walked back to the stall where I’d seen her enter. “You better hurry the H*** up Miss Thing. You’re messing with our schedule.”

The toilet flushed, and out walked a bewildered woman I’d never seen before. I was mortified and mumbled my apologies. Audrey wasn’t even in the bathroom, but in the gift shop looking for me. 

Oops!

We drove up to Denver and stopped to have lunch with some old friends of mine from Fort Lauderdale, Deb & Steve. I worked with Deb and Steve at Shooters, right after I graduated from college. Shooter’s was/is a restaurant on the inter-coastal in Fort Lauderdale We had a lot of fun working there - and we made a lot of money, which is why I didn’t jump into the professional world after getting my Master’s. I wasn’t ready to take a pay cut. Anyway, Deb and Steve were my ideal couple. They were so in love, and yet so down-to-earth. They’re good people who always looked out for me. I was dating someone at the time who really wasn’t a nice guy. Steve constantly asked me why I was going out with him and I couldn’t give him a good reason. Finally, I promised him I wouldn’t. Bets advice ever!

After lunch we explored downtown Denver for a little bit. Unfortunately, the capitol was closed - I guess because of the holiday. In fact, the streets were empty. Then we drove to the hotel, which is located hallway between Denver and Boulder. We worked out in the gym and then had a Fourth of July dinner at a restaurant across the street from the hotel. It was a really good. Finally, we ended the night watching fireworks from our hotel.

Chapel at the USAF Academy

Lunch with the Dotys

The Shooter's Crew (circa 1994)

The Denver State Capitol Building

Pikes Peak!

Day 5 – July 3, 2016

Exploring Colorado Springs

Today was a really cool day. We woke up to bright sunny skies and a nice balmy temperature of 78 degrees. We left the hotel early and headed to the Garden of the Gods, which is a city park that you can drive through. I thought it was pretty cool – because we saw all kinds of huge boulders and rock formations, set against the back drop of the Rocky Mountains. Surly Hunter had another opinion – “Why do we have to see and climb these dumb rocks?” Next summer – he’s going to Florida to work.

Our next adventure was the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. I rode this train over thirty years ago with my parents and I thought it was the coolest thing. I couldn’t wait to experience it with my kids. Pikes Peak is not the tallest mountain in Colorado, far from it, but it is the only one that has a railway. It takes just over an hour to reach the summit and the views are breathtaking. As we traveled upward, we were encouraged to drink water, because of the change in altitude. In fact, there were signs at the depot warning passengers that some may need oxygen at the top. As you can imagine – this unnerved Audrey, who is still not over the fact I wouldn’t buy “Bear Spray” last year in Yellowstone.  I never imagined that it would affect me, but man did it ever. By the time we reached the summit (14,115 feet), I was feeling very nauseous. It was also freezing, 26 degrees, and there were even patches of snow on the ground. We were allowed to disembark for about forty minutes to take pictures and use the facilities. After pictures, we stood in line for the bathroom and I kid you not – I was dizzier than I ever remember feeling. I truly thought I was going to throw up. I was shocked by the physical reaction I had to the altitude and thin air. Audrey said she felt it – but the boys didn’t seem to have any symptoms.

As the train left the summit, on our way back down, it began to snow. It was pretty cool.

The adventure wiped me out, but I still had one more stop. I took the kids to the Broadmoor Hotel, where I stayed with my parents all those years ago. It is an amazing property and I wish I could have given the kids at least one night there, but the price is exurbanite and in no way works for the road trip budget. We had drinks and appetizers on the patio, overlooking the lake. There was a wedding going on and Audrey had fun watching the bride. Hunter could not have been more bored.

We did take-out for dinner and went to bed very early.

Quote of the day:

Hunter. Our train conductor asked us to show our enthusiasm whenever ever we passed another train. She wanted us to wave and hoot and holler as we passed. Audrey and I really got into it and were very enthusiastic. Hunter threw this line at us – “You guys are like those freaks who cheer every day on the Today Show.” Nice.

Garden of the Gods

Pure torture for Hunter...

A view on our way up.

Views from the top.

A rare moment for loving coexistence.

The Great Sand Dunes of Colorado

Day 4 –July 2, 2016

Pueblo, CO – Great Sand Dunes National Park – Colorado Springs, CO

131 miles/ 2 hours & 177 miles/2.5 hours

Early to bed, early to rise, that’s how it always seems when we’re out west. I’m sure it has a lot to do with the time change. Or the elevation. Either way, we managed to get on the road by 8a.m. We drove a couples of hours southwest, so we could see the great sand dunes of Colorado. Sounds strange doesn’t it? It’s actually quite interesting. If you’re not interested in a geology lesson – skip to the next paragraph. It all started millions of years ago with a volcano, and the creation of the San Juan Valley, which is located between the San de Cristo Mountains and the San Juan Mountains. A lake was created, which eventually eroded due to climate change. The remaining sediment and the prevailing southwesterly winds on the valley created these enormous sand dunes. They’re incredible.

The goal was to hike to the top of High Dune and take in the views of the valley. The goal was not met. Surprise, surprise. Audrey and I did made it to what I would call “Medium-High Dune.” The hike started out easy enough, but the higher we got, the more we’d find ourselves walking on the ridge-line of the dunes, because in some areas the incline is rather steep. It kind of sucked, because on the ridge-line the sand was really soft. It wasn’t dangerous, it’s sand after all, but it was a bit intimidating for those of us who are easily frightened. In other words, Audrey and Cam started to meltdown. I walked on ahead, but Barrett insisted on following me - within minutes he was complaining, loudly. It was a tough hike, and he was just getting over whatever he had. I tried to get him to stay back with Hunter, who was watching the other two, but no. I think he has renewed affection for his momma, who nursed him back to health. I love him, but a hiker he is not. 

Bear handicapped me - he is very heavy! He wouldn’t walk unless he could drape his arm around my shoulder, which made things very difficult. Every time I removed his arm, he dropped to his knees and screamed, “ooowww!!!!” Such a drama queen (he’s lived with Audrey for too long). Eventually the other three met up with us, having ascended on a different trail. FYI – I could see them at all times. A reinvigorated Audrey wanted to go higher with me, so we told the three boys to wait. We ascended to the second highest peak. It was really quite a view, as you’ll see in the pictures. From our vantage point, we could see Cammy laying spread eagle, face down in the sand! Time to head back.

It was a two and a half hour drive to Colorado Spring, some of it through rain. The hotel is very crowed and the elevators seem to be a problem, so I decided to have an easy night and ordered room service. Honestly, I had little choice, the Daytona 500 was on and Hunter wasn’t going anywhere.

Quote of the day:

Hunter and I were talking to Audrey about how she’d be taking Spanish in middle school and she was complaining that she didn’t understand Spanish (which is why you have to take it, duh!). And Cammy declares – “I know what language I’ll never understand – the language of arts.” I protested vehemently and explained that understanding art was personal and we all have our own opinions. “No Mom, I’m never going to understand Language Arts!”

Getting the Hell out of Dodge

Day Three – July 1, 2016

Dodge City, KS – Pueblo, CO

287 miles – 4 ½ hours

It stormed last night. And there’s a railroad across the street from our hotel, with an active (and loud) train. And there’s a trailer park next to the hotel, with some late-night carousers, which caused me some anxiety. I did not sleep well and made an executive decision that it was time to get the hell out of Dodge. Sorry – I couldn’t resist.

Seriously though, we checked out a day early. There just isn’t enough to do in Dodge City. We spent the morning at the Boot Hill Museum, which is kind of cool. I enjoyed learning about the history of the town, although it’s fair to say I was the only one. Aud and Cammy had fun running around the old town. I took them to the Saloon for some cokes and Audrey and I ended up dancing on stage with some Old West show girls. No, I wasn’t drinking – it was 10:30 a.m. – just trying to get into the spirit of the Old West. Lucky for me, the boys didn’t bother to take a pictures of us. Hunter was mortified, but Barrett loved it. He was clapping and giggling as the Aud and I kicked up our heals and shimmied our skirts.

By the way, Barrett is on the mend! I’m still scarred from the infamous stomach flu outbreak during our Grand Canyon stop on the 2013 road trip. I’m saying a novena each morning to ensure no one else succumbs to whatever it was he had.

We blew out of town by noon, and found ourselves off the grid for a bit of our drive. Wide open spaces, with not another car for miles. Crazy.

We found a nice SpringHill suites in downtown Pueblo that had room for us. Thank goodness. We had dinner at Ruby Tuesdays, where we (myself included) were the youngest people in the restaurant. Barrett, obviously happy to be feeling better, was rather excitable. I think I heard everyone in the restaurant sigh as we left.

Back at the hotel, I took Cam and Aud to the pool for a little bit. The night ended once again with Hunter and I watching Friends. Best show ever!

Oh boy, we're having a rough start!

Day 2 – June 30, 2016

Conway, AR – Dodge City. KS

566 hours/9 ½ hours

So I had ambitious plans for today. The night before I set the alarm for five, because I was going to sneak down to the gym for a quick workout before the kids woke up. And I’d planned to be on the road by 7:00 a.m. I swear I was, I swear I was…

At about 4:45 I heard moaning and I thought I was dreaming, but then it registered that it was not a nice moan. Then I realized it was Barrett. He was in the next (connecting) room, and I truly thought he was having a nightmare. But he got louder and louder. I jumped out of bed and walked into the room and realized he was in the bathroom.

All I can say is that poor boy was suffering…

Holy crap! We had a very long drive in front of us. What should we do????

Well, I will spare you all the scenarios that played out in my mind. And I will spare you the logistics I employed to, well, I guess stay on schedule. And I will not describe the paranoia I experienced during my ten hours on the road – many times in the middle of Bum F. Egypt. And I will not describe to you the looks I got from people when my fifteen year old son and I entered gas station bathrooms together (I had too, the poor kid was not well). If anyone said anything, well I had the transgender law on my side. I’ll play any card I can.

I am happy to report, aside from the 5-6a.m. nightmare hour, we were spared major disaster and major embarrassment. Screw all the people who looked at us.

We rolled into town around 5:30 p.m. I was disappointed. Dodge City was not all that I imagined. And it stunk like cow s*** – literally - and the road warriors felt compelled to tell me that, over and over.

We went to dinner at a “local establishment.” And I would love to tell you my real thoughts, but then I’m afraid I’d cement my image as a snooty-wannabee-gluten-free- decent-chardonnay-loving-*****. So I won’t.

Everyone went to bed early, well almost everyone – Hunter and I got sucked into Friends reruns.  

Westbound and down!

Day 1 - June 29, 2016

Cumming, GA – Conway, AR (30 miles NW of Little Rock)

587 miles – 9 ½ miles

It was a very easy drive today – with the exception of the length. We didn’t leave Atlanta until 9:00a.m., because I was up till midnight getting things ready to go. Since this was just a driving day, I felt little pressure. We visited Little Rock five years ago and toured the Clinton Library and the Capitol. We’ve done this town and this was just a stopover on our way to Dodge City, KS.

The kids really were extremely well behaved. Rich called me in the afternoon to see how we were doing and I had nothing to tell him. And no good stories to share with you. It was much more interesting when they were younger, wasn’t it?

When we got to the hotel, Hunter and Audrey went to the gym (Hunter has to follow his coach’s training schedule). I was going to go…but I feel kind of achy. I hope I’m not getting sick. We’re planning to walk over to Outback for dinner. As I type this, Bear’s having a coke, mommy’s having a glass of wine, and Camden has all his Transformers spread across the floor. Hoping for early to bedtime, because we have another big driving day tomorrow!

Preview for tomorrow…Holy Mother of God – day two, 4:45 a.m., I was awakened by a child moaning in the bathroom…it wasn’t good.

Newport Rhode Island

Day 7 – June 2, 2016

Rehoboth beach, MD – Newport, RI

430 miles/8 hours

It was a very long day on the road and I’m going to spare you the mundane details.

We stopped in Mystic Connecticut to see an old friend of Rich’s, with whom he went to high school and the University of Florida. We had a fabulous dinner in the old town area and then took a walk along the streets. Of course I had to see Mystic Pizza, but I was too full to try a piece of pie.

We then headed on to Newport and it was very late. I almost didn’t unload the car…

After a great night’s sleep we explored the wharf area and grabbed breakfast. It was overcast and chilly, but still fun. Such a quaint area, filled with cool shops. But I was a good girl. Then we headed to the shore and strolled along the Cliff Walk, to see the coastline and the mansions! OMG – HUGE houses. Such a throwback to a different era. I didn’t get to see Hammersmith Farm (Jackie Kennedy’s childhood home – after her mom remarried), and we didn’t go into the Breakers (the Vanderbilt Mansion) - simply ran out of time. So we’ll have to visit again!

That was our time in Rhody. Apropos for our smallest state.

One of the mansions.

Strolling the cliff walk.

Cammy was not pleases that his siblings didn't heed the warning!