The One Where We Drove an Extra Fifteen Hours

We’ve been back from our summer vacation for almost two weeks now.  I think I can talk about it. Let me say, though, we did have lots of fun making some great memories.  Unfortunately, many of those memories happened in my car, traveling over 2500 miles and about 45 hours.

Here’s how that went down. We all drove to Oklahoma to see my family, a distance of 800 miles and 15 hours. We stopped in Springfield, MO, to play after twelve hours, even though the temperature was 106. Those hooligans scoff at the heat!

The GI Joe had Army bidness to take care of in Kentucky, so he flew there the day after we arrived in Oklahoma and spent a week.  Then he flew back to Wisconsin, to work a few days (and be all alone in our house, which I was most envious of). In our plan, he was supposed to fly back to Oklahoma on the 4th of July to spend a few days (he hasn’t seen my side of the family in over 3 years, thanks to deployments and such…or it always conveniently works out that way it seems).

Meanwhile, we were having a great time in Oklahoma, spending time with my dad, largely doing things that involved the hooligans eating. My dad has a really rare form of encephalitis that suddenly took his memory about two years ago. He has some of it back, but lives in an assisted care facility.  The kids loved visiting Papa Tractor at his new place.

We also apparently cured the deafness in his right ear, as he told me while driving home from getting this ice cream with the kids, all hopped up on sugar and being hooliganish. We’re helpful that way.

I thought the coolest part of our week was that the kids got to go to the day camp I attended.  I was a counselor there, as well, in junior high.  Five mornings a week, my co-leader and I were responsible for  teaching about twelve little girls archery, fishing, swimming, crafts, and horseback riding, and I got paid $15 a week. I thought I was living large, I tell you!

In this photo, it was the last day of camp and all the campers were waiting as the counselors threw $150 in coins into the pool for them to dive in and get. The noise level while waiting was insane. We went to Sonic for slushes afterward and the boys were counting their loot.  One got 14 cents and the other 24, I think.  They spent the afternoon plotting what they could buy with it.


The oldest hooligan learned to jump off the diving boards, which thrilled him to no end. We don’t have outdoor pools or diving boards here in Wisconsin, so he was deprived of that. Swimming is his favorite sport, and, while it’s not pretty to watch, he loves to swim.

My aunt invited everyone to her house for a Sunday dinner.  My cousins’ kids are all intermingled with ours as far as age, so they could not have been happier, running wild on the farm. I’m pretty sure they ate something other than popsicles, but who cares?  I was having a blast getting to chat with the “grownups” instead of watching little ones for the first time in years.

Now comes the twist in our plans.  My father-in-law, who lives in Colorado, was hospitalized with a severe infection.  We decided that the kids and I should drive to Denver on Tuesday, then the hubs could fly there on Wednesday morning.  His ticket already had a connection in Denver, so it was easy to change. Again, I feel the need to point out that he was ALL ALONE to travel.  Envy. Sigh.

It’s about an eleven hour drive from my parents’ house to his parents’ house (or ten if you’re without kids and dehydrate yourself).  We stopped halfway, in Hays, Kansas, and took advantage of their fabulous public water park my friend Sarah (who’s from there) told us about. If you’re ever in need of a travel break, it’s well worth the $3 admission.  Waterslides, a lazy river, huge zero entry splash pad/pool, and a regular pool with diving boards.

When we started west again, the kids were all tuckered out and content to nap, read, and watch movies for the remaining 5 hours.

We got there late Tuesday evening, and spent the 4th with that side of the family.  The hooligans love to visit (and terrorize) their great-grandma.  Nonna makes the best Italian knot cookies in the world, if you were wondering.  She's in her 90's and just an amazing, funny, and extremely tolerant woman.


We spent the afternoon and evening at Frank’s sister’s house, where again the hooligans had fun running wild, jumping on the trampoline, and generally creating chaos. We ended the day by watching fireworks at one of the very few displays allowed in Colorado.  With all the wildfires burning, almost all fireworks were banned.  Even sparklers and snakes. But, seriously?  Do you think we give the hooligans things that could be turned back on us, flaming, even if it's legal?


The cousins got tickets for an old-fashioned family amusement park, Lakeside, so we went on night. The boys were pretty bored with the “little kid” rides (as you can see from their smart-aleck faces), but loved the smaller thrill rides.  I thought the plexiglass maze was the funniest part (I was watching everyone else crash into the walls), and was the designated rider with the middle kid on the roller coaster. It was his first time, and his emotions about it seemed pretty mixed.


I also forced everyone back into the car to drive up to Georgetown and ride the loop railroad one day. It’s a good rule of thumb that the mountains are about fifteen degrees cooler than the Front Range (see…all that college was not wasted), but it was about 30 degrees cooler that day.  It rained, sleeted, and then the sun came back out.  It was perfect, after our long, hot, dry summer. Being flatlanders now, we were totally unprepared for such a temperature change (plus, I had packed for Oklahoma, not Colorado), so we even had to buy tourist sweatshirts.

One of my favorite parts of the Colorado leg of our trip was that I met a new friend.  I've gotten to know her through my blog, and she is a friend and coworker of my sister-in-law.  We met for coffee one day, and I wish I'd had the whole afternoon to spend, talking about crafts, knitting, and solving all the world's problems.  As it happened, we only solved about half of them. But I'll be back, Steph!  She gave me a fabulous tote bag from Ravelry.com, filled with more fabulousness...body butter and lip balm she'd made, lots of knitting she'd done (including an amazing circle with various shades knit wedges), and a super sweet card.  I love making new friends!


As many times as we have crossed a border into Colorado, we had never stopped to take a photo.  I had the best of intentions as we crossed from Kansas to Colorado, but there was construction and we were rerouted onto the other side of the interstate. I mentioned this dream to the hubs, so on our way OUT of Colorado on I-76. almost to Nebraska, he insisted on stopping.

After a quick photo and bathroom break, we strapped in, settled down, and arrived safely home eighteen hours after leaving Denver. Whew. We are poster children for “I need a vacation from my vacation.”

Watch Out, Colorado!

After Easter weekend, we had 4 days in Colorado with no definite plans, and made the most of them.


On Monday, we headed to Colorado Springs to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.   The second graders are writing “research papers” about various animals, and our hooligan has giraffes.  By the way, I’m pretty sure they’re using the term “research paper” pretty loosely.  From what I can see, his research included reading one book and one magazine about giraffes, then writing ten notecards.  So I don’t think he’s ready to head off to college.


It’s so cool to feed the giraffes there.  They used to eat pellets of something, but there are so many visitors now that the zoo has them on lettuce leaves. I’m not sure why the little one felt the need for binos when the giraffe was close enough to lick the lenses, but whatever.
It’s an amazing experience, and the giraffes are just so accessible.  If you’re passing through the Springs, the whole zoo is worth the trip.


I didn’t really think about it until we were home and I was looking through the gazillion photos I took (with my purse camera, not my digital SLR, so they’re not the greatest, I know), but the biggest hooligan acted like the life-loving toddler he was a few years ago.  He was diagnosed as ADHD last summer, and it’s been a pretty huge struggle for him since he started preschool 5 years ago.  We’ve been playing around with meds this year, and I think his doctor has it right.

I didn’t realize just how withdrawn from our family he had become, or how reluctant to laugh and goof around.  It was like he was always trying so hard to just behave, he didn’t have time to be a kid. Looking through the photos reminded me how full of life, funny, and adventurous he can be.  I mean, I realized it last week as we all enjoyed our vacation more than we have in years, but it really struck me when I saw the joy in his face.

Here he’s pretending to be a baby owl hatching.  I offered to chew up some food and spit it in his mouth for him, but he declined.  See, I do try to be a good mom.


Ours were the first kids to handle this wolf pelt…the zookeeper said they had just decided to share it with the public.  Hmmmm…wonder if they’re rethinking that decision now?


All of our kids love to take photos, so we gave in and let them…the eldest took this, obviously, since he’s not in it.


She’s all about brave when the animals are bronze. Although she was still wary…it was a 75 degree day and sunny, so one of the statues had the nerve to burn her a little.


Tuesday we took all three to the Denver Museum of Natural History.  That’s not its name anymore, but that’s what we still call it.  They have dinosaurs. And active-duty military get in free…the whole family!


The special exhibit was lizards and snakes, which was actually very fascinating.  This model felt real and weighed the same as an actual whatever-it-was.  Anaconda, maybe?


Following the museum, we had lunch at possibly the cheesiest (or queso-est?) Mexican restaurant in the world…Casa Bonita!  When I was growing up in Oklahoma, Tulsa was fortunate enough to have a Casa Bonita, along with its sister pizza place, Crystal’s.  If you’ve never been to one, hie yourself there post haste.

I read this one in Denver can feed 900 people at once.  Seriously!  It’s designed to be make you feel you’re eating in a Mexican village during a fiesta.  You’ll find a waterfall with real live cliff divers, a strolling mariachi band, gunfighters, and, inexplicably, a stage show involving a man in a gorilla suit.  And that’s without mentioning the old-time photo studio, arcade, cotton candy machine, and gift shop. Here are the hooligans on the bridge behind the waterfall.
 
Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, when we arrived, there were 2 other tables of diners, who left soon after our arrival (we have that effect on places), so we were the only people in this cavernous restaurant. It was great!

I almost forgot…they have a little flag on each table that you raise when you want something from your waiter, including fresh hot sopaipillas and honey.  They alone make the trip worthwhile. Like you need another reason, after reading my travelogue!

On Wednesday, my mother-in-law had tickets to take the kids to “How I Became a Pirate.” Apparently it’s such a terrific production, she couldn’t get tickets for us to go with, so the GI Joe and I drowned our sorrows at Sports Authority and Archivers, respectively.


We did take a bit a pity on her, however, by taking the hooligans to the playground at the theater to burn energy before having to sit for the play.  The Arvada Center has a very cool playground with a giant serpent/dragon/creature for climbing and water play (in the summer).  The hooligans loved the playground as well as the play, and the theater appeared to be unharmed.

The grandparents let the kids sleep over on Wednesday, so we had an actual date night.  I think it’s our first since we went to the Army conference in Savannah in February.  And that didn’t really count because we had Army business to attend to every day and evening.  Funny, how the government thinks if they’re paying for the trip, you actually should be training.

So for our long-anticipated free evening, we went to see The Hunger Games.  We both read the book just before it came out, and the movie totally lived up to our expectations.  We were glad we had read it, though, as we felt you wouldn’t get as much out of it if you hadn’t.

Thursday we went to the Colorado Train Museum in Golden, where I forgot to take photos and my kids thought they were melting when it started to sprinkle rain.  You’d think they’d never lived in Washington State and been pruny for weeks on end. Princess Thundercloud grabbed her head and said, “My hair’s gonna get wet and then it will FREAK OUT!”  Unfortunately, that’s true.

I got to meet up with another college roommate for lunch and shopping that afternoon, which was so fun.  We didn’t even buy much (on the off chance either of our husbands is reading this), but had a fabulous time catching up.  The last time I saw her face-to-face my eight-year-old was five months old. I love it when a friendship can pick up right where you left it, and you can still make each other laugh...there aren't many of those in a lifetime!

So, I’m sorry to end up with a lot of babbling, but you probably aren’t even reading it by now, so it doesn’t really matter.  Long story way too long, we had an amazing, fun-filled week in Colorado. We enjoyed our time with family and friends and showing off the area to the hooligans.

If you’re headed there, passing through on a PCS or for a vacation, you’ll be challenged to fit in everything you’ll want to do…good thing we have family and friends to keep giving us a reason to visit!

Did You Even Know I Was Gone?

Last week was Spring Break for the hooligans, and we trekked to Denver for a vacation. I wrote my blogs for last week before we left, then scheduled them to publish each day.  I felt so tech-savvy.  Now I’m prepared to bore you for a couple of days with the internet version of “Come over and see the slides from our trip!”

Luckily for you, unlike the old days, I can’t see you sitting on my couch, bored out of your gourd.  You can just surf on over to another blog…yay, 21st century!  But please come back later in the week…I promise to have fun crafts and yummy recipes to share then, if you’re not interested in our adventures.

We love Colorado…my GI Joe grew up there, and we met as freshmen at the Colorado School of Mines (see, I told you I was a math geek).  Colorado is a perfect vacation spot for us because the GI Joe’s family lives there, and we get to be tourists, as well.  It’s fun taking the hooligans places that we loved as kids.  My family vacationed in Colorado every year when I was growing up in Oklahoma, so I’ve always enjoyed what it offers.

I must point out, however, one major flaw in our plan…we decided to drive this time rather than fly, so that the hooligans could take their bikes.  I was a major proponent of this.  Growing up in the country, I know how amazing it is to be able to ride your bike on pavement, not gravel.  My poor mom was badgered constantly to take us to “town” to ride bikes.  From now on, they can suck it up and ride on gravel until we move back to paved roads.

The hooligans were great travelers, probably from the cross-country moves we make every few years, but 18 hours in the car is still 18 long hours. We drove 14 hours the first day, spent the night in North Platte, NE, and had a short 4 hours on to Denver. When we arrived, we went to a school near my in-laws’ house and let the kids ride bikes, fly kites, and generally burn some energy.


Then we picked up some groceries and took them and 3 dozen hard-boiled eggs over to the grandparents' house.  A couple of cousins joined in the egg dying, and a great time was had by all.


Since we brought these eggs from home, none were to be eaten!  We sent them, along with about 100 stuffed plastic eggs, home with the teenage cousins for the Easter morning egg hunt.

On Easter morning, we met the grandparents and littlest cousin for sunrise service, which was beautiful as always. A bit cold, but beautiful.  It was only 39 degrees when the sun rose, and I’m pretty sure the biggest hooligan would have frozen to death if not for his Toy Story Snuggie we keep in the truck for emergencies.  The little ones had receiving blankets they had to make do with, but we all survived in good spirits.  Of course, the Peeps on a stick and warm peppermint milk from Starbucks immediately following the service helped a lot!

Oh, I almost forgot…we “planted” jelly beans in the flower bed at the hotel on Saturday night, and Peeps on a stick (from Walmart) magically “grew” from the seeds over night.  I’m pretty sure the guy out walking his dog at o’dark thirty thought I had lost my mind. The hooligans' faces were worth it though...their little jaws dropped to the ground when we walked out to get in the truck for Mass.

Anyway, after Mass we returned to our hotel where the Easter bunny had finally gotten around to leaving baskets. I explained he doesn’t go hopping around before dawn, so we weren’t home when he came.  Following that excitement, we headed to my sister-in-law’s home for brunch and egg-hunting.


She always sets a gorgeous table with traditional Italian Easter calzone (my husband’s mother is Italian, and his Italian grandmother lives in Colorado, as well), Lamb Cake (pound cake with buttercream and coconut), and Easter breads.  This year she also made a bunny cake, which was darling AND delicious. She even had tiny little chocolate rabbits from Russell Stover that were only about 1/2” high.

We let the kids go hunting before breakfast, since they wouldn’t have been able to sit still long enough to eat otherwise.


My sister-in-law and her husband have 3 kids, ages 17, 15, and 5, which worked out really well.  The older two hid the eggs very cleverly, and the four little ones had a blast hunting them.


I told my two older ones they could find 35 eggs each, and they pretty much stuck to it.  Of course, this one had no use for the real eggs, knowing they held no treasure, so he pretended not to even see them.


Everyone was thrilled with their haul.  The eggs were filled with bunny-shaped fruit bites, chick-shaped cheddar crackers, jelly beans, a few leftover M&M’s from baking, and a few special metallic eggs had quarters in them.  Oh, and rubber lizards, Easter stamps, and stickers.  They thought they really scored, though!


After brunch, we planned to take naps at the hotel, but one of my college roommates (and Best Woman at our wedding, as the hubs says) called so we met her and her dog, Louie, for a hike. He’s such a great dog…the hooligans took turns leading, or being lead by, him.  And he put up with it.

We had an amazing Easter, from sunrise service to time with family to catching up with old friends and enjoying the mountains of Colorado.  It almost makes that 18 hour drive to get there fade from my memory.  Almost.

If you can stand it, come back tomorrow to hear what we did for the rest of the week…the Colorado Tourism Board will probably be knocking on my door, wanting me to work for them. Really.