When we made our return from the beach house at around 5 p.m. on Columbus Day, I figured we had at least a few days to unpack, regroup and get ready for our weekend wedding in Colorado. The scattered school schedule this month meant we had one day on that Tuesday and then another day off on Wednesday. So there was time to rest up. Or so I assumed. But when Nacho returned Tuesday evening, he was already warning me that the rest of our travel plans that week might not turn out as we hoped. We were trying to get to Boulder for our friend Eric's wedding on Saturday and the plan was to spend a few nights with Aunt Barbara and let her watch the girls that evening for us. However, the loads out to Denver weren't looking good and the way back was even worse. We debated our options for a few minutes and then decided to heck with it. We would fly out a day earlier on Wednesday--missing two more days of school which honestly made me wince--but the payoff was we found cheap one-way tickets back on Sunday night. The trip was going to happen after all and I could stop stressing about the travel part. Apart from feeling like I was in trouble with the school, I was really looking forward to seeing Denver again after so many years. My ski trip with Nacho in 2000 was probably my last visit. Having family I rarely get to see out there was a great incentive too, and a built-in babysitter in Aunt Barbara meant we could actually enjoy the wedding. The weather looked like it was going to be unseasonably warm which was just fine by me. In fact, after our wash out in North Carolina, the constant sunny skies of Denver were a welcome change. In aviation terms a "touch and go" is when you practice landing and then immediately take off again. It felt a little like this coming home and repacking our suitcases, but I was up for the challenge.
Once we made it to Denver, the rest of the week was a leisurely breeze. We stayed with Aunt Barbara who has been in her new house in Commerce City near the airport for going on three years already. Considering how much time I spent at her house in Kansas City on all of my KC trips during and after college, it was wonderful to visit her again. And the girls went absolutely nuts over her dog Sydney. Yes, Elisa didn't need much encouragement to go full on dog crazy, despite the fact that Syd was hardly paying any attention to her at all. She was very patient with all the adoration and allowed them to scratch her belly and feed her little treats. But really that dog only has eyes for Barb and the feeling is pretty mutual. So we ventured out a bit in the city over the next two days, stopping for lunch at Steuben's and grabbing ice cream at Union Station before our dinner at Casa Bonita. The girls loved the Pirates of the Caribbean-meets-Chuck E Cheese themed restaurant and arcade and I choked down my chicken enchiladas with the help of a pitcher of margaritas. Oh boy was that fun. Cliff divers! A silly gorilla and Barb explaining how to get a better table--we have kids! The next day was all about the mountains with a drive up to Idaho Springs for lunch at Beau Jo's. Of course, Elisa started off by proclaiming that she wasn't "driving an hour to eat pizza in the mountains," but little did she know I ALWAYS get my Colorado pizza there, so uh, yeah, we were. And even though they didn't jump for joy seeing the Rockies for the first time, my jaded travelers were pretty excited over the little mining town with its cool railroad cars on display. We climbed back in the car after lunch in search of a scenic route back to Denver and ended up taking one that brought us back through Boulder before making it to Mark's house in Arvada for dinner that evening. It was a drive I remember clearly from my trip with Nacho years before and there was even a spot I could precisely recall where we ended up walking and taking photos for a bit. Of course at that time, there was snow on the ground and we were in ski bibs, but how fun to see it all again and feel like 16 years later with two kids we can still do what we love. And that is travel. Because as much as it was fun to hit the wedding and catch up with some of Nacho's aviation buddies from college, the real reason we do things like this is because we both love to see new things and make those new memories on the road. We are lucky that we found each other to do that with and if there's anything I wish for the new couple it would be just that. Live life. Keep moving. See new things. And some day, if you are lucky, you will have a few kids who fall asleep in the back seat of the car while you smile at each other and keep on driving.
