Travel Updates...

Sunday, August 10th - Ah, Denver

N and I "pulled" into Denver yesterday afternoon. We are staying at the Westin in Downtown. It's verrrry nice. :-D His guys start arriving tomorrow, so we will be having almost 48 hours to ourselves. This is my first time that I am really getting to "see" Denver and I am enjoying myself. And.; it's really nice that everything to do and see is within walking distance or a tram ride away.

We began today sharing a crepe at a small sidewalk cafe and then spent the rest of the day walking along the 16th Street Mall from one end to the other. Yes, my feet are killing me! Another quiet dinner tonight with a good bottle of wine!

Friday, August 15th - Rocky Mountain High.

Yep.. Still in Denver!

Ah... toe time!?! Now that is bliss! My last was a few weeks ago. It was the #1 priority on N's list after my arrival. He had been postponing getting his, waiting for me, so that we could go together. Now? Tell me that isn't too sweet! But, as I sit here and gaze upon my scuffed up toes, I know that is time for another. Hmmm... we have Mon and Tues available.

As for knitting? I just completed the Dale of Norway ensemble of a sweater, romper, hat and socks. I substituted Paton's Grace for the Stork, and being an entirely different guage, I had some head scratching to do. I cast on for the size 6 mo, but gauge-wize, it completed as a size 12-18 mo. I still have to get moving on a homecoming outfit. But, being the perpetural Girl Scout that I am, I came prepared. I have enough Stork and Baby Ull to do another 2 outfits, but I am not seeing anything that grabs me. So.. I'm working on a pair of socks.. the ultimate filler. And, I have enough yarn for another 2 pairs!

I am thinking of doing a Christmas stocking. I have been looking at patterns, and nothing has been screaming "knit me". I think that I might just get out some graph paper and begin plotting away.

Thursday, August 21st - Chicago, Chicago....

Yesterday morning began bright and early. Well, it was early, but definitely not bright as our wake-up call came at 3:45 am. We showered, packed and jumped into our seats on the shuttle to the airport at 4:30, Check-in wasn't too eventful and we were at the gate by 5:30 for our 6:30 flight to Chicago.

We are staying at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers on North Water. Our room is at the end of the building, in the curved tower, which affords us a fantastic 180 degree view of the lake, the lighthouse and the river walk. After we checked in, N left to begin his work for the next 5 days and I ambled around the river walk for a little while. When they got back, N and I walked along Michigan Avenue, in search of a barber for him to get his haircut. We were lucky and found this little place on Huron.

Back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. We were to meet S/s in the lobby at 6:30 to go to Ditka's, to join N/M and their wives. Well, we tried... but got delayed. It seems that N was rushing me and we hit the elevator at 6:20. N pushed the button for the lobby, and the car went few seconds, and then seemed to drop... and then we stopped! OMG! Now, I have got be "Queen Phobia". I'm leery of revolving doors, escalators, elevators, heights, and here I am stuck in this elevator somewhere between the 9th and 10th floor! I can feel the panic attack about to emerge; I pulled all the strength that I could muster to hold it at bay. And thank goodness that it was just us and a service guy that had been returning from a call. He had is walky-talky and called for assistance. We had to wait for the Otis people to get there, which would be about 15 minutes. N called S/S in the lobby and told them where we were and perhaps they might want to go ahead and we'll join them later. He also called N/M... who howled in laughter, thinking that N was pulling their legs. Heck, I could have come up with a better joke than that! Well, one hour later.... They finally got the door open on the 10 floor and brought a ladder for us to climb out of the elevator. Trust me, dragging this fat ass though the opening was NOT a pretty sight.

We arrived at Ditka's and everyone was sitting there with their drinks, patiently waiting for us to have dinner. The waitress came to the table and asked, "Would you care for something to drink?"..... OH HELL YEA! Dinner was great, and we even got to meet Ditka himself, who happened to be there.

This morning, N and I shared a beautiful sunrise on the lake, lazing in bed with a pot of coffee. Now that's living! He's off for the day, and this afternoon we have some water cruisey thing planned.

Wednesday, August 27th - Travel update... and btw... Denver Sucks!

Loved Chicago, even with the elevator scare. We had the most beautiful hotel room, I overlooking Lake Michigan and the Chicago River, where I witnessed some fabulous sunrises. It was so convenient to everything.. shopping (Norstroms, Neiman Marcus, Macy's, yadda yadda).. eating (Ditka's, Smith & Wollensky, Rosebud, The Palm, Schula's, yadda yadda)... sightseeing (Navy Pier, Museums, Parks, River Tours, yadda yadda). I even managed to find a LYS. I know.. that's no big surprise!

I arrived back in Denver yesterday at noon. It seems that I made a major oops when I made my reservation. N already had his flight planned, so I tried to get on his same flights. The one leaving? Not a problem. However, for the one returning yesterday? His flight was over $400.00, and a flight leaving 1 hour later was $170.00. No brainer, I picked the hour later one. Or... so I thought. You would think that AA (no.. not Alcoholics Anonymous. But, I would think by this point on my trip, I'm awfully close.) would have all their flights listed chronologically. Nooooo. So, when his flight at 9:05 was listed above my flight at 10:40, I just assumed that mine was 1 hour later. Well, just think of that Odd Couple skit then Felix made the diagram about assumed ..."Makes an ass.." Well, that was me. My flight was not 1 hour later, it was 11 hours earlier! I tried to change it, but at a cost of an additional $420.00, I decided NOT! So, I departed Chicago yesterday morning, arrived in Denver at noon, took the shuttle to the hotel and vegged.... or so I thought!

Now, we have been on the road for just about 1 month, and we have all the stuff that goes along with traveling. But, since we were only going to be in Chicago for 6 days, I only packed 6 days worth of stuff and left all the rest of the stuff in the truck and in the parking lot of the hotel. When I got pack here, I went to my room and dropped my bag and then went to the car to get my laptop. It took a few seconds for it to sink in, as I saw the interior in a shambles with papers and CDs strewn all about.. that the truck was broken into! It seems that they were able to "pop" off the passenger door handle/lock and entered there. Well, between the tinted windows and the sunscreen across the windshield, they had a field day! What was taken? 2 suitcases of clothes, my messenger bag with my laptop/phone accessories/iPod, etc, the Sirius radio, the Garmin, N's cigars, tools, camera. That was all that I could recall off the top of my head. I called N in Chicago and all he could say is "The bastards". I went back into the hotel and the lady at the desk directed me to the Denver PD website to report a crime. As I was completing the form, I started to cry.. and I called N back... crying. He said, "I was wondering when you were going to realize." The entire thing was very traumatic; I felt violated. But what hit me the most.. they took all my knitting stuff - All my yarn, all my needles, and hardest of all - they took all the outfits for the baby that I have been working on for the past month! That was when I lost it. The fruits of my labor are sitting in some dumpster right now! The bastards!

As I was winding down from completing the forms, N called back to inform me that he might not make it here. It seems the FAA computers crashed and flights were being canceled. He'd keep me posted.

All I can say is thank GOD, there is a dinner right next door to the hotel... I went over and ordered a few Margarita's! Trust me.. I needed them!

Well, N arrived not much later than expected, and left the hotel room at 6:30 to go to the Ford dealer to get the door fixed. He doesn't have a Garmin to feed in the address, so he had to do it the old fashioned way... pages and pages of directions via mapquest!

Our plans are up in the air for the next few days. He has a few demos and requests that have come up, but nothing in stone. We were planning on leaving here and heading down to Taos, and then Santa Fe for the weekend. What is definite is a meeting with Santa Fe next Tuesday morning, so who knows where we're heading.

Life is an adventure! And I'm just along for the ride!

Thursday, August 28th - Did I already say that Denver sucks?

Well, let me say it once more... Denver sucks!

N and I spent yesterday playing catch-up. N found a Ford dealer that would be able to repair the passenger handle/lock while he waited. Its not totally done, as the door is scratched and bent where they used some sort of tool to open the door, but it is usable. We had to get our 6 days of dirty clothes washed, as we had no more clothes. Thank goodness that there was a wash & fold place not too far away. Then to an electronic store to buy another GPS. The particular model that we wanted was not available, so we came back to the hotel and purchased it on-line and its being shipped to our hotel in Santa Fe.

N has 2 meetings today, that were scheduled for yesterday, but... This morning, we went down to the lobby at 6:30 for some coffee and then he left for the first of his meetings. Within minutes, he came back into the lobby, threw his hands up in the air and announced that they did it again! This time, through the driver's door. The entire lock/handle mechanism is broken and hanging out. He's heading back to the Ford Dealer, with hopes that they have the parts to repair it!

Thank goodness that our 6 days of CLEAN clothes hadn't been placed in the truck yet! And that we purchased the GPS on-line!

Keep your fingers crossed... I'm hoping to make it out of Denver, alive and without any further scathing, before the end of the day.

Ah, it can only happen to the living!