Colorado, Fortunately....Unfortunately

Fortunately, we took a trip to Colorado, unfortunately, the train through Iowa was flooded out and couldn't run. Fortunately, we could drive to Omaha and catch a bus to Denver to start our trip, unfortunately, our tickets were incorrect. Fortunately, the agent in Omaha was very helpful and quickly changed the tickets and issued us a refund, unfortunatley, the bus was crowded and two ladies sat behind me and Sylvie (and talked very loudly from 2 to 3am!) and sleep was next to impossible. Fortunately, our rental car was a van that held all of us and our luggage easily, unfortunately, Jeff decided to add two more activities to the first driving day and it became very long! Fortunately, Colorado National Monument was beautiful and well worth the detour, unfortunately, Grand Mesa was something of a disappointment, but we did find a small gallery and winery shop at the end of it and bought a bottle of wine. Fortunately, our cabin and campground were just great! Fortunately, Mesa Verde was really awe-inspiring and very interesting to visit, unfortunately, Kenny wasn't able to make the climbs up and down with us. Fortunately, we booked the Durango and Silverton narrow gauge railroad trip way in advance and got to make that trip, unfortunately, Silverton wasn't all it was cracked up to be and Sylvie cried at lunch because the restaurant was, "ugly and tacky! sob sob sob!" Fortunately, even the "tacky" souvenir shops were fun an we found some good stuff. Fortunately, Sylvie and I got to go on a two hour horse-back ride up in the mountains and saw divine scenery, unfortunatley, 2 hours on a horse??? I had pains in areas of my body that I didn't even know could hurt(my kidneys hurt for two days)!! Fortunately, we drove to Four Corners and got to stand at the junction of four states, unfortunately it was a big concrete slab in the middle of nowhere that took 2 hours to get to! Fortunately, the car made the trek through the mountains without issues and we got back to Grand Junction in one piece, unfortunately, the train was still not running through Iowa, waaaah! Fortunately, the ticket agent was able to correct things and give us a refund, unfortunately, it wasn't as much as we expected and we still had to ride the bus back to Omaha. Fortunately, the train to Denver arrived in Grand Junction right on time, unfortunately, we had to wait for a couple of repair crews to clear the tracks and it made us an hour late! Fortunately, we got lunch in the dining car with our first class accomodation, unfortunately, they didn't serve dinner due to the lack of time, so despite not getting into Denver until 8:30pm, we had no dinner!:( Fortunately, we were off the train fast and arrived first at the bus, unfortunately, the bus driver tried to close the door on us and told us we couldn't get on yet as they didn't have the "express vs. local" situation figured out yet. Fortunately, there was to be an Amtrak person there to help figure things out, unfortunately, there wasn't one and noone showed up until I went into the station 45 minutes later and talked to the agent in the ticket window! Fortunately, she came out and sorted it out, unfortunately, there wasn't anyone that needed to get off the bus before Omaha and so they could have just let us on the busses and driven all of us there in the first place! DUUHHHH...... Fortunatley, the bus was a bit more comfortable than the one we rode last week, unfortunately, the driver never introduced himself or made any announcements for bathroom breaks or anything! Fortunately, there were more empty seats on this bus, unfortunately, I was on the opposite side of the bus from my family and I had a panic attack (from fatigue and lack of food) and feared that their side of the bus would be sheared off in a wreck and I would lose them all and the kids also cried due to hunger and I felt like the worst mom ever. Fortunately, we got out of Denver quickly and were soon on the highway, unfortunately, we got diverted off the highway by a police car surrounded by flares and the bus driver had no clue what to do! Fortunately, he was able to call the other driver and get back on the highway after about 20 minutes. Fortunately, the kids were able to get some sleep and the bus arrived on time to Omaha, unfortunately, this time there was an old couple behind us and the man was nearly deaf and he shouted a lot all night. Fortunately, our car was still in the parking lot with all of its tires and gas, unfortunately, there had been a wind storm in Omaha that night and half of the town was without power. Fortunately, Jeff felt ok to drive, unfortunately, we couldn't find a good restaurant, the one we stopped at said it was an Embers, but it was a dump and smelled like pee, so we left. Fortunately, we found a McDonald's a few miles down the highway. Fortunately, I fell asleep in the van and Jeff made awesome time to Des Moines, unfortunately, when I took over the driving there was a huge rain shower! Fortunately, we were able to drive out of it and make it home around 3:15pm! Home never felt so good! Back to regular life. Anne

Aaaaaaaaaand.....They're Off!

Pulling out of the gate at 1:30pm and making a bit of a slow start, driving to Omaha, Nebraska instead of Osceola, Iowa. Making sure we have plenty of time to arrive before 9:30pm when the station opens. Due to the flooding in Iowa, the train is not running until we get to Denver, so we are taking a bus overnight to get to Denver. Would have rather had our comfy little sleepers than sleeping out in the middle of everything on the bus, but what are you gonna do? Arrive in Denver about 7:00am and get on the train to round the final turn into Grand Junction from there. Then the trip proceeds as planned. Even with the hassle of the bus, we consider ourselves blessed to be able to get to go on the trip anyway. Please pray for all of the people who have been inconvenienced and displaced by the flooding. Love, Anne

Future Blog Entry Titles

I was just sitting around here with Jeff discussing the possibility of having to drive our vacation (instead of taking the train) to Colorado due to the flooding in Iowa and I am calm while Jeff is excitable. Earlier in the week, the feelings were reversed. This is typical of our marriage and one of the reasons it works so well.
While thinking on this, I got the idea to make a list of potential titles for future entries. This came to mind when I said, "He's gone plum crazy, Ma!" and elicited a chuckle from my currently unhappy husband. So, that is the first title. Here's a starter list of more:

- He's Gone Plum Crazy, Ma!

-Pigs in a Blanket

-How Full is too Full?

-When Did Hats Come Back in Style?

-12 hours in a Car...Nobody Wins

-Good Anne!

-How to Turn a Tiger into Butter

-Why Dress a Cat in Doll Clothes?

Oh, this could go on and on! Anne

-

YouTube - Captain Kangaroo 1976

Here is the song from Captain Kangaroo fom the mid-70's. I love this. I still remember all the words! YouTube - Captain Kangaroo 1976

My Baby!

Did everyone see Steven's new glasses? I was really mourning his little face without them, but then he put them on and it was ok. I am much more resistant to changes with Steve than I am with Sylvie. I think it's because he's my youngest and any change reminds me that I don't have babies anymore. I know my kids aren't babies, but these concrete reminders really hit hard. I guess I expect Sylvie to be the trail blazer, as the oldest, so her changes are more in the line of, "Wow, look at my beautiful young lady!" With Steve, I always feel just a litlle bit sad, well at least until the event happens. Once it does, it just becomes the new reality and life moves on. It helps that he really looks good in these new specs, doesn't he? Love, Anne

Did You Pod That?

I've been doing a lot of thinking about ipods lately. I got a shuffle last year for my birthday after seeing one on my brother-in-law Tom. His is silver. It is so tiny! Mine is neon pink, a nod to my inner seven-year-old ballerina. I change the songs about every three months or so, but I find I do have a core of songs that stay. I think you could tell a lot about a person by what they have on their MP3 player. On mine, for instance, there is about 8 hours of music. What does that say? I think is says that I like the idea that I can carry that much music with me, or maybe that I like to have a wide selection. There is a section with 70's and
80's music. That brings back some of the best memories of my childhood. There is a section of quiet stuff. Most of these songs come from movie soundtracks from my adult years. That is not to say that the songs are new, no, they tend to be standards from the oldie old days. Right now, "When I Fall in Love" is playing. This is from "Sleepless in Seattle", one of my favorite movies. There are also a couple of Broaway soundtracks on here. Everything on my ipod is something that makes me happy. I listen to this stuff and it makes me feel good and gets me going or, relaxes me. I think it's really great to be able to carry that around with me. Anne

The Sounds of a Childhood Summer

As I was lying in bed trying to sleep after my last night shift, I heard the civil defense siren. It gets tested here on the first Wednesday of every month. Since I hear it so rarely, and usually in the response to dangerous weather, it never fails to strike just a bit of fear in my heart. This is a shame actually, since, as a child, this was just one of thousands of sounds that made up the daily summer aural milieu. I feel an auditory trip down memory lane coming on…
The noon whistle, that’s what we called it, the daily “test” of the CDS in the town where I grew up. It was never scary. Just that daily time reminder, “Hey kids, lunchtime!” it seemed to shout. It was most prevalent in the summer months, when we would likely be out on bicycles when the time approached. It was our signal to ride on home for cheese sandwiches (or whatever the current favorite happened to be) and comic books and a break from the heat for awhile in the cool of the dining room and some catching up time with Mom.
Mourning doves. That’s a sound that never fails to conjure up summer mornings, when it was still a little cool out and the dew had yet to dry on the grass. Actually, I thought they were called “morning doves” until I was told differently when I was a teen. I wish I had never been told that. I preferred to think they got their name from the time of day they seemed to be the loudest, not because they sounded sad. I never thought they did. I loved their call. The soft, low, “whoo, whoo, whooo ” that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. I still love it and never fail to smile and tilt my head to listen harder when I hear it.
My dad’s really loud, piercing whistle that he used to call us home in the evenings when we were out in the neighborhood. It could be heard a long block away. That was the signal for, “Ok kids, you’ve played out in the sun long enough. It’s time for baths and snacks and bed now. Come on home.” Just thinking about that one has me teary eyed.
Crickets, and later, locusts, chirping in the trees. When we moved to Missouri, it was fall, so I had to wait until June to hear locusts for the first time. If you’ve never heard the sounds of thousands of locusts whirring all summer, it’s hard to imagine the constant, loud sound they make. It really freaked me out at first. Who could believe that BUGS could make that kind of noise! Now that I live back up north, I kind of miss it. Who would have thought?
Lawn mowers buzzing almost constantly on Saturdays. Our neighbor across the street, Mr. Houston, mowed his lawn every three days, without fail. He had a great lawn. I guess if you’re retired and need some alone time, there are worse things you could do.
A thunderstorm at night. The kind that start as a low rumble in the distance, move over your house like a steamroller and then fade away again. I used to be afraid of thunder. So much that I once pulled down the curtain rod in my parent’s bedroom while trying to hide from it. Then my mom told me about how they come and go. After that, I was too fascinated listening to the phenomena to be afraid.
Kids on bikes with playing cards stuck in the spokes. I don’t know who came up with this idea, but is there a kid anywhere under the age of ten who doesn’t think this is cool? Something as simple and cheap as a playing card that can turn your everyday bike into the greatest sounding motorbike around? I bet there are a lot of adults who still wish they could stick the king of hearts on their bike tire and whiz around like Speed Racer.
These are just a few of the sounds of my childhood in the summer. I think that most of them are universal and heard by millions of people every day, small things that make our lives richer and more interesting. Life is good. Anne