May was an incredible month! Not only was there a wedding in Provo to start off the month, but by the middle of the month, there was an amazing trip to Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Although it was part vacation/part graduation celebration, it turned out to be a family reunion (of sorts!) for Dean and I. I know that much of this is a repeat of my last post, but I felt that I had to add more pictures and elaborate more on our wonderful trip. Please forgive me!
We flew into Denver, Colorado on May 10th (though it is a beautiful airport, full of fun things to do and see, it was a huge mistake!). Our whole trip was for the purpose of (1) a vacation, and (2) Eliot's Adam's State College graduation. On our way to see Eliot, we stopped in Colorado Springs to visit the amazing Focus On The Family Campus. We were mesmerized by everything we saw there and the amazingly wonderful work they do there to promote families in the world.
Me in the Focus on the Family Visitor's Center.
We drove next to Alamosa, Colorado, where we found Eliot and spent some time with him and his girlfriend, Tamiya. We made plans for the graduation celebration in a few days.
Our Condo is the first one on the right.
Next, we drove to Pagosa Springs, over Wolf Creek Pass (which is a beautiful, scenic drive, by the way) to check into our Time Share at Wyndham Resorts there. It is the same Time Share property that Dean and I purchased over 28 years ago when we still lived in Taos, New Mexico. We stayed in an amazing Condo. The mountain setting couldn't have been more perfect. Our arrival was badly timed, however, as we arrived at 11:30 p.m.! We were tired, and it was dark, and it was a little difficult to find our condo. Once settled, we got a good night's sleep.
The following day, which was Friday, we settled in, went grocery shopping and drove around Pagosa Springs to get re-acquainted. The place has certainly changed in the last 28 years! For starters, the Hot Springs themselves have grown from a simple swimming pool and small hot spring pools along the river, to a full-fledged Spa! There must be over 20 pools with varrying temperatures to enjoy and rejuvenate tired muscles. They also have a full-service spa. Yumm! Later, rather than cook, we enjoyed a great dinner out at a wonderful Italian place that we found.
A beautiful view of the Hot Springs.
Early Saturday morning, we made the trip back over Wolf Creek Pass to Alamosa to attend Eliot's graduation. It was a great ceremony and the proud father teared up when the Suma Cum Laude candidates were announced. I believe there were two...Eliot and another recipient from another major program. Good job, Eliot! After the graduation, all the family and friends gathered at one of Eliot's friends homes for a graduation celebration. We enjoyed meeting them all. His mother was there also and things were pretty cordial.
A very proud Eliot and his girl-friend, Tamiya.
We left the party early to drive back to Pagosa to catch the 6 p.m. showing of "The Avengers." It was a great movie.
Sunday was Mother's Day. I woke up early in the morning remembering my own Mother. I still have a hard time with this day. Not only is it a day to revere our mothers, but it marks the 10th anniversary (not the date, but the day) that Mom left this earthly sphere to return home to her Heavenly Father. I miss her terribly.
Dean surprised me with flowers and a gift certificate for a massage and soak in one of the mineral pools. It was amazing!. At the end of the day, we went out for dinner (again! Something we both love to do).
On Monday, Eliot and his friend, Deacon, arrived to stay a few days. The Wyndham facility was gracious and opened the other half of the Condo, "for free," and so the boys had a place of their own to stay (plus we needed the extra room for when Billy and Ingrid arrived!). We drove around Pagosa, played miniature golf, and went out to eat at a fun place called "Boss hog's." They had great ribs.
On Tuesday Billy finally arrived and I was one grateful mother to see him. We got to meet Ingrid, Billy's (at this point) friend from Norway. She is delightful and I love her accent. She speaks very good English. We all played miniature golf (again). After lunch, we all went back to the "ranch" and Billy prepared a wonderful Norwegian dish to surprise Ingrid. It was going to be our dinner treat.
We rented a brand new Subaru, the boys each have their own.
Truly a Subaru family!
Dean and I and the boys at the Condo.
Ingrid and I at the Condo.
We then went to the hot springs and enjoyed a good soak in the springs. I think we overdid our time soaking! Dean treated himself to a massage, this time. Afterward, we returned to the Condo to enjoy the meal and celebrated Billy's Birthday (which will be June 14th, but he will be on tour during that time.) We had a great party.
Wednesday came all too soon, and we had to say good-bye to the boys and Ingrid. It is always so sad to end a visit! Eliot headed back to Alamosa to pack for his move to Colorado Springs, and Billy headed west to continue his tour. Dean and I stayed behind to clean up the place, getting ready for our check-out. As we were driving east, toward Denver, we had to make one last stop...for ice cream!
Saying good-bye to the boys and Ingrid.
I don't know who it was that told us to take a short cut to Denver, but we did, and on the way, Dean passed a speed trap (right after he had passed a car) and got a ticket. Kind of puts a damper on an otherwise wonderful trip. And to top things off, it got dark, and we missed our turn to go toward the airport and got lost! We ended up in the middle of Denver, (near the University of Colorado) and found a little motel to spend the night.
Looking out at the valley from Wolf Creek Pass.
A waterfall in Wolf Creek Pass.
Thursday morning found Dean calling the airlines, trying to change our flight to an earlier one. They said the best way to do that was just to go to the airport and try and do it there. We managed to get on a stand-by status for an earlier flight, but had to wait at the airport for 8 hours. We had a lot of time to kill! We saw a lot of fun stuff and even caught a few zzzz's. It was 2 a.m. on Friday by the time we arrived home in Lincoln City. The down side was that Dean had to be at work by 9 a.m. What a trip! But, looking back, it was all worth it. We had an amazing time!
The very interesting Hangar at Denver International Airport.
1 comment:
So sweet~
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