Some things I learned from Vacation

It is my final evening of vacational bliss, tomorrow in the AM we will be heading back to hot as hades Oklahoma and our normal lives. While here in cool and temperate, and beautiful might I add, Colorado I have had some time to ponder life, and the pursuit of happiness ( Liberty kind of left out of this post, Sorry) and have come to some interesting conclusions.
The first of which is that I am not as young as I used to be. Driving through the night and on into the next day used to be a snap, no problemo, now not so much. On the way to Colorado Springs on the 1st day I decided to pull an all nighter. It didn't go so well, I pulled in at a rest stop at about 3 in the morning and promptly fell asleep, I was just planning on resting my eyes really, at 6 AM a very non threatening man walking a poodle woke we up to inform me lights had been on for 3 hours. I didn't take the key out of the ignition due to my desire to leave quickly, but I didn't leave quickly and my battery was dead. The not scary old guy jumped me and we were on our way. On a side note the reason I have been referring to the guys non scariness is because when he woke us up my wife literally whimpered like a scared puppy and nearly crawled through the top of our SUV. He was 80, from Cali, and walking a poodle - not really a threat. The point is the 30 year old me is a much more tired version of the 22 year old me.
The second thing I learned is that fat people and extremely high altitude do not go well together. We rode up the Cog railway(expensive but worth it) to the top of Pikes peak, at about 12,000 feet I began to feel light headed, at 13,000 feet I was also short of breath, when we got to the top (14,110) I was ready to just jump off the top and end it all. My wife was fine, my kids were bouncing around like pin balls running right to the edge, the big fat lardo they call dad was in the john expelling everything in his system before going back out into the 40 degree air and begging God to end his misery. Other than the 30 minutes in the middle when we were so high I loved it, and so did the fam.
Another thing I noticed is that I like to eat, no I mean a lot - and on vacation you can find so many cool places to grub - The Sagebrush (had a Buffalo Brat, NICE), The Mason Jar, Denver's Downtown Aquarium Restaurant, The Vega ( it was on the roof of a 4 story building), and several others. I may have gained a few pounds on this little adventure, but again well worth it.
I also realized the Resort living and mountain living in general agree with me. On the way to Estes Park and on the way to Winter Park we stayed at some crummy Day's Inn's, but once we arrived at the Worldmark by Wyndham in Estes or The Pines @ Meadowridge in WP life was good. 2 Bedrooms, 2 full baths, full kitchen with all the extras. Fireplaces, stocked with what you need - Grills, picnic tables, pool, hot tubs, video rentals, and the Big Thompson River about ten feet from our front door. The pines wasn't as new or nice as Worldmark, and we liked the town of Estes Park better than WP but all of it was awesome. The snow capped mountains, the glacial rivers, the lakes and hiking trails, the water falls. It was all so entrancing that I find myself at a loss for words. I may try more later, but that is not the point of this post.
Finally I know now more that ever that the whole experience was made so much more exciting by the presence of my wife and kids. Hiking up to Alberta Falls my middle girl Morgann is holding my hand, she turns and looks at me with a gap toothed smile and says "Dad this must be the best vacation ever". When we were at the aquarium in Denver and my boy wants me to help him pet a sting ray I just plunged him completely in the tank to snag a feel of the little miscreants, I was worried how he would respond, he emerged smiling from ear to ear proclaiming victory. He had finally touched the elusive sting ray, and then proclaims " Dad, I am all wet". I got to sit on a rock with Taylor and fish in Sprague Lake long after all my other kids lost interest, we caught nothing but as she laid her head on my shoulder and we watched her bobber stay disgustingly above the water I was completely content. On the same trip to Alberta falls Raegann rode on my shoulders the whole way down and when we would get precariously close to the edge and look down to the white water hundreds of feet below us she would get scared and cover my eyes calling out, "scare me to death". I was also able to step back and watch my wife as she continually cared for, dressed, educated, navigated, and elevated our whole family. It's a shame it took a trip to the mountains to remind me how wonderful my family really is, but against such a majestic backdrop all else paled in comparison to my wife and kids. So I suggest you go to the Rockies, see the Garden of the Gods, The children's Museum of Denver, Focus on the Family HQ, and Rocky Mountain National Park. Fish, Hike, Grill Out, and relax, but do it all with your family. After while Crocodile. RLR

Getting ready for Vacation

The Robertson clan is making preparations for the ever popular family vacation. We are heading to Colorado Springs for a day, then on to Denver for a day, followed by 10 days in Estes Park, CO. We will take in Pikes Peak, the Royal Gorge, Cripple Creek, and of course Whit's end before we relax for a week and a half fishing and hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park. We have been planning this vacation for a year, the place we will be staying is unbelievable (Worldmark Resort @ Estes Park), and I sooooo need to get away for a little while.
The interesting thing about all this is the preparation that goes into a venture such as this. We are installing a new stereo in the Suburban so that my iPod will hook up in the glove box and the satellite radio will be hard wired in as opposed to that stupid little receiver stuck to my windshield. Then I need three portable dvd players (still cheaper than having them installed in my headrests) because the single unit with double screens that I bought a few years ago is a matter of contention. My son wants a movie with stuff that explodes, Taylor wants princesses, and Morgie wants whatever the other two do not. I figured buying three with separate headphone will cure this one dilemma. Then I have to get someone to feed and water the dogs to keep our investments alive and puppies on the way. I have to go to the pet store and get time release fish food that will keep our 5 aquatic buddies bubbling happily along. Then is is off to Hibdon tire for an oil change and a new spare tire because I just don't want to deal with any major problems along the way - so I will be preemptive in this area.
After all this is accomplished we still must send all the netflix stuff back so we can get two new videos for the road, run to the library for our Nancy Drew, Junie B Jones, and Hank the Cowdog fixes as well as a little HP audio for late night driving. We have to purchase a laptop so my wife can do her homework while we are not at home through the wi-fi connection in our resort.
Then when those tasks are complete all we have left is to fill a few coolers with groceries (tip to the traveler - when going on Vay K you should by some groceries before you leave such as catsup, mustard, and mayo. Maybe the soda and chips, but we have found main courses such as beef and pork are usually of uniform price wherever you go, but the other stuff fluctuates wildly between the local Reasors and the tourist trap minimarts.), get somebody to preach for me while I'm gone, and pack all our earthly belongings into the back of my newly detailed SUV.
I'm sure I've left out some stuff we have to do, but the point is I will do so much getting ready to go I might be to exhausted to enjoy myself while I'm there. Everyone please be good while I'm away. RLR