climbergirl blog

May 31st, the Eve of my 30th birthday, Dennis & I drove up to Ft. Collins. We got a room at the Hilton, and it was surprisingly affordable, for a hotel of that calliber. The lobby inside is fantastic, a huge open space with fountains & the ubiquitous starbucks café.

Apparently, there was a big car show in one of the neighboring townships as the parking lot was full of old remodelled cars. In fact, one whole side of the parking lot was cordoned off, so we walked & gawked.

My favorite was the 1930s gangster style get-away car. I imagined riding the running boards in a trench coat, fedora, and wielding a large gun. His favorite was an old jeep with a flatbed in the back. It was just such a unique truck…too bad I left the camera in the room!

For dinner, by Ann’s referral, we went to the Rustic Oven downtown. We had spinach artichoke dip, and had a wonderful meal. I had a Sangria, which made me tipsy. We shared dessert (of course, it was my birthday the next day!) a strawberry rhubarb pastry with creme fresh. After dinner, we walked around a bit and then headed back to the hotel to watch a beautiful sunset.

I dreamt of cracks & chimneys…a happy birthday dream!

On Thursday, Dennis & I flew to Reno for the weekend. Dennis wanted to spend his 40th birthday with his family. We managed to surprise his Mom & Dad, by planning a party for Dennis in Reno. Joel & Sherry (Dennis’ brother & sister) were there, as well as Sherry’s kids Nick, Marc, Lucas, and Alexis and their Dad.

The birthday evening went well-we talked late into the night. We picked up KFC and had a cake (thanks to Sherry!). It was a nice birthday. Dennis was surprised happily that Joe came-we were not sure he would be able to come. (more…)

On Day Three of our trip, we drove from St. George to Moab, UT. We woke up at a nice time, had breakfast. The Holiday Inn outside of St. George is super nice, and they are definitely pet friendly. The night before we had used the hot tub, which felt great on our backs & sore climbing muscles.

I took a few pictures of the scenery as we passed through Utah. It really is beautiful country, and the truck did okay at the mountain passes we had to negotiate. We shifted into 3rd on occasion, but mostly we were in 4th cruising along just fine over the slightly icy roads.

The day went by fast, we talked most the way. We both were tired of talking by the time we got to Moab (1 hour before sunset). We checked into our hotel and then immediately went for a hike with the last tidbit of daylight left.

I woke up super early in the morning, and finished arranging things for the move. I had to fit whatever was left into my truck and still have room for the cats, Holly, our bags, and climbing gear. When Dennis got the job out in Denver, I knew right away I wanted to take a road trip out there instead of having my truck & the cats shipped.

I met Holly at the south end of Ridgecrest and soon we were packing up the truck. I had hoped to be out of the house early, but we didn’t make it out until lunch! I’m so happy Holly helped me pack my truck. We even practiced putting on chains (just in case) and my neighbor Al came over and gave his 2 cents about our chain placement. Seems we did a good job, cause after about 20 minutes-we were dismantling them and saying goodbye to Al.

When I first thought of this trip a few people came to mind, but Holly was destined to join me. We had a few adventures together last summer, and it seems adventure brings her into my life 8^) If I ever decide to skydive, I’d be signing up for the trip when she’d come waltzing in…that’s just how we seem to flow. (more…)

That’s Right Folks! Five years goes by at warp speed when you spend it with somebody as cool as my spouse. I’m so fortunate in my choice of partners…I flew out to Denver for our anniversary and he shows up at the airport with HOT COCOA!!! What a thoughtful thing to do.

Of course, the weather had been beautiful all week, but for me…SNOW! As soon as I unpack, we go for a walk. Dennis thinks I’m nuts, but I’ve been in airports for half the day and I need to get out. He takes me to a local used bookstore, where we spend a couple hours reading, before our chilly & snowy walk home.

The next evening, we make plans to go to dinner and a show. I was so happy to find Racine’s, a decent selection of dishes & a happening place to be! After dinner, we went to see a play “For Better” by Eric Coble commissioned by the Curious Theater Company at the Acoma Center. It is a romantic comedy in which the question was posed, “Do the bride and groom really need to be in the same country to go on a honeymoon?”. The Cell Phone conversations kept the audience on our toes, and laughing out loud. It was amazing to watch! Truly talented actors, for sure!