Denvering it up--

So....at some point during dinner one night last month Doug
and I were looking over our calendar and decided that if we
didn't get away from all the craziness that is our summer,
and soon, we were going to either end up dead, divorced or
worse: zombies who drain our bank account and leave the country
never to return. And no one but Leslie and maybe our accountant
would know where.
Listen, you may think I am being dramatic but what would you do
if you had 4 weddings, 2 family reunions, 3 bachelor/bachelorette
parties to attend, 3.5 businesses to run, 1 Garden to attend to, 1
neurosis infused puppy to take to a class where she has to learn to
be nice to: that's right, you guessed it: other neurosis infused puppies!
and yet dammit, I forgot to order my navy blue shoes for a wedding
that is next week! And yes, in a fit of control freak overload I ordered the chandelier
that Doug was only somewhat liking on Ebay because it was $200 cheaper!

Needless to say Doug looked at me frothing at the mouth and twitching one
night and said: I have got to get you out of here!

So Denver it was. He was attending a conference there anyway so it seemed to
be a natural fit to just extend the trip. While we were at it(and in a storm
of irrational trip planning major misjudgment) we decided to bend our rule on
never(NEVER) driving further than 6 hours and drive, 8.5-9 hours to Denver.

I cannot even begin to describe HOW misguided driving was....so I won't. Let's
just say that it ended with Doug telling me that I am the only child he can
handleand if, IF we ever were to reproduce we were never going to be traveling
via car ANYWHERE, ever. Mom, Dad, I think he now understands why Benadryl and
loud music were the staples of road trips when I was a kid.

Back to the trip. The day before we left I got a massive sore throat. Being the tenacious traveler that I am(ahem, by plane only) and considering the severity
of our situation we pressed on. Again, misguided but whatever. The place was
paid for and our bags were packed!

ONCE we arrived things began looking up. Our condo was located in the very hip
and very tan and in shape neighborhood of LODO(lower Denver for those of you who
don't speak Denverese) right next to the river and Union Station.

I was still not feeling great, but considering allergy season in the great
SLC has been the worst to date, ever--I was NOT going to let a little hay-
fever ruin my good time! So loaded up on Claritin and we were off!

We started with dinner with Dustin and Mandi at a local brewery, Then the next moring renting bikes
at the park near us in 95 degree weather, and then BAM my "allergies" took a turn
for the worse. We had planned to go and see our friends Jake and Sam in Boulder
the next day so we opted to sleep the rest of the day to try and get back on track
for a day of fun! On the way back I ended up twisting my foot and not being able to
walk. Doug, being raised by a nurse and all, sprung into action. He iced my foot,
loaded me full of antihistamines and decongestant and sent me to bed, for the rest
of the afternoon.

The next day my foot was miraculously healed and the allergies were much improved
so we we headed to meet our good friends Jake and Sam at their spectacular abode
in quaint and exclusive Boulder, CO.
We talked, laughed, and hiked, ate and heard about their upcoming wedding in Kansas and
somewhere between nuptual talk and sushi I started to wilt and fast--we ended the night
quickly( I think they could tell I was not myself) it was very apparent that this was
not allergies--

The next morning I went to the Dr and he told me I had a cold(not surprising since
the poster in his office goes through all the many reasons that your cold is NOT
an infection)

So again, we went home to sleep in hopes of being able to do something fun and exciting
on our last day of vaca.

We woke up, ate and since I was still feeling horrible we decided to spend the afternoon in the park, on a blanket, staring up at the clouds. I haven't done this
for at least 10 years, maybe never. It was so much fun! After a few hours
of talking, really talking, Doug was summoned to work.

It turned out that he only had to work 1 day instead of 3 so we got to play one day
(I was still sick, but on the mend and still limping)

We arrived home in once piece, tired and with a new resolve never to drive more
than 6 hours but for me, a renewed appreciation for my amazing husband, some great
new insight into his life and plans for the future, and caught up on my sleep for
the first time in I cannot even remember how long. So I guess, in the end, while it was not exactly the trip we had planned, it was the trip we needed.