Life is Beautiful

Vacation! It’s Friday, and instead of sitting at my desk at work, I’m sitting on the bed, with a big stack of pillows behind my back, writing this. Life is lovely.

We’re in Durango, Colorado with Bart’s parents, three sisters, two brothers, three brothers-in-law, one sister-in-law, and eleven grandchildren. This family trip was a Christmas gift to all of us from Bart’s parents, and we are staying in a lovely guest house, called Tall Spruce House (if you check out the photos in that link, you can look at the room we’re staying in: “The Maiden Aunt” room, with two twin beds. Ha! Frankly, I’d rather sleep in two twins than a double, since Bart and I are not one of those couples who sleep all wrapped around each other. We like to stay on our own sides of the bed).

Bart and I left work a few hours early on Wednesday, and flew to Denver and then took a tiny little plane (25 or 30 seater) to Durango. Surprisingly, the small plane was far more comfortable than the large plane; there was at least twice as much legroom, and there was no screaming baby. Bart and I talked for a while, and I watched some Gilmore Girls and finished “Freakonomics.” Bart’s dad picked us up at the airport, and we drove twenty miles back to Tall Spruce House, where everyone was already asleep.

Right now, I’m enjoying being alone. Our room is the back corner of the house, and it’s pretty quiet up here during the day (it’s substantially less quiet after about six thirty a.m. when all the grandkids start waking up and running up and down the hallways). We had breakfast this morning, got ready, played outside on the front lawn for a while, played some Ticket to Ride (I won! I rejoiced!), and then watched a bit of Brian Reagan’s “I Walked on the Moon” video. Afterwards, we drove into Durango and had a picnic lunch at the park. After so much time with other people, so much noise, sunshine, and food, I’m unbelievably glad to be alone, for it to be quiet, save some distant doors opening and closing downstairs, and to be able to think straight. The best kinds of vacations are like these ones, where there is time for fun, relaxation, entertainment, and rest. Also, as Bart’s dad wisely pointed out, “vacation must include some degree of decadence.” How right he is.

Yesterday, we went to Mesa Verde, and hiked down to one of the cave dwellings. Several of the kids were feeling sick, so only twelve of us went. The weather was gorgeous, the company was perfect, and the hike was not very strenuous at all (can you even call it a hike when it’s paved from the first to last step?). After we’d climbed around enough, we hiked back up, went through the museum, and found a clearing and picnic tables to have a lunch at. I took a bunch of pictures, but I didn’t even think about bringing my camera cord, so I can’t download them.

Also, the Internet is inexplicably not working right now, so I’ll have to post this later on, when it decides to cooperate. Such is life. Maybe I’ll take a nap.