Day 3 – We’re Finally Somewhere (Mesa Verde)
After only 2 1/2 days of driving, we’ve finally arrived at our first destination – Mesa Verde National Park. Who knew I’d be risking life and limb before the visit was finished? (More about that in a minute.)
The Mesa Verde area was first inhabited by the Pueblo people. The cliff dwellings were built between 1190 and 1290. That’s a long time ago!
Historians believe the Pueblo people moved off the plateau and into the cliffs for a few reasons – protection, storage of corn crops, and better temperature control. There are more than 600 dwellings in the area.
Several dwellings are available for tours. Ethan suggested the Balcony House tour. The Welcome Center had descriptions of the tours and warnings on a couple of them. The warnings focused on the strenuousness of the trip. (They didn’t sound too difficult for anyone who was in remotely decent physical shape.) They even had replicas of the ladders you must climb at Balcony House. Frankly, the ladder looked innocent enough.
From the Welcome Center, we drove an hour up the mountain. This included stopping at a few viewing areas along the way. The best view, by far (Pun intended!), was from Park …
Day 2 – On the Road
Still trying to figure out where we stuffed things in the RV. That mad dash to pack before we departed left everything in a mess. Ethan and Autumn were great help loading the RV the night before we left. They were up until 4am. I was feeling pretty guilty (as only moms can do) until I realized they stay up that late at sleepovers all the time!
Today, my wonderful helpers have turned back into teenagers. They weren’t nearly as interested in helping.
Ross only slept a few hours last night before he hit the road driving again today. We’re all a little tired and impatient.
At least it was exciting to start seeing new landscapes and scenery, as we drove across Oklahoma and northern Texas.
The canyons fascinate me. There’s no pattern to them. You can be walking along, and all the sudden, you’re looking over a cliff. (Or, if you’re walking too fast, you’re at the bottom of a cliff.) There are small mesas that are a few hundred yards long and have dropoffs that are 20 feet or so. Then, in the distance, there are massive mesas that extend for miles and drop off hundreds of feet.…
Day 1 – We’re Off
We’re on our way . . . And we’re only 26 1/2 hours behind schedule.
We had a few setbacks in the last week. Six days before time to leave, our RV rental fell through. Ugh! (and a few other choice words.) After searching every dealer who rents RVs in a 3-hour radius, we discovered there were no rentals available.
Ok, Plan B. Let’s buy a used RV . . . in 2 days.
No problem. I didn’t have anything else to do. I was just trying to leave for a month-long trip.
In order to find what we needed on such short notice, we had to drive all the way to Fletcher, Ohio. That’s 3 1/2 hours from our house. And, we had to do the deal on a Sunday. Thank goodness that Mike at Poor Farmers’s RV agreed to meet us.
I knew that buying an RV on a Sunday was going to be problematic. I tried to pre-plan and account for every variable.
Of course, this meant there were glitches everywhere – from the bank’s new cashier check system not working to the printer in Poor Farmer’s accounting office being cranky.
After four hours of Mike’s time …
Mother & Daughter Share “Diana: A Celebration”
I was a (young!) teenager when Lady Diana married Prince Charles. I sat glued to the TV, watching the ceremony, the pageantry, and … the dress.
When I heard that “Diana: A Celebration” was coming to the Frazier History Museum, I had to go and take my daughter, Autumn (age 10). To watch Diana’s dress on TV was great. To see the real thing, to walk 25 feet along the train, to see all the tiny pearls that were hand stitched, to see the tiara that topped her head – now that was magnificent.
And, to share that with Autumn was just icing on the dress … oh, I mean cake.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Diana Exhibit. All my expectations were blown away upon seeing the first item on display. A diamond-filled tiara was mounted simply and elegantly upon a red velvet pillow in a small display case. The case was right in front of me.
Then there were her family jewels – from the Spencer family. Autumn and I counted the diamonds that formed a chain in one of the necklaces. There were about 42. And, let me tell you, those weren’t diamond chips. They …
What to Buy in Dubai (and What to See & Do)
On my recent vacation to a cosmopolitan city, I felt very safe, and the taxi drivers spoke English. Where was I? Oh, just the Middle East. Dubai to be exact.
Now, before you freak out like my mother did when she discovered that her only two children were going to a place that was about 1 millimeter from Iran on the map, let me assure you that Dubai is currently the hottest vacation spot on the planet. If you go in the summer, it is also literally hot, about 100 – 120 degrees. The humidity is steamy, but their air conditioning works great.
What makes Dubai hot, other than the temperature? It has everything. And, everything is the biggest, best, or most.
Soon to be completed are the world’s highest tower and the biggest shopping mall. It already has the only seven-star hotel (Burj Al Arab – shaped liked a sailboat) and the eighth wonder of the world (The Palm Islands). My unscientific observation is that Dubai also has the longest rush hour traffic times (from 4:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.).
Dubai also has great shopping. If you’re looking for upscale clothes, then Burjuman (Big …
Planning the Journey
Planning a month-long trip that covers 6,000 miles and at least 11 major sights (along with as many minor sights as we can possibly squeeze in) is a little different than planning a week’s trip to Florida – where you’ll stay in the same hotel and lounge on the same beach every day. When the enormity of this trip finally sank in, I began to hyperventilate (as well as say a few things that should not be repeated aloud).
What was I thinking? I don’t have time to plan this trip. I don’t even know where to start.
I took a deep breath. Ok, I’ve planned trips all over the world. Surely, I can get my family across the USA, where everyone speaks English and the road signs are written in a language I can read.
I wasn’t really questioning my ability. But, I was questioning my time. There was none.
I thought back on my childhood vacations. That was back in the dark ages – before GPS and Mapquest. How did my mom handle the logistics? Then I remembered that she would call AAA and request a TripTik®.
I’ve been a member of AAA for 20+ years. But, I …
Spending the Day with my Daughter . . . and Her Doll in Chicago
Who knew that spending a day with a doll could bring so much happiness to a grownup’s heart? I had promised my daughter, Autumn (age 7), a special trip to visit the American Girl Place (www.AmericanGirl.com) in Chicago. She began feeling special the moment she arrived at the Sheraton Hotel & Tower (www.SheratonChicago.com). The hotel gave her an American Girl bed just for her doll.
That night, I looked at Autumn sleeping in the hotel room. There was my precious little girl smiling in her sleep. And, sitting next to her was the doll bed, with her doll tucked under its own blanket. It was one of those moments that tugs at a mommy’s heart.
The first impression of the American Girl Place was a bit overwhelming – two floors of doll stuff. Our personal shopper, Cheryl, was a great help. Yes, the store had shoppers for the dolls! They’re available by appointment.
This day was all for Autumn, and she was allowed to make all the choices. By the end of the day, we were joking that she was tired of deciding!
We began our adventure by taking “Little Autumn” (my daughter’s “Just Like Me” doll) to the Hair …
The Magic of a Kenyan Safari
Within a few hours of leaving Nairobi and embarking on my safari, I was face to face with an elephant. I was too shocked to say a word – and as a professional speaker, not much leaves me speechless. Nothing separated me from that massive, gorgeous beast but air and a couple of metal bars that covered the opening where I stood.
That elephant, and the rest of his herd, had come to drink at the watering hole behind our hotel, the Serena Mountain Lodge. The elephants didn’t just guzzle some water and leave. They stayed and played for hours. Maybe I was wrong, but I believed they were staging their elaborate performance just for my benefit.
Later, while unpacking in my hotel room, I came face-to-face with another creature. Luckily, a window separated me from the Sykes monkey. He was playing on the second-storey ledge outside my room. James, our guide from All Seasons Safaris, reminded us to keep the windows closed, or the monkeys would ‘help us unpack.’
As our first adventure, the two-hour wildlife walk offered by the Serena Mountain Lodge turned out to be a great investment. The walk itself was quite an experience. It is …
Westward Ho in a Modern Covered Wagon – Disconnect the Devices & Reconnect on a Family Vacation
I’m a working mother, who’s hurried, hassled, . . . and hungry for some quality family time. On my endless taxi runs to soccer and dance practices, I’ve dreamed of whisking my family away on some of the idyllic, memory-filled summer vacations that I enjoyed as a child. This summer, it’s happening. We’ll spend four weeks traveling the West – conquering as many sights as possible. Join us on our journey, and share the fun and frustrations of family togetherness. Also, I’ll give you all the info about our destinations, in case you want to visit. In the end, we’ll see if my fairy-tale vision of a family getaway turns out more like “Leave It to Beaver” or Chevy Chase’s “Vacation.”…
The Announcement
As a parent, you yearn to make your kids happy. To clarify, you don’t just want them to be happy. You want to be the instrument of that glee. You want the feeling of exhilaration that occurs when YOU put that smile on their faces. You want the credit. Maybe that sounds shallow. Yet, if you carried that baby in your tummy for nine months (or helped your wife through pregnancy or waded through endless adoption procedures), then you deserve a little reward.
When your children are young, it’s fairly easy to be the source of their joy – an ice cream cone, a lollipop, a trip to the zoo. As they grow older, it becomes more difficult to be the hero. By the time they progress into their teens, it’s darned near impossible.
I know this first hand. My children are teenagers. Well, at 12½ years old, Autumn (my daughter), thinks she’s a teen. My son, Ethan, is 15. So, he’s official. At these ages, it’s difficult to extract any response from them – unless you text them, of course.
Perhaps this is why I’m still basking in the glow of the day I told them that we were …
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Day 15 – Still Wandering Nevada (and the Pioneer Center)
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Day 14 – Wandering Nevada (Virginia City mining)
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Day 13 – Yosemite (More Hiking)
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Day 12 – Yosemite (Unscheduled River Escapade)
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Day 11 – Yosemite (Phenomenal Views; Stupid Tourists)
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Day 10 – No RVs Allowed
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Day 9 – On the Road Again toward Sequoia
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Day 8 – Viva Las Vegas in an RV
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Day 7 – On the 7th Day, We Rested
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Day 6 – Zion Park & Tunnels with Windows