That's when we arrived....noon Mountain time. Here's the recap:
We decided to cut "cross country" in a straight line for Colorado Springs from Hays, Kansas. This meant getting off the interstate and taking U.S. Hwy 40. Talk about nothing....nowhere....no one! I mean, we were looking for the lone tree somewhere. If one of the Lanes had to go to the bathroom so bad that we couldn't go further, the other 5 of us would have to just close our eyes.
We finally found a little "welcome center" at Ft. Wallace, Kansas. A little lady showed up to open the place after we stopped, and she and the Lanes were the only ones there. She sold us each a "pop" for 50cents each. Of course, this meant out in Colorado somewhere....treeless and all....nature kicked in. We found a small store (FINALLY), and Marissa took Darcy for a walk while the other Lanes went inside "for a walk". What did Darcy do? Step on a "Dog-Gone" sand spur (we think). She yelped and whined for the next...oh....hour??? Really, maybe half an hour.
So we left the store and drove with open grasslands on both sides of us for another 2 hours. I mean there wasn't even a car in front or behind us. It was like a scene out of some Science Fiction movie. And the best was yet to come. We had to turn on Hwy 94, and there was a sign...."No Services for 70 Miles". Ansley whipped out her cell phone and said "Does this mean I have no cell service for 70 Miles?" Julie and I split a gut laughing. I told her...."No, silly....it means there are NO SERVICES AT ALL for 70 miles....no gas, no phone, no stores, no nothing!" Her idea of no service meant going out of range of a cell tower....my how times have changed.
But what happened...just over one of the buttes? There it was....Pikes Peak....barely visible.
After arriving at Colorado Springs, we checked in to our hotel and then immediately went and visited the Air Force Academy. Everyone bought T-shirts (Will got a hat), we saw a movie on the Academy, and then we went to the Chapel. How beautiful was all of that? Following this, we went on the campus of "Focus on the Family". As we entered, Julie began to whisper. I said, "Why are you whispering?"...and she replied, "This is like the Mecca for "Stay at home Moms and Homeschoolers.......what if Dr. Dobson is here?"
We will be visiting their welcome center tomorrow.
Right now, we are getting ready to go to the Flying W Ranch for a Western ChuckWagon Dinner and Cowboy Show, and then tomorrow morning we are taking the Cog Railroad to the top of Pikes Peak. Following that is Garden of the Gods, and on to see old Doc Dobson.
My cough is a nuisance....but I feel o.k. Keeps those comments coming.
For some reason, John Denver's music just keeps coming to my head.
"Rocky Mountain High".
---WJLsr
P.S. to Jane and Ilene....Julie received her Associates Degree from Young Harris College and her B.S. Degree in Education from North Georgia College. The nephew is Joshua Primm and he goes to Georgia Southern University in a Georgia Tech program.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Morning has broken....
and my cold is a little better. Maybe wishful thinking, maybe actual.....not sure, but I feel a little better.
I want to respond to Julie's perspective regarding mattresses. I am thankful for them as well, but I have to tell you....sharing a bed with Will is like not experiencing a mattress at all. He totally hogs the bed. More than one time during the night was I either asking him to move over, or moving him over. And he makes these.....noises....when he sleeps. Julie says he is just like me....but couldn't be. I don't make noises in my sleep. And I am totally still. You can't make me believe otherwise.
O.K., maybe a little.
Anyway, we are packing up and heading to Colorado this morning. Dorothy's yellow brick road is calling.
---WJLsr
I want to respond to Julie's perspective regarding mattresses. I am thankful for them as well, but I have to tell you....sharing a bed with Will is like not experiencing a mattress at all. He totally hogs the bed. More than one time during the night was I either asking him to move over, or moving him over. And he makes these.....noises....when he sleeps. Julie says he is just like me....but couldn't be. I don't make noises in my sleep. And I am totally still. You can't make me believe otherwise.
O.K., maybe a little.
Anyway, we are packing up and heading to Colorado this morning. Dorothy's yellow brick road is calling.
---WJLsr
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Julie's View
Hi Everyone,
So glad our blog has a wide readership!! Anyone who knows the level of my computer skills knows why I haven't written yet!! We are having an interesting time . Tonight was an eye-opening experience. We ate at Applebees and they didn't serve sweet tea!! The girls were aghast! I think travel makes a person appreciate many things. I appreciate:
1) The mattresses in Marriotts
2) The new Harry Potter book (Hannah is quiet for hours)
3) A husband who likes to drive
4) Free breakfasts
5) Wearing no makeup and the same clothes(after all we will never see these people again)
6) Cars with DVD's
We are all excited about Colorado tomorrow and are leaving early so good night...
PS.Kim, Fort Hays State College is here. We rode around and looked at it. It was cute. I still don't understand how Jeff got here. Must have been a long trip
So glad our blog has a wide readership!! Anyone who knows the level of my computer skills knows why I haven't written yet!! We are having an interesting time . Tonight was an eye-opening experience. We ate at Applebees and they didn't serve sweet tea!! The girls were aghast! I think travel makes a person appreciate many things. I appreciate:
1) The mattresses in Marriotts
2) The new Harry Potter book (Hannah is quiet for hours)
3) A husband who likes to drive
4) Free breakfasts
5) Wearing no makeup and the same clothes(after all we will never see these people again)
6) Cars with DVD's
We are all excited about Colorado tomorrow and are leaving early so good night...
PS.Kim, Fort Hays State College is here. We rode around and looked at it. It was cute. I still don't understand how Jeff got here. Must have been a long trip
It's a looooong way to Hays, Kansas.....
Why in the world did Dorothy want to go home??? Home to what???? We drove....and drove....and drove today. I think we decided that we drove for almost 9 hours. The praries of Kansas are really pretty cool. Not much on them. Will kept looking for prarie dogs, and we saw three.........dead on the road. The last hour we began to see oil wells. Julie said that there is absolutely no overpopulation of the earth. All you have to do is transplant people to Kansas, and everyone would have more than enough land. The Kansas turnpike toll booth gave us the humor for the day, as I asked the young lady in the booth "Are there any tornadoes up yonder?" to which she laughed and replied, "No". Julie was so embarrassed that she covered her face with pillows, while the kids laughed and laughed.
Today we played scavenger hunt while driving....so you know it must have been a looooong drive. Tomorrow, we are up early, and driving to Colorado Springs. It is 5 hours, and we plan to be there for lunch. The afternoon is full with a visit to the "garden of the gods", a visit to the Air Force Academy and then a dinner at the Flying W Ranch.
I noticed that no one is leaving us any comments.....we solicit....no, we LIVE for those! O.K., so maybe we aren't that desperate, but we do like them. In fact we discuss as we are pulling into a new town "I wonder who has left us a comment?"
Till next time....
----WJLsr
Today we played scavenger hunt while driving....so you know it must have been a looooong drive. Tomorrow, we are up early, and driving to Colorado Springs. It is 5 hours, and we plan to be there for lunch. The afternoon is full with a visit to the "garden of the gods", a visit to the Air Force Academy and then a dinner at the Flying W Ranch.
I noticed that no one is leaving us any comments.....we solicit....no, we LIVE for those! O.K., so maybe we aren't that desperate, but we do like them. In fact we discuss as we are pulling into a new town "I wonder who has left us a comment?"
Till next time....
----WJLsr
Tuesday Morning and it's cold.....
No, not the temperature. It is what I have. I felt it coming on yesterday, and this morning I have it....a cold. Coughing.....grunge. Oh, well. Gotta push through. It is 7:40 Central Time, and we are going to try to leave by 9:00 a.m. No going up the arch. The news says the lines are long, long, long.
One more interesting tidbit....last night I was opening a starbucks coffee (cold one in a bottle). The lid burst off and coffee went everywhere. All over Julie's pocketbook, her two pillows, her magazine, my shirt, her shirt, the corner of the bed.
This morning, when we woke up, Julie looked at me and said, "I woke up to the smell coffee....would you go and get me some?" I told her "You are smelling the corner of the bed....". Her reply...."You're right....no wonder I dreamed about coffee all night long."
Well..gotta go. Too much to do, and my nose is running.
---WJLsr
One more interesting tidbit....last night I was opening a starbucks coffee (cold one in a bottle). The lid burst off and coffee went everywhere. All over Julie's pocketbook, her two pillows, her magazine, my shirt, her shirt, the corner of the bed.
This morning, when we woke up, Julie looked at me and said, "I woke up to the smell coffee....would you go and get me some?" I told her "You are smelling the corner of the bed....". Her reply...."You're right....no wonder I dreamed about coffee all night long."
Well..gotta go. Too much to do, and my nose is running.
---WJLsr
Monday, July 23, 2007
Monday in Missouri
First of all, we were NOT fighting....just a little bit frustrated. All is o.k., it was a momentary "tiff" while we were packing the car. I guess this means that, yes.....we too are human.
Anyway, I went shopping at Kroger early this morning in Nashville to buy ham and turkey for our picnic lunch. I also picked up some "healthy" snacks.....some kind of raisin, dried apple, cranberry, mystery berry combination. Boy, was that a hit! Let's see if I can recall...."What, no chocolate? What kind of snack is this? Let me do the shopping next time! Who eats this kind of stuff?" You get the picture.
Therefore, somewhere in Kentucky, we stopped at a Wendy's/BP Gas station (Will had to go to the bathroom). Three people said, "Yes!!!! I want a frostee!!" Being the ever-loving dad, who let's his arm get twisted WAY too often, I said o.k . I went into Wendy's, stood in line, finally got to the counter and order the Frostees, and the lady said "our machine isn't working...we don't have any frostee mix". Guess who got the DEEEP priviledge of going back outside to inform the gang that their freedom from healthfood by way of frostees wasn't going to happen. You got it.
Illinois seemed to be better, though, as by this time we had bought some candy, chocolate, etc. Plus, everyone watched a pretty funny movie. Darcy took a nice walk at the rest area, and on to St. Louis we came.
Crossing the river into St. Louis, we were able to see from a distance just how large the Arch really is. We found our hotel (Courtyard downtown), on market street, 4 blocks from Union Station. After checking in, we drove down to the arch and parked by the river. The sun was out, it was really pretty, and very few people around. We saw the local "FOX" news reporter, and we figured something was wrong. It was....the cable on one side of the arch had broken, and the people on the tram on that side had been stranded for over an hour and a half. We couldn't get tickets for the other half for this evening, so we went to Union Station. Will got a St. Louis Rams shirt, Hannah got some stuff for her dog, Julie got some fudge, and we ate at Houlihans. It was pretty, the waiter was kinda weird, and my chicken ceasar salad was a little dry. All in all, though, it was a good day. It goes to prove that just because things start off a little frisky, doesn't mean the day has to go that way!
We are contemplating going up the arch tomorrow...and then it is on to Hays Kansas. Hannah said today that she didn't think she had ever seen any place as flat as southern Illinois. I have news for her....wait until we cross Missouri and half of Kansas tomorrow. The definition of flat will change!
Until we reach Hays, Kansas......so long!
By the way, Marissa is trying very hard to win the "best kid award". Will, on the other hand, just wants someone to go swimming with him.
---WJLsr
Anyway, I went shopping at Kroger early this morning in Nashville to buy ham and turkey for our picnic lunch. I also picked up some "healthy" snacks.....some kind of raisin, dried apple, cranberry, mystery berry combination. Boy, was that a hit! Let's see if I can recall...."What, no chocolate? What kind of snack is this? Let me do the shopping next time! Who eats this kind of stuff?" You get the picture.
Therefore, somewhere in Kentucky, we stopped at a Wendy's/BP Gas station (Will had to go to the bathroom). Three people said, "Yes!!!! I want a frostee!!" Being the ever-loving dad, who let's his arm get twisted WAY too often, I said o.k . I went into Wendy's, stood in line, finally got to the counter and order the Frostees, and the lady said "our machine isn't working...we don't have any frostee mix". Guess who got the DEEEP priviledge of going back outside to inform the gang that their freedom from healthfood by way of frostees wasn't going to happen. You got it.
Illinois seemed to be better, though, as by this time we had bought some candy, chocolate, etc. Plus, everyone watched a pretty funny movie. Darcy took a nice walk at the rest area, and on to St. Louis we came.
Crossing the river into St. Louis, we were able to see from a distance just how large the Arch really is. We found our hotel (Courtyard downtown), on market street, 4 blocks from Union Station. After checking in, we drove down to the arch and parked by the river. The sun was out, it was really pretty, and very few people around. We saw the local "FOX" news reporter, and we figured something was wrong. It was....the cable on one side of the arch had broken, and the people on the tram on that side had been stranded for over an hour and a half. We couldn't get tickets for the other half for this evening, so we went to Union Station. Will got a St. Louis Rams shirt, Hannah got some stuff for her dog, Julie got some fudge, and we ate at Houlihans. It was pretty, the waiter was kinda weird, and my chicken ceasar salad was a little dry. All in all, though, it was a good day. It goes to prove that just because things start off a little frisky, doesn't mean the day has to go that way!
We are contemplating going up the arch tomorrow...and then it is on to Hays Kansas. Hannah said today that she didn't think she had ever seen any place as flat as southern Illinois. I have news for her....wait until we cross Missouri and half of Kansas tomorrow. The definition of flat will change!
Until we reach Hays, Kansas......so long!
By the way, Marissa is trying very hard to win the "best kid award". Will, on the other hand, just wants someone to go swimming with him.
---WJLsr
Thoughts from Hannah
Mom and Dad are fighting right now. "I hate vacations when we fuss. (insert naughty saying of the beach that cannot be displayed because mom and dad just freaked out and made me change it because it might hurt some people's feelings when really I thought it was just hilarious and showed how dramatic our family really is, and maybe if Dad was so embarrassed by what he said he shouldn't be saying those comments anyway! That was a run-on sentence, but I don't care!) If the world didn't have a beach it would be ok with me" -Dad "If the world didn't have a grand canyon it would be ok with me!" -Ansley
That's what I'm hearing right now.
Ansley is being a royal pain in the neck. She complains about everything that happens. I think this selfishness can be traced back to her childhood where our family motto for about 2 years was "what Ansley wants, Ansley gets." Darcy, on the other hand, has been wonderful. He sleeps a lot in the car and is overall happy. He slept with me through the whole night and only woke me up once by beating me in the head with his tail. He did pee on my blanket, but it's all good.
We're off to St. Louis where most of the world's crimes take place. Pray we don't get shot.
-H
That's what I'm hearing right now.
Ansley is being a royal pain in the neck. She complains about everything that happens. I think this selfishness can be traced back to her childhood where our family motto for about 2 years was "what Ansley wants, Ansley gets." Darcy, on the other hand, has been wonderful. He sleeps a lot in the car and is overall happy. He slept with me through the whole night and only woke me up once by beating me in the head with his tail. He did pee on my blanket, but it's all good.
We're off to St. Louis where most of the world's crimes take place. Pray we don't get shot.
-H
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