Day 16
I said good bye to Joanie early this morning with a big hug, grabbed a coffee & walked some of the trails at the the Golden Ponds park in Longmont.
This seems like a local park with lots of dog walkers & runners. And the views are really nice.
Then it was time to head south to Denver. Sherry was working until 3pm & I have been on a crazy stupid mission since Abiquiu where I saw a shirt on some random woman. Too crazy to explain, but I want that shirt or something very similar. So, I’m looking at the vintage stores & used clothing places. While theres a lot weird & strange about my current obsession, these kind of missions are not new to me. I’m like a dog on a bone….until I let go. The interesting thing about shopping vintage, both in New Mexico (I did my share there too) & here (& if I don’t find my prize I’ll be doing this in Lawrence & Kansas City too), is it takes me to places in the cities I’ve never been before.
Garage Sale Vintage was truly unique…inside besides vintage clothing is a bar. You can shop & have a margarita at the same time!
If you also need a whole variety of hot sauces to take home after you shop & drink, Garage Sale Vintage can hook you up! I didn’t find my shirt or have a drink or need any hot sauce, but I do think this is one of coolest vintage shops I’ve been in.
I found myself down on Broadway, where there are several vintage shops & a really great Goodwill. And, because I was right across the street, I went & bought a banana cream pie donut from Voodoo donuts. In truth, I couldn’t eat the whole thing….but the first few bites tasted pretty good to me who rarely ever eats a donut.
I ended up going to quite a few shops…but no shirt. But it had been a good day anyway.
Even though Sherry just got back in town from Japan then Patagonia, she picked up kittens from the shelter right away. She is an awesome foster kitten mom! (As well as a world traveler & fearless cyclist—check her out OttsWorld website, Facebook & Instagram as well as our trip together last spring for her Capitol to Capitol project). So, when I got to her place, I immediately got some kitten love. There are three brothers, but one was hiding from camera at this minute.
Sherry made us a super yummy dinner then we walked to a new cocktail bar she’s been wanting to show me. I love where her place is located in Denver…she can walk to so many really cool places.
My drink, on the left, had carrot ginger juice, tequila, bourbon, ancho reyes chile liqueur with a few drops of vanilla cream. Wow…it was great. Before leaving Colorado, I bought a bottle of the ancho reyes chile liqueur…I’m going to try to duplicate this at home.
Sherry & I always have fun catching up. She is still battling jet lag a bit, so after more kitten time, we turned in for the night.
Day 17
Sherry had meetings this morning & I needed to run some errands…liquor store, gas, ice & clean out my 4Runner. And since I’m probably 10# up over the past two weeks, I thought I’d eat breakfast by having my very favorite ice cream bars I can only buy in California & Colorado. In California, you can buy individual bars at most any convenience store. But in Colorado I’ve only found them in boxes of three. I have found the solution to this non-problem. I bought the box & ice & in the parking lot did my routine of emptying the melted ice out of the cooler, rearranging everything inside the cooler, filling my big water bottle & thermos with both water & ice then placing the new bag of ice in the cooler. Then I get out my perfect sized Stanley stainless steel jar, unwrap two of the sandwiches placing them on top of each other in the container & closing the lid tight. I then sink it into the ice. The third one I just unwrap & eat! This is the kind of breakfast I like!
In the afternoon, Sherry drove us to Boulder to the Wallaroo Hat Companys big sale. Sherry is an ambassador for this cool brand of hats…female owned company too. She was picking up all the new 2024 hats for all her travels this upcoming year. I own one really great Wallaroo hat, but somehow ended up with two more & one for Danny too (see below). It was fun meeting some of the people that work there & I love trying on all kinds of hats!
Then we went to Avery Brewery. I had a Tweak…one of my favorite stouts ever & we shared a super yummy plate of brisket nachos. It was another beautiful & surprisingly warm Colorado day for this late in October.
Sherry took us back to Denver along the foothills & it was a beautiful drive. Once back at her place, we cozied up to the kittens for the rest of the evening. They are adorable & certainly made me miss my own kitties even more.
They all three fell asleep on my legs….so cute!
We said good night & then good bye. I’d be leaving whenever I woke up early in the morning. It’s always great to spend time with Sherry & she never minds the one million questions I ask about her travels & the few I ask about her family (she has a cool family!)
Then I tucked in for a good nights sleep. My last one on the road.
Day 18
I woke about 4:30 & was buckled in Camper & was ready for the road by 4:45am. As usual, I headed straight east. It’s 500 miles & 8 hours of boring (just my opinion). I’d finished my last audio book, so I started another. As I usually do, I only stop for gas & always pee when I do…so three times in 8 hours. And for my breakfast? The other two It’s It ice cream bars which were not too melted. I just eat them with a spoon!
I did get to watch the sunrise, which is always nice (until it rises far enough to sort of blind you while driving).
The sun rises through my dirty windshield.
I drove to one of me & Dannys favorite pizza places in Lawrence & met him there about 1:30. It was really good to see him! And on that note, the trip was over.
rAnDoM
I love visiting New Mexico! I know I will be back & hopefully sometime show Danny how fun, wonderful & diverse this state is! We need a month to do that!
I could probably write a lot about my #lostsummer & all the emotions my family & I went through not to mention all the physical challenges I had. But truthfully, I’m still processing all of it.
I have learned lots of good lessons, to be more empathetic, to know that sadly there are so many people that are diagnosed with horrible illnesses & some of those will always be a mystery with no treatment or cure & some of those people get no help or answers.
I know when I felt strong & brave & I know when I was weak & disappointed in myself.
I am so grateful for all of my friends & extended family that kept in touch through this whole nightmare…texting, messaging, calling, coming by, offering to take me places, not minding cancelled plans, going with me to testing & listening to my frustrations, fears & tears.
Your caring means the world to me.
My family was rock solid with me all the way. Sara was constantly researching & trying to figure out what the problem was & what I could do to treat the horrible symptoms I was having. She was on the phone with my physicians & explaining to me what each test would be like & what certain results would mean. The boys were keeping in close contact & I enjoyed when I could just hear about their lives & not talk medical stuff.
Danny & I went to depths we’d not been before. He was so supportive in every way. To watch your partner deal with a big medical issue is heartbreaking. We cried so many tears this summer, discussed what it would look like if I was not part of his life anymore, & what I would & wouldn’t do regarding my death choices. I know this all sounds dramatic, but when you don’t know what you’re dealing with, & neither does the medical community & it just keeps getting worse, no one knows what the outcome will be.
But, I am so grateful…those words don’t begin to cover how thankful I am that my body is healing. I may not be fully back & still deal with a few symptoms daily, but it is nothing like it was this summer.
Day 14 of this trip, marked 6 months since this medical roller coaster started.
Here’s to no more medical crap & lots of future travels…Cheers!
As I type this today, October 22nd, Danny & I are celebrating our 46th wedding anniversary. Another very very good thing to be grateful for!
Babies with lots of hair!
Today on our favorite date!
Happy Halloween everyone! I will miss Claire & Emma & spending my favorite holiday with them this year!
