Catching up

We took our very first road trip. 3,300 miles with the kids through Iowa (nothing to report), Nebraska (Motel 6 was a luxurious respite from the moonless nighttime monotony).
We arrived in Denver shortly into our second day. The kids were great. It was at the motel 6 the night before when we decided that we would always stay at a hotel with a pool. This was the bare minimum requirement and one that would save us many late nights with stir crazy car bound kids. It is a little known fact that swimming pools have been known to tire children out at a rate 15% faster than screaming at them does. These statistics are enough proof for me. We also discovered at the next hotel that a "suite" is another way to spell "lasting marriage". We insisted on a suite thereon.
When we arrived in Denver we called the Hampton inns and Suites. This location was a highlight of our vacation due to my sister living relatively close to the hotel. Rebecca and her husband Tim are truly are the most gracious hosts and the most niece and nephew-centric people we know. I would love them to have children now, but if they can't, they are welcome to have ours. We spent some quality time at the the hotel defending ourselves from a nest of Pigeons and their defensive cock on our balcony. Every time we opened the door to the balcony, swoosh in came the male and in went our party.
We had a nice picnic in Denver, spent some quality time at the Brunetto residence, had some mediocre Sushi, went to a retro candy making factory, saw a great upscale grocery store that in its greenness would make Al Gore proud, (I loathe the man) Had a great picnic at a local park, went to Boulder for some outstanding micro-brew (I could live there if I didn't loathe Al Gore who seems to be revered as a god both there and everywhere west).

Next stop was Santa Fe.

Wow. Santa Fe is spectacular. It is an arid great-lakeless Tex-Mex Bayfield Wisconsin. We arrived at a recommended B&B where we had made a reservation. The B&B was obviously nice once, but as the owners aged, so did the establishment. We were shown to our room which though large, was tired. The proprietor handed us the key and left us to ourselves. We were exhausted. The drive from Denver to Santa Fe is long and with two young kids is very long.
We didn't need any surprises.
As we explored the room we discovered that more than just tired, our room was dirty. Two pubic hairs in the sink, an unidentifiable smear on a wall, a small raised dirt shoe track in the middle of the room, a slightly ruffled coverlet. Questions came to our tired minds like, were the sheets even relatively clean, were those really pubes, why were they in the sink? Was the bed made this week, this month, what was in that closet that we couldn't open? Why did the room have shag carpeting, can shag be clean? What was that yellow wet looking chunk in the carpeting, and avoiding the chunk, was it otherwise alright to go barefoot?

Twenty uncomfortable minutes later (Thanks to Liz for getting us out of our deposit at the B&B) we arrived at the AAA emergency-line recommended Inn of the Governors. Night and day. We were greeted with a glass of sherry, cinnamon cookies for the kids, and were escorted to the best room of our trip. The porter showed us where we could find the firewood for our in room kiva fireplace and showed us our robes for the heated outdoor pool. No pubes in the sink, check. No yellow chunks, check. No shag carpeting, check.
The Inn of the Governors is two blocks from the plaza which is the shopping, art and restaurant center of Santa Fe. We ate some outstanding Southwestern cuisine, sampled the regional red and green chili sauces and for the most part had a great time. We were given some great dining recommendations by a local artist Roger Wilber who is a friend of a friend and who's art is second to none in the famous galleries of Santa Fe. Although we didn't have a chance to see Roger himself, we were shown some of his jewelry which is the best we saw in the city.
We will return to Santa Fe someday soon.
Tulsa OK, Amarillo TX, and finally Kansas city MO rounded out the trip. Kansas city was nice. Some highlights include Oklahoma Joe's in Kansas City, Kansas, The Hallmark Museum, and the Plaza.

What else...
Yesterday we returned from a week in Ft. Myers. We went with my in laws and the kids.
The weather was perfect, and well, we survived. Our room is right on the water and we had a school of dolphin and a group of Manatees right outside the window. We spent time on Sanabel and Captiva, enjoyed the beach and didn't strangle each other. Amazing, everyone had a pretty good time! The highlight of the trip for me was going to Ft Lauderdale for the day to visit with my Grandparents, Aunt and Cousins. We spent a good part of the day in Ft Lauderdale at my Grandparents house visiting Marybeth, Kathy, and Kathy's kids Michael, Joseph and Taylor who are about the sweetest and most well behaved kids you could meet. We look forward to them visiting Minnesota soon!

I could go on and on, but then what would I have to say next year when I update?