Next Friday, my mom, my 2 sisters and I leave for a road trip to Breckenridge, CO. Although each of us have very different personalities and values that can sometimes rub the wrong way, we have learned to appreciate and enjoy each other on trips like this. And my mom loves having all of us together. We do lots of laughing, talking and reminiscing too.
In 2006 we took probably our FIRST EVER girl's trip in our lives. We all drove to Cloudcroft, New Mexico to visit a couple of my mom's sisters and we had a great time, except that I had to share sleeping quarters with my noisy sisters.
This time we'll be staying in a 2 bedroom timeshare in Breckenridge Colorado. We leave on Friday, drive to Farmington, NM as our first pit stop, then drive on to Breckenridge the next day. We're taking a little longer route so we can see some of the gorgeous mountains on the way. We'll stay in Breckenridge for a few days and leave early Weds morning for the 12 hour plus trip home.
So we're in the homestretch for getting ready. As some of you know, my mom is the absolute Queen of Planners (which is being passed down thru our generations). And the older she gets, the farther ahead she needs to plan. She calls me every few days with something else she's thought about for the trip. Do we need to take paper towels? Do we need to take our own bedding? How many miles is it, so she can calculate the gas costs? What will the weather be like? What time are we leaving? Do we need drinks for the car? How far is Denver from Breckenridge? It's fun to see her get excited about going. She loves to travel and doesn't get a chance to go these days unless one of us goes with her.
Today she told me all the things she did around her apartment to be sure that it's nice and tidy and clean when she gets home from the trip. (She just called back to tell me a couple more food items that she's going to bring.) I love going thru the adventure with her!
Since mom is 84 and uses a walker, we won't be doing much hiking or anything too active. Mainly driving to see the sights and walking around the cute little downtown area. There are supposed to be a couple of free concerts in the square that we'll try to get to as well.
The weather forecast calls for a possibility of rain off and on, with highs in the low 60's and low's in the upper 30's ! PERFECT!!! If we get much rain, we may just stay in the condo some of the time and watch movies and talk. I'm taking my new laptop, so I'll plan to continue documenting some of our family history while mom tells us stories. I realized the other day that there are a lot of events from my childhood where I can't pinpoint the dates, but with the 4 of us together we should be able to do some of that too.
So here's the beginning of my list of things to do to get ready:
- Terry already took my car in this morning for maintenance service and got it washed as well. How sweet is that! Did I mention that it was his idea that I go on this trip? He's a bit jealous that I get to go to one of his favorite states without him, but encouraged me to go and spend time with my mom. (one more proof that he's a great husband)
- The packing list is started. I actually have a generic list saved on my computer, so I'll just tweak that one for this trip.
- The route is mapped
- Hotel reservations are made
- AAA book and maps are picked up
- The cameras are charged and ready
- I'm ordering some "chick flicks" from Netflix to take with us in case of rain
- I may need to pick up a few food items for the drive
- Later in the week I'll get all the laundry done and make sure there's food in the house for Terry, which there always is
- Actual packing on Thursday night...
- I have to work all week, but just a half day on Friday...
- ...then we'll be on our way to the cool country! Can't wait!
Note: the black & white photo above was found on one of my favorite photography websites, Photo.net and taken by Zak Himmelman. The stream photo is by Laura Eastlack.
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