MILE HIGH!

Having returned home the week before a 'bank holiday' weekend, I was not sure that we would be able to take advantage of the extra day, but I did want Dana to have a break, not only away from the office, but away from home.  I knew that there was no way he would not work on Saturday, and Monday, if we were 'in town', with the possibility of attempting to do a little 'catching up' on Sunday. Having been away for two weeks, I thought we needed some time together, and this would also not be a 'happening thaing' should we stay at home.

Where to go was not so much of a dilemma.  I was not looking for adventure, or even excitement, but more of a relaxing place where I knew we would be comfortable and enjoy some good food.  With the possibility of a 'straight through' flight, Denver seemed to be the place to accomplish all of the above.  Dana booked the 'break' on Tuesday morning, (after a fairly robust hinting session from me,) but did not tell me.  He simply left the itinerary in my 'in box'.

We closed the door behind us at around 5:15 on Friday evening and headed towards the airport.  The roads were very busy and we sat in traffic, thankful that our flight was not until nearly eight.  The journey took us over an hour, but we still had plenty of time to get something to eat before take off.  An upgrade had been granted, and seats together were given. (so I did not have to create a scene; not that I would!)

"Oh my goodness!  I don't believe it!" squealed the young lady standing in front of us in the line.  I looked around in order to see to whom she was talking.  "Where are you going?" she continued.  It was then that I realised it was me!  It was my neighbour, Lillyan. I 'went in' for the hug, with Dana catching on soon after.  "I must take a picture!" she said, getting her camera out.  It appeared that she and her husband, Trey, were meant to be going to Denver for a wedding, but he had been held up in Oklahoma, where he was working, and would meet her at the other end.  When she found out that we were staying in Aurora, a suburb of the mile high city, she squealed again.  I felt quite elated that she was so excited to see us. 

"They are my neighbours", Lillyan said to the man sitting next to her, as Dana was trying to get a picture of her sitting behind him.  "Oh, I wondered", said the confused guy, presumably wondering why a senior was covertly trying to get a picture of a much younger, very attractive woman sitting in the seat behind!  I had already started to crochet and was watching a film Matthew McConaughey film, that was half way through!  I was not bothered by my husband's antics, knowing that the picture was for my daughter!

"But the bottle is only this big", said the fight attendant when I asked for a gin and tonic, but requested that only a quarter to a third of the bottle be emptied into the mixer.  "Yes, I know", I said, as she still looked amazed.  When another flight attendant brought me my beverage, he offered me the rest of the bottle.  "She said you only wanted half.  Do you want me to leave the other half in case it is not strong enough?"  I explained that if he had put in half, it was already too strong, and I would need the rest of the tonic, rather than the alcohol.  He thought I was joking, but took the bottle away.  It was far too strong, for me, but I drank it none the less.  

I felt the spirit 'kick in', and by the time I was half way through the flight, I was rather intoxicated.  I was suppressing a fit of the giggles, by the time we were coming into land.  The problem was that we were flying through a mass of clouds, and an electric storm, so my fear metre was hitting 'danger', as the rest of me couldn't care less!  I sat clutching the arms of the chair, whilst smiling like a Cheshire cat and trying very hard not to shriek with laughter.  

I remember demanding, rather loudly, that Dana retrieve Lillyan's bag.  I had suggested, very quietly, that he stow it for her in the overhead bin when we entered the plane.  I marched up the tunnel into the terminal, and shouted, "There's Trey!" as he stood open armed and shouted back, "Welcome neighbours!"  He gave me a big hug, and then for a moment I regained composure and moved out of the way so he could welcome his wife, who had got stuck behind some slow moving passengers as she deplaned.  However, the short sharp gain of composure did not last.  "Did she behave herself on the plane?" he asked, jokingly.  "Oh no!" I shouted.  "They had to read her the riot act, more than once".  I willed my mouth to shut, but it appeared that no one thought any the worse for my outburst, and merely thought I was joining in the fun.  We exchanged a few sentences, and then bid the younger couple farewell, before going to find the bus to take us to the car hire centre.  

Still full of bravado, I raced into the facility, leaving Dana to retrieve the cases, and ran to the front, without zig-zagging through the aisles, and walked back along the queue.  As Dana came into the building, we were called, "Next".  I felt not an ounce of remorse!  We drove out of the airport and Dana asked the young man at the 'checkpoint' how to get to Pena Avenue.  "Well if your co-pilot has a smart phone, she can plug it in and get directions".  I don't think it was the gin talking when I replied, "No she wont.  Don't you know how to get there?  Can't you just tell us?"  It was very sad that this young man could not direct us out of the airport, to the very road.  He actually had to think about telling us to turn left, and keep going, and then turn right, and even then he was not sure.  The really disturbing thing is that it is the road that leads to the airport, so unless he lives on the perimeter, he must pass the road, if not travel along it, every day that he works!

Our room was beautiful, and comfortable, as we knew it would be.  I unpacked, brushed my teeth, got into bed, and passed out very quickly.  By midnight I was wide awake and wondering why I was so affected by such a small amount of gin!  Perhaps I should have had the whole bottle!  I would have made more of a fool of myself at the airport, possibly, but I may have slept for longer!

I swam early Saturday morning and then we had breakfast, before heading out to the zoo.  I checked my 'app' and saw that we were second and third on the upgrade list, with two seats still available.  However, by the time we reached the animal kingdom, we had been 'bumped' down to fourth and fifth!  The zoo was rather disappointing.  Not only were a lot of exhibits closed, but the enclosures were incredibly small, and the animals had very little room to manoeuvre.  After visiting Whipsnade for Ollie's birthday and remembering Steph's remarks about London Zoo being a 'disgrace', as the enclosures there were very tiny, I wondered how this zoo had rated as the sixth best in the USA.  It boasted being the only 'Mountain' Zoo, but I did not quite know what that meant.  I began to regret facilitating its existence with my purchasing of a ticket.  However, we wandered for a couple of hours.  

The Sea-Lion show was not exceptional.  A sea-lion and a seal were to perform.  An employee came out and introduced herself, along with a colleague and then introduced the two sea creatures.  "I will explain the difference", she said.  I wondered what pearls of wisdom she was going to impart.  After all, one is a sea-lion and one is a seal.  It would appear that it is a question posed, but when you look at the two creatures, the differences are rather obvious and do not need, in my opinion, to be pointed out.  However, I am not a marine biologist, nor a child attempting to write a project, just an adult who has decided that a prize for stating the obvious is not much of a prize!  Perhaps I still had the remnants of the minute amount of juniper berries still working through my system!

The detour back to the hotel was vital.  We had a paper to serve in Aurora!  As we were going to be in the area, it seemed a little silly to send it to a server to try, especially as the address was a 'possibility'.  Before attempting, we stopped at a Walmart, to use the facilities, and to buy a nail file; an essential I thought I had but alas, did not!  I found Dana wandering along the outskirts of the 'beauty product' aisles, looking aimlessly.  As I approached him, he found an assistant to assist.  She walked us to the nail file section.  I had to suppress my laughter once again.  For a state that has declared the legalisation of cannabis, it's broad mindedness does not extend to other areas.  The nail files (and I am not referring to the metal variety, just the regular emery board) were behind a locked glass unit.  Along with the files were nail polish and other items of a manicure nature.  Scissors, knives and other products that are not allowed in the cabin when boarding a flight, were not so restricted.  Perhaps the Aurora underworld has a different approach on villainy!  However, I have never heard of a 'hold up' with an emery board, or a bottle of nail varnish being used in a bank heist.  Forgive my flippancy, but I cannot help but see the irony!

We were not 'carded' at the check out and continued on our way to find the apartment block where our 'respondent' was to be served! (If we were to be delivering papers to a 'defendant' rather than to a someone in a divorce case, then we would be well equipped, being armed with our nail files!)  The roads did not match up with the map, and Dana was not happy.  "The map is wrong", he said.  "Ask someone", said I.  "But the map is wrong!" he repeated.  "There is a mailman.  He will know!" I said.  "What is the point of having a map online if it is wrong", he continued.  "Why wont men ask someone the way?" I said.  

We eventually found the building. With two possible addresses to try, Dana left me in the car, and went in search of the recipient.  He was not at either, and they knew him not at either!  Our job was done!  We had to now find our way out of the maze and back to the hotel.  I spotted signs to the highway, and after pointing to them, sat back an let my husband drive!

Happy hour in the bar at the hotel did not have cocktails on the menu, as previously.  Instead they had a choice of several beers, and house wines.  I chose a house white.  I drank a few sips, enjoyed some chips and salsa, and then took the glass back to the room.  We had made reservations at my favourite restaurant in Aurora (having only ever been to two) where bison is on the menu! I ate a rather large steak, as Dana toyed with his pot roast, before telling the waiter he could not eat it, as he really did not like it. They swapped it out for a traditional 'beef' sirloin, (not a seal!) which he enjoyed.  We walked back to the hotel, having decided that it would be silly to take the car on such a short journey, and I finished my glass of wine whilst watching the television.

I swam early on Sunday morning, and then had breakfast.  We sat in the bar area, each writing our blog posts, and then decided to head out to the Animal Rescue Reserve.  "We spotted two buffalo this morning, but don't know where the others are", said the older man at the visitors centre.  "How many should there be?" I asked.  "Oh, coupla hundred head", he replied.  How do you lose a couple of hundred buffalo?  We drove through the reserve and whilst we did not find the missing herd, there were hundreds of prairie dogs, calling to each other.  It was rather amusing.  Perhaps they were the 'look outs' for their neighbours!  We spotted some deer, and then after about an hour came to the exit.  I thought we would see some other animals, but it appeared that there were two 'conservation' areas, and we had gone to the 'other' one.  The second place was more of a safari park, where there were lions and tigers roaming free, (or as free as far as the fencing,) along with other predators.  I wondered if the buffalo had wandered over there for a family reunion!


We repeated our evening antics on Sunday, and after attending 'happy hour', went to Teds for dinner.  "I will have the skinny bison burger, please", said I to the waitress.  "But instead of tomatoes, can I have fries?"  She looked at me rather bewildered.  "I just think the bun is a waste of time, and it fills me up too much.  I want to enjoy the burger, but you can't have a burger without fries", I continued.  She found this to be highly amusing.  The offer of the gluten free bun was declined vehemently!  "Oh I like bread.  Glutenous bread!  Just don't really want it with my burger".   This seemed to spark a light in her eyes.  "Perhaps.....", I could almost hear her thinking!

The glass of wine was drunk and another film watched that evening.  Wine does not have quite the effect as that of spirits, but as we were a 'mile high', I was a little intoxicated.  In fact, I found myself becoming quite abrupt.  "I told you where I put the tickets!" I said to Dana, and immediately realised how terse this sounded.  I spoke with a brusque response for most of the evening, and each time was rather surprised by my outburst.  I slept little that night.

We ate breakfast before departing and I took some 'supplies' with me for the plane.  We went through the 'Pre-TSA' line, and boarded the plane soon after arriving at the gate.  Our neighbours were taking a later flight.  We knew no one on board.

Dana headed into the office when we returned, and I headed down to the pool.  I swam for about two minutes before the thunder started to rumble and the rain started to pour.  

Our weekend had been a nice break, but work was waiting, and the week was another one in the hectic variety.  I had to take my car to be 'inspected' on Wednesday and whilst waiting started to read a book that my neighbour Cathleen had given to me.  It is about a Texan woman who marries and Englishman and moves to England.  She talks about the differences and especially the language.  I was laughing quite a bit whilst reading, and was sorry that the oil change and inspection did not take longer!  I could see that the author and I were on different sides of the same coin.  

I was asked how I enjoyed my weekend, and imparted the details.  When I mentioned about the 'happy hour', and enjoying a free glass of wine each night was rather enjoyable, I was asked if it affected me, due to the altitude.  Altitude does not normally affect me, as a little goes to my head no matter my whereabouts, but it did make sense regarding my abrupt behaviour!  I wondered if that was the cause.  At the very least I could use it as an excuse!  The upside of the short week at work was that my workload had diminished considerably due to our 'new guy'.  I was actually able to do some cleaning or at least clearing.  The office is rather like London Zoo!  (Whether you deem that to be a disgrace or full of animals in small cages is your choice!)

The rain came in with a vengeance during the week, and although I manged to swim every day, it was between storms.  Saturday was quite interesting as it was the first in over a month that Samantha and I were able to resume normal behaviour!  We went to the warehouses and to Walmart, and sang to sixties and seventies melodies!  A Saturday would not be complete without hearing "Our Elton" (John) on the radio!  I swam half a lap, got out of the pool as the thunder roared, and then got back in an hour later.  Samantha slept but then awoke as the rain started, and sat under an umbrella while I was swimming.  I then returned to my chair, read my 'swimming pool' book for a bit and promptly fell asleep.  I awoke rather cold, and wet!  

I did not have much time to read more of my other book, but I hope I can make time, as it made me realise that I am not the only one who has much to tell in ............. another story!