Post for Siri

Hi Siri, here is your post I promised on my vacation with John to Denvention3/WorldCon#66 in Denver, Co.

First, the computer with all the pictures on it is not accessible right now so I will post pictures later.

We left Monday August 4, 2008 and drove and drove and drove and.... You get the idea. It was a good long drive and would have been nicer if it was not so damn hot. The country side is just beautiful. At one stop we made it was at a rest stop that has a hiking trail and a monument called 'The Guardian of the Plains'. When we stopped it was 104* on the cars thermometer. We did not know there was a trail but John and I took full advantage of the trail and the shade and wooded hiking area. The rest stop is near Salina Kansas and yes Kansas has woods.

The shade felt so wonderful. The entire time we were walking and hiking there were butterflies landing on us and it may sound gross but they were feeding off our sweat on our bodies. It tickled!

We stopped Monday night at Hays Kansas. We found a hotel and crashed into a deep sleep until morning. This was also the night I made a quick post with the picture of the Wind Farm we passed. Now remember this for later. This hotel in Kansas had free wi-fi. Just remember that.

August 5, 2008

We left our hotel and went to, sorry to say, Wal-Mart for some supplies. Yes we always forget to pack something. While we were there I asked if there was a good coffee house near by. John was looking for a place he saw in the phone book called ' Coffee Rules'. The checker at Wal-Mart did not know of that one but she told us about a Mexican Restaurant that sells Starbucks. It was too early for a restaurant that did not serve breakfast and we were looking for a local not corporate coffee shop. (we are coffee snobs if you can't tell)

Well John found the coffee shop but it was a roadside kiosk and it was closed. So we went driving around Hays to find something for breakfast. We stopped and got gas and John was desperate and asked if there was a Starbucks nearby. He got directions to the main "Coffee Rules" location. I am so glad he did. Jason Rules is the owners name and we talked coffee and local with him for almost an hour. His coffee is great, and he and his staff was just as great. Thanks Jason you sent us on our way to Colorado happy with a good cup of coffee. And thanks for the referral for a good cup of coffee in Denver, DazBog,.

Okay, back on the road, sort of. We drove around a little in Hays on the way back to Highway 70. Took some pictures and admired the town of Hays Kansas some. We got on the Highway and off we went. We weren't in too awful of a hurry since we knew we did not have to be in Denver until 4:30pm mountain time. At one point John suddenly hit the brakes and pulled onto the side of the road. Scared the crap out of me. Why? To take pictures of a Sunflower field. Yes, we do things like that. Drives the kids nuts! When he did this I messed up on my lace pattern I was knitting. Yeah I was knitting the whole time I was in the car and could see. I made so many mistakes on the first day that on day two I frogged the whole thing. Don't get all upset. Knitting is like life, you either find a way to fix the mistakes you have made, or you start all over.

Pictures are taken and off we go again. When we got near the Denver subs we had a detour to take and deliver a gift to another friend of Johns. A couple of things from Trail Head here in St. Charles. Dave, John's friend, was very appreciative. Then off to Janice and Terry's we went. It was great to be with friends for the next three nights. And Janice makes the most wonderful Lasagna! Tuesday night was full of eating, talking , knitting and sleeping.

August 6, 2008
Janice and Terry took us to breakfast at a local place called the Egg&I. Okay they are a franchise but the food was great!

Off to the Denver Convention Center. We cruised on down to downtown Denver Colorado not having the exact location of the Convention Center but sure we knew where it was. Not. You see the Convention Center is on 14Th STREET. We found 14Th AVENUE. John got all tense, we had a fight, walked around to cool off. He took my picture in front of the Molly Brown House. (we did not go in, I was in no mood at that point) Found a great little used book store on 14Th Avenue where John got a fly fishing book and I found a Stitch'n Bitch book. Oh' and he asked directions. Yes my man asks directions, he is proud not dumb. I walked more of 14Th Ave and John went for the car. We found the Convention Center (about 6 blocks over) and checked in and got our badges. Checked out the Dealers area and left to go sight see. There was not anything scheduled for Wednesday that we were overly interested in. Just a clue, I have been attending Sci-Fi/Fantasy cons since my junior year of High School(1978). Plus I have worked local St. Louis Conventions off and on for a total of about 15 years. John is a big role player like Warhammer 40K and other games like that. So we get selective about what we programming we attend. So not seeing anything overly interesting we drove south to 'The Garden of The Gods' and stayed there for the rest of the daylight hours. If you have not been, you must go. It is so beautiful, I wanted to sit in loose myself in the mountains. We walked the trails and took pictures (which I can't get to at this writing) found other people for Missouri, talked with tourists from Japan and other states of the US. We were really wishing the kids were with us for this part of our trip. They would love it!

On the way back to our friends we drove around Colorado Springs to look. We like to look. We ate at a local Mexican restaurant, it was okay. Not Las Palmas here in town.

We got back late to our friends and slept. We were tired.

August 7, 2008

Oh boy the day of torment. It started out great, coffee and breakfast with friends. Great conversation, planning out our schedule for the day. Looking forward to doing some programming. We left the house, hit Highway 25 got off on Colfax stopped for a light, John put his foot on the gas to go at green and the car surged and died. It would not keep running. It would try to start but not continue. We are right now two blocks for the Convention Center. I crawled over to the driver seat, John got out and started to push. There was a man from no where that came and helped him. We got off Colfax and parked it in the shade on a side street. The name on our helps work shirt said 'Joe'. He would not accept lunch money for helping and disappeared as fast as he showed up. Now the phone calls to Saturn Roadside Assistance. Now our car is no longer under warranty so what ever is wrong is on our ticket. What are you going to do? Got a tow truck on the way to take us to the closest Saturn dealer which was Saturn of Aurora. Which by the way is almost to our friends we are staying at. Got the tow, got a rental car and I got all stressed out. I don't want to dwell on it now, it was stupid of me to stress, what was I going to do? Oh - John wants me to make sure I insert his heroic efforts and manliness of tackling the situation without hesitation. He was great to be sure.

We got the rental and drove slowly and crabby back to the con. I was able to get to the Torchwood block of programing. "Torchwood, is it Dr. Who for adults?" The room was packed! The panel leaders included author Patricia Bray, Jared Dashoff and Peter Knapp. The conversation was great and the audience comments made you think. I like getting different opinions on things. I may not agree but I like the diversity.

Dinner that night was beer and Mexican food.

August 8, 2008

Got up, loaded the rental car with our gear. We had a hotel for Friday and Saturday night near the convention. While going to the con, John found me a yarn shop to stop at. The Knitting Habitat is a cute store with a big table for classes and a large couch and chairs for sitting. When we were the the shop dog would not leave John alone. They played while I looked and shopped. Magazines were my purchase of the day. Can't have too many patterns you know! Remember I said earlier to remember something about coffee? This is the day we found the delicious DazBog Coffee Shop. It is a must for coffee.

WE were so bummed out about the car that we did not get in a hurry to get to the convention. We stopped for lunch at Old Chicago restaurant and then went on to the con. John got me there in time for the Ravelry Meet-Up. It was a great stress releiver for me. I casted on for my Knitty Couture KnitOlympics project, a simple Russian Lace Scarf. Ravelry Rocks!

About 6 we left and went to dinner. One of the knitters joined us. Elliot was great company for dinner. I look forward to staying in touch with her. We ate at Bubba Gumps just past the Convention Center. We had so much fun hanging out and talking that we missed the masqerade and you know, I did not care.

Our car? The part did not come in on Friday to fix it. They had to order on Thursday a new mass air flow censor. While checking our car and finding what was wrong (this was on Thursday) the mechanic found my battery was leaking. Not a good thing. So all Friday we hopped the part would come in on Saturday as promised. Earlier on Friday when we checked into our hotel, the Sheraton, I set up my laptop to post about our adventures so far. Well, remember the little town of Hays Kansas and the free wi-fi at the hotel there? The Sheraton in downtown Denver Colorado charges. I think that is ridiculous. It was a nice room, big bed and the cleaning staff for the rooms was just great, but charging for internet? They charge tax on parking fees in there parking garage, give me some free connection would you.

August 9, 2008

Saturday, back to the DazBog for coffee and breakfast burritos. Off to the convention. I called the car dealer before we left the hotel. No part yet and I was told that it may not show up. There was a slim chance the manager ordered it on time for Saturday delivery. John was not looking forward to staying in Denver until Monday. Hour later good news, the part was in and the car was getting fixed. 45 minutes later bad news, the bearings were about to fail on the AWD on the drivers side. The car would not make it home. Well, fix it was all I could say. Fortunately the parts were in stock for that. So, a new mass air flow censor, a new Delco battery and new front bearings later and we were able to pick up the car Saturday night.

In the mean time we made it to the Book Binding lecture and class. It was great, we got to make our own journal and our teacher was wonderful. Nancy from Tangerine Book Arts thanks for a great lesson.

We rushed from the con to get the car. It was so releaving to have our own car back. Back to the hotel and dinner. We went to Bubba Gumps again and then we walked the Denver Mall there at downtown. Yeah we shopped, John needed music for the ride home. Especially since I was flying home Sunday at 1pm. The kids started school on the 11th and one of us needed to be home to take care of our family. I would not even think on asking my parents to do it. The kids were there all week with them. Good thing I did not ask them to anyhow. They had to leave town on Monday the 11th to go to Texarkana. My youngest sister was going into the hospital on Wednesday to have a baby and my folks were going to be there.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

We checked out of the hotel, looked around the dealers room and started to head out. John took me to one last yarn shop, Fancy Tiger and I spent so much time there we had to rush to the airport. Anyone who has flown out of Denver Colorado know the Denver Airport is out on the fringes, way out. John threw me out at the airport and started to drive home to St. Louis. I went to security and got through rather quickly, thank goodness they were not busy. I was standing in line at security at 1:10pm and my flight left at 1:55pm. Not a lot of time to fudge with! After taking the tram to my gate area I walked up and checked in and got my boarding pass just as they were calling for people to line up to board.

Every seat on a 167 passenger seat plane was full. I sat with a nice couple from Nashville. They were on there way home from vacationing with friends in Utah. I knitted more on my lace scarf and tried to rest. I have only flown about 6 times in my 47 years so it is still a little unnerving to me. The low weather was a little rough so the pilots flew us high above the storm clouds and with good winds the plane landed 30 minutes early. Everyone on the packed plane was very happy with the flight. At least the people I heard talking.

My parents and my kids met me at the airport and since I did not have any luggage to retrieve I was actually waiting for them. It was so good to get home.

All in all John and I had a good time, even with the car repairs and extra expenses. The convention was good too, even though there was not enough to keep us entertained. Going to The Garden of the Gods was great. I want to save up and take the kids there.

Well there you go. And yes I left out some details, some very boring ones and some really fun ones that I don't want to share. (get a room)

Pictures later.