Flight Details
My husband and I are firm believers in the importance of showing up for your kids. The Bonus Kid's choir concerts, plays, band events, volleyball tournaments - you name it. We've gone to almost every single event. I can count on one hand the number we missed - always because of work travel or shooting weddings. We volunteer - whether it is baking twenty-four egg bakes for the debate tournament, or spending every Friday night home game on the field photographing and filming marching band performances, and we wouldn't have it any other way.
As the marching band planned their 2017 trip to Tampa for the Outback Bowl and Parade, I was asked if I could photograph their recording studio experience at Universal Studios for ARTIFEX, the fine arts publication for her school. After what I'm sure was the quickest 'YES!' imaginable, I cashed in some Delta miles and called my sister-in-law to see if I could crash on her couch in Orlando.
After a quick breakfast at Cafe Intermezzo, I caught my connecting flight and made it to Orlando. After collecting my rental car, I visited the office of my then current employer to meet some new teammates, followed by a visit to my favorite sister-in-law at her work before heading to their house for dinner with her and her kids.
We had a great dinner and conversation before I headed off to my AirBnB in Tampa - my first experience staying in a private room instead of having the entire home at my disposal. After chatting with the trip coordinator, the easiest way for everyone would be if I rode in the van from Tampa to Orlando for the Universal recording studio experience. As luck would have it, my Bonus Kid was selected to do some voice over recordings for the project, so I was able to get even more photos of her doing awesome stuff! And then got to spend the rest of the day riding rides with another band parent!
We drove back to Orlando and I was fast asleep by 10pm. Maybe it was exhaustion or maybe the Universe knew what 2018 had in store for me. So at midnight I woke to the sound of fireworks in the neighborhood, but quickly fell back asleep before my early morning flight back to the frozen tundra of Des Moines.
New Years in Florida!
Thursday, January 3, 2019
My husband and I are firm believers in the importance of showing up for your kids. The Bonus Kid's choir concerts, plays, band events, volleyball tournaments - you name it. We've gone to almost every single event. I can count on one hand the number we missed - always because of work travel or shooting weddings. We volunteer - whether it is baking twenty-four egg bakes for the debate tournament, or spending every Friday night home game on the field photographing and filming marching band performances, and we wouldn't have it any other way.
As the marching band planned their 2017 trip to Tampa for the Outback Bowl and Parade, I was asked if I could photograph their recording studio experience at Universal Studios for ARTIFEX, the fine arts publication for her school. After what I'm sure was the quickest 'YES!' imaginable, I cashed in some Delta miles and called my sister-in-law to see if I could crash on her couch in Orlando.
After a quick breakfast at Cafe Intermezzo, I caught my connecting flight and made it to Orlando. After collecting my rental car, I visited the office of my then current employer to meet some new teammates, followed by a visit to my favorite sister-in-law at her work before heading to their house for dinner with her and her kids.
We had a great dinner and conversation before I headed off to my AirBnB in Tampa - my first experience staying in a private room instead of having the entire home at my disposal. After chatting with the trip coordinator, the easiest way for everyone would be if I rode in the van from Tampa to Orlando for the Universal recording studio experience. As luck would have it, my Bonus Kid was selected to do some voice over recordings for the project, so I was able to get even more photos of her doing awesome stuff! And then got to spend the rest of the day riding rides with another band parent!
We drove back to Orlando and I was fast asleep by 10pm. Maybe it was exhaustion or maybe the Universe knew what 2018 had in store for me. So at midnight I woke to the sound of fireworks in the neighborhood, but quickly fell back asleep before my early morning flight back to the frozen tundra of Des Moines.
I have a friend who lives a much cooler life of overseas travel than I ever will. After a trip to see her was thwarted by natural disaster, I had a credit with Delta that expired one year later. What seemed like a little while later, I was catching up on work at a coffee shop, I thought to log in to my Delta account to see when it expired, and found it expired that same day! Yikes!
My friend had moved in that year, and it seemed fitting to use the credit towards an adventure to visit her in her new home. A few text messages with her and the husband and we had planned a trip to Washington D.C. for a few weeks later.
The next morning I kept myself busy exploring their neighborhood until Melissa was free, then we made one last trip to their old place in the stunning Kalorama neighborhood, the same neighborhood where the Obama family resides until their youngest daughter finishes high school. In the meantime, James was on his way from Des Moines to Reagan Airport with a quick layover in Minneapolis. Once we were all together, it was great to catch up and hear about their latest adventures!
James and I rented this great apartment on AirBnB - right around the corner from our friends old place - HA! We found this cute coffee shop just down the street from where we stayed. We relied on public transportation and a few Uber rides plus a rented motorcycle on the second to last day! One day we booked tickets for a tour bus that lets you hop on and off throughout the day - a great way to see as much of a city in a short amount of time. We timed the first half of the tour so we could meet up with Melissa for lunch at Old Ebbitt Grill, a famous political lunch spot.
I know it sounds corny, but I've always liked seeing sights from television and movies, so it was fun to see some places from The West Wing, Scandal, and House of Cards.
I had been to DC before; once in eighth grade on a class trip, and again in 2010 to see Melissa, but this was James first trip! When I first visited DC, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorial had recently opened and it was neat to see how the bronze statues had aged. 
The newer Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. memorial was amazing to see for the first time. The powerful words of both MLK Jr. and FDR were carved around each respective memorial and were especially meaningful in the wake of racial tension and the 2016 election cycle that had already begun. As we got the lay of the land from our tour bus, James suggested we rent a motorcycle to better see the city, and in no time he had found a place just across the state line in Virginia where we could rent a bike and two helmets. The next morning while I had a conference call, he took the train to pick up the bike and by lunch we were cruising around.
The bike also let us revisit some of the memorials at night
which was such a breathtaking experience.
The annoying hoards of thirteen year-olds on tour groups may have felt
like karmic retribution for my days as an annoying thirteen year old in a tour
group...
Right before our trip, I decided I needed a better travel camera; something small enough I could put in my purse, but would still give me the manual control from my DSLR. I purchased the Sony A6000 and I absolutely love it! It also let me move photos from my camera to my phone on the go, allowing me to post on social media throughout our trip. 10/10 would purchase again.
It was such a fun adventure and we are lucky to have such great friends and I'm thrilled they live MUCH closer these days! Enjoy these photos!
Vacation Flashback: Washington DC 2015
Thursday, September 7, 2017
I have a friend who lives a much cooler life of overseas travel than I ever will. After a trip to see her was thwarted by natural disaster, I had a credit with Delta that expired one year later. What seemed like a little while later, I was catching up on work at a coffee shop, I thought to log in to my Delta account to see when it expired, and found it expired that same day! Yikes!
My friend had moved in that year, and it seemed fitting to use the credit towards an adventure to visit her in her new home. A few text messages with her and the husband and we had planned a trip to Washington D.C. for a few weeks later.
The next morning I kept myself busy exploring their neighborhood until Melissa was free, then we made one last trip to their old place in the stunning Kalorama neighborhood, the same neighborhood where the Obama family resides until their youngest daughter finishes high school. In the meantime, James was on his way from Des Moines to Reagan Airport with a quick layover in Minneapolis. Once we were all together, it was great to catch up and hear about their latest adventures!
James and I rented this great apartment on AirBnB - right around the corner from our friends old place - HA! We found this cute coffee shop just down the street from where we stayed. We relied on public transportation and a few Uber rides plus a rented motorcycle on the second to last day! One day we booked tickets for a tour bus that lets you hop on and off throughout the day - a great way to see as much of a city in a short amount of time. We timed the first half of the tour so we could meet up with Melissa for lunch at Old Ebbitt Grill, a famous political lunch spot.
I know it sounds corny, but I've always liked seeing sights from television and movies, so it was fun to see some places from The West Wing, Scandal, and House of Cards.
I had been to DC before; once in eighth grade on a class trip, and again in 2010 to see Melissa, but this was James first trip! When I first visited DC, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorial had recently opened and it was neat to see how the bronze statues had aged. The newer Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. memorial was amazing to see for the first time. The powerful words of both MLK Jr. and FDR were carved around each respective memorial and were especially meaningful in the wake of racial tension and the 2016 election cycle that had already begun. As we got the lay of the land from our tour bus, James suggested we rent a motorcycle to better see the city, and in no time he had found a place just across the state line in Virginia where we could rent a bike and two helmets. The next morning while I had a conference call, he took the train to pick up the bike and by lunch we were cruising around.
The bike also let us revisit some of the memorials at night
which was such a breathtaking experience.
The annoying hoards of thirteen year-olds on tour groups may have felt
like karmic retribution for my days as an annoying thirteen year old in a tour
group...
Right before our trip, I decided I needed a better travel camera; something small enough I could put in my purse, but would still give me the manual control from my DSLR. I purchased the Sony A6000 and I absolutely love it! It also let me move photos from my camera to my phone on the go, allowing me to post on social media throughout our trip. 10/10 would purchase again.
It was such a fun adventure and we are lucky to have such great friends and I'm thrilled they live MUCH closer these days! Enjoy these photos!
One of the perks of our somewhat unconventional jobs is the flexibility to travel without taking a ton of time off. As the dates solidified for my most recent trip to Arizona, my best guy offered to join me for the first week of my two week assignment. My wonderful boss was also joining in for the week, bringing her husband and two boys, and was staying a few extra days to visit the Grand Canyon. Add in my awesome teammates Skye, Jenny and Erin, we had a whole gang meeting up for some hard work and fun in the sun!
I flew out Sunday so I could be there first thing Monday morning, and James caught a flight Monday after work. We found a great deal on Allegiant that would arrive a little before 11pm in Phoenix. So after my all day meeting, I grabbed dinner and went back to my hotel to relax when the Google App on my phone reminded me that it was time to leave for the airport and it would take about half an hour. I looked at the pop up and thought "silly Google, Sky Harbor airport is like 10 minutes away!" Then I clicked on the email and realized I had booked his flight to Phoenix-Mesa airport, a small regional airport around 20 miles away. Thank goodness for the alert from Google; I can only imagine how it would have played out otherwise!
We spent our week dining out with friends, celebrating my boss' birthday with dinner and Ping Pong, and cooling off (it got up to 114 degrees!) in the pool. The obligatory stop at In-N-Out burgers did not disappoint! My rental Mustang was extra fun to zip around in, but less fun when we added passengers to the backseat. James daytime excursions included meeting up with our gang for lunch, checking out Mill Avenue, Alice Cooper'stown restaurant, and a Diamondbacks game in their air conditioned stadium.All in all, it was a fantastic trip, and we're already planning our next visit!
More Fun in Tempe
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
One of the perks of our somewhat unconventional jobs is the flexibility to travel without taking a ton of time off. As the dates solidified for my most recent trip to Arizona, my best guy offered to join me for the first week of my two week assignment. My wonderful boss was also joining in for the week, bringing her husband and two boys, and was staying a few extra days to visit the Grand Canyon. Add in my awesome teammates Skye, Jenny and Erin, we had a whole gang meeting up for some hard work and fun in the sun!
I flew out Sunday so I could be there first thing Monday morning, and James caught a flight Monday after work. We found a great deal on Allegiant that would arrive a little before 11pm in Phoenix. So after my all day meeting, I grabbed dinner and went back to my hotel to relax when the Google App on my phone reminded me that it was time to leave for the airport and it would take about half an hour. I looked at the pop up and thought "silly Google, Sky Harbor airport is like 10 minutes away!" Then I clicked on the email and realized I had booked his flight to Phoenix-Mesa airport, a small regional airport around 20 miles away. Thank goodness for the alert from Google; I can only imagine how it would have played out otherwise!We spent our week dining out with friends, celebrating my boss' birthday with dinner and Ping Pong, and cooling off (it got up to 114 degrees!) in the pool. The obligatory stop at In-N-Out burgers did not disappoint! My rental Mustang was extra fun to zip around in, but less fun when we added passengers to the backseat. James daytime excursions included meeting up with our gang for lunch, checking out Mill Avenue, Alice Cooper'stown restaurant, and a Diamondbacks game in their air conditioned stadium.All in all, it was a fantastic trip, and we're already planning our next visit!
My mom is a big George Strait fan. Like big, big. Huge. She and her bestie Sherrie have traveled to see him in Minneapolis, Dallas, and Phoenix on multiple occasions, so I wasn't terribly surprised when they planned a trip to see him during his residency in Vegas. Since George retired from touring, this was a bigger deal than some of the other concerts, and they ended up with a group of seven meeting up in Vegas - leaving one extra ticket for me!
I couldn't commit to the trip early on because of work projects that were up in the air. When I finally nailed down my assignment, I was to be in Atlanta the week before and realized I could probably find a good deal on a flight from Atlanta to Vegas. Sure enough, as a hub airport, there were a ton of cheap fares, and for $195 I booked a flight on Frontier, arriving at 7pm Friday. Since I would be arriving at the arena directly from the airport, so I packed a change of clothes and toiletries in my sister's suitcase.
So I spent the week in Atlanta, and around 4pm changed into a dress for the concert, and drove to the airport with just my purse. The flight to Vegas was uneventful, and after some confusion, I found my Uber driver who got me to the venue quick enough to still enjoy the opening act, Casey Musgraves. If you haven't heard of her, check out her video for Biscuits - it's pretty cute! Last time I saw George, Ronnie Dunn of Brooks and Dunn opened for him.
George Strait and the Ace in the Hole band were as awesome as ever. But even more enjoyable was seeing my mom fangirl and have such a great time with her best friends. The eight of us were split up four and four, so my mom, sister, and my 2nd mother Judy sat together, and Sherrie, Casady, Holly, and another friend were about six rows ahead of us. George played one of my two favorite songs of his; Troubadour, but didn't play I Cross My Heart from the movie Pure Country.
I couldn't commit to the trip early on because of work projects that were up in the air. When I finally nailed down my assignment, I was to be in Atlanta the week before and realized I could probably find a good deal on a flight from Atlanta to Vegas. Sure enough, as a hub airport, there were a ton of cheap fares, and for $195 I booked a flight on Frontier, arriving at 7pm Friday. Since I would be arriving at the arena directly from the airport, so I packed a change of clothes and toiletries in my sister's suitcase. 
So I spent the week in Atlanta, and around 4pm changed into a dress for the concert, and drove to the airport with just my purse. The flight to Vegas was uneventful, and after some confusion, I found my Uber driver who got me to the venue quick enough to still enjoy the opening act, Casey Musgraves. If you haven't heard of her, check out her video for Biscuits - it's pretty cute! Last time I saw George, Ronnie Dunn of Brooks and Dunn opened for him.
George Strait and the Ace in the Hole band were as awesome as ever. But even more enjoyable was seeing my mom fangirl and have such a great time with her best friends. The eight of us were split up four and four, so my mom, sister, and my 2nd mother Judy sat together, and Sherrie, Casady, Holly, and another friend were about six rows ahead of us. George played one of my two favorite songs of his; Troubadour, but didn't play I Cross My Heart from the movie Pure Country. 
After the concert, we walked around a bit before hailing a couple Uber's back to the home they rented on AirBnB. The house was a perfect pick by Casady, and had plenty of comfy beds for everyone, plus a pool to keep cool during the day. Our group needed two Ubers to get around, which was a bit cumbersome at times, but way better than dealing with cabs. Luckily for my mom and her friends, Cas and my sister were in charge of transportation, making it easy for the over-forty crowd. We spent the morning at the pool before heading back to the strip for lunch and shopping and my first trip to the Venetian hotel, which was a welcome escape from the desert heat. We ventured to Fremont Street for more souvenirs, people watching, alcohol drinking, and gambling. 
When it was time for me to head to the airport, I said my goodbyes as the ladies continued on their adventures, returning to Des Moines a few days later. Anticipating a chilly red eye flight back to Atlanta, I got a souvenir sweatshirt to keep warm! Taking off 25 hours after I landed, the same flight crew got me back to Atlanta just after 3am.
What a fun, whirlwind trip with so many fun people I love!
 |
| My mom, me, sister, and 2nd mother Judy. |
Vacation Flashback - 25 Hours in Vegas
Monday, June 19, 2017
My mom is a big George Strait fan. Like big, big. Huge. She and her bestie Sherrie have traveled to see him in Minneapolis, Dallas, and Phoenix on multiple occasions, so I wasn't terribly surprised when they planned a trip to see him during his residency in Vegas. Since George retired from touring, this was a bigger deal than some of the other concerts, and they ended up with a group of seven meeting up in Vegas - leaving one extra ticket for me!
I couldn't commit to the trip early on because of work projects that were up in the air. When I finally nailed down my assignment, I was to be in Atlanta the week before and realized I could probably find a good deal on a flight from Atlanta to Vegas. Sure enough, as a hub airport, there were a ton of cheap fares, and for $195 I booked a flight on Frontier, arriving at 7pm Friday. Since I would be arriving at the arena directly from the airport, so I packed a change of clothes and toiletries in my sister's suitcase.
So I spent the week in Atlanta, and around 4pm changed into a dress for the concert, and drove to the airport with just my purse. The flight to Vegas was uneventful, and after some confusion, I found my Uber driver who got me to the venue quick enough to still enjoy the opening act, Casey Musgraves. If you haven't heard of her, check out her video for Biscuits - it's pretty cute! Last time I saw George, Ronnie Dunn of Brooks and Dunn opened for him.
George Strait and the Ace in the Hole band were as awesome as ever. But even more enjoyable was seeing my mom fangirl and have such a great time with her best friends. The eight of us were split up four and four, so my mom, sister, and my 2nd mother Judy sat together, and Sherrie, Casady, Holly, and another friend were about six rows ahead of us. George played one of my two favorite songs of his; Troubadour, but didn't play I Cross My Heart from the movie Pure Country.
I couldn't commit to the trip early on because of work projects that were up in the air. When I finally nailed down my assignment, I was to be in Atlanta the week before and realized I could probably find a good deal on a flight from Atlanta to Vegas. Sure enough, as a hub airport, there were a ton of cheap fares, and for $195 I booked a flight on Frontier, arriving at 7pm Friday. Since I would be arriving at the arena directly from the airport, so I packed a change of clothes and toiletries in my sister's suitcase. So I spent the week in Atlanta, and around 4pm changed into a dress for the concert, and drove to the airport with just my purse. The flight to Vegas was uneventful, and after some confusion, I found my Uber driver who got me to the venue quick enough to still enjoy the opening act, Casey Musgraves. If you haven't heard of her, check out her video for Biscuits - it's pretty cute! Last time I saw George, Ronnie Dunn of Brooks and Dunn opened for him.
George Strait and the Ace in the Hole band were as awesome as ever. But even more enjoyable was seeing my mom fangirl and have such a great time with her best friends. The eight of us were split up four and four, so my mom, sister, and my 2nd mother Judy sat together, and Sherrie, Casady, Holly, and another friend were about six rows ahead of us. George played one of my two favorite songs of his; Troubadour, but didn't play I Cross My Heart from the movie Pure Country. After the concert, we walked around a bit before hailing a couple Uber's back to the home they rented on AirBnB. The house was a perfect pick by Casady, and had plenty of comfy beds for everyone, plus a pool to keep cool during the day. Our group needed two Ubers to get around, which was a bit cumbersome at times, but way better than dealing with cabs. Luckily for my mom and her friends, Cas and my sister were in charge of transportation, making it easy for the over-forty crowd. We spent the morning at the pool before heading back to the strip for lunch and shopping and my first trip to the Venetian hotel, which was a welcome escape from the desert heat. We ventured to Fremont Street for more souvenirs, people watching, alcohol drinking, and gambling. When it was time for me to head to the airport, I said my goodbyes as the ladies continued on their adventures, returning to Des Moines a few days later. Anticipating a chilly red eye flight back to Atlanta, I got a souvenir sweatshirt to keep warm! Taking off 25 hours after I landed, the same flight crew got me back to Atlanta just after 3am.
What a fun, whirlwind trip with so many fun people I love!
|
| My mom, me, sister, and 2nd mother Judy. |
I've made the drive from Des Moines to my grandmother's home in western Nebraska a dozen times or so. For those of you unfamiliar with the drive through Nebraska, once you're past Lincoln, if you've seen one mile, you've seen 'em all. And she's clear across Nebraska, only about 30 miles from the Wyoming border.
I've only actually done the driving once, the rest of the time as a passenger and that drive is exhausting. So when cheap fares pop up on Frontier Airlines, it's tempting to book a quick trip to see my grandma. I'm sure I'm the only person from Iowa flying to Denver to visit someone in Nebraska, but I find the 2 hour flight and 3 hour drive much easier to swallow than the 8+ hour trip in the car. 
So James and I packed our bag for the cheap flight to Denver. Since Frontier charges for carryons and checked bags, we shared a checked bag, and somehow managed to only pack 26.6 lbs for three days. New personal best. On a rainy Wednesday, we boarded our flight to the mile high city. 
Frontier Airline's planes each feature a different wild animal, which they proudly display as you enter the aircraft. Overall, the flight was okay. Anytime I fly a discount airline, I miss the cushy comfort of Delta and American. But then I remember we had to pay for our tickets (not my employer) at about half the cost of the major airlines, so it's worth minor annoyances. We paid for a couple cans of soda on our flight in hard plastic seats that didn't recline. Since I was in the middle seat, I was particularly grumpy but a couple episodes of The West Wing Weekly podcast kept me distracted until we landed. 
After making our way through the airport, we waited for the Avis shuttle and discovered we had been assigned a Suburban for our four day adventure. I laughed as the last thing the two of us needed was a car that seats eight, so we checked in with the Preferred desk and they mentioned a shortage of cars but let us pick between a Ford Explorer or a Lincoln Navigator. James quickly chimed in that the Navigator would be just fine. After figuring out a few of the bells and whistles (including the best navigation system I've used, and lights with the Lincoln logo), we left for my cousin Melissa's house in Brighton, grabbing pizza so we could catch up with her and her two kids. As the sun started to set, we said our goodbyes and left for Scottsbluff, Nebraska. 
As the sun quickly set, we drove on the two lane highway that was only lit by our headlights, only passing by a few cars. After crossing from Colorado into Nebraska, we stopped to stretch our legs in Kimball, about 45 miles outside of our destination. This small town had a few businesses that caught our attention, so I snapped a few pics before we decided to check out Beer and Loathing bar, an homage to Hunter S. Thompson and his book Fear and Loathing. The bar was great and the bartender was awesome. After about a half hour, we figured it was time to get back on the road and get checked into our hotel. 
Our time in Scottsbluff was short, but highlights include cabbage burgers at The Mixing Bowl, Gering Bakery, but most of all - spending time with family. In addition to my grandmother, my Aunt and Uncle live nearby, and I got to see my cousins and meet my cousin's new baby too! As we packed up to head back to Denver, I laughed at the difference in our packings styles. I may be the one that travels most for business, but clearly he's winning at the adulting game.
We took our time on the trek back to Denver, refueling at this cute gas station/diner in Scottsbluff and grabbing lunch at Beer and Loathing as we made our way to Wyoming. The drive was relaxing and the views were magnificent. When we found ourselves in a construction traffic jam, we hopped off the interstate for a quick pit-stop, when I realized we were near the town where my grandparents lived for most of my childhood. Every year, we'd spend a week or more with them over the summer or Christmas, and it had been sixteen years since I had last seen their little subdivision, and the amazing views of protected state land directly behind their townhouse. 
A quick call to my dad, we were able to remember the name of their street, and google maps narrowed down the neighborhood when I recognized the King Sooper's grocery store. It once sat all alone in a field, but the entire county has now been developed. Turns out we were only about fifteen minutes from our destination. We drove by the pool where my sister and I used to swim, and I got to see the roses and aspen trees my grandfather had planted. The yard wasn't quite as manicured as he kept it, but I could tell the home was well loved by it's current owners. We totally tresspassed through their side yard and I snuck a few photos of the gorgeous view. It was a bittersweet trip down memory lane.
James had researched and found the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver as our destination. On our way, we got to see a packed Coors Field. The road we were on led right to the stadium, almost looking like it reached center field. On 16th Street, we picked up souvenirs, did a LOT of people watching, and grabbed dinner at Illegal Burger, a funky burger place, on par with Zombie Burger in Des Moines.
Exhausted from the day, we made our way to our hotel near the airport and got ready for our early flight the next day. Our checked bag weighed 19.5 lbs more than our trip out thanks to a purchase of Tab Cola that isn't available in Des Moines. Surprisingly, every can made it home intact! Since we arrived to the airport early, I wandered around taking photos and timelapse videos. Click the Instagram image below to see a quick timelapse. 
I'm so grateful for the chance to visit family and enjoy some quality time on the road with my best guy.
Colorado/Wyoming/Nebraska - May 2017
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
I've made the drive from Des Moines to my grandmother's home in western Nebraska a dozen times or so. For those of you unfamiliar with the drive through Nebraska, once you're past Lincoln, if you've seen one mile, you've seen 'em all. And she's clear across Nebraska, only about 30 miles from the Wyoming border.
I've only actually done the driving once, the rest of the time as a passenger and that drive is exhausting. So when cheap fares pop up on Frontier Airlines, it's tempting to book a quick trip to see my grandma. I'm sure I'm the only person from Iowa flying to Denver to visit someone in Nebraska, but I find the 2 hour flight and 3 hour drive much easier to swallow than the 8+ hour trip in the car. So James and I packed our bag for the cheap flight to Denver. Since Frontier charges for carryons and checked bags, we shared a checked bag, and somehow managed to only pack 26.6 lbs for three days. New personal best. On a rainy Wednesday, we boarded our flight to the mile high city. Frontier Airline's planes each feature a different wild animal, which they proudly display as you enter the aircraft. Overall, the flight was okay. Anytime I fly a discount airline, I miss the cushy comfort of Delta and American. But then I remember we had to pay for our tickets (not my employer) at about half the cost of the major airlines, so it's worth minor annoyances. We paid for a couple cans of soda on our flight in hard plastic seats that didn't recline. Since I was in the middle seat, I was particularly grumpy but a couple episodes of The West Wing Weekly podcast kept me distracted until we landed. After making our way through the airport, we waited for the Avis shuttle and discovered we had been assigned a Suburban for our four day adventure. I laughed as the last thing the two of us needed was a car that seats eight, so we checked in with the Preferred desk and they mentioned a shortage of cars but let us pick between a Ford Explorer or a Lincoln Navigator. James quickly chimed in that the Navigator would be just fine. After figuring out a few of the bells and whistles (including the best navigation system I've used, and lights with the Lincoln logo), we left for my cousin Melissa's house in Brighton, grabbing pizza so we could catch up with her and her two kids. As the sun started to set, we said our goodbyes and left for Scottsbluff, Nebraska. As the sun quickly set, we drove on the two lane highway that was only lit by our headlights, only passing by a few cars. After crossing from Colorado into Nebraska, we stopped to stretch our legs in Kimball, about 45 miles outside of our destination. This small town had a few businesses that caught our attention, so I snapped a few pics before we decided to check out Beer and Loathing bar, an homage to Hunter S. Thompson and his book Fear and Loathing. The bar was great and the bartender was awesome. After about a half hour, we figured it was time to get back on the road and get checked into our hotel. Our time in Scottsbluff was short, but highlights include cabbage burgers at The Mixing Bowl, Gering Bakery, but most of all - spending time with family. In addition to my grandmother, my Aunt and Uncle live nearby, and I got to see my cousins and meet my cousin's new baby too! As we packed up to head back to Denver, I laughed at the difference in our packings styles. I may be the one that travels most for business, but clearly he's winning at the adulting game.
We took our time on the trek back to Denver, refueling at this cute gas station/diner in Scottsbluff and grabbing lunch at Beer and Loathing as we made our way to Wyoming. The drive was relaxing and the views were magnificent. When we found ourselves in a construction traffic jam, we hopped off the interstate for a quick pit-stop, when I realized we were near the town where my grandparents lived for most of my childhood. Every year, we'd spend a week or more with them over the summer or Christmas, and it had been sixteen years since I had last seen their little subdivision, and the amazing views of protected state land directly behind their townhouse. A quick call to my dad, we were able to remember the name of their street, and google maps narrowed down the neighborhood when I recognized the King Sooper's grocery store. It once sat all alone in a field, but the entire county has now been developed. Turns out we were only about fifteen minutes from our destination. We drove by the pool where my sister and I used to swim, and I got to see the roses and aspen trees my grandfather had planted. The yard wasn't quite as manicured as he kept it, but I could tell the home was well loved by it's current owners. We totally tresspassed through their side yard and I snuck a few photos of the gorgeous view. It was a bittersweet trip down memory lane.
James had researched and found the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver as our destination. On our way, we got to see a packed Coors Field. The road we were on led right to the stadium, almost looking like it reached center field. On 16th Street, we picked up souvenirs, did a LOT of people watching, and grabbed dinner at Illegal Burger, a funky burger place, on par with Zombie Burger in Des Moines.
Exhausted from the day, we made our way to our hotel near the airport and got ready for our early flight the next day. Our checked bag weighed 19.5 lbs more than our trip out thanks to a purchase of Tab Cola that isn't available in Des Moines. Surprisingly, every can made it home intact! Since we arrived to the airport early, I wandered around taking photos and timelapse videos. Click the Instagram image below to see a quick timelapse. I'm so grateful for the chance to visit family and enjoy some quality time on the road with my best guy.
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