Finally finished our trip we started in March!
Remember back in March we set out on a 3 week road trip in our new RV? If you read that post you know we cut the trip short and headed home to handle some real estate deals we had going. Fast forward another 3 months and I find a 5 day span in our overly booked schedule that we can squeeze in the last leg of the original trip. Only catch…….. we have to fly and not take the RV. A little heartbroken since we loved our time in our RV and were very much looking forward to more time on the road in it. But nonetheless we book our flights, a rental car and call friends to arrange places to stay.
We literally opened our suitcases from one trip, added the few things we hadn’t needed on the last trip and zipped them back up to take on this trip. Since we were last at our condo in Mexico I was able to do all our laundry before we came home so all of our clothes were clean. We had to add in things like shampoo, conditioner, hair dryer, etc as that stuff is always kept at the condo. We have a pretty good flight into Denver, get our rental car (which Tracey lets the guy talk him into upgrading to a different car, errr) and head out following the GPS directions to Trevor and Stephanie’s house in Watkins Colorado. I had no idea Watkins was so close to DIA.
Why don’t we know important things when we are young? Think how differently we might have cared for a relationship, how we might not have let it fall to the wayside, how we might have stayed in touch better, how we might have told that certain someone how much they meant to us. Or maybe you are very good at all of those things. I wouldn’t say I was bad at it, I just don’t think I gave it much thought.
Now I know without a doubt that the people in my life are truly what matters. I don’t care where you live, what you drive, how much money you make, what you can or can’t afford. If that is the criteria you use to choose friends, you should do some soul searching.
All of that to say, Tracey and I make a conscious effort to nurture our relationships. We enjoy spending time with those we love, and we don’t necessarily need to be “doing” anything.
Yes we were kind enough to forewarn Trevor and Stephanie and even asked permission to stay with them. We are crazy but not rude LOL. We were surprised to arrive within 20 minutes of leaving the airport at their front door. I don’t think either one of us really knew where Watkins was located. Stephanie greeted us both and invited us in. Trevor was on his way home and arrived shortly thereafter with daughter Jordan and her friend Gage in tow. They had just picked up Jordan’s car from the shop and her and Gage were now heading home to Scottsbluff Nebraska. We checked out Trevor’s new truck and got a tour of their 5th wheel and RV garage. We got to meet their 3 super cute dogs, Sadie, Ricky and Pixie. We were deciding where to go for dinner, needing to put a few miles on the new truck, we were trying to pick a place a little further away, when the call came in that Jordan was broke down on the side of the road. As Trevor and Stephanie apologized for delaying dinner, we hopped in the car to go pick up the kids. Stephanie’s brother in law met us as well with his flatbed trailer. The disabled car was wenched onto the trailer, and we all headed back to the house. Trevor decided to leave the car on the trailer since tomorrow he needed to haul it back to the shop, so Mark unhooked his truck said his goodbyes and was headed home. Jordan and Gage were given Stephanie’s car to drive home in, after confirming for the 3rd time they had everything, they were off. Now we can go to dinner. We assured them we are not bothered by the delay, or helping the kids, and we definitley are not that picky about where we eat, we are off to dinner. Tracey’s request was a place with local beers and we were not disappointed, the had good food and good beer. But of course our favorite was the time with friends. We reminisced, okay I just listened since I didn’t grow up with the three of them or grow up in Scottsbluff. We shared current stories. And we laughed alot.
After dinner we went back to the house. We grabbed our bags from the rental car and took them inside. We are given the choice between two guest rooms and finally settle on the basement room. I mean who could resist a room totally decked out in Husker stuff!! I mean DECKED out! We four stay in the basement talking about the stuff we are seeing, people we have met (Husker related) and whatever else comes up. But it isn’t long and we are all headed for bed. What a great first day, looking forward to tomorrow.
About the third time I wake up, it is still extremely dark in our room but I have to think it must be morning. I find my phone to discover it is not just morning but almost 8 am well that would actually make it almost 9am here in Colorado. I get up, stretch my legs, check messages and emails and just as I sit down Tracey wakes up and he too cannot believe the time. He takes a few minutes to check his messages and such and then heads upstairs to get some coffee while I get in the shower. Once we are both dressed and ready for the day, we head up stairs. Both Trevor and Stephanie are up of course and offering a few options for breakfast. Again apologizing for not having much in the house (you see they got back Sunday night from a trip and we arrived Monday afternoon). Once again we assure them there is nothing to apologize for, we are laid back and easy going. We let them know, our house rarely has food in it, getting back from a trip or not, and that there are times we eat out 3 meals a day. We enjoy breakfast around their great island in the kitchen and chat. After breakfast Tracey and Trevor head off to take Jordan’s car to the shop, Stephanie heads into her office at the house to get some work done, and I head downstairs to do some writing.
I decided since I charged my Samsung gear watch, I will get it hooked up to my phone and wear it. I fiddle with the settings, I do get it synced with the phone but none of my calls or messages are going through to my watch. I get my emails to work, and received some text from ATT saying my number sync was canceled. I don’t even know what that means. I get more and more frustrated as time passes and it is not working. Tracey and Trevor return and I try to get Tracey’s assistance. He googles it and has one thing that doesn’t work, and now Trevor is saying he is ready to go. Tracey goes upstairs while telling me they are going back to the shop because they forgot the car key the first time. I am invited to ride along but opt out to allow them their time together. I write some more and work on the watch some more, just when I am about to throw it against the wall I decided it is best just to give up. I place the watch back on the charger, grab my computer and head upstairs. I say hello to the dogs and sit at the island to do some more writing. I am currently 3 trips behind and don’t want you all to stop being entertained by our shenanigans.
I have written the first three or four paragraphs to another story about 5 times now as every time I go to save it, it disappears. Feeling frustrated I switch over to write it in word instead of on the blog site. I am just about finished when the boys return. Trevor has some work calls to be on, and Tracey takes time to read what I have written before heading off to return a call he forgot to return yesterday.
Everyone should be done soon with work and we will see what trouble we get in today.
I apologize to everyone, I am so far behind on my blogging. I am trying to keep two blogs going, while working, volunteering, being a mom to a very busy almost 16 year old. Add in all the things that take place in each of our lives and yep you guessed it, I am months behind. I don’t like to post our travels out of order so this is the one that is holding me up.
We had such an amazing time on this trip that I didn’t take the time to write or even take notes while it was happening. We did life with Trevor and Stephanie. That is what we love. How better to get to know friends better than to do life with them. We went with them as they helped their daughter, we did grocery shopping for the camping trip, we ran errands and enjoyed meals together. We helped load the toy hauler and our car so we were ready to hit the road. These moments in time were priceless. I know Trever and Stephanie worried about not entertaining us, about us being bored etc. But truth be told we couldn’t have asked for a better time together.
We enjoyed our time at their house and were happy to be invited to be part of their caravan headed to the lake in Nebraska. We met some of their friends and family along the way, enjoying everyone so much that we adjusted our plans and spent a night camping at the lake with them all. We thank them all for being so welcoming and including us in the fun.
Once in Nebraska we also had time to visit and spend time with Christi and Brad. We love spending time with them each time we make it back to Nebraska. We love when Christi has made it to Arizona and we get to sneak in time with her. We are so grateful for their hospitality whether in our RV or in their home! We look forward to our next visit.
We saw a few other friends including a brief conversation in the driveway of some of Tracey’s parents closest friends. We put a bug in their ear about coming to Arizona soon ( more on that in a few months) We loved the lake, bbqs with friends, eating Tracey’s favorite foods that we can’t get at home and even took time out to look at a few properties in and around Scottsbluff. (a dream of ours that may or may not take place in Nebraska)
The best part of this trip is what I was trying to say at the beginning of this post. People. Don’t take friends and family for granted. Hug more, Love harder. Thank you all for making our lives so rich and full. We hope you know how important you are to us and we can’t wait to see you all again in the near future on another journey!