Blog Entries 2009

Week Ending 12/31/09

In the aftermath of another wintery blast in the Denver area, a few inches of snow and a fair amount of ice awaited us at the Front Range Airport on Sunday morning. Since neither snow nor ice nor frigid temps can keep Colorado fly boys on the ground, off we went in the direction of Pueblo Memorial Airport.

Caption: Chaining Up for Winter Flying in the Rockies
I actually took this pic at an FBO in Powell, WY back in Sept.

A fresh blanket of white always makes for a pretty view out the window.

No snow to be found 90 nautical miles to the south at the Spitfire Grill.

Nothing particularly blogworthy to report for that last week of 2009. We spent a quiet New Year's Eve at home where, once again, we were fast asleep before the stroke of midnight.

As I reviewed the entries for this year's blog, I was reminded of how much we have to be thankful for. We are blessed to have each other, good health, our kids & grandkids, our friends, a comfortable home, and the means to do a fair bit of traveling around in our own airplane. You just can't ask for more than that.

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Posted by Deb 

Week Ending 12/26/09

Most of the week leading up to the big day was pretty typical ... last-minute shopping and wrapping, cooking, over-eating, watching Christmas movies at home, and seeing Hollyweird's annual Christmas offering; this year it was Disney's animated version of A Christmas Carol. Well done. True to the original story.

Ever since moving to Colorado in '98, one of the high points of my holiday season has been E2PSI's annual Christmas Party. With the exception of 2008 when the shindig was held at the Oxford Hotel in downtown Denver, the festivities have taken place at Gabriel's Restaurant in Sedalia. The evening begins with about an hour of mingling over hors d'ovueres and cocktails and is followed by a leisurely five-course meal. The food is top notch, the ambiance pleasant.

It's not unusual to experience weather in the form of bitter cold and/or snow on party night, and this year was no exception. The white stuff, which had been falling all day, made for slick roads and slow-moving traffic on Wednesday night. Fortunately, arrangements had been made for limousines to pick employees and their guests up at designated meeting areas.

We and six other couples were to gather in the parking lot of the company office building at 5:45 where two of the three limos would be waiting to chauffeur us to our destination. Both cars got tied up in bad-weather traffic and showed up late.

Once our car had arrived, about 60 minutes behind schedule, we were on our way. About 15 minutes out from the restaurant, traffic on Highway 85/Santa Fe Drive came to a grinding hault. Long-story-short, a chain of events that included an accident, a driver who had gotten out of his vehicle being hit by a passing car, and multiple vehicles sliding into a ditch resulted in a two-hour delay.

In spite of the inclement weather and traffic snafu (it could've been worse), we arrived safely at Gabriel's and had a great time! Many thanks to John and Barry for their generosity and to all involved in the planning of yet another awesome party.

Though Christmas Eve activities were not exactly in keeping with our normal family traditions, we enjoyed ourselves. Tina (Tyler's mom) graciously invited us to join her family for finger foods and gift opening. It was a real hoot to see Kota rip into his packages. As is usually the case with baby's first Christmas, he was much more interested in the gift wrap than the gifts themselves.

We spent Christmas day at home shopping for ourselves at Amazon.com and touching base with family and friends. Spur-of-the-moment plans to spend the holiday weekend in Pagosa Springs had prompted me to cancel our Honey Baked Ham. When we decided to stay at home instead, we found ourselves with no Christmas dinner. Not to worry ... we would simply eat out; or so we thought. 

Plans for Christmas night included seeing the movie Sherlock Holmes. About an hour before show time, we headed out in search of dinner. As we made for the door of the only eating establishment we could find open (other than Denny's), this scene from A Christmas Story came to mind. Fa ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra.

Tentative flying plans for Saturday were scrubbed due to weather. Instead, we shopped around for the cabinets that Scott will be installing in my soon-to-be craft room. More about that later.

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 12/19/09
(Behind on my blogging ... again ...)

Sunday it was back to Disney World for another day of fun, and this time Dan-O would be joining us. As I've mentioned in previous posts, our numerous trips to The World have made us pros at the fine art of park hopping. With a been-there-done-that frame of reference, we set our sights on only the best rides and attractions of each park. As is typically our modus operandi, first stop was  Animal Kingdom where we rode Expedition Everest and Dinosaur. (Be sure to click the video links to get a taste of what the rides are like.)

Since we hadn't done it in a while, we also decided to see the 3-D multimedia presentation "It's Tough Being A Bug."  The theater is situated beneath the huge Tree of Life, a 14-story structure adorned with carvings of over 300 animals, including a larger-than-life primate.

Next we were off to Hollywood Studios  to ride the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and Toy Story Mania. Our first stop, and longest wait of the day, was the Toy Story ride. Disney realism is all in the details and the imagineers go to great lengths to incorporate these thematic details into each and every attraction. As you wind your way through the waiting corrals of this 3-D ride, you find yourself dwarfed by supersized toys ranging from board games and Tinker Toys to a very impressive animatronic Mr. Potato Head.

Having experienced the crowds at The Magic Kingdom on our previous visit, we decided to skip that park altogether and finish off our day at Epcot where Soarin' and the Test Track were first on our to-do list. Later on we enjoyed Chinese food at the Nine Dragons Restaurant before perusing the cultural pavilions and taking in the spectacular Reflections of Earth fire works display.

Our return to Denver on Wednesday wasn't as chilly as it might've been had we gotten back a few days earlier. We actually had a couple of warmish days before being slammed back into the deep freeze.

My first order of business was to make up for lost time with  Li'l Man Kota. We had a great time just "talking" and playing together. He becomes more animated and interactive with each passing day. It was kinda nice to see his mommy, too. ;-)

Aside from cleaning and pre-Christmas preparations/activities, not much to report for the remainder of the week. After close to a month away, it sure was nice to be home!

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 12/12/09

There are two things on my must-do list anytime Scott and I visit Central Florida--Disney World and seeing friends in Brooksville. After a quick stop at Dunkin's on Sunday morning, we headed west toward the Gulf Coast. One of the highlights of this particular get together was meeting the newest member of the Spradlin clan. Mason Vern Pauliot (aka MVP), born to Heather and Nick four months to the day after Dakota came into the world, is just as cute as can be.

Weather throughout the week was on the wet side but still preferable to the cold, snowy conditions back home in Denver. In spite of the rain, I managed to spend a wee bit of time pool side. 

As is the case during most of our travels, the majority of dinners have been eaten out. While the idea of eating in different restaurants every night sounds appealing, the food tends to be rather typical. And sometimes, as in the case of the T-Rex Cafe at Downtown Disney, it's the atmosphere and not the food that steals the show. Every now and then, however, a particularly great meal stands above the rest.

Johnnie's Hideaway offered up such a meal. Of the numerous times we've stayed in and around the Orlando area, it's amazing that we'd never tried this place before. As stated on their website, the dinner menu "features USDA prime & choice steaks, dry aged on premises." Though the prices were steep in comparison to chains, the bottom line wasn't that much more than what we've paid at other eating establishments in the tourist capital of the Sunshine State.

In an effort to trim the fat from both our diets and our waistlines, Scott and I often share a plate. Though I was at first reluctant to share at a place like  Johnnie's for fear of looking like Cousin Eddie, it was a good call. Everything from the oversized wooden menu to the 48-ounce steaks to the foot-long shrimps is supersized at the Hideaway. We went for the "smaller" 28-ounce N.Y. strip served up with signature house salad, a selection of unique breads, and roast-garlic mashed potatoes. Definitely one of the best steaks I've ever eaten! Dan-O's pork chop was equally scrumptious

The foot-long shrimps look more like lobsters.

On Friday, it was back to B'ville for me. During six of the eight years that we called Florida home, our family was heavily involved with Jayne's Dance Center in the design of spring recital sets and annual Christmas floats. Jayne sold the dance center about ten years ago but is now responsible for the Christmas float at Methodist School Center where she teaches (as of this post, my friend Jayne is pictured in the header).

Some of my fondest memories are of working on dance center projects with friends and family, so when Jayne invited me to join in on the finishing touches, I eagerly agreed. Many thanks to Heather and Coni for braving Orlando highways, traffic, and detours to come and get me.

Some of our crew pooped out before we finished up at around 1:30 a.m.

In spite of wet weather predictions, it turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day for a parade. Out of 120 float entries, the Methodist School and Jayne's crew managed to snag first place in the Youth category.

More next week ...

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Posted by Deb  

Week Ending 12/05/09

Early on Sunday morning we shuttled to Washington-Dulles to catch our flight to the Sunshine State. As we made our way through security, our attention was drawn to a thuggish-looking guy with corn rows, a sideways ball cap, and baggy britches. He was apparently being questioned by TSA officials because he had no identification. No worries, though ... they let him board anyway. Guess he hadn't committed the unpardonable crime of attempting to smuggle an unauthorized bottle of water. Now that would've been cause for concern.

Fortunately for me, seated in the middle next to a supersized smelly guy, the flight was  quick and painless. It was a pleasant surprise not to be hit by the stifling humidity that typically awaits travelers deplaning in Florida; the weather was actually quite nice.

Humidity was low, temps were just about perfect, and crowds were minimal on Monday as we did a bit of "world" traveling, Mickey Mouse style.

Goofy decking the Disney halls


This window scene of the royal family was our only Mickey sighting.

 
water fountain at Epcot

The remainder of our week was par for the course; Scott did his thing on the job site while I kicked back at "home suite home." Oh yeah, and ate dinner out every night.

More next week ...

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Posted by Deb  

Week Ending 11/28/09

Mio and baby were home from the hospital before lunch on Sunday. She was a real trooper about having a houseful of noisy relatives for the week! Wee li'l man Logan got cuter and cuter with each passing day, and grandmomma Mills shamelessly took advantage of every opportunity to dote over him.

As Cass and I were heading out of Denver on Friday, Scott was heading back after a two-week stint in Texas. He had hoped to fly the RV to Maryland and then on to Florida, but it just didn't work out. He arrived at Washington-Reagan on Monday afternoon. That evening, Steve prepared a delicious steak dinner followed by ice cream cake in celebration of Scott's 49th. Jade even made G-Daddy a nifty party hat. You can't see it in this photo, but it has a big 49 on it.

Later in the week, we enjoyed a yummy chocolate cake in honor of Cassie's upcoming 21st birthday on December 5th.

Next day, Scott and I attended our first official function as grandparents. In celebration of grandparenthood, Jade's school hosted an afternoon of visitation, seasonal refreshments, and crafting.

We thoroughly enjoyed spending quality time with the kids and our little gaggle of grandchildren.

Second only to the birth of grandbaby number three was spending Thanksgiving together as a family. We certainly are blessed and have much to be thankful for. This was Steve's first time hosting a family holiday and he put forth great effort to make it special. I particularly enjoyed cooking with him. His turkey, prepared Alton Brown Style, was one of the juiciest and tastiest I've ever eaten. Not only is his cooking top notch, but he sets a fine looking table as well.

As with all good things, our family time in Maryland came to an end. Steve (and Cass and Kota) drove us to Washington-Dulles late Saturday afternoon where we'd be catching an early-morning flight to Florida. More about that in next week's post.

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Posted by Deb  

Week Ending 11/21/09

Snow from our most recent storm continued to fall until mid afternoon on Sunday. The mantle of white outside lent itself to a more festive mood inside as I set about the task of decking our halls.

I don't normally begin my Yuletide activities until Thanksgiving weekend, but we would be in Maryland over Turkey Day and then off to Florida for a couple of weeks. I figured that getting the majority of trimming done before leaving would make for less holiday-induced stress upon our return.

Ever since Christmas of 2008, I have been planning to put our tired old artificial tree out to pasture. But, as is often the case with me these days, I dilly-dallied around and never did get it done. Cass came over and helped me assemble old faithful, which is so battle worn that it sheds more needles than even the driest of real trees.

Beginning with our very first Christmas together waaaaaaaaay back in 1983, Scott and Stevie and I kicked off our holiday season in Griswold family fashion by heading out into the country in the old front-wheel drive sleigh to embrace the wintery landscape and select that most important of Christmas symbols ... Well, sort of. We drove to a farm and walked the rows until we'd spotted and cut down the perfect tree.

After tying our treasure to the roof and schlepping it home, we would enjoy a steaming cup of chocolaty goodness before setting up and decorating the tree whilst listening to Christmas music. Altough in later years we were often quite content to purchase our trees at a lot rather than cutting them down ourselves, the Mills Family Christmas tradition always included a real tree. Always, that is, until the Christmas tree incident of 1990.

It was our first Christmas in the Sunshine State. Walking row upon row of trees while sweating bullets in the Florida humidity didn't hold the same appeal as it had in the chilly Northeast, but Stevie and Cassie seemed to enjoy it anyway.

I found it strange that after netting our tree, farm hands put it into a vibrating machine. Hmmmm ... curious. The whys of this odd little practice would eventually become clear.

Fast forward a few weeks. The flurry of Christmas activity had subsided, and it was time to take everything down and stow it away for another year. As I stood staring at the tree in dread of the tedious task before me, I saw something that prompted even more dread -- movement. Upon closer inspection, I observed thousands (OK ... perhaps it was only hundreds, but it sure looked like thousands!) of tiny spiders scurrying on the surface of the tree, the decorations, the drapes, and the skirt/carpet beneath!

I called Scott in a tizzy, but there was little he could do from work. As I began going into full melt-down mode, Stevie came to the rescue. At just ten years old, and no fan of spiders himself, he manned up and dragged the infested thing outside. In retrospect, I realized that the purpose of vibrating was to dislodge any critters that might've taken up residence in the tree's branches. Obviously not 100% effective.

I don't know what kind of spiders they were, but I do know that those creepy crawlies forever put the kabosh on real Christmas trees in the Mills household. The artificial tree we are using to this day is the one I bought at K-Mart the year after the arachnid invasion.

We've gotten good use out of our old tree, but a new one is most definitely in order. Perhaps if I begin my online shopping next summer I might actually get a new one purchased for Christmas 2010?! We'll see ...

The remainder of the week was spent in preparation of our big trip. Cass and Dakota and I headed to DIA at 8:15 on Friday morning en route to the Washington-Regan Airport where Stevie would pick us up later that evening. Many thanks to Cassie's friend, Mandi, for driving us to the airport.

Cassie and I had been a bit concerned about traveling with six-and-a-half-month-old Dakota, but he remained in a happy mood throughout the journey and things went rather smoothly.

Getting through security proved to be the biggest inconvenience of all. Here we were carrying a laptop, diaper bag, purses, and jackets while pushing a baby stroller. As we hurredly removed the laptop from it's case, removed cosmetic cases from our purses, stripped off our belts and shoes, and placed all of our potential weapons into the bins, including Cassie's unopened bottle of water for mixing baby formula (which they quickly confiscated/discarded), we were dismayed to be told that we had to remove baby D from his umbrella stroller in order to put it through the scanner. I guess we should be thankful they let us take him out of it first.

As we juggled and struggled to comply with all of the TSA's demands, not one person, employee or otherwise, lifted a finger to help. Our government at work. It was all I could do not to make a scene. Remind me again why so many people are in favor of government-run health care?! But I digress ...

Stevie was a good sport about having to drive home from the airport in rush-hour traffic. They drive like a bunch of loons in DC, weaving in and out of traffic, changing lanes without signaling, cutting one another off. 

A nighttime drive-by of this sign was the closest I would get to our nation's capitol on this trip. Perhaps we'll do some sight seeing next time around.

As we crossed the Bay Bridge, about 25 minutes from Stevie's house, he got a call from Mio -- her water had broken. While Cassie, Jade, and I got to order out pizza and don our comfies before settling down in front of the tube, Stevie and Mio headed back to the hospital for a long night of labor. At 3:39 next morning, baby Logan Hiroto Hebert came into the world weighing 6 pounds, 14 ounces.

Cass and I were unable to sleep after hearing the news, so we sat up watching a B movie called Kingdom of the Spiders starring William Shatner. The movie was too stupid for words, but there was something fun about watching a horror flick together at 4:00 o'clock in the morning. View the trailer here.  

More about our Thanksgiving vacation in next week's post.
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Posted by Deb 

Week Ending 11/14/09

On Monday morning, after being home for just one day, Scott hopped a commercial flight bound for Victoria, Texas. I could've gone with him, but he anticipated extreme boredom on my part since he and Dan-O would be working long hours and weekends. I guess boredom at home is preferable to boredom at the Candlewood Suites. At least if I get the urge to clean (yeah, right) or whatever, I can do so at home.

I'm always in a bit of a funk when hubby's away. Sigh ... I'm SO looking forward to a week in Maryland over the Thanksgiving holiday and then two weeks in sunny Florida!

I've been able to spend some quality time with Cass and the li'l man. I didn't blog about it, but we had a particularly enjoyable afternoon a week ago Friday picnicking and lounging on a blanket reading library books at the park. In the days following our early snow, we had some absolutely gorgeous weather with temps in the low 80s.

Work schedule permitting, Scott flies Young Eagles at the Front Range Airport. Up until quite recently, the YE program was chaired by none other than pilot/actor Harrison Ford. Had Scott been available on Saturday morning, he would've met the man himself as "Indy" was sharing his passion for flying with kids at the Centennial Airport. With Scott out of town, he (and I) had to experience meeting Mr. Ford vicariously through friend Gary Z.

Another snow storm moved in on Saturday afternoon and continued through the night. Although we've seen snow as early as September during our 11 years in Colorado, it's typically only a few inches accumulation; the bulk of our snow begins falling just about the time I'm ready for spring. If the past couple early storms are any indication of what our winter is going to be like, we're in for a doozy.

Not much else to blog about. Things should be picking up when Cass and Kota and I head to the Old Line State next week.

More next week.
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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 11/07/09

Nothing blogworthy to report. Check back next week.

Week Ending 10/31/09

As the golden shades of autumn waned in northeastern Colorado, Old Man Winter decided to pay an early visit. (He apparently hadn't gotten the memo that winter doesn't begin for another two months!) The arctic blast, which began in the wee hours of Wednesday morning and continued through Thursday evening, dropped between 18 inches and two feet of the white stuff in/around Littleton. It was pretty to look at, but I am SO not ready for winter. 

Jedi Master Yoda dropped in for a visit on All Hallows' Eve. Strong the Force is with this one. Who could resist those baby blues?!

Practicing one of his Jedi mind tricks on G-Daddy.

That same night, Supergirl was spotted doing a bit of Trick-Or-Treating in Centreville, Maryland.

Earlier in the week, Jade (with the help of Mom and Dad) carved her very first Jack-O-Lantern!

Not much else to blog about. More next week ...
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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 10/24/09

Nothing blogworthy to report. Check back next week.

Week Ending 10/17/09

Before driving me back to the Bay Bridge Airport to meet Scott on Sunday morning, Stevie and Mio and Jade served up a delicious breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs, and gingerbread waffles with strawberries, maple syrup and whipped cream. Mmmmmmm, good!

I so enjoyed my time in Maryland. It gave me the opportunity to reconnect with Stevie and get better acquainted with Mio and Jade. I'm already looking forward to my next visit with them over the Thanksgiving holiday--this time with Scott, Cassie, and Dakota.

Scott (who had flown in from Culpeper, VA to pick me up) and I were wheels up out of Stevensville at around 10:15 PDT.

As we made our way west, inclement weather was pushing its way east. This meant that in addition to head winds and bumpy air, we'd eventually be catching up with the low pressure system that was moving toward us. These things in mind, our plan for the day was to push on with relatively few stops.

Although foliage season had not yet peaked over the Blue Ridge Mountains, we saw quite a bit of color.

A little less than 2.5 hours after departing Bay Bridge, we landed at KGAS, in Gallipolis, Ohio. This busy little airport is situated just over the border between Ohio and Virginia. The view out the window was scenic as we came in over the Ohio River and set up for a landing on runway 23.

ScottAir's in-flight lunch service (compliments of Stevie who had provided SubWay sandwiches for our journey) began shortly after departure from Gallia-Meigs. About 2.75 hours later, we came in over the treeline for a landing at Effingham County Memorial Airport.

Our first and last over-nighters on this trip would be in Fulton, Missouri. After seven long hours of flying, my pilot was ready to stop for the night. We contemplated continuing on into Kansas but didn't see any real advantage in doing so. Chances were pretty good that we'd be stymied by weather either way.

We awoke next morning to exactly what we had expected ... IFR conditions. As Scott studied the forecast and projections, he became increasingly convinced that the skies between Fulton and Denver would not return to VFR until the end of the week. With E2PSI gearing up for a busy fourth quarter, there was no way he wanted to be sitting around in a hotel room for the better part of a week.

If there's one thing we've learned while traveling the country in our RV, it's this: Unless you have unlimited free time at your disposal, you had better be prepared to make alternate plans. Depending on the situation, this might involve waiting it out, flying a different route, catching a commercial flight, or even renting a car as we've had to do on two occasions now.

As Scott set about the task of making arrangements, his first order of business was to find a car. He would soon discover that the closest rental agency willing to let us drive a car one way, without charging an arm and a leg, was in Columbia. A bit of an issue since we were in Fulton.

This is when you're thankful for RVing friends who are willing and happy to come to your rescue. Following a conversation with TJ Boos, Donna Boos arrived at Elton Hensley Memorial Airport to drive us over to Columbia for the rental. Without her help, we would've been forced to drive KFTT's courtesy car (affectionately known by some as the POS) to Columbia only to turn right around and drive both vehicles back to Fulton in order to return the POS. With an 11-hour drive ahead of us, the last thing we wanted was any unnecessary driving.

Gassing up the POS was our next order of business before driving it back to KFTT. All kidding aside, we have been fortunate to have courtesy cars at our disposal during most of our travels. They may not be pretty, but they are free and get you where you wanna go.

There was no hangar space available, but we were permitted to leave the bird tied down on the ramp till Scott could get back and pick it up.

When flying cross-country, we typically enjoy a variety of landscapes. Our view out the windshield of the Lincoln Town Car didn't change all that much as we traveled west on I-70. We happened upon the mop-up operation of a bad accident. It appeared as though the car had careened across the median from the other side and hit a truck.  A sad visual reminder that life is fragile and can end tragically at any moment.

Eleven long and boring hours after leaving Columbia, we arrived back at Front Range to pick up Scott's car. We drove over to DIA to return the rental and then drove the 45 minutes back to Littleton.

Virtually every year since moving to Colorado in 1998, Cassie and I have made an October visit to Jarod's Nursery for autumn decorations. This year something was different ...  the main attraction wore overalls and rode in a red wagon. It must've been an amusing sight to see this little guy being followed around by his posse (Mommy, grandma Tina, and Nina) as they furiously snapped pictures of his every move.

After Jarod's and pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks on Friday afternoon, I tailed Scott to Front Range Airport. He would be catching a 7:00 a.m. commercial flight to Columbia Regional next morning. TJ Boos and buddy Alan would then pick him up and fly him over to Fulton in a 172.  After retrieving 339A, he'd fly back to Front Range.

With the TSA's "security" measures being what they are, Scott would need to be at the airport at O'Dark Thirty. This in mind, we figured it would just be easier on me if we slept at the hangar. Even at that, I had to be up at 4:45 in order to get Scott to DIA on time.

Many thanks to Donna, TJ, and Alan for the assist in getting us and our RV back home!

More next week ...
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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 10/10/09

It was a beautiful Sunday morning when we departed Charlottesville, Virginia en route to Stevensville, Maryland. The flight into Bay Bridge Airport was pretty, particularly the portion that took us out over the Chesapeake Bay. The landing itself, with the Bay Bridge off to our right, was quite picturesque.

Our son, Stevie, and granddaughter, Jade, came to pick us up and drive us to their house in Centreville, Maryland.

Scott, who had to return to Charlottesville that evening, was only able to spend the afternoon. We visited, reminisced, enjoyed a tasty lunch of home-cooked fish tacos, and played a rousing game of Yahtzee (a family favorite) before seeing him off.

There's something special about watching your kids integrate traditions and favorites from their childhood into their own families. More often than not, it's the simple things that they look back on fondly ...

One such memory for Stevie is of he and I picnicking on the floor with a blanket and munchies while watching videos. Before "show time" on Sunday evening, our first order of business would be a delicious dinner of grilled kabobs, kielbasa, and garlic-onion potatoes, followed by S'mores.

As we roasted our marshmallows over hot coals on the grill, Stevie and Jade talked about how he had learned to make S'mores from his mom and dad. In addition to bringing S'mores from the campground to the dooryard, Stevie adds his own flare to this family favorite by using specialty chocolate in place of standard Hershey bars. Dark chocolate pomegranate--Mmmmmmm, good!

After finishing our gooey treats and getting into our "fat pants," we settled in front of the TV with our blankies to watch The Monster Squad, one of Stevie and Cassie's childhood favorites. This happy scene would be replayed throughout the week as we watched our way through other Halloween faves like Hocus Pocus and Ghostbusters. The Nightmare Before Christmas is a newer addition to our Halloween movie repertoire. (The floor was a little too uncomfortable for Mio, due to deliver our third grandchild in December.)

With Stevie being stationed in Japan for most of his first 10 years in the Navy, Jade and I have spent only three days together. One of the ways I tried to connect with her was through crafting, which she really seems to enjoy. We had fun beading bracelets and making a seasonal paper chain to decorate her room. 

On Monday, we helped Mio celebrate her birthday at Ruby Tuesday's. (Surprisingly good meal for a chain restaurant.) Her pregnancy is going well. Baby Logan is healthy and Momma looks great!

Sugar and spice and everything nice. Grandmas (including this one) just love to see their little darlings in dance class.

Saturday would find our party of four shopping the Annapolis Mall, enjoying a burger at Red Robin (my fave place for burgers), and attending a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's before heading back home for our final afternoon/evening of movies and munchies.

Having finished up on the job site by lunchtime, Scott and Dan-O did the tourist thing and visited Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.

More next week ...

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 10/03/09
(Still playing catch up ... )

Continuing with our trip to the Northeast, it was a tad dampish on the ground in northeastern Missouri on Sunday morning.

We departed KFTT just before 9:30 a.m. CDT en route to our first scheduled stop at Gus Grissom Airforce Base in Indiana. Skies were clear for the first hour or so before we began, once again, catching up with the weather that was making its way across the country in front of us. As we neared KGUS, reported IFR conditions over the field prompted a diversion back to Robinson Municipal in Illinois.

After gassing up and spending about 40 minutes studying the weather on KRSV's excrutiatingly sloooooooooow computer, we decided the best course of action would be to press onward toward our final destination in Virginia without making any additional stops.  

We spent the next 2:75 hours flying above the cloud deck at altitudes ranging from 7,500-11,500'. Broken cloud cover eventually gave way to a solid layer.

Knowing that VFRs necessitated getting below the clouds at some point, I felt a bit unsettled when we stopped seeing holes. 

While en route, we enjoyed a Cosby-style lunch of chips (a form of potatoes), Pepsi (must keep hydrated), and M&Ms (made with real milk).

Our trusty Garmin 696 with weather was reporting VFR conditions at Culpeper, but our eyes were telling us that there was nothing but cloud cover as far as the eye could see. When a wide crevice appeared in front of us, we decided to take a peek below.

The hills splashed with color were pretty enough, but otherwise, not so much ...

What we found underneath were multiple layers of clouds, fog, and mist.

The closest airport was Upshur County Regional, a pretty little airfield nestled in the hills of northeastern West Virginia. It was a Sunday afternoon, so the place was all but deserted and the FBO locked up tight. 

After gassing up and using the open-air latrine, we went back up on a scouting mission. We were less than one hour from our final destination, and my pilot--who was supposed to be on the job site first thing Monday morning--thought conditions might permit getting just a bit closer.

About 15 minutes out from W22, we scrubbed the idea of leapfrogging it over to W29 and returned to Upshur County. Had we been flying over the plains, we could have stayed below the layer and continued on, but in a hilly terrain this just wasn't safe.

Although there were big blue spots through which we could have returned topside, continued uncertainty about the skies over Culpeper (with no way to confirm what our Garmin was telling us) kept us from doing so. This is where an IFR ticket sure would come in handy.

As we came in for our second landing on runway 29, I spotted a Hampton Inn not far from the airport. Scott called the after-hours number posted on the FBO door and Richard gave us instructions for use of the courtesy car.

By early evening, as we ate our mediocre dinner at the Huddle House, there were nuttin' but blue skies over Buckhannon, West Virginia. Too late at that point to continue on, but we would later discover that had we stuck with our original plan and heeded what our onboard weather gadget was telling us, we'd have made it into Culpeper no problem. This is but one example of how what we think we know about life and such, based soley on what we see, can be very misleading. 

More cloudy weather had moved in by morning, so we hung out at the hotel until checkout time at noon. We then headed into town to kill some more time and grab a bite.

At around 1:00, it was back to the airport to hang at the FBO until 3:15 when Scott was sure that the weather had moved well beyond our destination. The winds on the ground at Upshur had been howling, so I knew we were in for a bumpy ride to Culpeper.

Although the little T-hangar at KCJR was a step (or two or three) below our upscale digs at KFTG, it would keep the bird dry and out of the elements at a reasonable price.

Sleeping in, eating out, lazy days in/around the hotel ... and so went Tuesday through Friday in the life of Riley. My two fave meals in Charlottesville were eaten at The Virginian and Rhett's.

At about 12:30 on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, I set out on foot to find Blue Ridge Beads and Glass less than three miles from the Residence Inn. As I followed my Google Maps hand-written instructions, I eventually found myself on frat-house row.

A quick phone call to Blue Ridge would confirm what I had already surmised--I was headed in the wrong direction (dang those unmarked road-name changes). After a fair bit of backtracking and several conversations with Susie, I finally arrived at my destination--an unassuming little hole-in-the-wall of a place.

I spent about an hour perusing their plethora of beads/beading supplies before heading out the door with my purchase and new instructions from Susie for a more "direct route" back to the hotel. When she kindly called to check my progress, only to find that I was once again lost, she set out to find me and give me a lift. (In thinking that the road signs said something they did not, Susie had unwittingly led me astray.) Nice lady who went out of her way to make sure that I made it "home" safely. 

It was about 5:30 when I arrived back at the hotel. Moral of the story ... the geographically challenged should never be allowed to wander around unsupervised. Or ... never trust hand-written directions that aren't backed up by a map.

More next week.
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Posted by Deb 

Week Ending 09-26-09

Picking up where I left off in my last post, the week began with our return flight from Yellowstone National Park. Pictured below is our round-trip Spot Track.

It was about 7:45 PDT when we gathered for a Kodak moment in front of the Clubhouse Inn. By 9:00 Scott had settled up with the nice folks at Yellowstone Aviation, and we were airborne by 9:15.

(photo courtesy of Andrew Brandt, front left)

While we had intentionally taken the long way 'round in traveling to Yellowstone, it was weather that would keep us from taking the most direct route home. When we set out from KWYS, we were headed in a southeasterly direction. We soon had to deviate a bit further south, which took us along the eastern edge of the Teton Mountains. The view was spectacular.

We encountered a variety of sky conditions ranging from severe clear to MVFR, with a wee bit of moisture thrown in.

 

While the weather in Yellowstone had been surprisingly warm, we had a cold snap in Denver. Little Dakota had to don cold weather gear for the first time. The adorable handmade hat that he's wearing was knitted by great, great grandmother Rosie on his dad's side. Have you ever seen such beautiful blue eyes?! This kid's gonna be a real heart breaker.

Monday through Friday found us preparing for a tentative Saturday morning departure to Virginia, though we were unsure if the weather was going to cooperate. In the end, the fronts that had caused low temps and moisture in northern Colorado had made their way far enough east for us to be "go for flight" on Saturday morning.

We were wheels up at 8:30 en route to our first stop in Great Bend, Kansas. After the beautiful sights we'd been seeing during our most recent flying ventures, the mid-western flatlands were particularly boring. We were surprised when the gent who greeted us at the pumps remembered that we had landed there earlier in the year on our way to Homestead, Florida.

About half way toward our second stop in Fulton, Missouri, we began catching up with the weather that was still working its way east. We stayed above the cloud deck until we were about ten minutes out from Elton Hensley Memorial Airport. Then Scott skillfully spiraled down through a break in the clouds.

As we were gassing up, some thunder boomers began quickly making their way toward the airport. We barely managed to get gassed up, covered up, and tied down before the deluge. 

Since we clearly weren't taking off for a spell, we borrowed the courtesy car and headed out to the Post Office for lunch. The neatest thing about this place, housed in an actual old post office, was the building itself. The food was nothing great. The weather still hadn't completely cleared by the time we had finished eating, so we opted to spend the night in Fulton.

We had traversed Columbia Regional's airspace on our way to Fulton, and the controller we talked with had expressed an interest in the RV/where we were based out of. When we told him our destination, he said that he too had an RV hangared at that same airport. We asked the guy at the FBO about him with the intent of looking into who he might be. About two hours after checking into our room, the phone rang ... the controller was in the lobby and wanted to meet Scott. As it turned out, we had met Tim Boos and his wife Donna at Osh Kosh last year. Tim treated us to  a tasty dinner at Jalisco Mexican Restaurant. We look forward to returning the favor.

More about our trip to the East Coast next week.

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Posted by Deb 

Week Ending 09/19/09

Although the BIG 50 celebration for Rosie and yours truly was held in Vegas on the 5th, Sunday the 13th was actually my birthday. Opting for a quiet day on the home front, my requests were simple--I didn't want to cook, and I wanted to see a movie. The fresh-brewed coffee in bed that hubby brought to me (Without even being asked!) was an unexpected added bonus. The phone calls and Facebook posts wishing me well were much appreciated.

With limited movie choices, I decided on Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Cass and I saw it when it first came out, but we hadn't seen it in IMAX 3D. Scott, who isn't a big fan of "the boy who lived," hadn't seen it and didn't really care to. But, since it was birthday girl's choice, Harry Potter it would be. With matinee tickets priced at $12 a head,  I'm guessing Scott's opinion of Harry Potter didn't improve much. 

Monday through Thursday were spent playing catch up, on the heels of our 12-day RV adventure whilst preparing for a weekend trip to Yellowstone. The li'l man was with me on Tuesday and Thursday. We enjoyed our 6-mile walks and intimate talks. He's becoming quite interactive and vocal. Have I mentioned lately how dang cute he is?! ;-)

With a planned 7:00 departure on Friday morning, we decided a sleepover at the airport was in order. The hangar has all the comforts of home with a 3/4 bath, well-stocked fridge, futon, and big screen. And, perhaps most importantly, we wouldn't have to make the 45-minute drive from Littleton in the morning. This translates into 45 additional minutes of beauty sleep for yours truly. I puttered around on my laptop while Scott did a temporary install of his shiny new Garmin 696. Yup, he finally broke down and bought one. We all knew it was coming ... it was just a matter of time.

We were wheels up out of Front Range at 7:40 a.m. en route to our first stop in Torrington, Wyoming. The view out my window during the short one-hour leg was hazy, but the ride was smooth. The first words out of my mouth as we popped opened the canopy at KTOR were, "Smells like cow, or is that pig?!" We were greeted by two nice gents and two equally nice dogs.

downwind of runway 10 at KTOR

Fred, who had been well trained by Jerry (or vise versa), eagerly performed for us. Most impressive was his rabbit trick--when told by Jerry to look for rabbits, he jumped up into the chair and peered intently out the window. As Jerry told him to look north, east, and west, Fred obediently complied without error. Smart pooch.

Our next destination was to overfly Mount Rushmore on our way to Bowman Municipal Airport in North Dakota. If you (unlike myself) are a geography wiz, you're probably wondering why the heck we'd be heading northeast toward the Dakotas on our way to Yellowstone National Park?! Well ... we wanted to collect our virtual map pin for The Peace Garden State. Since we don't generally have cause to be up that way, we thought we'd work it into our trip. It cost us a few extra hours of travel time, but no matter -- "weatherwise, it was such a lovely day."

As we approached Rushmore, I was giddy with excitement at the prospect of snapping a qreat aerial photo of the monument. Although the view from my vantage point was amazing, I wasn't able to capture it digitally. Another photo op foiled by equipment inadequate for the job at hand. Grrrrrr!

A couple more stops along the way, including Powell, Wyoming for lunch, and we'd be at our destination. With 55-degree air at altitude, pretty views out the window, classic rock 'n' roll on the XM, full tummies, and empty bladders, our final 1.5-hour leg was splendid indeed.

Thirty minutes out from Yellowstone, we began picking up the radio chatter of other RVers bound for KWYS. We came in right behind two flights of two at 2:30 MDT. As it turned out, all but two of the 14 RVs flying in for the gathering (Rosales/Brandt, Rosamond/Bishop, CA; Prokop, Chino, CA; Eulitt/Farrell, Rosamond, CA; Souza, Palm Dale, CA; Ehlinger, Alturas, CA; Holyoke, Van Nuys, CA; Thermon, Chino, CA; Percy, Chino, CA; Jones, CA; Watson, Phelan, CA; Sobek, Manhattan, Beach, CA; Diven, Cable, CA; Schneider, Deer Valley, AZ; Mills, Littleton, CO)  arrived within about 20 minutes of one another.

Yellowstone Lake


on the ramp at Yellowstone Airport

Once Car Captain Rosie had arrived, our crew (Rosie, Andrew, Scott, Deb) was off to the Clubhouse Inn. Later that evening, it was dinner for 26 at the Three Bear Restaurant, followed by a dessert run (or walk) to DQ.

Not all our folks are pictured here, some were in the adjacent room.

Gary "Condor" Sobek takes his chances and feeds the bears. ;-)

IMHO, the only thing worth wasting calories on at DQ is the delish Blizzard!

Next morning, the gang gathered for breakfast at the hotel and then headed off in their respective cars/vans to tour the park. And a full day of sightseeing it was ... we four didn't sit down to eat dinner until 9:00 that night.

Andrew, Scott, Deb


Looks inviting, but at 170 sulfur-infused degrees, it's lethal.

Rosie, Andrew, Scott

Read about our return flight from Yellowstone in next week's post.

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Posted by Deb 

Week Ending 09/12/09

Sunday was our last full day and night in Nevada.  Cassie and I walked/played the Vegas strip from 10:00-3:00 while Scott hung around the hotel making himself available for post-party hangar clean-up.

We had a great time checking things out, taking pictures, (over)eating  at the Excalibur's well-stocked Roundtable buffet, riding the 4D motion rides, and visiting all four floors of M&M's World -- who knew everybody's favorite candy came in so many colors?! Cass, our designated tour guide for the day, did a fine job of planning our activities. There's so much to be seen in the City of Lights (even by day) that we barely put a dent in it. All the more reason to make a return trip.

the knight-themed Excalibur Hotel & Casino


Cass and the Bob outside the 4D motion ride theater

The company started by Mars & Murrie in '41 sure has come a long way.

Scott, Cassie, Rosie, Gary, and I headed for the Venetian at 5:30 where we'd be meeting Mercedes and Shawn to see Blue Man Group.

I had been intrigued by BMG's unique brand of entertainment ever since seeing snippets on PBS. I'm hardpressed to describe exactly what type of show it is. There's music (with the blue-headed baldies playing percussion on some very unconventional instruments), comedy, audience participation, and techno stuff. They even manage to intersperse interesting factoids throughout. The show is distinctive on several levels, but most noteworthy might be that the stars themselves don't utter a word throughout the entire performance -- anything verbal has been prerecorded. 

After the show, we went to Freemont Street for what some describe as "the old-style Vegas." The Summer of '69 Vegas or Bust concert series was winding down with a performance by Three Dog Night.

Not sure if it's the "largest big-screen on the planet," but it is BIG!

Once you get the glitz out of your eyes, you begin to see how Vegas earned the nickname Sin City. While it's all fun and entertainment on the surface, one gets the sense that there's something quite sinister lurking beneath.

It was disturbing to see so many parents with children and pre-teens walking around casinos amidst drinking, smoking, gambling, and scantily-clad pole dancers/cocktail waitresses. Cass and I observed one rather long-in-the-tooth woman who was totally wasted. I'm jumping off of my soapbox, now, so in the words of Forrest, Forrest Gump, "that's all I have to say about that." ;-) 

Next morning, after a 7:00 a.m. breakfast at the hotel, Mills, Zilik, and Rosales headed to the airport. We were wheels up at 10:00 a.m. with the Mills/Zilik  flight heading Northeast and the Rosaleses in the direction of Rosamond.

Rosie & Tuppergal took off from Boulder City right behind us.

Diverse landscapes made the flight toward our planned stop in Salida a pretty one. It was relatively smooth at 11,500', at least until we made Colorado. Once we hit Montrose, we began seeing scattered showers. It was a bit bumpy as we approached Monarch pass and climbed to 12,500'.

We landed at Harriett Alexander Airport at 1:00 MDT after three hours in flight.

By the time we fueled up, ate lunch at The Country Bounty, returned the courtesy car, and readied ourselves for flight, it was 2:30. Another fifty-three minutes of scenic flying and we had landed back at our home airport and begun the process of unpacking and stowing the planes.

During the 12-day duration of our trip, we logged 18 individual flights, flew a total of 24 hours, and traveled 3,664 miles within nine different states: Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. We collected four new states-landed-in pins for our N339A Airport Landings Map: Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon.

We're in the process of writing our trip report and hope to get it posted soon. It'll be a long one -- this lengthy post covers only two of our 12-day adventure! Our sincere appreciation to all who contributed to making this trip one that we'll never forget! Special thanks to our flying buds Gary & Carolyn Zilik. The trip wouldn't have been the same without 'em.

As with any extended stay away from the hacienda, we're now playing catch-up on errands, chores, and blogging. Scott's fall/winter work schedule will be picking up soon, so he's full throttle into project planning and preparations. You know what this means ... Riley will be living the suite life again reeeeeeal soon. ;-)

Scott had hand surgery on Thursday to remove a pesky mass from the middle finger of his left hand. The vascular malformation, which has plagued him for quite some time, had a tendancy to cause painful swelling. He's relieved to have it gone. He actually took a sick day on Friday -- something he hasn't done in the decade that he's been employed by E2PSI.

I asked Scott to hold up his hand so I could get a picture of his finger and this is what he gave me. Guess I need to be more careful 'bout what I ask for! In his defense, he was still under the influence of whatever drugs the doctor gave him before the surgery. Can't you tell by that sappy, I mean happy, grin on his face?

Not much else to report. Hubby (and his finger) made the weekly sojourn to the airport on Saturday morning while I opted to remain at home cleaning and writing. Knowing he couldn't fly himself, Scott was certain he'd be able to hitch a ride with another member of "The Breakfast Club." Friend and fellow RVer Chuck Spaur (who just happens to have the Garmin 696 that my pilot has been coveting) was more than happy to oblige.

More next week. (I will be back-tracking to fill in the previous two week's entries and link to photo albums with more pics.)
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Posted by Deb 

Week Ending 09/05/09

Never did get around to blogging about this portion of our Twelve Days, Eleven Nights adventure. Click here to read our VAF post summarizing the trip.

Week Ending 08/29/09
Playing catch-up on my blogging ...

Intermingled with the mundane were assorted preparation activities for our 12-day RVing adventure. Packing, in particular, was a bit of a challenge (for me, at least) since our planned activities ranged from primitive camping with the Rosaleses to an evening show in Vegas.

Paul & Victoria, who've been camping on Lake Mohave since the 80s, like to sleep in the open air under the stars. Scott no doubt would have enjoyed this, but I like the sanctuary of my own space first thing in the morning. So we shipped a lightweight tent and a few other camping supplies ahead to Casa de Rosales in order to limit what we'd have to carry in the plane.

As we and the Ziliks readied for flight on Thursday morning, the temp on the ground at Front Range was 63 degrees. Despite the fact that our tower guys were not yet on duty at 6:55 a.m. MDT, take-off was uneventful. Our ultimate destination for the day was Portland, Oregon where we'd be bunking with Bruce & Jamie Swayze.

Bruce & Jamie

While many a vacation begins with a hurry-up-and-get-there-so-we-can-have-fun mentality, we believe that getting there in our flying machine is half the fun. While I'm prepared to fly extended legs when the situation warrants it, I much prefer landing before my bladder is ready to burst and my joints have seized up like the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz.

That said, one of our missions on this trip was to collect a few more pins for our 339A travel map. Since we were sorely lacking landings in the northwestern section of the country, Scott scheduled stops in three states between Colorado and Oregon--Wyoming, Idaho, and Washington, with Oregon itself representing a new pin.

The first leg of our trip was about an hour in length. We stopped in Laramie, Wyoming to collect our pin, top off the tanks, and, in keeping with the sage advice of Jack Nicholson's character in The Bucket List, were mindful not to pass up that bathroom.

Between our first and second landings, we saw interesting changes in landscape (plains, hills, sand dunes, rock formations, farmlands) and the smoke of what appeared to be a wildfire in the distance.

The courtesy car was in use when we made our landing in Gooding, Idaho, so we continued on in search of food. After a tasty lunch at Nampa Municipal's Runway Cafe, we journeyed onward to our next stop at the Columbia Gorge/Dalles Municipal Airport. Pretty little spot amidst the hills on the Washington side of the river.

coming in on final at the Dalles

Our flying highpoint for the day, figuratively speaking, was a low-altitude (1,000') scenic tour through the Columbia River Gorge en route from Dalles to Troutdale.

(click here for a short video clip of our gorge run)

It was 98 degrees when Bruce picked us up at the airport at around 4:00 p.m. PDT. Gary had misplaced his camera somewhere between Denver and Oregon, so Bruce was kind enough to chauffer us around in search of another one. Then it was off to he and Jamie's house for some get-acquainted conversation over a delicious backyard dinner of grilled chops, assorted side dishes, and home-brewed ice tea. Our after-dinner conversation was accompanied by the sounds of Bruce's son Dan (who is quite an accomplished pianist) honing his skills. The ladies chatted about this and that while the guys beat feet to the garage to check out Bruce's 7A building project.

Though we didn't take any pictures around "the canoe" that night, we did take some next morning. Note the expression on Gary's face ... just as Bruce was about to snap the photo, Gary realized that the fuselage was fixin' to slide off its sawhorse perch. Yikes! I shudder to think how badly that could've ended, but Bruce took it in stride with a smile on his face.

Next morning, we awoke to the wonderful aroma of a tasty breakfast being prepared for us by Luke and Andria--Bruce's son and daughter-in-law. French toast, cheesy scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, juice, and coffee. Mmmmmm good! What an awesome way to begin a busy day of flying.

Bruce shuttled us back to the airport; and following a fill-up and some pre-flight planning, we hit the skies for a scenic sightseeing tour around Mounts Adams and St. Helens.

approaching snow-capped Mount Adams

Next stop, Aurora State Airport for lunch and a look-see around the Van's Aircraft  facility.

Final destination for the next couple of days, Independence State Airport for the Van's 2009 Homecoming festivities. Friday night it was beer and BBQ under the big top followed by music and dancing at the Krummels' hangar.

After breakfast on Saturday, a group of 5 planes including ours, the Ziliks, the Rosaleses, Eulitt/Farrell, and the Souzas (with two others joining us in flight) took to the skies over Oregon for some of the most picturesque flying Scott & I have ever done!

pulling out from the hangar of our homecoming hosts John & Shirley Horn

The final event in the Van's homecoming festivities with a delicious banquet and a few words by Van the man. 

There are so many photos and details with limited space and time to include them all! Click here to read our series of VAF  forum posts about the great RV adventure we're calling Twelve Days, Eleven Nights. The title was inspired by Harrison Ford's flick and the fact that this trip was so jam-packed with destinations/acitivities, we didn't know what the heck else to call it! In the future, we plan to format the story in a PDF that will be accessible through the About Our Airplane page.

More about the trip in our next post.
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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 08/15/08

For the third week in a row, we headed to the hangar on Sunday for an afternoon of  aircraft maintenance. While Scotty did his thing, I kept myself occupied transferring and organizing digital photos on my laptop. Watching movies is one of my fave things to do, so the payoff for me was a flick on the big screen after the sun went down. Knowing, with Nicholas Cage, kept my interest right up to the rather unsatisfying ending.

At the close of a rather mundane and uneventful week, it was back to the Front Range Airport for Scott. But instead of airplane maintenance on Saturday morning, he was taking Young Eagles up for their first taste of flight. Click here to read what fellow YE volunteer Ron Duren had to say about the event in his blog. 

(click here for more pics)

Later on, we enjoyed an evening of  good company and good fun over a few strings of bowling with Mr. & Mrs. Z. A great time was had by all, in spite of the fact that Scotty's score left the rest of us in the dust.

More next week.
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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 08/08/09

Nothing blogworthy to report. Check back next week.

Week Ending 08/01/09

Things have been pretty quite in Millsville. Aside from spending time with our li'l man, nothing much to blog about.

More next week.

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 07/25/09

The last time our roomie visited Aruba a decade ago, he stumbled upon a pretty spot on the northern shore of the east end of the island. There, while peering over the cliffs, he observed large fish swimming about in the teal-blue waters of the Caribbean. Scott and I set out with tour guide Mike at around 9:00 a.m. on Sunday morning in search of the must-see spot.

Our excursion began with a short drive before continuing on foot. Passing through a military firing range en route to the coastline was a bit disconcerting; but with no tell-tale "red flags"  or "lamps" (or explosions) in the vicinity, we felt it safe to venture in.

Volcanic rock, formed from the cooling and solidification of lava, makes for slow going on foot. Thank goodness our experienced guide had suggested sneakers instead of flip flops. 

Unlike the waters of the southern shore, those on the northern coastline are anything but calm.

We saw critters, and coves, and targets--oh my!

This little guy has the fine art of camoflauge down pat.


erosion chips away at the shoreline


Looks like something right out of an episode of Myth Busters.

About ninety minutes into our coastal excursion, with no clear indication of how much further Mike's elusive spot might be, we headed back to the mildew suite for food and a catnap.

Early afternoon, it was back to Baby Beach for Deb's last swim. We then hit the showers, ate a quick dinner, and headed out for a bit more exploring.

Getting through Aruban/American Customs & Immigration early on Monday morning, followed by a 2.5-hour flight to Florida, was a piece of cake. What made for an excruciatingly looooooooooooong day was hanging out at Miami International awaiting my connection to Denver. As if a 7.5-hour layover wasn't already long enough, we were delayed an additional hour due to inclement weather.

I couldn't get the airport WiFi service that I purchased to connect to the net, so no surfing while waiting. I did manage to finish O'Reilly's Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity--a good read.

Finally, finally, finally, it was time to board. After getting aboard the plane, we waited. And waited. And waited. The weather that had caused our delay had, of course, thrown all flight schedules off for the rest of the day. While the passengers, including myself, got a bit antsy during the extended wait on the ramp, it was certain we wouldn't be going anywhere without our crew.

After take off, I settled back into my seat for the next 4.5-hours. I was happy to hear they'd be showing a movie that wasn't animated and that I hadn't already seen. I purchased my headset, plugged it in, and ... nothing. The sound in my seat wasn't working. Arghhhhh! This never would've happened had I been flying Scott Air.

About 30 minutes before touching down, the captain instructed everyone (including flight attendants) to sit down and buckle up as we'd be "circumventing weather" that would probably cause some turbulence. Yeah ... that was an understatement.

Upon my arrival back in Denver, more inclement weather awaited me on the ground. As my ride and I left DIA and headed toward I-70, it began to pour with a vengeance. We pulled over a couple of times waiting for it to ease up enough so Cass could see the road. During one of our stops, she got a call from Tyler saying there were tornado warnings in effect for Littleton and surrounding areas. 

Cass opted to exit the highway so that the drive would be less stressful. As we headed south on Wadsworth toward Littleton, the sight was quite eerie. The street/store lights in Wheat Ridge were all out. The traffic lights were still on, though many were blinking.

There was quite a lot of debris littering the roadways. When we rolled down our windows to get a better look, we could actually smell the pine! News reports later in the week showed that huge trees had been downed in the storm.

We also saw hail ... lots of hail. One car was stuck in a huge pile of it that looked just like snow. The cold precipitation collecting on the hot pavement made for lots of fog. Lightening continued to flash in the distance.

This is what awaited me on my doorstep at midnight. Welcome home from Aruba, Deb.

Scott, who got back on Thursday, (and I) spent the afternoon at Front Range on Friday getting caught up on airplane maintenance. While he worked, I amused myself with this 'n' that. Later on, we heated up some franks and beans, enjoyed a pretty sunset, and watched Gregory Peck in The Purple Plain on the big screen.

More next week.

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 07/18/09

Week two of our stay on the self-proclaimed "Happy Island" of Aruba began in much the same way that the previous one had ended--with a visit to the tourist side of town. I had been joking since my arrival that I felt the need to be with "my people," aka vacationing tourists living it up in a resort setting.

As one heads west from Seroe toward Oranjestad, it becomes obvious that there's a stark difference between the areas where the resort/cruise-ship guests congregate and the eastern end of the island that many locals call home. The modest houses, many of which have been ravaged by the effects of  time, neglect, and the harsh environment, give way to structures that are more upscale and well kempt (though vacation homes can be found on the east end as well).

As mentioned last week, even the plant life from east to west is in contrast. Aside from the palms, native plants on the east end are more what one might expect to see in a desert setting, whereas the lush greenery the tourists enjoy is shipped in and meticulously maintained.

Scott  and I and Mike made a day of it in Oranjestad last Saturday, including lunch at a beach-front restaurant called Gilligan's and a visit to the California Lighthouse on the western-most point of the island.

When Scott & I returned to the capital city again on Sunday afternoon to see Public Enemies, many of the shops were closed, just as tour guide Mike had predicted they would be. We had our fill of shopping the previous day, so this was OK with us.

With map in hand,  we headed west. The plan was to visit the so-called noteworthy sites that were outlined on our trusty tourist map. Aside from Lourdes Grotto (a Catholic shrine to Mary where the only noteworthy component is the lava-flow grotto itself), we weren't overly successful at finding elusive sites that are not well marked. We enjoyed our off-road excursion anyway. 

Before heading to the movie, we ate lunch on the waterfront at a place called The Paddock where they serve tasty sandwiches made with freshly-baked French bread.

The rest of the week went something like this:

 Scott and Mike are on-the-job at 7:00 a.m. 
 Deb is up up shortly thereafter enjoying a leisurely cuppa Joe while surfing
     the net
 Deb slathers on SPF55 and walks the 1.5-miles to Baby Beach
 Deb walks in the surf, takes in the view, snaps a few pics, and then
     spreads her sheet under a thatched hut for a couple hours of reading
 Deb packs up and returns to the mildew suite to prepare lunch for the
     guys who'll be home at noon
 Deb, on her own til 4:00, watches an afternoon movie, does a little light
     housekeeping, and surfs the net
 Once Scott and Mike get home from work, it's back to Baby
     Beach for an hour or so of swimming and snorkeling
 Back to the mildew suite for a hot shower, dinner, dishes, and
     The No-Spin Zone at 8:00
 Deb retreats to her room for a bit of TV before drifting off to sleep
 Lather, rinse, repeat...

Our meals, some eaten out and some eaten in, range in quality from Chef Boyardee to Chef a la Rumba. Most noteworthy of the at-home fare has been Mike's infamous Spam Surprise made with Kraft mac and cheese and chopped Spam. Just makes yer mouth water, don't it?!

Hands down, best restaurant meal to date was eaten at an unassuming little place in Oranjestad called the Rumba Bar & Grill. Not only was my Chicken Calabrese al Forno with gratin potatoes and veggies absolutely delicious, the presentation was pleasing to the eye and the service top notch! Prices were also quite reasonable.

More about Deb's last day on the island and trip back to Denver in next week's post.

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 07/11/09

We headed to Denver International at 6:00 a.m. on Monday morning to catch our 8:30 flight to Aruba. Despite the fact that this was to be a work venture for Scott, with yours truly in tow, memories of our 2007 business trip to the Aloha State danced through my head. I was pretty jazzed at the prospect of spending two glorious weeks in a lush island setting.
 
The last time we were at the Miami International Airport, we had canceled our RV flight to the Cayman Islands, and I was on my way back to Denver alone. The circumstances were much more pleasant this time around, however, as we awaited our 7:00 p.m. (EDT) connection to Queen Beatrix Airport.

our ride being readied for flight in Miami

the teeny, tiny speck circled in red is Aruba

Upon landing at AUA, we retrieved our luggage, cleared Customs & Immigration, and were picked up by Scott's co-worker/our roomie, Mr. Mike. When we arrived at our island refuge after a long day of traveling, we were more than ready to hit the sack.

I awoke next morning to the unforgettable sounds and smells of the surf. The view from our hotel window was breathtaking. I made my way to the beach front restaurant for a leisurely breakfast before heading surf-side for a day of reading and relaxation under the palms. Ahhhh ... island life.

Well ... that's how it happened in my mind anyway. In reality, the sounds I heard were the alternate whirring and clanking of the battle-worn air conditioner over our bed, and the smell was the unmistakable odor of mildew. To hijack a phrase from  Doug Kinney #2 in the movie Multiplicity, I have dubbed our Aruban digs "the mildew suite."

I knew beforehand that we'd be staying in a "bungalow" provided by Valero Energy. What I didn't know was that bungalow was code for stanky, rundown mobile home. Truth be told, I was a bit taken aback when I first saw the condition of what was to be home for the next couple of weeks.

As I drifted off to a fitful sleep, I was hopeful that all would look brighter in the light of day. When I awoke next morning, the one thing that had become "brighter" was the fact that the place was best viewed under cover of darkness.

Armed with a can of Lysol and a bottle of all purpose cleaner, I set about the task of sanitizing, emptying half  a can of Lysol onto any and all surfaces that I might actually have to touch. (I know it doesn't look bad in the photo, but trust me ... )

I then washed every single shred of  bedding  (pity I couldn't actually fit the bed into the machine) and doubled up on fitted sheets and pillow cases in order to put more space between myself and whatever lifeforms might be thriving in the mattresses/pillows. I covered the fabric chair in the dining area with a sheet for the same reason. Although things began to "feel" a bit cleaner, I decided early on that it was best, for my own peace of mind, not to look too closely at anything.

 

While hotels on the southwestern coast of the island sport beautiful views of el caribe, the view from my front door is of Valero's oil refinery  stacks belching pollutants into the atmosphere.

A Filipino woman named Vicki came to clean the mildew suite on Tuesday morning. As we struck up a conversation, I liked her immediately. According to Vicki, decent-paying jobs are very hard to come by in the Philippines--even for "professionals." Widowed these past 16 years, she accepted an invitation to work/live on the island with her brother and his family. She has been employed by the various owners of the refinery, cleaning workers' quarters, ever since.

Vicki has kids and grandkids living in the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and Virginia. She spent two years prior to her arrival on Aruba working in Saudi while her children remained in the Philippines with her parents. She, of course, sent most of her earnings back home to the family.

In listening to her experiences, I'd say she's had a pretty tough life. In spite of her hardships, Vicki frequently expresses her thankfulness to God for His blessings and provisions. Hmmmm ... kinda made me feel lower than pond scum to be so "put out" because my two-week island vacation hacienda wasn't all I had thought it would be.

Amazing how we can be headed full-long down a particular way of thinking only to have our mindset change in an instant. Once Vicki had unwittingly helped me to pry my head out of my hiney, I decided to enjoy my island time to the fullest.

Pictured below is a satellite image of the eastern-most tip of Aruba. We're staying on the outskirts of Seroe Colorado. Kind of funny that we flew thousands of miles from Denver, Colorado to be staying in Seroe Colorado. 

Valero refinery,  mildew suite, Seroe,  Rodger's Beach, Baby Beach

Although the beaches on the opposite end of the island are quite beautiful, the tourists  still flock to Baby Beach. Known for it's calm waters and good snorkeling, it doesn't disappoint. Aside from Cozumel, its the best snorkeling I've ever done. We've seen squid, barracuda, parrot/angel/assorted colorful fishies. Mike even saw a small octopus, which proceeded to ink him when he inadvertently got too close. We didn't bring our underwater camera case, so no pics.

Many of the native plants aren't as pleasing to the eye (or the touch) as the imported  flora on the tourist end of the island.

More about Aruba next week, including our ventures to Oranjestad.

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 07/04/09

Topping this year's list of resolutions (again) is improved health & fitness. To that end, I resumed my habit of taking a daily walk back in May--weather and motivation permitting, of course. (Ya, I know ... what happened to January through April, right?) Cass & Dakota often join me on my morning constitutional, which is now up to just over six miles.

With Scott's & my big 50 looming large on the horizon (mine in September, his next November), we decided to get serious about losing fat and building muscle. We did our homework with regard to which piece of home gym equipment might best suit our needs and decided on the Total Gym. After all, if anything can kick fat's a**, we figure it's a piece of equipment endorsed by Chuck Norris. We were only able to play with it for a week before heading off to Aruba, so it remains to be seen just how long it will take for Scott to look like Chuck and me to look like Christie! ;-)

It was such a gorgeous Colorado day on Wednesday that Cass & I decided a picnic was in order. Scott, who often comes home for lunch, joined us at Clement Park where Cass managed to find the perfect picnic table complete with shade, beautiful mountain vistas, and pleasant summer breeze.

As has become one of our Independence Day customs, we attended the Whites' annual BBQ bash in Morrison. A bit of impending wet weather prompted a change in plans as picnic tables were quickly moved inside.

The food (which included delicious smoked brisket brought in from Texas and some of the tastiest cheese-stuffed-bacon-wrapped jalapeno hors d'oeuvres we've ever tasted) was awesome. Thanks to Kevin & Frances for being such great hosts!

Also memorable was a reading of the Declaration of Independence by David Dickson, brother-in-law of the Whites. Thanks to him for reminding us of the significance of the 4th day of the 7th month.

Scott & Kevin, patriots both

In addition to watching a televised fireworks display from New York, we watched some live from our back deck. It's our goal to one day celebrate July 4th in our nation's capital.

More next week.

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 06/27/09

On Sunday evening, Scott and I decided to do a nighttime hangar test of the movie screen he built in our basement.

scene from In Harm's Way with John Wayne & Kirk Douglas

The main event of our week was the first Zilik / Mills shrimp boil and movie night. Scott & I first experienced a Cajun-style shrimp boil two summers ago when the Bakers hosted one (prepared by Sid & Shelly) at their home in Goodland. Since then, we've been jazzed about co-hosting one with Gary & Carolyn.

Fourteen peeps showed up at our little shindig, held in the Ziliks' hangar at Front Range Airport on Friday.

Scott & Gary shuckin' it up

the Bakers arrive

That thang got a Hemi?

It ain't pretty, but it sure is tasty!

 
enjoying great food and great company around the table

You gotta love this kind of clean-up!

We've adopted Rosie's rules for movie night at the hangar--the flick has to involve airplanes. Scott chose Air America, with Mel Gibson and Robert Downy, Jr., as our feature film. While many had already seen it, all seemed to enjoy it anyway. In addition to lots of flying, the 70s soundtrack is great.

Thanks to all who attended and helped make for such a great evening. I'm already looking forward to the next movie night--maybe chili and a movie in the fall??

Weekend fun with the Ziliks & Bakers continued on Saturday morning as we headed to the mountains to partake of Gary's scratch-made waffles served up piping hot with warm maple syrup, fresh strawberries, and real whipped cream. Mmmmmm, good.

The guys opted to hang out in Pine while the ladies ventured off to Boulder in search of Shuttles, Spindles & Skeins yarn shop. Before heading into the store, we decided on lunch at the Tandoori Grill. While the place was busy and the ambiance interesting, I'm just not a big fan of Indian-style cuisine. I was all for the idea of trying it out once but wouldn't go in search of it again. Guess it's an acquired taste.

Boasting 8,000 square feet, and abounding in yarns, fibers, and accessories for knitting, crocheting, and weaving, the store did not disappoint. Additionally, the staff was quite knowledgeable and most helpful. As relative newbie knitters, Carolyn and I decided to try our hand at felting with an easy project--potholders.

view of the unique flatiron rocks from the 2nd level of the shopping plaza

Following a detour toward Broomfield for a stop at the FlatIron Crossing Mall, we headed for the Morrison Inn Mexican Restaurant where we'd be meeting the guys for dinner. After a bite to eat and browsing the artsy-fartsy shops of Morrison, another great weekend with our friends the Ziliks & Bakers was at an end. They headed off to the Red Rocks Amphitheater for a John Denver tribute concert and we headed home.

More next week.

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 06/20/09

With Scott & Deb's EXcellent Weekend Excursion at an end, we left Page, Arizona at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday morning en route back to the Centennial State.

my pilot preparing for departure from Page Municipal 


flying eastward back over the rock pile

Nothing particularly blogworthy on the home front last week. I enjoyed walking our awesome paved trails while taking in the beauty of God's creation. I'm convinced that the miles and miles of trails we have here in Colorado are a contributing factor to our consistently low (in comparison to the rest of the nation) obesity rates.

Time spent with li'l man Kota is always one my of my fav-o-rite things.

In spite of the fact that the poker machines at Black Hawk ended up confiscating forty of Scott's hard-earned dollars on Saturday night, we had a great time with friends Kevin & Frances. The first time we visited Black Hawk, I won $60. The second time, I lost $20. The third time, I lost $40. Guess we're even now. This could mean I'm in for a windfall when we make our annual visit next year, but I'm guessing probably not.

More next week.

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 06/13/09

Our week began doing one of Scott's absolute favorite things--shopping for furniture. Well, OK, he doesn't really like shopping at all but was a good sport and went with me anyway. In our (my) never-ending quest to finish decorating and accessorizing the townhome, we continue to plug away at obtaining those must-have ;-) pieces.

During our Sunday trip to Goodland, Kansas a week ago, we began planning the first Zilik/Mills shrimp boil. As things progressed, Scott thought it'd be nice to follow suit with our friends the Rosaleses in SoCal and show a hangar movie in conjunction with the boil. But where to find a movie screen that would be big enough yet not cost an arm and a leg? He puzzled and puzzed til his puzzler was sore. Then Scotty thought of something he hadn't before. Perhaps our screen didn't have to come from a store. A bit of Internet sleuthing, and Mr. Resourceful set about the task of building his own movie screen.  You gotta love a man whose industrious.

With a borrowed projector, we tested it out in our basement (several times) just to be sure it was suitable for our friends. We were so pleased with the results that I'm trying to convince hubby we need to have one in our home movie room to replace the rear-projection-screen dinosaur that's currently taking up space. There's just something so fun about watching movies B I G. And after all, I reasoned, the screen cost less than $25 to make, right? Of course, this doesn't include the price of a projector and a Blu-ray player and ...

In trying to shed those extra pounds that keep finding their way back to my mid section, I've taken up walking again. I started out doing just over four miles most days and have since increased to five (+). When my li'l man and I set out on Wednesday afternoon, I was just sure that the rumbling to the west over the mountains was no threat to us for the next hour-and-a-half. As we rounded the half-way point, those first few fat rain drips began pelting me. Kota was snug as a bug in his stroller cocoon, but I had a bad feeling I was gonna get soaked if I didn't head for cover. After snapping this over-the-shoulder pic with my phone, I ducked under a pavilion at Clement Park just before the downpour began. Cass ended up having to rescue us by car.

We spent a couple of days planning a weekend excursion to Lake Powell  in Page, Arizona and headed out in 339A on Friday morning.  Click here to read about that adventure.

More next week.

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 06/06/09

Sometimes the simple things in life are the most nourishing to the soul; and what could be better than spending an enjoyable day in the company of friends? We and the Ziliks flew to "The Golden Buckle on the Wheat Belt" on Sunday morning to spend time with the JimmyB & Vicki2.

Upon landing at KGLD we were treated to an impromptu air show a-la-JimmyB. We'd like to think he was so happy to see us that he and 699JB couldn't help but do a few sky cartwheels in our honor!

Following an extended breakfast at the on-field Butterfly Cafe, it was back to the Baker's for a little catching up. Many a great story about previous exploits and plans for future adventures have been shared around this very backyard picnic table.

After working up an appetite spinning yarns, it was off to Goodland's Mexico #3 for a(nother) bite to eat.

JimmyB joined up with us for a spell as we headed back to the Front Range at about 3:45.

As is typically the case in our neck of the woods, late-afternoon weather was building as we headed home. All the rain has really greened things up, though.

While we managed to stay dry, the deluge began within minutes of getting our birds stowed inside the hangar at KFTG. The view from our balcony when we got home  a little bit later was rather ominous but quite beautiful. 

The rest of our week was on the mundane side. Lots of rain. While Scott worked to bring home the bacon, I divided my time between Kota, organizing digital photos, cleaning/organizing the hacienda, and making preparations for a weekend jaunt to visit our friends the Rosaleses in SoCal. The trip was scrubbed when it was discovered last-minute that some wires had been crossed in the planning department. 

Scott had an interesting Saturday morning breakfast/lunch sortie that he may or may not write about in a future post.

More next week.

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 05/30/09

On Sunday afternoon, we and the Ziliks took in the new Star Trek movie. For those of us who remember William Shatner as James T. Kirk, the suave and fearless captain of the Starship Enterprise, it was interesting to see how the dots were connected between the original 60s series and the movie. We liked the flick so much that we seriously considered seeing the IMAX version at midnight. But alas, once you reach/approach that ripe old half-century mark, you just can't pull late-nighters like you used to.

We headed to the mountains of Morrison, Colorado on Monday to visit with friends Kevin & Frances. They have built an amazing cabin-style home with not one, but two incredible views--one of the surrounding mountains and one of Mile-High-City suburbia.

Based on my previous few entries, it's easy to guess which little someone was at the center of the rest of my week. I can deal with the fact that the new man in my life wears diapers, just so long as the "old" one doesn't resort to it! ;-)

A mug like this can mean only one thing ... number 2!

More next week.
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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 05/23/09

In terms of excitement and adventure, my week was rather mundane; but in terms of memorable snippets in time, I was blessed with more than one.

A beautiful Colorado sunset as seen from our back deck.

Giving my two-week-old grandson his first bath.

Observing tender moments between momma & baby.

Looking on as G-Daddy & Kota meet for the first time.

Visiting the Bucksnort Saloon with old friends Carolyn & Gary Zilik and new friends Tanya & Scott Card of Texas.

 Enjoying the scenery along the North Platte River.

More next week.
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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 05/16/09

Aside from receiving some great Mother's Day gifts ...

(Flowers from son & daughter-in-law)



(No Spin Zone gear from daughter & hubby)

... and hanging out with the new man in my life (and his mommy),

(Kota's first stroller ride)

I spent the week cleaning house and anxiously awaiting hubby's return from his work project in Pennsylvania. Nothing to alert the media about. ;-)

More next week.
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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 05/09/09

It was a cold and rainy Sunday as Scott prepared for his work-related trip to the Northeast. He headed out in 339A on Monday morning en route to Corning, New York, though the project site is actually located in Blossburg, Pennsylvania. I got a call from him later in the day saying he had flown his first 3.3-hour leg to Lake of the Ozarks with our friends the Ziliks.

As a precursor to their east coast jaunt with the Rosaleses, Gary and Carolyn had planned to spend some time in Texas with Gary's dad. Their departure was delayed by a couple days due to weather, and they just happened to be leaving Front Range on the same morning as Scott.

After landing at KAIZ in Missouri, Scott & the Ziliks parted ways. Hubby continued on to the Great Lake State where he snagged another pin for our Airport Landings map. He then hopped over the border to Ohio and met up with his cousin, Matt, whom he hadn't seen in over 30 years. On Tuesday, he pressed onward to New York.
 
As reported in last week's post, Cass was scheduled to be induced on Cinco de Mayo. Hospital staff contacted her the night before with instructions to check in by phone in order to make sure they had a delivery room available. At 5:45 a.m., she learned that she was being pushed ahead by two hours because there was no room at the inn.

By 8:45, Cassie and her posse had settled into delivery room 317, which hormonal Mommy kept at a temperature barely above freezing! Nurse Helen got her hooked up to the monitor that would track baby's heartbeat and her contractions. She was then set up with an IV and the Pitocin drip that would get the ball rolling.

Twelve hours after checking into the Littleton Adventist Hospital, Momma and baby Dakota finally meet face to face.

With Auntie Paige looking on, "Tag Team Gramma" Tina holds grandbaby Dakota for the first time.

It was such a joy to finally meet the new little man in our lives.

Tina and I were blessed to assist Cassie in bringing her beautiful little miracle into the world. Having delivered my own two children via Cesarean Section, I never experienced childbirth "the old fashioned way." After witnessing it up close and personal, I believe it's one of the toughest things a woman will ever do. Cassie handled the ordeal with strength, determination, and grace; and I've never been more proud of her! 

click here for more pics
(best viewed as a slideshow)

The remainder of my week revolved around the newest member of our family and his mommy. Scott is still on-the-job in PA. Now that baby has arrived, I'm looking forward to my next RV adventure with hubby.

More next week.
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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 05/02/09

Things have been pretty quiet in M'Ville. Church on Sunday. Waiting for baby Dakota. Another spring snow storm on Monday. Waiting for baby Dakota. And so on went the week. For all the hoopla brought on by this little guy just one week ago, he sure is taking his sweet time being born. We think he's got just a touch of his mom's flare for the dramatic ... wants to make a grand entrance, don't ya know.

Instead of waking up to sunshine in the islands on Monday, we woke up to this.

Cassie's prenatal exam on Thursday revealed that she was holding firm at 2 cm and had not dilated at all since the previous week. The doctor gave her the option of being induced if nothing happened over the weekend. This sounded pretty good to her (and the rest of us), so she snagged the first available appointment on the following Tuesday.

 
waiting on baby Dakota . . .

Our gator encounter in the Florida glades last week got me to thinking about the time we went camping/boating on Lake Griffin and inadvertently came upon a large group of those big ol' boys sunning on an island. We had captured the whole thing on video, and I thought it'd be fun to convert it to DVD for posting. Problem is, we weren't very good about cataloging what was recorded on our VHS tapes. Cass and I began the arduous task of watching through our mountain of home videos, each in its entirety. The only thing more boring than a long cross-country drive in the family station wagon is watching yourself on a long cross-country drive in the family station wagon. What was I thinking taping stuff like that?

One exciting thing did happen last week--we got news from Stevie that he and Mio are making us grandparents for the third time! No due date yet.

More next week.
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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 04/25/09

As is our custom whenever we're in historic Brooksville, Florida,  we enjoyed a hardy breakfast at Farmer John's with friends Jayne & David (and Ashley).  They have the BEST freshly baked bread. Mmmmmmm, good.

Later that afternoon, our friends hosted an impromptu picnic for four at Bayport. Great little recreation area with pavilions, BBQ grills, and an awesome view of the Gulf Coast.

" I " have made fire!

We headed for Lakeland, Florida on Tuesday morning to check out Sun 'N Fun  before continuing on to Homestead where the rest of the Cayman '09 RVers would be gathering. While Scott had been to S'N'Fon several occasions, this one was notable in that it was his first time actually flying in for the event. He had hoped to fly in with Cassie two years ago, but the mission was scrubbed when his "nagivator" went haywire.

heading for that big green dot

Jimmy(B) and Vicki(2) (inside joke) of Goodland, Kansas had been on the ground at X51 for an hour or so before we arrived on Tuesday afternoon. Our flight from KLAL was pleasant and smooth at 7,500 feet, though it was a bit bumpy at lower altitudes.

By the time Gene and Janet Larsen of Walnut Grove, Iowa, arrived, we were more than ready for dinner. Of the multiple varieties of cuisine available to us in Homestead, we opted for Cuban at Mario's. Good food. Good service. Reasonable prices.

During the eight years that we lived in the Sunshine State, one thing we had never done was visit the Everglades. Following breakfast at IHOP on Wednesday morning, an airboat ride in the glades was the main event on our agenda.

When I say we got up close and personal with some Florida gators, it's no exaggeration! I was looking through the viewfinder when I snapped this uncropped pic and was quite surprised after lowering the camera to see just how close I was to those choppers!! Lucky for me, these guys seem to be pretty well fed and docile.

As Scottish poet Robert Burns once quipped, "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." We began planning our 2009 Cayman RV adventure in April of 2007 while still on the island of Grand Turk. Trip dates were set (Friday the 24th of April through Monday the 4th of May), and in early 2008 we paid our first deposit on 10 fun-filled nights at the Paradise Villas on Little Cayman Island.
 
In January of  this year, Cassie presented us with a little post-Christmas surprise--she was about four months into her first pregnancy. Her initial OB/GYN appointment revealed that her estimated due date was the 7th of May--what are the odds?! Not wanting to cut it that close and risk missing grandbaby's arrival, we decided to reduce our time on the island by half. Fast forward to April 22nd, just two days before Cayman go time.

We received a call from Cass in the wee hours of Wednesday morning saying that she was at the hospital. We didn't sleep very soundly that night, and I could't help but bemoan the fact that I might very likely miss one of the most important events of my daughter's life. Sensing my consternation, Scott left it to me: continue on to the islands in the hope that the May 7th date would hold, or scrub the mission and return to Colorado ASAP. Based on my conversations with Cass, and my uneasy feeling that I wouldn't make it back in time, I chose door number 2. As difficult as that decision was to make, I did not want to look back on the event years from now and be filled with regret. As my friend Vicki said, "there will always be other trips, but you will pass this way with Cassie only once." Wise woman, that one.

After saying our goodbyes to the Bakers and Larsens, Scott made arrangements for me to fly out of Miami International that afternoon.

Jim & Vicki, Gene & Janet waving us goodbye


Deb flying the "friendly skies" over Miami

During Cassie's early morning trip to the maternity ward on Wednesday, there had been mild concern over Dakota's heart rate and talk about situations in which  labor may be induced. Late Thursday morning, when she began experiencing more intense contractions, we moved her afternoon OB/GYN appointment up a few hours. Fully expecting to hear that she would be admitted, Cass and Tyler and I were surprised (and more than a little disappointed) that this wasn't going to be the case. 

monitoring baby's heartbeat & Momma's contractions

You know those circumstances you find yourself in when you don't know whether to laugh or cry? The true-life stories that border between sad and comical? Well, after having his non-refundable island vacation cancelled out from under him, shelling out $400 bucks to put his wife on a commercial flight (when he owns a perfectly good airplane), and flying eleven hours/1,700 miles over the course of two days, most of it in a headwind, Scott landed at Front Range Airport on Friday only to find that he couldn't get into the hangar. In one of life's little ironies, his car was stuck inside and his plane was stuck outside due to some kind of power outtage. You just gotta laugh ...

More next week.
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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 04/18/09

With departure day for our long-anticipated group RV trip to the Cayman Islands only five days out, Scott & I began stepping up pre-trip preparations. One of the most important planning elements when traveling in your own airplane is, of course, monitoring the weather. Scott was relatively certain that a slow-moving low pressure system would be generating conditions unsuitable for VFR flight out of Denver on Friday. This prompted us to move our departure ahead to Thursday morning. By Tuesday it looked as though we'd have to leave on Wednesday or risk being grounded until the following Monday. As it turned out, the weatherman was right on this one. Friends in the mountains west of Denver were reporting over two feet of snow and long-term power outages on Saturday.

We headed out from Front Range Airport en route to Great Bend Municipal at 11:00 a.m. MDT on Wednesday. As we took off into a strong headwind, I was reminded of the oft quoted Bette Davis line, "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night!" It was indeed BuMpY, but after climbing to 11,500' in search of smoother air, we enjoyed a rather nice first leg. The winds were quite strong on the ground in Great Bend, Kansas, but my capable pilot made an excellent cross-wind landing!

Four hours after leaving Denver, we landed 595 miles to the southeast in Neosho, Missouri. Scott had spoken to the folks at Neosho Hugh Robinson Airport and arranged for after-hours access and a courtesy car for the night. Upon the recommendation of FBO personnel, we checked in to the Booneslick Lodge Motel where pilots are given a 10% discount.

We enjoyed a beautiful morning flight from Missouri to General Dewitt Spain in Memphis, TN. Coming in over the Mighty Miss for a touchdown on 35 with the city of Memphis in the distance made for one of our more scenic landings.

The morning air had been a bit nippy on the ground in Neosho on Thursday. As we made our way toward our second stop in Enterprise, AL it had become quite warm inside the cockpit. When we popped open the canopy at KEDN, the weather was near perfect. By this time, we were more than ready for a break and a bite.

Next stop, Dunnellon/Marion County Airport. In our ongoing effort to amass pins on our N339A Airport Landings map, we padded our trip with a few unnecessary stops. Our landing at X35, 49 miles from our final destination in Brooksville, Florida, served a two-fold purpose: cheaper fuel and an additional pin. One unique thing about this particular stop was that a fellow RVer announced on the radio he was making his first flight in his RV10. We had hoped to make his acquaintance but never did see him on the ground. We did, however, see three T-6s up close and personal.

By 5:00 EDT we had landed on runway 3 at Hernando County Airport and were unloading our bird on the ramp. As is our practice when making trips that bring us into the Sunshine State, we planned a few extra days in order to visit with our good friends the Spradlins!

On Friday it was off to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay for a fun day of shows, animals, and coasters. The weather was nice and we had a great time riding Scorpion, SheiKra, Montu, and Kumba!

We had hoped to make it to the Leeward Air Ranch Airport RV Fly-in on Saturday morning, but it wasn't meant to be. Scott spent several hours at the airport washing 339A and trying to repair an erroneous OAT probe. He also met with Dan Landry, a local RV 7A owner, and several other local pilots. I spent the day eating, shopping, and sipping lattes with gal-pal Jayne. So glad we decided to "get outta Denver, baby" a couple days early!

More next week!
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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 04/11/09

Nothing blogworthy to report. Check back next week. =D

Week Ending 04/04/09

Not much to blog about in Millsville last week....


                                       A couple more spring snow days.

Cassie's tummy continues to grow ... and grow ... and grow while we continue to wait ... and wait ... and wait for baby Dakota to make his appearance. 

One hot momma!

We are making preparations for our group RV trip to the Cayman Islands. Weather being what it's been, we can't wait to soak up a little sun and do a litte DI-ving in the O-see-an (inside joke that only Cass and our friend Ryan will "get")!

More next week.
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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 03/28/09

Cassie's baby shower, held on Sunday the 22nd, was a smashing success with close to 30 friends and family members in attendance. In keeping with a celebration of new life, we chose spring as our theme. Altogether familiar with the wintery weather patterns typical to our neck of the woods at this time of year, we had feared that our spring-themed event might take place in a white out. As it happened, though, our fears were unfounded and it was an absolutely glorious day!

Momma Cass looking pretty in pink.
(click here for more pics)

"Tag Team Grammas" Tina & Deb

Thanks to Tina for all her help in pulling the shower together. Thanks also to Dakota's Auntie Paige and her friend Bregan who were so helpful in getting things setup and keeping them running smoothly.

The hustle and bustle of the three days leading up to the shower gave way to deafening silence when Cassie's aunts and Grammy headed back to the Granite State on Monday and Scott off to Lansing, Michigan on a work project. We were so happy that they were able to be here to help us celebrate the coming arrival of baby Dakota, and we thank them for all their help.

Upwards of 80 degrees on the 22nd ... snowing like mad on the 26th. Such is springtime in the Rockies.

Home alone for much of the week, there's not much else to report. I was happy to have Scott back at home on Saturday.

More next week!
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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 03/21/09

The expression "time got away from me" does not adequately describe my experience of the past two weeks! In addition to reassimilating myself into domestic life after a month-long stay in Texas, the Mills household has been a flurry of activity in preparation for Cassie's baby shower on the 22nd of March. With a memory like a sieve, I'll not even try to recount the events of week ending 03/14/09. Suffice to say that the majority of my time was spent getting ready for the arrival of family members flying in for the event.

My two sisters, Toni and Linda, and my mother-in-law, Elaine, made the 1,800-mile trek southwest from New Hampshire on the 19th. We had planned for their arrival to be a surprise for Cassie, but almost from the get-go I began inadvertently dropping hints. A few days before their arrival, I accidentally let the cat out of the bag entirely. Don't know how people involved in crimes manage to keep from slipping up.

¯Sisters, sisters. There never were such devoted sisters!¯
(Me, Linda,Toni)

Aside from the treat of spending time with them, accomplishing everything on my agenda would've been difficult indeed without their helping hands. Whether it be shopping, wrapping gifts, preparing food, making party favors, or just graciously putting up with my stress-induced snarkyness, they (and Elaine) were awesome!!!

More about the shower in next week's post.
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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 03/07/09

The two blogworthy events of our last week in Texas revolved around what else but flying?!

While scanning the VansAirForce forums, Scott came across an open invitation for aviators to meet up at Kezer Air Ranch Airport for lunch on Sunday. With flying and food being two of our fav-o-rite things (and opportunities to meet/eat with folks in the great state of Texas rare), we decided to make the 20-minute jaunt from Addison Airport to the air ranch. The weather, while windy and on the chilly side, made for a pleasant flight.

In the Spring 2003 issue of Pilot Getaways Magazine (scroll down to fly-in dining), Kezer was aptly described as, "... a mere speck of an airport on a map of north Texas ...." Aside from the fact that it is difficult to locate (apparently even for area pilots who know where to look), the runway measures only 20 feet in width. Scott generally scores pretty high (in my book) on his consistently-smooth landings, but this particular touchdown included an unexpected thud. I later heard tell that his was one of the better landings that day as he only bounced once! Guess it's all relative.

There were 15 planes on the ground when we headed over to the Wild Onion Restaurant on foot.

We rubbed elbows with some pretty nice flyers during our leisurely two hours in Springtown. We hope if any of them make it to our neck of the woods, they'll remember to look us up.

Before heading back to Addison Airport, we made a detour to Bridgeport Municipal for cheap fuel. Like hummingbirds in search of nectar, plane after plane bellied up to the pump to sip the sweet $2.44-per-gallon av fuel.

Once things started to wind down on the Richardson project, we began looking ahead and planning our flight back to the Front Range. No matter how much we've enjoyed a particular trip, we always look forward to getting back home. The weather on our last evening in Texas was warmer than it had been during our entire 33-day stay. When we pulled into the parking lot of Pappadeux's restaurant at 6:00 p.m. for our last supper in the Texas, the on-board car thermostat read an amazing 88 degrees.

As we hit the skies over Dallas at 9:00 a.m. on Friday morning, wind forecasts prompted us to brace ourselves for a BuMpY ride. Shortly after departing Addison, Scott climbed in search of smoother air. It wasn't until after takeoff from our fuel stop at Hutchinson County Airport that things began to get rough. (The gent working the FBO was most courteous and helpful!)

just after taking off from Addison

With an estimated 100 hours of RV flight time under my belt, I fancy myself a "seasoned" small-aircraft passenger; but I have to admit this was the happiest I've been to date (aside from our flights to/from Turks & Caicos) to be back on the ground! Bumpy doesn't begin to describe the thrashing we took during the last 45 minutes of our flight into Front Range.

More next week.
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Posted by Deb

  

Week Ending 02/28/09

What d'ya  do when you discover that your bank doesn't have branches in the state you're visiting? You fly your airplane to a bordering state, of course! That was our game plan, at least, as we headed to Ardmore in 339A on Sunday morning--ATM banking and breakfast in Oklahoma. Upon landing at 1F0 around 9:40am, we found that the folks at Imtec Aviation don't arrive until noon on Sundays. This left us with no way to access the courtesy car, though a nice fella on the field did offer to give us a ride. An enjoyable flight is never a wasted flight, and we were happy just to add another pin to our Airport Landings map.

flying over Lake Murray after leaving Ardmore airport

While still nippy enough for a jacket, the weather was sunny and pleasant at the Fort Worth Stockyards at 4:00 on Sunday afternoon. A National Historic District since 1976,  the Stockyards is one of Fort Worth's claims to fame. The White Elephant Saloon, in particular, is well known as the place where location scenes for series shows Dallas and Walker, Texas Ranger (see bullet point 14) were apparently shot. 

We missed the driving of the Fort Worth Herd through town while sipping suds and soda in the saloon with friends Larry & Dee H., but we did see a straggler or two. I believe this one's name was Bill.

(click here for more pics)

We spent some time at Billy Bob's Texas, the self-proclaimed "World's Largest Honky Tonk." Not having frequented honky tonks, I guess I can't say whether or not it's the world's largest; but after seeing its impressive 127,000 square feet with my own eyes, I can attest to the fact that  it is B  I  G.

We ended our visit to Cowtown with a juicy steak at the "internationally famous" Cattlemen's Steak House restaurant.

Having completed all of his pre-startup work on the Richardson units, Scott was in a holding pattern of sorts as of Wednesday evening. While we would have preferred that he finish up on the job site so we could head home to Colorado, playing tourist in Texas for a few days was all right with us.

We visited the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas on Thursday. For the better part of our lives, we have heard and seen media coverage about the School Book Despository, where infamous assasin Lee Harvey Oswald took the life of our 35th president, and the grassy knoll from which conspiracy theorists claim additional shots were fired; it was a bit surreal to be seeing these places for ourselves.

School Book Despository


Grassy Knoll as seen from the south side of Elm Street
(click here for more pics)

While walking the knoll, which is adjacent to the depository, we were approached by a man who believes that not one but two gunman fired shots from this vantage point. Showing us a tattered 8 x 10 photo of the crowd-lined streets of Dealy Plaza on November 22, 1963, he called our attention to a 13-year-old version of himself. Having been an eye witness to the events of that day, he remains convinced that the throat shot came not from the depository but from the knoll. While there's little doubt that this man believes the theory he put forth to us, Scott and I find it inconceivable that the time, energy, and dollars that were poured into the assassination investigation could result in such gross inaccuracies. Besides, we think Colonel Mustard did it in the library with the revolver.

We had intended to fly to 52F on Friday to meet up with some Texas RVers, (including Doug Reeves of Van'sAirForce fame) for lunch at the Blue Hangar Cafe, but marginal VFR weather conditions put the kibosh on that plan. With nothing else on our agenda, we decided to just drive it. The place was jumpin' with activity, but we never did hook up with anyone. 

After a stop at Tina's Pilot Shop and a drive around the field in the hope of spotting Doug, we headed back to Richardson.

Does this make my butt look big?

In keeping with our commitment to maintain our flabs, we headed to Fort Worth later on Friday evening for a group dinner at Edelweiss German Restaurant. We thoroughly enjoyed visiting with the Hensons and expanding our circle of friends, while partaking of the German cuisine (the red cabbage was awesome) and entertainment provided by lederhosen-clad owner/chef Bernd Schnerzinger.

More next week.

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 02/21/09

One of Scott's and my goals during our extended stay in the Lone Star State was to sample some Texas-style BBQ. On the recommendation of friends and acquaintances, we hit the skies over Dallas on Sunday morning en route to Stephenville Airport and the Hard Eight Pit Bar-B-Q. Unique to this day's sortie were tower warnings for airmen to exercise caution due to "numerous reports of possible space debris re-entry." Of all the things a pilot is likely to hear from the tower guys, beware of space junk isn't typically one of them.

While long-standing debates continue to rage over which BBQ is the "best," the mesquite-smoked fare at the Hard 8 was, without a doubt, the tastiest we've had to date. Not having been to the 8 before, and knowing that there are as many styles of barbeque as there are opinions about which is best, we just didn't know what to expect. When we sank our choppers into that first succulent rib, we thought we'd died and gone to carnivore heaven.  

A word of advice to anyone planning a visit to the Hard 8, don't waste your time on the sides ('cept maybe the beans, which were different than any we've tried and quite tasty), because you'll want to focus all your attention on the meat. We stuffed ourselves so full of ribs, chicken, sausage, and beans that we didn't even eat dinner that night.

CompUSA building as we came in for a landing on runway 33 at Addison

Whenever we're staying out of town, we frequently entertain ourselves at the movies. Unfortunately, the flick we saw on Sunday evening wasn't all that entertaining. Of the slim pickins being offered by Hollyweird, Paul Blart: Mall Cop was our best option. As fans of Kevin James on The King of Queens, we thought it might be funny. We got a few laughs, but the critics were right on this one. . . .

My time at the hotel hacienda was pretty uneventful. I spent the week making a concerted effort to amass one BILLION dollars on Facebook's Metropolis game, but I'm only half way there. Who knew earning virtual cash could be so difficult?

Scott knocked off work at noon on Saturday, so we decided to visit the Cavanaugh Flight Museum at Addison, located at the same airport we're hangared at compliments of Chuck Wallace. Great little museum.

This Fokker D-VII was used in The Aviator with DiCrapio.

More about our stay in Texas next week.

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 02/14/09

Our first full week in Texas was rather uneventful. The weather, while humid and warm, really hasn't been all that great--windy with overcast skies and the sun peeping through intermittently. The tornadoes that hit southern Oklahoma on Tuesday brought severe weather in the form of strong winds and heavy rain to parts of North Texas, including Richardson.

We headed westward in the car toward Fort Worth late Sunday morning to visit Larry & Dee Henson. After stopping on the way for brunch at a particularly greasy Waffle House, I felt like I needed a hot shower.
 
On Sunday evening we saw the movie Taken with Liam Neeson. In a world where the so-called "rights" of terrorists and bad guys are on par with those of law-abiding citizens, it's nice to at least imagine some of them getting their just desserts. If you're looking for an action flick where all the bad guys in the story end up dead--without the gratuitous use of blood, guts, gore, and expletives--then see this movie.

Dinner on Wednesday was at Pappadeux's restaurant, yet another place we had never eaten before. I'm a seafood lover, with scallops being at the top of my list, so I particularly enjoyed the Scallops Lacombe (tender jumbo sea scallops seared with fresh garlic & capers in a brown butter sauce served over green beans & finished with toasted almonds & crispy onion rings). Scott went for the blackened mahi-mahi, but found it a tad on the dry side.

As an Internet junkie, especially while on the road with Scott, the hotel network being on the fritz for most of Thursday was irritating. I'm mayor of my very own virtual Metropolis city, and I was concerned about the peeps and finances in Millsville during my extended time away from the computer. ;-) Having already achieved multi-millionaire status, I'm now working my way toward becoming a billionaire.

More next week about our stay in Texas.

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 02/07/09

Once the painting of Dakota's new room was finished, it was time to set up the furniture. Tyler put together the cute little crib that he and Cassie  bought, and then Cass and I went about the task of accessorizing. Her Grammy in New Hampshire bought the bedding, throw pillow, and diaper stacker in the  pattern that Cass had picked out. Brother Stevie sprang for the lamp, hamper, crib mobile, and set of three wall hangings. It's a work in progress, but it'll be finished in plenty of time for the little guy's arrival in May. Look for pics of the finished project in a future post.

Monday and Tuesday were largely spent getting ready for our Wednesday morning departure to Richardson, Texas. This was my first time traveling with Scott since December of '08, so I was more than ready for a change of scenery. In addition to pre-trip planning and preparation, I also worked on finishing up the baby shower invitations I had been making for Cassie.

Our four-hour fight to the Lone Star State was quite pleasant--smooth and clear the whole way. So much so, in fact, that I fell asleep. Back when I first began cross-country RVing with Scott in May of 2007 (click here to read that story), I couldn't imagine feeling comfortable enough to fall asleep.

our stop in Hugoton, Kansas

  We think this might be the Caprock Escarpment.

I eased back into "the suite life" on Thursday and Friday with no difficulty whatsoever. Being as we are in the state that leads the nation in production of  livestock, we decided to "... do as the Romans do" and eat steak our second night here. While I'm sure there are numerous superior steak houses in this neck of the woods, our meal at the Texas Land and Cattle Steakhouse didn't disappoint.

We visited the Museum of Nature and Science on Saturday. In spite of the fact that the facility is dated and rundown, we enjoyed our visit. We took in the Planetarium (which is teeny, tiny compared to ours in Denver) presentation Secrets of the Sun and the IMAX film Journey Into Amazing Caves.

Cotton Bowl Stadium

Texas Star Ferris Wheel

We also ate an outstanding BBQ'd turkey lunch across the street from the museum at the Two Podners. While I couldn't find a lot about the restaurant on line (and several of the reviews I did find rated the food as sub-par), we practically licked our plates clean.

More next week.

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 01/31/09

Thanks to Gary & Carolyn, our week got off to a great start. Having received restaurant and movie gift certificates for Christmas, our generous friends invited us to share dinner and a movie with them on Sunday.

As long-time Clint Eastwood fans, Gran Torino had been on our list of flicks to see. While replete with colorful language and racial slurs, I don't think it was intended to be gratuitous. Instead, the believability of the main character--a stodgy, embittered veteran of the Korean War who wears his bigotry on his sleeve--was well established. In its simplicity, a thought-provoking and memorable film that made me laugh, cry, and, at times, cringe.

Two thumbs up for the food and ambiance at The Cheesecake Factory. While the list of places we've eaten at is extensive, this one wasn't on it. As the name would imply, their menu includes a variety of cheesecakes. Thanks again to the Ziliks for inviting us to join them.

Monday through Wednesday were spent on the mundane at home and office. While I was at Bible study on Thursday, Scott and Cass took in the movie Valkyrie.

In preparation for baby Dakota's arrival in May, Tyler's mom Tina has been working feverishly to make the necessary adjustments to convert a spare bedroom into a nursery. On Friday afternoon/evening and most of the day on Saturday (while Scott was flying three Young Eagles), I was happy to lend a helping hand working on the nursery.

More about that next week.

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 01/24/09

After an exhilarating (and occasionally painful) day of skiing at Monarch, dinner at Amicas, an overnighter in the Heart of the Rockies, and a leisurely Sunday morning breakfast at my fave place to eat in Salida, we headed back to Littleton.

The only other blogworthy event that took place in "Millsville" this week was Cassie's first ultrasound on Thursday. Finding out whether to decorate the nursery in shades of pink or blue was, of course, secondary to confirming that our little bundle of joy is developing properly. Getting an estimated due date was also high on the list. Observing the beating heart of an unborn baby is nothing short of miraculous! Click here for a simulated presentation of fetal development.

The obvious little appendage confirmed what Dad and Granddad had hoped for and the two grandmas had suspected.

(click here for more ultrasound pics)

I had taken my digital camera to the appointment so I could get a few shots of the process. After uploading the images to my laptop the next day, I prepared to erase them from the camera. When prompted to confirm whether or not I really, really wanted to erase all the images, a little voice in my head said, Maybe you should check and make sure they were successfully copied to the laptop before you delete them from the camera? Having already opened the folder where I had temporarily stored the pics, I felt confident enough to ignore my inner voice and hit the delete button.

Later that evening, when Cassie asked me to email the photos to her, I was dismayed to discover that they were nowhere to be found! All the other images had been safely saved to my laptop, but not the most important ones--not the irreplaceable ones. I spent the next few hours checking, double checking, and triple checking to make sure that I hadn't inadvertently saved them to a different folder. After having a total emotional meltdown, it occurred to me ... If the FBI could retrieve deleted files from a person's computer hard drive, perhaps it was possible to retrieve deleted images from a camera's memory card? I did some Internet sleuthing and was excited to find a program that promised to do just that.

Several unsuccessful attempts later, I gave up in frustration and pouted off to bed. After telling Scott of my digital dilemma the next day, he gave it a go and managed to retrieve over 300 photos that had previously been deleted from the memory card. When he attempted to save the photos, he was prompted with a "buy now" message. While we could "view" our rescued photos for free, saving them was possible only if we were willing to cough up $40. Scott, who was approaching the situation from a far less emotional standpoint than I (I'd have just paid the $40), decided to go in search of a freebie. Less than 60 minutes later, my lost photos had been retrieved and saved.

Moral of the story (in my best Kwai Chang Caine impersonation), it is fah bettah to heed that little voice in your head than to deny its existence and suffer the consequences! ;-)

our "baby" gets a first peek at her baby

 More next week.

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 01/17/09

Early afternoon on Sunday, Scott and I headed up to the mountains of Pine for an enjoyable afternoon and evening of visiting, card playing, and eating with friends Gary & Carolyn Z. Many thanks to them for their warm hospitality.

On Tuesday, Tina (Tyler's mom) and I were able to accompany Cass on a prenatal visit; what an exciting moment it was to hear our unborn grandbaby's heart beating!

Scott and I headed west on 285 early Saturday morning for a ski weekend in Salida. While winter sports enthusiasts flock to Breckenridge, Loveland, and Keystone in droves, we much prefer Monarch because it's off the beaten path and doesn't tend to draw the inflated crowds of the more trendy ski areas. At just $44 for one-day adult lift tickets purchased on line, it's much more affordable than the $92 Breckenridge is getting.

Guess which skiier Scott says represents me . . . 

I am a novice downhiller with probably a dozen or so outings under my belt since taking one private lesson back in '98 or '99. I had not donned my skis since 2004, so I anticipated being a bit rusty. My apprehension grew as we inched our way to the top of the hill for our first run of the day. Shortly before reaching the summit, I remembered that disembarking the lift can be tricky for the less seasoned skier. When we reached the stepping off point, I hesitated just long enough for the window of opportunity to slam shut.



As the chair was approaching the turn that would take me back down the hill, I pondered the great embarrassment of having to ride the lift all the way back to the bottom. This in mind, I experienced an Indiana Jones moment and decided to jump off the chair from several feet. While my hope, of course, was that I'd land upright, I did a major face plant. My forehead impacted the ground with such force that my hat and goggles flew off. My skis and poles went flying in opposite directions. Lift operators ran to my aid asking repeatedly if I was OK.

In hindsight, I am convinced that riding back down the hill (which I later discovered would not have happened since they stop the lift for incompetents such as myself) would have paled in comparison to the humiliation and pain I experienced after my face-first flop out of the chair. Guess it could have been worse,  my humiliation could have gone national like this unfortunate guy's did.

After that little episode, the day could only get better, right? It was absolutely glorious weather wise and warm enough that I didn't wear my gloves for most of the day. I wouldn't have worn my hat either had my snow-dipped hair not gotten wet and crazy. Scott, who is an expert skier, was a great sport and hung out with his less-than-stellar ski buddy all day without complaint. We enjoyed a nice lunch in the lodge lounge before finishing out the afternoon on the slopes.

Shortly before closing time, I decided I'd had enough for one day and stood in line for that all-important Starbucks latte while Scott got in a couple of solo runs. Then it was off to the hotel to shower and change for dinner. On the recommendation of friend Dave. P., we enjoyed a fantastic pizza at Amicas Microbrewery and Restaurant. Pictured below is the wood fired oven that makes their pizzas so distinctively yummy.

 More next week.

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 01/10/09

While our first Sunday of the new year began like so many others, it ended with an unexpected surprise--we are soon to be blessed with the birth of a second grandchild! The little bundle of joy is expected be born to Tyler and Cass in mid May.

In December of 2008, I was introduced to Facebook. I've since spent much time familiarizing myself with the workings of the site, growing my list of FB friends, and socializing. Before I knew it, though, I had adopted a cyber pet and become the mayor of my own online city. I soon found myself spending an inordinant amount of time fretting over the happiness level of the make-believe people in my virtual city and obsessing over the number of coins I need to collect each day in order to buy better habitats, accessories, toys, etc., for my online pet.

On my list of personal goals for 2009 is the continued reading and study of the Bible. I attended my first ever Beth Moore class on Thursday. While I was at first skeptical that the book of Esther had anything to offer the 21st century Christian, I came away from week one of It's Tough Being a Woman thoroughly convinced otherwise.

Scott joined some of the boys at Front Range Airport for a Saturday morning breakfast sortie to Greeley. Saturday evening was spent at the home of friend Dave P. who prepared and served us up a delicious Frogmore Stew.

More next week.

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 01/03/09

Hard to believe that another 8,760 hours are behind us!
 
Not much to report for the first three days of the new year. We finally finished the installation and painting of the baseboard in the living/dining room where we installed laminate flooring back in July of '08. We were so happy to "close the book on that one" that we practically broke into the happy dance.

We spent a fair amount of time reflecting on the year gone by and developing our joint and personal goals for the clean slate that lies before us. Maybe this will actually be the year that we eat healthier, lose weight, and get fit?!

Cassie and Tyler gave us a cinema gift card for Christmas, and we used it to see Yes Man on Saturday evening. While the movie contained at least one distasteful scene, it was actually quite funny. You always take your chances with Jim Carrey, but he did make us laugh with this one.

More next week!

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Posted by Deb