Thoughts for Hyla

Since having Hyla, a lot of deep-seated emotions have risen to the surface, many which I had all but forgotten, hidden in the darkest depths of my memories. I look at my beautiful daughter, so full of joy and happiness, unmarred by the harsh cruelties of the world, and I wonder what sorts of experiences she will have in her young life. I often cry when I think about what she may face from her peers, knowing first-hand just how awful children can be to one another, and how scarring being the recipient of such actions can be to one’s psyche. How could anyone take such a beautiful soul and torture it, making it question its own value and worth, attempting to destroy a being so full of joy and love? It scares me to think of what may befall my daughter, having dealt first-hand with the wrath of bullies during my own childhood. And now, with cyberbullying, it’s even harder to escape. It wrenches my heart when I hear about these cases, including the most recently televised case of a girl who killed herself to escape these horrible torturers.

For years, I had no means of escape from the wrath of cruel children. Having attended a small school, I couldn’t exactly make “new friends,” because what you saw is what you got. Admittedly, I was different. I had quirky interests and didn’t care about fashion or music trends, and I refused to change who I was to fit in. I was always kind to everyone, but that wasn’t enough. Toward the end of my time at that school, I was essentially friendless, as no one would stand by me for fear of marring their own reputations, meager as they might have been. I became used to having to fight to defend myself on the bus and the schoolyard where I still remember having about 20 girls surround and threaten me. The school system failed me. Even though they knew what was going on, any time I’d defend myself, they’d reprimand me and not say a word to the offending parties. What can you do when even the “authorities” fail you?

Harassment was a daily occurrence, and my very soul was so beat down that I could hardly function. Though those people tried to break me, I still had my spark burning deep inside. While I had a low self-image, my self-esteem has always been strong. I think I can attribute much of that to a strong home life with a family who truly cared about me. There was much love, and it was that which kept me strong. They kept my fire kindled, and I honestly don’t know what I would have done without them.

High school came and I began to break out of my shell. I made strong friendships with wonderful people who liked me for who I was. College, again, allowed me the chance to grow and be who I was without compromising myself. I started to grow back into the person I was before the horrible times, letting the joy out once again, and embracing happiness. I won’t lie and say that the scars have all gone away. Through much of college, I still fought with a low self-image despite knowing in my heart that I was worthy and exceptional and awesome. My self-esteem was there, even if I didn’t always acknowledge it. In the words of Stuart Smalley, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.” And it’s true.

Today I consider myself an introvert. I’m certain that had my life gone differently, I would have been more outgoing, as I find myself quite adept at engaging others in conversation at times. It feels good to do so. Still, I have moments where I revert to my shy side and sometimes do find it hard to communicate with people. I may be at a loss for what to say to people on occasion and find the written word much more agreeable than the spoken. I tend to overthink what I have said, worrying that, in some frantic vomiting of words to prevent an awkward silence, I may have said something offensive though I never meant for that to be the case. These problems are residual from years of attacks and harassment. Eventually it’s safer to just stop talking when it comes to certain people. But I am braver now, and have peers who are worthy of my time. I surround myself with kind, positive people and don’t bother with the negatives. I think that my personality pitches to the positive, and that’s who I was, down to my very soul, before it was ever beaten down. I believe that I’m a good 95% back to the person I was on that first day of kindergarten, before real life marred me. Looking back, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. I think that the experiences I’ve had have ultimately enriched who I have become – I know how to be truly kind and have empathy and compassion for all living things. I have no tolerance for the cruel, and I am meant to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. I will be their voice. It just saddens me that there are many who weren’t as strong, who didn’t fight, and ended things before discovering that life does truly get better.

My message to Hyla, and to all the children out there, is to never, ever compromise who you are for popularity or acceptance. You are incredible and unique and oh so special, and don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise. You’re worthy of love and happiness and all that life has to offer. Don’t ever let anyone break your spirit. Those who try are just insecure with themselves, and while it may be hard to believe at the time, it is true. You are better than them. Embrace kindness. Sometimes it’s all you have. And remember, even when things are at their darkest, they will turn around. The people who truly matter will love you for who you are, and you will always be loved by me.

Welcoming Hyla Eleanor to the World!

I know that this is supposed to be my travel blog, but I had one of the most incredible experiences of my life and thought it would be great to share it here with all of you. Last Friday, August 9th, my husband and I welcomed our daughter into the world. The following is her birth story:

August 7-8, 2013

A very uncomfortable night had ensued. Before Nate even got home from work, I was contracting and tried to keep track of the time between each one. Eventually, I went to bed. Every so often, up to about 10 minutes or so, I would awake to bad cramps, and laying on my side was not helping. I just couldn’t get comfortable, and the weight of the baby in my belly wasn’t helping, either. I tossed and turned all night and barely slept at all. I had an appointment with the perinatal associates in the morning for some fetal monitoring. I was having some rather strong cramps on occasion, and they could see them on the screen as I was experiencing them. I was just a week overdue, but one of the matter-of-fact technicians came in and practically demanded to know why I hadn’t been induced yet. I told her I’d done research on the topic, and that the risks outweighed the benefits at this moment in time, and that I’d talk to my midwife about it as we got closer to the two week overdue point. She made sure to tell me that she was surprised about this attitude (which is actually quite prevalent nowadays) and that the placenta was probably not functioning well anymore, etc., etc. Honestly, based on my knowledge, waiting a little over a week isn’t uncommon or all that dangerous. Why deal with the dangers of induction? Plus, since so many contractions were being recorded, some of which were pretty strong, what’s the rush? Obviously my body was working on it.

I spent much of the day at home, uncomfortable. That night, Nathan and I tried to watch “The Usual Suspects,” during which he’d record my contractions. We had to pause the movie so frequently, and I can’t say I really paid close attention, I was just so uncomfortable. The best way I can describe it is similar to intermittent intestinal cramping like you’d get from food poisoning. I’d have to moan through them, and I’m sure it was awful to watch. A call to the midwife assured us that it was too soon to worry about anything. The contractions would have to be regular and 5-10 minutes apart. I guess the occasional two minute intervals didn’t matter much in their mind. Plus, people were telling me that I would know when I had to go in. Would I? I had nothing to compare this to! We stopped the movie about 20 minutes from the end because I just couldn’t bear it anymore. I took a shower in an attempt to lessen the discomfort and maybe the frequency of contractions. It felt great while I was showering, but once out, things were still pretty bad. We tried to go to sleep, but I just couldn’t lay there. I sat on the computer a while and started to nod off. Sitting cross-legged in the computer chair was about the most comfort I could find, but without head support, each time I’d start to doze, I’d nearly fall over. I decided to move into the baby’s room where I could sit in the rocking chair. I wedged myself in, again cross-legged, and managed to fall asleep. I didn’t have a watch on, so I couldn’t really tell what my contraction intervals were, but it seemed to me like I was waking up every five minutes or so to extreme discomfort. I’d wake up just before the contraction would really hit, but my body knew it was coming. At some point, it was so uncomfortable, I’d have to stretch my legs out during each one, disturbing my rest even more, and on top of that, my legs would start shaking uncontrollably during the contractions, a reaction I would have intermittently throughout labor due to high adrenaline. I’m not sure how I managed to nod off for five minutes or so at a time, but I must have been exhausted. I decided that we should probably consider going to the hospital, especially since I felt a vague desire to push, which shouldn’t happen until late in labor, though as usual I thought this could always be attributed to digestive issues.

August 9, 2013

We drove down to Presbyterian Hospital and made our way up to triage. En route, there was one point where I did have to stop and wait out a contraction – a clue that labor was getting serious. They say you may not be able to walk or talk during the bad ones. I hadn’t really reached that point prior to this, but this one was particularly rough. I must have stood there for several minutes holding onto Nate before I could continue on. Once up at triage, they took my vitals and monitored the contractions. Eventually the midwife came in to assess me, and told us, to our shock, that we were at NINE centimeters dilation (out of ten!). We’d half expected to be told we were at three or four and that we weren’t nearly ready to be in. See, perinatal technician, way to jump the gun on that induction. Anyway, they told us (obviously) we weren’t going anywhere, and wheeled my cot down to a room in labor and delivery (which happened to be the same room we’d seen on our tour a few weeks prior).

It was a nice, private setting, though obviously still part of the hospital with the adjustable bed and all sorts of equipment everywhere. They were kind enough to keep the lights low and the atmosphere as comfortable as could be expected. I was attended to by the midwife, a nurse or tech, and Sarah, a doula that we’d hired through the hospital. Every single one of them couldn’t believe I was so far into labor because I was smiling and chatty and really didn’t come across as someone at that point. They’d asked me if I wanted drugs such as an epidural, and I said that ideally I would like to avoid it, but if it got really bad I may change my mind. Essentially, despite their offer, I was so far through the worst of the transitional (most uncomfortable) stage that it probably wouldn’t even be worth it. Just the fact that I was coping as well as I was at this point made the use of meds seem unlikely. In fact, I never used them, nor did I feel the need to during this process. I do wonder if I had gone in sooner if I’d have taken something, if for no other reason than to cope with the exhaustion moreso than the pain.

We’d arrived at triage sometime between 6 and 7 (our recollections are different in that regard). We were up in the room about 8. I spent much of the time talking to the staff, particularly our doula Sarah, who happened to be the one who signed us up when we decided to hire one. You never know which doula you’re going to get, but we were happy to have her. She was just so helpful and sweet and knowledgeable. I would recommend a doula to anyone, although I have to say that the midwife and tech were both very present and helpful, too. I had to spend the next few hours getting my cervix up to the full 10 centimeters. There was a little lip that just didn’t want to go away, so they gave me techniques like ways to sit during contractions and such that would fix the problem. I would engage everyone in conversation, only occasionally having to stop due to the discomfort. A chart on the wall had a pain scale of zero to ten with ten being the ultimate worst pain ever, and I completely expected to get to that point somewhere, but still, things weren’t unbearable and I trekked on.

Once we’d determined that we were close enough to 10 centimeters, they told me to push if I needed to. I think this final stage lasted about three hours or so. During this time, I’d gotten my second dosage of penicillin to combat a possible group b strep infection. My arm burned from that, but I was assured that was normal. The feel of the contractions during this stage were different. They would come on in a similar manner as the transitional ones, but weren’t quite as uncomfortable. They did make you want to push at times. I think part of the reason this stage lasted so long was because I was nervous. I didn’t know what to expect from the birth, and I held back. It really did help to push when I did, though. The pain felt productive and subsided somewhat. I was glad to not have an epidural because I was able to move around the room and try various positions for pushing. As unpleasant as it sounds, the toilet was a great place and felt natural. It turns out a lot of women actually do have their baby in that position. Due to the length of time this was taking, they suggested three means to speed up delivery: nipple stimulation (which was a no for me), Pitocin (which I’d heard bad things about taking), and breaking the bag of waters. We did the latter, and it was so weird to feel myself draining like that. I guess it sped things up some, though I really didn’t notice much of a difference. Eventually, the midwife suggested I get back on the bed and push in the traditional manner, which is apparently with one person behind your head keeping your chin down, one person on each leg, pulling them back toward your torso, and one in the catcher’s position. It was so uncomfortable, and they kept yelling at me to stop trying to extend my legs, but it was easier said than done. I made a lot of headway with the pushing here, and we could get up to five good pushes per contraction. It wasn’t painful, but it was absolutely exhausting. I wanted to rest through a contraction or two, but due to the fact that I was hooked on a monitor, they could tell when I was having them, so there was no resting. One interesting thing that would happen only during some of my contractions was, when pushing, my body would go into auto push mode. It was a similar sensation to a gag reflex. I’d start to push, and though I was running low on energy and didn’t think I could keep up a push, my body would kick in and do a long gaglike push. That’s actually what would eventually allow me to push her out. Those were easily the best pushes, and I got the impression the midwife thought it was all me. I wish!! This part of labor was just so darned exhausting. Toward the end, they decided to give me a tiny bit of Pitocin, and, though I’d heard it makes contractions more painful, I suspect it helped me with the gag reflex pushes. At the end, I was making the most demonic sounds, trying to get her out of me. It wasn’t due to pain, it was due to strain. Eventually they told me that they could see her head, which blew my mind. In some ways, it felt like she had been that far ages ago, but that was good to know there was a light at the end of the tunnel. They asked if I wanted to touch her head, but I declined. I was a bit preoccupied, and I don’t think I would have enjoyed that. They kept saying “She’ll be out on your next push!” but it wasn’t the case. It almost felt like she was retreating back in, but they assured me each push was progress…two steps forward, one step back, if anything. After about five of those “next push” assurances, I was fed up and just wanted her out of me. I pushed with all my might, and with a sensation of stretching and resistance, out came her head. I pushed again for her shoulders, which was easier, and once more for her whole body. They pulled her out of me with that last one, and it was so weird to feel a whole other human come out of me. There was no pain, just a lot of slimy sliding and the feel of appendages. It wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I’d feared at all. They held her up, got her to cry, and gave her to me for some skin-to-skin belly time. She was beautiful!! Completely alert, not at all misshapen despite all her time in the birth canal, beautiful eyes, and all her fingers and toes and body parts accounted for. She arrived at 2:51pm and was 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and 20 inches long.

Shortly thereafter, once I was given a few minutes to rest and meet my sweet girl, I had to push out the placenta. I’d about had it with pushing, but luckily we were able to get it out on just a few tries. I wanted to see the organ that nourished my daughter, so they held it up and showed me. I asked Nate to take a picture, because I’m weird like that. He really didn’t want to, so the doula did it instead. It looks horrific on film, but it was so important these past nine months. Thanks to that, my dear Hyla was sustained in the womb.

I had about an hour to recover in this room before they’d tote me down to recovery. During this time, there was a lot of blood, especially because they would massage my uterus to get it to go down. They also determined I had a small tear and were going to repair it with a stitch or two. I asked if it was really bad enough, or if I could just let it heal on its own. They agreed that I could just let it heal, so that’s what I decided to do. Sarah was telling me she was amazed at how well I handled it all despite no pain meds, which surprised me because I’d have assumed that most people who hire a doula would do so with the intention of not using drugs. It heartened me to hear how well everyone thought this went. Childbirth was nowhere near as painful as I’d heard, and there was no reason to have handled it any differently.

I had some time to bond with Hyla, and I attempted to nurse her. The pain was shocking! Much worse than childbirth, to be honest. I felt awful not being able to feed her just yet, but I tried as best I could. Sarah brought me a nipple guard to use, too, but with the colostrum, it was too thick to really feed the baby. We would have some serious troubleshooting to do. Worried about the ability to nourish my child, we were wheeled up to recovery.

We spent much of the rest of the day getting to know our baby before she was toted away for tests and measurements. Once in recovery, it was a near constant flow of nurses and attendants coming in and out, and we found it really difficult to get much rest. We’d wind up staying two nights instead of one because of breastfeeding troubleshooting. I was lucky to talk to a very knowledgeable lactation consultant who thought my pain could be due to Raynaud’s Syndrome, which is a circulation issue. We came up with a plan of pumping as possible and supplementing the diet with formula (not ideal, but at least she wouldn’t starve before my milk really came in). It was such a relief to have an alternative measure for her.

Our two nights lasted a long time, although all the visitors helped. On the second day, Karla, Varissa, and Sumarin came by with a tequila cake and some lemonade to celebrate Hyla’s 0th birthday. It was really great, and we loved showing off our newest addition. The only bad part was that Nathan had a huge migraine and was actually sick most of this time. He was a real trouper, though, and after getting a few hours of good sleep, he was his old self again. As for me, I was recovering really well and didn’t really feel like I had just gone through all I had. It was great, and I’m so thankful that my body recovered so easily. Now we’re home, learning from each other and getting to know our wonderful baby girl. We couldn’t ask for a more agreeable baby – so patient with our inexperience. She hardly ever cries, and when she does, we usually have a pretty good idea of what she wants. And if we don’t, it only takes a few soothing words to calm her down. She’s bright eyed, healthy, strong, and cute as can be. I never cared much for babies, but she has stolen my heart unlike any other. I look so forward to our lives together!

6th Anniversary Trip (CO, WY, NE); May 2013

6th Anniversary Trip (CO, WY, NE)

Thurs. May 16, 2013

Nate and I always enjoy doing a short anniversary trip whenever possible, and seeing as this may be our last opportunity to take an “easy” one, we figured we should go for it while we had the chance. I’d been wanting to feed giraffes up at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo for a while now, so we thought we could build our trip around that. Luckily, I was able to get Friday off, so we decided to leave on Thursday night and spend three full days enjoying the open road.

I was able to get out of work a bit early on Thursday, thanks to coming in about an hour early. This gave me the chance to get home, finish packing, and shower. We hit the road shortly after 4pm en route to Trinidad, CO, home to one of my favorite restaurants in the Rockies: Rino’s Italian Restaurant and Steakhouse. Its rather limited hours of 5pm to 9pm, Wed. through Sun. make it a bit difficult to visit at times, but we planned it just right. We arrived in Trinidad around 8pm, after an uneventful car ride. I couldn’t get over how empty I-25 is, for such a major expressway. We entertained ourselves by singing to the likes of Coolio and whatever else popped up on the radio. Once in Trinidad, we made a bee line straight for the restaurant.

What can I say about Rino’s? I absolutely love the place! It is unique and charming and the food is excellent…and the singing! Did I mention the singing? Everyone employed there sings. In the four times I’ve visited, I’ve even seen the busboys and cooks sing. And they really sing well, too! The amount of singing has varied each time I’ve visited, but the quality never wavers. This evening, we only had two songs, but considering our waiter belted out Peggy Lee’s “Fever,” one of the songs from “my era,” as I like to say, that more than made up for it. Couple this with the setting in an historic church dating from 1887 and a lovely dinner of lobster ravioli and chicken parmigiana, it was a perfect night. I beam from the moment I walk in the door until I leave. This is a must-visit restaurant for anyone traveling through the area. It’s just so special, and I know that it will not be around forever.

That night we had a reservation at the Trinidad Super 8. I knew we could have continued up the road even further, but it was kind of nice to just call it a night when we did. We had a big day ahead of us in the morning, after all!

Fri. May 17, 2013

I really didn’t sleep all that well this night, and I wound up getting up early, probably around 5:30. When I went to the washroom, I discovered that my hands were super puffy (I couldn’t get my ring off!), and I was experiencing a few sparks of light in my vision. I felt pregnant and miserable, and I wondered if these things could be attributed to the elevation gain. I showered and got ready for the day, and as the day wore on, I started to feel more normal again.

Once Nate was done, we stopped in the lobby for a quick breakfast before heading north on I-25. Having been raring to go in the morning, I started driving so Nate could sleep in a bit more. It didn’t take long before my fitful night’s sleep crept up on me, and I started to get really tired. I pulled over at a gas station and we thankfully switched. On the way up, the radio indicated there was a major rollover accident somewhere in Colorado Springs, so we agreed to get off the expressway a bit early to avoid it. In doing so, we encountered another accident and determined Colorado drivers are crazy. After a few detours, we made it to the gates of the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo about a half hour after opening. Hooray!!

Despite its name, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is not located in Cheyenne, but rather at the base of Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs. It claims to be the United States’ only “mountain zoo,” as it is situated on a somewhat steep slope, requiring guests to climb up and down the mountainside to view its many exhibits. We parked in the overflow parking, which flanks the road to the park, before ever even bothering to see if any space was available in the lot. It really wasn’t that far of a walk, either way. Once at the gate, we were met with crowds and crowds of school groups, which was a bit daunting, but luckily the line for tickets was quite short. Once bought, the salesperson gave us two tokens with which to vote for our favorite conservation project at the zoo. There were a lot of worthy ones including the Mexican wolf and orangutans, but we both voted for tropical frog conservation. Then we unleashed ourselves upon the zoo.

I had been warned by people to start at the top and work down because of the zoo’s steepness and large elevation changes. It’s not a bad idea, but I was really surprised at the end of the day how easy the climb was despite carrying this extra weight around. If anything, the altitude worried me, but I seemed unaffected and just as energetic as usual. That’s always a plus!

Our first stop was near the bottom: giraffes!! I really wanted to experience feeding giraffes, and this place offers the opportunity all day long! For an extra $2, you can get a handful of romaine lettuce (or other goodies, depending on time of day), and the giraffes will come right up to you on the deck for a treat. You can also just pet them, if so inclined. I was surprised at how informal it all was. I bought my romaine and went over to the eager giraffe nearby. She extended her tongue as though my hands were a branch on a tree, and happily munched on the lettuce while I scratched her nose. These enormous creatures are so gentle, with the sweetest eyes, and the experience was quite amazing. We hung out with the giraffes a bit longer, watching them lick the heck out of the deck posts (they must have been salty) before moving on. Feeding the giraffes absolutely made my day!

We spent the rest of our time visiting lots of other exhibits including elephants, red river hogs, hippos, a walk through Australia area, grizzlies, moose, and many other areas that you’d find in zoos across the country. They would often adorn enclosures with statues of animals you may see in association with them in the wild. The most unusual was a statue of a half-eaten zebra carcass right outside the giraffe area. Very bizarre. One of my favorite areas was The Loft, which featured a wide variety of creepy crawly critters including invertebrates and herpetiles. I could have stayed in there all day, were it not for the hordes of screaming school kids.

My only issue with the park was that it seemed like the enclosures were rather small, which, I’m sure, was a direct result of having limited space on a mountainside. Still, they did a good job with what they had, and the entire zoo maintained a feel of being much closer to the animals, with no boundaries, than was actually the case. It was definitely unique and well worth the visit.

Once we had seen all the exhibits, we went for a spin on the ski lift. This was an extra charge, but we figured we were here, we may as well see it all. It turns out there isn’t much to see at the top of the lift, save for a snack bar and some yurts with information inside, but it was still fun. After that, we exited the park to get the car and drove in through the gate to reach the very top of the property where Will Rogers’ Shrine of the Sun is located. Both attractions are included in admission to the zoo, so we definitely had to see it. We turned our hazard lights on and made our way up the mountainside at 5 miles per hour, navigating switchbacks and avoiding the occasional visitor who would amble out into the road obliviously. After a good deal of climbing, we made it to the top where we ascended the shrine. There was a chapel and about three rooms of pictures featuring the life and times of Will Rogers. The view of the surrounding country from up there was incredible, though much of it was really just urban sprawl while looking east. Being so high up, though, it felt like we were worlds away.

Noticing the time, we made our way down. We still had things to do today, and we weren’t going to miss them! We snaked our way back down the mountain and exited the park en route to Golden for a tour of the Coors Brewery.

Years ago, we’d tried to visit the Brewery, but we’d either arrived after hours or on a day that they were closed altogether. Today, they were scheduled to close at 4pm, and we’d arrived a little after 3:30. We noticed there was a line for the bus outside the parking lot, so it was apparent people were still waiting to go in. We were ushered into the lot by an employee, so that, too, was a good sign. We wandered over to the bus line and waited, chatting a bit with a retired couple who were RVing from California to Pennsylvania. We also did our best to avoid the copious amounts of smoke from fellow queuers. That’s another thing I noticed about Colorado on this trip – there was a nearly constant odor of cigarette smoke in the air. I couldn’t get over all the people who still do that! Being allergic to smoke and pregnant, that’s the last thing I needed. And I would notice, once out of the smoke, that the odor would still be in my clothes and hair, it was just that bad. What gives, Colorado?

After about 20 minutes, we finally boarded the bus that took us to the gate of the brewery. We showed our IDs and made our way inside. Unlike other brewery tours, this one was self-guided. They gave us handheld speakers, and we wandered around at our own pace, learning about the brewery and processes. We got to see the largest collection of mash tuns out of any brewery, and learned the history of the location and how it was chosen for the pure mountain waters that run through the area. At the end of it all, we went to the tasting room where Nate got to partake in the brews. He thought they all tasted kind of weird, as is typical (in his opinion) of Coors. I had a non-alcoholic beer which tasted like carbonated water, but oh well. I also had a Sierra Mist. It was a good time, and I’m glad we were finally able to take the tour.

From here, I realized I’d downloaded a geocache really close, so we crossed the street and found that really quickly. Then we headed into touristy downtown Golden where we treated ourselves to some tasty ice cream. Our server seemed awfully perplexed about what change to give us, but eventually he figured it out. Ah, Golden education! Hopefully it’s better than it seems. Once we’d had our fill of Golden, we hit the road again for places north. We decided to drive through Boulder to see the University of Colorado campus, which would also allow us to avoid the insanity of downtown Denver. Well, we were still met with a lot of traffic because it seemed to be graduation weekend. Needless to say, we didn’t see much of campus, but it was still a nice diversion.

We eventually reconnected with I-25 and headed north to Fort Collins. We checked into another Super 8, which seemed incredibly overpriced, but we suspected it was due to graduation season. From there, we headed into downtown Fort Collins to seek out Coopersmith’s Brew Pub. We parked in the garage and made our way over, admiring the amazing campustown. Champaign could take a hint from this place! It was hip and clean and really inviting with lots to do. When we finally arrived at our destination, it turned out that it was so huge that it was split in two! You could go to the games-themed area, or the restaurant area (both of which seemed to serve food). The restaurant area had a shorter line, so that’s where we went. We were seated before too long in a remote corner. I was able to face out and observe the college crowd, which was immensely fascinating. I was particularly fascinated by the table immediately behind Nate. It seemed to consist of a large group of college friends. The ones on the right side of the table were laughing and having a great conversation, but the two people on the left side, a guy and a girl, looked so awkward and quiet. I would occasionally see the guy try to painfully make conversation with the girl, and to me it seemed like they had been asked along as a set-up. The girl would give a short answer and go back to looking uncomfortable. I couldn’t look away. Well, right before we left, I realized they had a baby between them, and it actually looked like it was both of theirs. In fact, I’m sure it was. How sad that this couple was so distant from one another despite that. It goes to show you never know with people.

As for the food, Nate and I shared a Mediterranean pizza and a wild game sausage plate (elk and wild boar). It was pretty good, and Nate said the beer was, too. Maybe someday I’ll get to try it…and we’ll come back with the baby and not be that awkward couple.

Nate had developed a migraine, so we had to seek out a grocery store or pharmacy next. Our Garmin took us about 8 miles away! I couldn’t believe there wasn’t anything closer! We got some Tylenol and headed back to our room. We’d considered playing mini golf at the place near our motel, but neither of us was really up for that. It had been a long day, and we were just glad to call it a night.

Sat. May 18, 2013

Once again, I got up early, as we had lots to do today! (Mostly driving.) I no longer had puffy hands or weird eye flashes, so that was a plus. We quickly got up, ran down to breakfast, and hit the road. Again, I started driving, but I’d slept really well and had no problem staying awake. North we continued, crossing the border into Wyoming, and then heading east on I-80 toward Nebraska. Our mission: conquer the highest point in Nebraska! After exiting the expressway and heading south out of Pine Bluffs, WY, we eventually made it to a series of dirt roads leading to the site. Situated on someone’s property, they ask for $3 a person to access the high point. They also warn of bison in the area (which I believe are raised by the property owners). We paid our fee and were able to see the bison on our bouncy ride out to the site. Of course, the high point of Nebraska isn’t exactly exceptional (despite being called Panorama Point), it was still exciting to get to see the monument and add our names to the list of intrepid high point explorers. On top of it, this was Baby Crane’s first high point. Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska were also her 14th, 15th, and 16th states, respectively. This girl gets around, and she hasn’t even been born yet! On our way out, we attempted to do the three corners geocache, but it would have involved a mile-long hike one-way or a drive on a questionable road, so we skipped it. We got a virtual cache out of the high point anyway, so that was good enough. We did stop in the town of Pine Bluffs to get two Wyoming geocaches, and we stopped at the local rest area to do some hiking as well. Then we high tailed it back south toward Colorado.

Lunchtime found us back in Fort Collins, so we decided to try another brew pub for the heck of it. This time we went to the Fort Collins Brewery. We were seated outside at the adjacent and associated Gravity 1020 restaurant. We had an enjoyable lunch – Nate enjoyed his beers and had some weird beer-based soup that was served with popcorn floating in it to go along with his grilled cheese and avocado sandwich. I had a lamb burger. From there, we headed south yet again, our mission was to reach Monte Vista, Colorado by at least 7pm. Our route took us through some incredibly scenic areas, including right through the region known as South Park, home to Fairplay, CO, the town on which the show "South Park" was based. We didn’t stop to look around, but I’m sure it’s much smaller than what is depicted on TV. We did stop briefly along our drive for some ice cream, which really hit the spot, as usual. We also were treated to some shows of lightning and a few rain showers. Finally, around 6pm, we arrived in Monte Vista, home of the Best Western Movie Manor, where we would be spending the night.

Our first experience at this unique hotel happened on our anniversary trip 4 years ago. Nate decided to surprise me on our destination, and we hopped in the car, heading north, as I made guesses about our trip. I did get it before too long, but that didn’t hinder the excitement in the least. Now, drive-in theaters are getting to be a rarity, but not only does this place have a drive-in theater, it one-ups it by having a motel associated with said theater. In fact, you have the option of watching movies from the picture window in your room or sitting in your car! How cool is that?! I am pretty sure this is a one of a kind establishment, and really worth the trip to southern Colorado. On our first trip, we watched “Star Trek” and drank way too much wine (which would prove a problem when we took the bumpy Cumbres Toltec train ride the next day), but it was so much fun! I made sure to get us reservations on the drive down, and we were assured a room with a good view to watch “Oz the Great and Powerful” (or we had the option of watching “Scary Movie 5” from our car if we so desired).

Since we were early and hadn’t yet eaten dinner, once we’d checked into the Movie Manor, we headed to the associated restaurant next door to get some eats. Included in the price of our stay (which was actually less than the Super 8s we stayed at the previous nights) was a discounted meal at this restaurant, and, of course, the movies. We settled into our seats at the restaurant and ordered unexceptional meals of a sandwich and soup. I did get to talking with the waitress while Nate was in the bathroom, and it turns out that the motel (I think – it may be the drive-in itself which is a separate entity) was bought by a new family, so hopefully they’ll keep things running like they have been. It would be such a shame to lose such a neat place.

After dinner, we moved into our room: 205, the Jerry Lewis room, and got settled. It was starting to get dusky out, so we headed down to the concession stand to get some snacks before the movie started. One of the ladies running the stand asked me if I bought a horse. I had no idea what she was talking about, so I said, “I wish!” I’m pretty sure she got me confused with someone else she saw at some livestock auction. That would be a dangerous event for me to attend. Anyway, Nate got some popcorn, and I got a giant pickle and the 3rd caffeinated drink I’ve had since being pregnant: a Pepsi. I really needed something to drink, and there weren’t many options. We settled back into our room and enjoyed a great view and movie. What a neat place, and I can’t wait to bring our little one here someday (when she can really experience it).

Sun. May 19, 2013

I had a wonderful night’s sleep, which is getting to be more and more rare. We actually slept in quite a bit, which was a treat, too. We took our time getting ready and hit the road a little before 11. On a whim, I suggested we try to eat dinner at the fabulous Rancho de Chimayo, a nice New Mexican restaurant that we hadn’t visited in over 10 years! The only time I’d been was on our first drive down to New Mexico together, on our ten day road trip when Nate was moving out. This restaurant was one at which his family would dine for special occasions, and he wanted me to experience it, too. Sadly, much of it burned in recent years, and they only just reopened not too long ago. Even still, its distance and location made it a place we rarely thought of visiting. This time, however, it was almost on our way back, so I thought, why not? So we called Nate’s mom Karla and invited her to join us, which we were glad she was able to do.

The drive down was thankfully uneventful. Just lots of beautiful scenery for many, many miles. We hit some traffic but still got there with a few minutes to spare. Once we all had arrived, it wasn’t long before they found us a table outside on the back patio. It may have even been the same place we’d sat on our first visit together all those years ago. I honestly couldn’t tell what had changed after the fire, because it all looked so historic. It was a bit chilly out there, as the clouds kept rolling in, and we even had a few sprinkles that were luckily caught by the large umbrellas overhead. The food was even more incredible than I remembered, and we all really enjoyed ourselves. After eating, we wandered the grounds a bit, admiring the décor and rustic setting. We will definitely have to come back, hopefully sooner than 10 years.

After lunch, we said goodbye to Karla and headed back down to Albuquerque. On the way, we made sure to stop for some Dairy Queen (I got seconds, I’m terrible!). We finally arrived at home around 5 or so. It was an incredibly enjoyable, though a bit whirlwind, trip, and I cherished every moment. I know our next one probably won’t be as simple, so I made sure to mentally capture each moment as best I could. The next one will definitely be a brand new adventure!