Planning a vacation

Breathtaking photo from Colorado (found online).  Click for the bigger image,
but remember to click the X in the top right to go back to the blog.

July 17, 2014
          Day 78

So this is it!  Tomorrow, Andy and I start a small vacation to Colorado and Wyoming.  I say small because we only have 5 days and 5 nights, and our vacations the last few years have tended to run closer to twice that.  I know, I've got no right to even slightly complain!

But because it's a relatively short trip for us, we're going to try our very best to just soak it all in, to simply drive around a lot, and appreciate nature and the beautiful views everywhere we go. 

July 18: Fly to Denver Airport, head over to the Boulder area to spend time with friends
July 19: Boulder area, time with friends
July 20: Wyoming + head down to hotel in Black Hawk, CO
July 21: Staying in Black Hawk, exploring area
July 22: Staying in Black Hawk, exploring area
July 23: Leave Black Hawk, head to airport, fly home to New York

Why Wyoming?  I wrote about it on this Website.

I'll be writing a vacation reflection each day now while we're there, so for those following this journey o' mine live as it happens, please bear with me through any delays in my postings this coming week!  (And for those reading it later on, well, you can already tell me how my vacation went.  Did I like it?  Did I take a lot of nice photographs?  Let me know!)

Before I go on any type of vacation now the past few years, I start a packing list weeks in advance.  This vacation, the list has been in the form of a memo on my phone.  Right now it reads like this: Netbook, cord, battery, extra phone battery, phone charger, car phone charger, GPS, cameras and memory cards, flash drive, kindle, pens, crossword book, bathing suit, casino card stretchy band, chewing gum, camera batteries, some warm clothing, hat and gloves, sunblock.

I used to write things like underwear, socks, shirts, shorts, and sneakers on lists like this, but I've learned over time that all of those things are never forgotten.  It's more the other stuff on my current list that get left behind, and--  Oh!  Just added glasses, sunglasses, and cleaner wipes to the list too!  The chewing gum is for take off and landing; it helps my ears.  The warm clothing, hat, and gloves are for our higher-elevation jaunts.  And the casino card stretchy band is because we're staying at a casino resort for 3 of the 5 nights.  Colorado or not, if there are slot machines nearby, I will be playing them (a little). 

So yeah, that's my planning progress so far, before the madness of packing later today.  I think I've got almost everything squared away now!  Just tell me one thing, people reading this in the future, did I love Colorado and Wyoming?  Did I appreciate every moment of my vacation, and not just stand around taking pictures?  I sure hope so!  Please let me know if at all possible, but in the mean time, my Kindle is charging right now, my blog for today is now finished, and my mind has already converted itself to Mountain Time!