tigerjen
The Married Tigress
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2001
- Posts
- 83,318
Final entry...Sunday 10/12
Our alarm was set for 6:30am so we could have plenty of
time to finish up packing, shower up, get dressed, etc.
as we wanted to check out of the hotel before going to
breakfast, and as we wanted to go to one last tourist
site before heading up to the airport in Denver.
Jill & I met up w/ our high school pal Steve (who was
staying in the same hotel we were) for breakfast at
the Cracker Barrel.......it was good to chill out with a
familiar friend before leaving to go home.
After breakfast, Steve headed back to Denver, and Jill
& I headed out to the Cave of the Winds.....we were
lucky to get there for the 45 minute tour that started at
11:10am......as soon as the tour was over with we'd have
to book it to the car as we had to get back down I-24 to
get to I-25, as we needed to get back to I-70 for the
airport.
Cave of the Winds.....what can I say about it....stalactites,
stalagmites, flowstone, etc. If you have been in a cave
before, you've seen them all before. But there are some
unique formations that we got to view....such as the "oriental
garden", which are unique formations that look like mini
pagodas and other asian structures. There are other tours
too....such as their "lantern tour"......I will post the website
for the place right here:
www.caveofthewinds.com
Of course this was my first time in cave such as this, so it
was a real neat experience.
Now......we booked it back to the car....and zoomed on out
of there.....finally hopping on I-25 northbound towards
Denver......we were STUCK and moving at a crawl in traffic
in a 70-75 mile/hr zone......turns out that there was an
accident, and when we finally passed it, the car was being
removed from the site. Instead of taking I-25 and going
around to get to I-70, we cut to I-225 which would lead us
to I-70. We didn't get to the car rental place until 1:50pm,
and practically ran in and grabbed our final receipt out of the
guy's hand (I felt so bad but we had a 2:55pm flight to catch!).
We piled onto the tram that would take us back to the airport,
and upon getting there, we tried checking our suitcases
curbside but we were told to go to the counter upstairs. We
did just that, HOWEVER.......for some reason my eticket
reservation thingy wasn't going thru and going right to the
counter, I got the bad news that they would NOT take my
big suitcase 45 minutes before the flight was to take off! I
was pissed off, upset, and in tears..........I called my dad on
my cell and explained the situation, he couldn't understand
what was going on (he was supposed to pick us up at
White Plains, NY that nite) so I gave my cell phone to the lady
at the counter, and it was for security reasons they would not
let my bag on the plane so late. My dad said to me later on
that if it were a congressman or a celebrity they would have
accommodated them! Grrrrrrrrrrrr! Anyhow, we had two
options: take 5:30pm flight out of Denver, connecting in
Chicago, finally landing in Newark, NJ 12:26am, OR waiting
until the following morning to fly out........we opted to fly into
Newark.....and luckily my dad was off from work Monday so
he was able to pick us up from there (he was able to get
directions from a friend of us who used to live in NJ).
What was real good....the lady did not charge us the $100
penalty for switching flights (because w/ e-tickets, they are
non-negotiable whatsoever)......I was not happy w/ the situation
but I was glad that we were taking the 5:30pm flight rather
than waiting the following day....was not about to spend money
on another hotel room.
Also a good thing......we got to get a bite to eat before going
thru the security checkpoint.......TCBY......frozen yogurt and
cold drinks were in order as we were parched and our throats
were still dry! I was not looking forward to the prospect of
having pretzels again on both flights.........
Now......here's the kicker about security: I had a special
bag for my disposable cameras that is lined w/ lead so the
film doesn't get destroyed by the xray........when we left from
NY, they didn't check my carry on ....but in Denver...I was
yanked over so they could check it...Hmmmmmmm but all was
good though.
Flights went well from Denver, to Chicago, finally to Newark...
I swear if I saw one more pretzel I was going to flip! We
landed in Newark early around midnite or so......but they were
taking so damn long getting the baggage carousel going on....
but we got our bags w/ no problem and met up w/ my dad
outside....and then it was back to CT. Jill could have stayed
over at my house again but she wanted to get back to her
hubby (understandable) so she had to drive back 30-40 minutes!
Let me tell ya'll......I was so hungry.......I had 3 slices of leftover
clams casino pizza because of having no lunch and dinner!
(only the snack we had the airport in Denver...plus those
dumb pretzels on both returning flights) I was so wired that
I ended up doing my laundry that needed time to dry on
the rack....and of course check my email. I didn't get to bed
until 4:30am..........and slept til noon the following day.
So there you have it.....my CO adventure from start to finish.
I wouldn't live out there long term/permanently, but I'd love
to go back out there for a vacation again! The main purpose
of the trip was for my friend Colleen's wedding, but we did
get to see different attractions, focusing on the nature aspects
of the region.......I know we crammed so much into one weekend
but hey, looking back on it, I got to experience new things
such as going up to Pikes Peak, to going into a cave, and much
more. I do have two excuses to go back to CO: one to see
Colleen, and second, to buy that huckleberry jam that I wanted
to get!
tigerjen
Our alarm was set for 6:30am so we could have plenty of
time to finish up packing, shower up, get dressed, etc.
as we wanted to check out of the hotel before going to
breakfast, and as we wanted to go to one last tourist
site before heading up to the airport in Denver.
Jill & I met up w/ our high school pal Steve (who was
staying in the same hotel we were) for breakfast at
the Cracker Barrel.......it was good to chill out with a
familiar friend before leaving to go home.
After breakfast, Steve headed back to Denver, and Jill
& I headed out to the Cave of the Winds.....we were
lucky to get there for the 45 minute tour that started at
11:10am......as soon as the tour was over with we'd have
to book it to the car as we had to get back down I-24 to
get to I-25, as we needed to get back to I-70 for the
airport.
Cave of the Winds.....what can I say about it....stalactites,
stalagmites, flowstone, etc. If you have been in a cave
before, you've seen them all before. But there are some
unique formations that we got to view....such as the "oriental
garden", which are unique formations that look like mini
pagodas and other asian structures. There are other tours
too....such as their "lantern tour"......I will post the website
for the place right here:
www.caveofthewinds.com
Of course this was my first time in cave such as this, so it
was a real neat experience.
Now......we booked it back to the car....and zoomed on out
of there.....finally hopping on I-25 northbound towards
Denver......we were STUCK and moving at a crawl in traffic
in a 70-75 mile/hr zone......turns out that there was an
accident, and when we finally passed it, the car was being
removed from the site. Instead of taking I-25 and going
around to get to I-70, we cut to I-225 which would lead us
to I-70. We didn't get to the car rental place until 1:50pm,
and practically ran in and grabbed our final receipt out of the
guy's hand (I felt so bad but we had a 2:55pm flight to catch!).
We piled onto the tram that would take us back to the airport,
and upon getting there, we tried checking our suitcases
curbside but we were told to go to the counter upstairs. We
did just that, HOWEVER.......for some reason my eticket
reservation thingy wasn't going thru and going right to the
counter, I got the bad news that they would NOT take my
big suitcase 45 minutes before the flight was to take off! I
was pissed off, upset, and in tears..........I called my dad on
my cell and explained the situation, he couldn't understand
what was going on (he was supposed to pick us up at
White Plains, NY that nite) so I gave my cell phone to the lady
at the counter, and it was for security reasons they would not
let my bag on the plane so late. My dad said to me later on
that if it were a congressman or a celebrity they would have
accommodated them! Grrrrrrrrrrrr! Anyhow, we had two
options: take 5:30pm flight out of Denver, connecting in
Chicago, finally landing in Newark, NJ 12:26am, OR waiting
until the following morning to fly out........we opted to fly into
Newark.....and luckily my dad was off from work Monday so
he was able to pick us up from there (he was able to get
directions from a friend of us who used to live in NJ).
What was real good....the lady did not charge us the $100
penalty for switching flights (because w/ e-tickets, they are
non-negotiable whatsoever)......I was not happy w/ the situation
but I was glad that we were taking the 5:30pm flight rather
than waiting the following day....was not about to spend money
on another hotel room.
Also a good thing......we got to get a bite to eat before going
thru the security checkpoint.......TCBY......frozen yogurt and
cold drinks were in order as we were parched and our throats
were still dry! I was not looking forward to the prospect of
having pretzels again on both flights.........
Now......here's the kicker about security: I had a special
bag for my disposable cameras that is lined w/ lead so the
film doesn't get destroyed by the xray........when we left from
NY, they didn't check my carry on ....but in Denver...I was
yanked over so they could check it...Hmmmmmmm but all was
good though.
Flights went well from Denver, to Chicago, finally to Newark...
I swear if I saw one more pretzel I was going to flip! We
landed in Newark early around midnite or so......but they were
taking so damn long getting the baggage carousel going on....
but we got our bags w/ no problem and met up w/ my dad
outside....and then it was back to CT. Jill could have stayed
over at my house again but she wanted to get back to her
hubby (understandable) so she had to drive back 30-40 minutes!
Let me tell ya'll......I was so hungry.......I had 3 slices of leftover
clams casino pizza because of having no lunch and dinner!
(only the snack we had the airport in Denver...plus those
dumb pretzels on both returning flights) I was so wired that
I ended up doing my laundry that needed time to dry on
the rack....and of course check my email. I didn't get to bed
until 4:30am..........and slept til noon the following day.
So there you have it.....my CO adventure from start to finish.
I wouldn't live out there long term/permanently, but I'd love
to go back out there for a vacation again! The main purpose
of the trip was for my friend Colleen's wedding, but we did
get to see different attractions, focusing on the nature aspects
of the region.......I know we crammed so much into one weekend
but hey, looking back on it, I got to experience new things
such as going up to Pikes Peak, to going into a cave, and much
more. I do have two excuses to go back to CO: one to see
Colleen, and second, to buy that huckleberry jam that I wanted
to get!
tigerjen
first I have to get a MAN! 
