Wave Hit Cruise Ship

I have been on over a dozen cruises and every time I go on one - I can't help but think of The Poseidon Adventure - you know the movie where that huge tidal wave flips the cruise ship... Yes, I know I am paranoid - the husband tells me every time I cross the plank to get on board.

Yesterday three huge waves hit a cruise ship off the coast of Spain - 2 people died and several injured... One minute passengers were sitting in the lounge enjoying their vacation - the next minute a huge wave crashed through the window - spraying glass everywhere - below is very raw footage of the event... crazy...

Not so paranoid now am I, honey???

Getting In Shape For The Summer

The Hanging Lakes

Okay - two days ago was the day.... The day that I cut all wheat, sugar, and unhealthy carbs from my diet... Summer is coming up and I am out of shape and ... well, let's just say I'm out of shape.... My goal is to take my girls back up to the Rocky Mountains and stay at the Glenwood Hot Springs Lodge - if you have not been there - you have got to put it on your list of things to do before you die....

There are some amazing hiking trails - there's one in particular that I want to enjoy... It's called the Hanging Lakes - it's 1000 feet up a very steep incline - but once you make it - it's suppose to be worth it... Here's a link to the trails and pictures too - it'll make you want to go.. The Colorado River runs right through Glenwood - to cross the street - you cross a bridge over the River - it's beautiful... breathtaking....

The Lodge is old - Doc Holiday once stayed there so the rumor goes (there's a hiking trail to his memorial).... The lodge does have one thing that no other lodge or hotel in the world has... The world's largest natural hot spring pool... The pool is open everyday of the year... Last time I was there - we discovered a webcam on their pool slide - my girls and I made a webcam date with the husband.... I called him from my cell and we waved and acted silly for him - we said good bye and jumped into the pool... Unknown to the girls and I - he continued to stalk spy watch us... Later that night we chatted and he asked how the girls liked their ice cream cones..... funny...

I am looking forward to some "mommy and daughters" time again - we have fun and we are making memories... We do enjoy "daddy" time too - maybe the next time...

Kelly's Favorite Vacation Spot #2

Glenwood Spring, Colorado




Last summer my daughters and I took an All Girl road trip... It was awesome.. We could take as many potty breaks as we wanted too.... The girls watched their movies in the back with headphones and I listened to my "chic" books on tape....The hotel room TV only came on to watch "girl friendly" TV... no sports....no wild kingdom.. no Discovery channel, and yes no Jeopardy.... (sorry honey)
One of my favorite stops was Glenwood Springs, Colorado.. If you have not been there.... you gotta to go. We stayed at the Glenwood Hot Springs Lodge. The Lodge is famous for their hot springs pool - the largest in the world.. The main pool is larger than three football fields and the temperature is 90 degrees year round.. (even in the winter snow) and the "hot" tub which also was huge is around 103 degrees... When you walk into the pool area, you are immediately hit with the smell of sulphur... but that smell either goes away quickly or I just got used to it...
Doc Holiday had heard about the hot springs and believed that they had healing powers.. unfortunately they did not for him and he passed away.. There is a short but nice hike up to his memorial close to the Lodge.
The Lodge itself is really nothing to write home about.. There is no room service, bell captain service, and no restaurant. I thought the staff was very rude and thankfully - once I discovered they were not helpful in anyway whatsoever - I just did things myself... like carry a one hundred pound piece of luggage down two stories all the way to my car.. and a cooler stocked with bottled water.... by MYSELF.... my kids sucked it up and carried their own bags....
We enjoyed going to the Hotel Denver to enjoy our meals at the Brew Pub restaurant. It had great food, great prices, and their french fries for the kids were smiley faces... Loved it.
Down the street from the Lodge is The Adventure Park... now this place is spectacular in every sense of the word... You need to take a gondola up to the top of the mountain (7100 ft up) - I am deathly afraid of heights...but the view was breathtaking... the Colorado River running down the middle of the valley below....words cannot describe.. Up at the top there are several cave tours.. You can take the regular walking tour or you can go deep into the caves with a lighted helmet and crawl through small crevices.. your choice.. We went on a walking tour in the "fairies caves". It's a great place for the kids with many attractions.. bungee jumping, panning for fossils, rock climbing, and many other things..
The restaurant had a panoramic view of the entire valley and the food was your basic hamburgers and hot dogs....at very reasonable prices..
In addition to the Adventure Park - there are some great hiking trails you can take up to lakes and waterfalls.. There is also river rafting half day and full day trips down the rapids on the Colorado River....
One funny story.... before we came to Glenwood Hot Springs - I found a web cam of the pool on the computer. I figured out where it was and made a computer web cam date with my husband. So here we are me and my two girls waving like crazy to a big spiral slide... and people walking by like we were nuts.... the husband loved it!

Mom and Daughters' Adventure

Last summer I went on an adventure with my two favorite girls. My twelve and ten year old daughters....we left my hubby behind.. Not that my husband isn't good company..he is...but there's something about an all girl trip. This was the first time in my life that I completely stepped out of my comfort zone and did something so unlike me. The results.... an adventure of a lifetime..
On June 29,2008 with the car loaded with luggage, DVDs, books on tape, tons of bottled water, snacks, and my new/used GPS we took off for the "unknown"..Okay we were still in the states but you know what I mean... Our destinations were The Colorado Rockies, Family and friends in Colorado, Moab, UT, and last stop Las Vegas.
I am the constant planner. I had every stop planned down to the time we would arrive. I had every motel booked months in advance and every tour and show booked and paid for. I timed my trip so I would only drive six to eight hours and only in the daylight...after all I'm a girl!
The Colorado Rockies are breathtaking, once we crossed over the Utah/Colorado border the Colorado River greeted us. It tagged along with us all the way to Glenwood Hot Springs Lodge. The "Hot Springs" turned out to be the largest natural spring pool in the world. It spanned well over 2 to 3 football fields.. During my research, I discovered a live cam on the poolslide..so I set up a "cam" date with my husband... People walking by must have thought we were nuts waving our arms and jumping up and down in front of a slide..well we'd never see them again.. talking on the cell to Dusty (my husband) and jumping up and down while he is watching us from work was hilarious.. good memory.. While we were in Glenwood we ventured up to Adventure Park. In order to get to Adventure Park, you must take a gondola up up up to 7100 ft. I am afraid of heights so my eyes were closed much of the time. My kids loved seeing the valley below. At Adventure Park there were Cave tours, bungee jumping, mazes, and lots of things for the kids to enjoy... The view was amazing.
Our next stop was friends and family. We had a great visit catching up with my best friend Karen and her family and also spent a couple of days with my favorite Uncle. We left Colorado after a week of visits - great memories...
We headed down to Moab, UT. The drive was spectacular. There were a million different colors of rocks, land, plants, and sky... I am not a good enough writer to describe the majesty of it all.... I had booked a couple of tours for Moab that took us out all day. The first was a jet boat tour on the beautiful Colorado River, by this time, I felt a kinship with Mr Colorado having hung out with him for several days. The jet boat took us deep into the caverns where mighty red walls surrounded us on all sides. From the jet boat tour we headed to the Arches National Park. There we had an off road jeep tour. When I say off road I really mean off road...the jeep climbed over rocks that in my humble opinion seemed to stand completely vertical..on this very bouncy trip we saw things that the average tourist misses. We saw actual dinosaur tracks...very cool. The Arches is a destination I highly recommend to everyone.
Our last stop Las Vegas...me the "always" planner booked not one not two but three kid friendly shows...since they were booked way in advance..our seats were awesome. The first night we went to a Luau at the Imperial Place. We watched many types of Polynesian dancers and fire throwers and had a generally good time..except it was
110 degrees outside..so we kinda stuck to our chairs... The next night was the Tournament of Kings horse show and dinner, and the last night was The Dog and Cat Magic show at Planet Hollywood. During the day, we hung out at the Flamingo's incredible pool. The kids had a great time going on the slides all day and I enjoyed relaxing with a good book. The second to last night.. Dusty surprised the girls by joining us for dinner at Caesar's Palace and driving home with us.
We made some incredible memories the girls and me. We call it "Our Adventure". Before I know it, the girls will be on their way to college, marriage, and their own lives... I want to horde as much of them as I can during the short time they are with me....
Technorati Profile