Days of Future Posts

This was a trip of many jogs to the memory.

As I mentioned earlier, we were in this town in 1998 with our kids and we recalled the Garden of the Gods, though it seemed smaller now and I can't figure why, and the swankiest restaurant around where we had Alex's 14th birthday dinner. We spent much of that trip trying to find things Miles would eat because he was in a phase where all he wanted was chicken nuggets and pizza. I think that phase lasted about 9 years. And we recalled driving up and over the mountains when poor Miles got so nauseated - altitude sickness is often worse for the young - and he barfed in the back seat. We pulled over to clean up the mess and Alex distracted him with extensive dialogue from Wayne's World, one of our oft-watched flicks, until we made it down to where his nausea went away. I count that as the moment at when Alex stopped fighting with her brother. 

On Sunday we drove to a higher altitude in search of snow, and though we felt a tad lightheaded, there were no ill effects. 

                    

What it did bring to mind was driving in Europe in 1979 after Mark and I had been together about 10 months. I remembered Switzerland and one memorable evening in Malthers, when we ate cheese fondue as fat flakes fell softly and then went back to our hotel and came close to splitting up. 

Though it's a small town, I discovered that Manitou Springs had a restaurant that served fondue and so we went and ordered the "Old European" cheeses pot. 

But the very first trip we took together was in February of 1979. We flew to Denver, spent a night and day, then took the train to Oakland and spent a few days in San Francisco. There was snow that trip as well, a deep and beautiful snow as we traversed the Sierra Nevadas. 

The place we stayed in Dever back in '79 was The Brown Palace, a wonderful old cattle barons hotel built in 1892 and one of the first to be built with an atrium. It was the first place we stayed on the first trip we ever took together and it was a far classier joint than either of us 20somethings had ever checked in to.

Since this week's trips was the first time Mark and I had been in Denver together since '79, we spent our last Colorado morning by going to The Brown Palace just to have a look. It brought to mind last year in Paris; the atrium of the Galeries Lafayette store which is much bigger and more impressive, but the hotel lobby is designer logo free, so there's that. 

We got coffe and took seats. 

Mark handed me the little leather case that holds the cribbage board and deck of cards we travel with and asked me to open it. Inside was a ring box. 

( You can imagine the rest. I was pretty gobsmacked and he "proposed" that I stay married to him.)

It's a vintage ring, Victorian in fact. I'd post a picture but that seems too modern for a vintage woman with a Victorian ring. 

Just one most post for this trip, the usual round up of photos and observations that didn't seem to fit elsewhere.