Sunday, September 23, 2018

The Year of Many Travels (Part 2): San Diego, New Mexico and Colorado


2018 started with a super blue blood moon in January.  Perhaps a good omen.  My husband, Ron, finished his final year for his business (Atlantic International) with an especially good sale and he asked me where I'd like to go in 2018?   Ron has traveled the world for business and pleasure and he always wanted to take me to Paris, London and Italy. For me,  a trip to Norway was my dream as I was a Norwegian by heritage.  We decided to do that trip to Paris where I had never been PLUS a Norway cruise.  We booked an Airbnb apartment in Paris for May, 2018 and invited Maine friends, Bob and Sharon, to share our Paris accommodations.  We made reservations with Holland America for a cruise to Norway from Amsterdam for the first week of June.  Ron contacted his friends Ron and Janti in Amsterdam and we then booked three nights there at the end of May.  I booked us a Thayls train from Paris to Amsterdam on May 31st and "Voila!” we were set for a Grand European Vacation for 2018.  So this trip satisfied most of our goals.  London and Italy would wait while we planned to see the City of Lights in May, 2018 (see Part 3 for that tripand cruise the Norwegian western coast in June (see Part 4 for that trip)

There are so many "Bucket List" destinations we wanted to check off. Ron had always wanted to visit the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.  I checked the dates and costs and  found the January 2018 Festival was too expensive for us so we looked at the smaller Film Festivals in Telluride and Durango, Colorado.  We settled on the smaller Durango Independent Film Festival scheduled for Feb. 28-March 4, 2018. I was able to book a timeshare accommodation in downtown Durango for that week.and we purchased punch passes for the films.  My friend Cathy spent the first part of the week with me and then Ron Joined us February 28th.


Cathy along the Animas River in Durango, CO


Me on the Animas River
My daughter Mary brought the grand daughters, Melody and Rosemerry for one day and Cathy and I took them to the Powerhouse Science Museum and the Animas River Trail.


Melody ready to blast off

Rosemerry building mountains

A very cool project that lets you see the elevations of a mountain

Propulsion experiment

"Wow! Where'd it go?"

Running across the bridge spanning the Animas River in Durango, CO
Cathy enjoying the Animas River


As did Melody

In March, Mary brought the girls to Albuquerque and I got to take them to the Zoo and the Museum of Natural History where a special "Leonardo da Vinci - The Genius" exhibit was available to see.

Aunt Amanda, Rosemerry, Melody and Mary at the NM Museum of Natural History






What trip to New Mexico is complete without a visit to Meow Wolf in Santa Fe?



















  

In April, Ron and I drove to San Diego, California to see friends.  Ron got to visit the Hotel Del Coronado which was a first for him.

Drinks at the Hotel Del Coronado with friends, Page and Laurie.
Wine tasting in the Escondido Valley

"Cheers!"
Cappuccino at Scripps Institute of Oceanography (UCSD in La Jolla)

Dinner with Takako and Eric in Clairemont.

Takako is a good artist and I bought one of her paintings.

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Visited my old union brother, Ernie Medina.

Lunch with the Figueroa Family at Ranchos Cocina in North Park

Ron, Hermelinda, Abigail, and I at Rancho's.

Dinner at Costerra Restaurant on the San Diego Harbor with Page and Laurie.

San Diego skyline




Dinner at Coasterra...


...followed by a visit and drinks at the Hotel Del Coronado

Sandcastle on the beach at the Hotel Del Coronado.
In late April and May, we made two more trips to Grand Junction, Colorado to be with Mary's family, staying at Airbnb accommodations which have proven to be much better and far less expensive than hotels.  This long trip (8 hours by car) takes us over the beautiful Rocky Mountains and through the Four Corners area of the American Southwest. Of course, a trip that includes being with family is always wonderful!

Having dinner with Matt, Mary, Rosemerry and Melody at Enzo's in Clifton, CO.
Part 3 will cover our European Vacation in May, 2018.

The Year of Many Travels (Part 1): Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas

I haven't posted in a regular way to The Universe Smiles in the past year. Many reasons for that but,  fortunately, Ron and I have been healthy and able to pursue our passion to travel near and far in the past year.  We have had the pleasure of family and friends visiting us and we visiting them.  I will try to recapture the past 13 months of travel adventures in three parts.  This part starts in August, 2017 and ends December, 2017.  Part 2 will cover January 2018 through April, 2018. Part 3 will cover May, 2018 through September, 2018.

Anne, Milla, Will and Tim hiking up Soldier's Pass, Sedona, AZ.
Beginning the last week of August, 2017, we traveled to Sedona, Arizona to spend a warm week in Northern Arizona with Anne, Will, Milla, and Anne's boyfriend, Tim.





View of Sedona from the Sedona Airport.towering above the red rocks and the city..

We enjoyed a picnic at Red Rock Crossing and the kids, Anne and Tim cooled off in Oak Creek with the Cathedral Rocks as a picture-perfect backdrop.




















Having never seen the Grand Canyon, Anne, Tim and the kids followed us to the Grand Canyon for a day.
The Grand Canyon in August, 2017

Milla found wildlife in the store....

...and on the canyon walls (California Condor)...

...and in the shade of pinon pine along the tral to El Tovar Lodge (Elk mother and baby)

In October, we had a family reunion in Grand Junction, Colorado when my daughter, Mary, and husband, Matt, adopted their daughters, Rosemerry and Melody.  Bill and Carol (Matt's parents), Mark (Mary's dad), Malcom and Amanda (Uncle and Aunt to Rose and melody), plus Ron and I were all there for the great occasion and grand celebration.  We traveled the scenic US Hwy 550 through the colorful mesas of northwestern New Mexico.



On the road via US 550 over the San Juan  Mountains to Grand Junction

After crossing Red Mountain Pass, we came to the old mining town of Silverton, Colorado


Rosemerry and Melody at the hotel pool

Melody and Rosemerry




Adoption Day - The Hicks Family and the Judge

The trip back through Aspen gold was breathtaking. Autumn was here.



In early November, my friend Cathy and I did a day trip up the Rio Grande Gorge for the Dixon Studio Tour.  Dixon is a little northern New Mexico village that specializes in apples, wine, and art.

Stopping along the Rio Grande on Hwy 68

My Toyota 4Runner stopped for photos along the way
 I
I did this pastel painting of this scenic area many years ago.
The Rio Grande













The Garlic Farm

Delightful pears

Beautiful apple trees

One apple remains on this tree

Art everywhere

Fall color here...

---and there.

Cathy and me

Cathy and  a four-legged friend

Another beautiful studio in an adobe home with acequia (irrigation ditch)

The acequia 

Falling leaves everywhere

Beautiful NM landscape and skies
And the sunset!
We traveled once again across the Red Mountain Pass between Durango and Ouray, Colorado to join Amanda and Malcolm for Thanksgiving with my daughter, Mary, her husband, Matt, and the grand kids, Melody and Rosemerry, in Grand Junction, Colorado. Now there was snow.

US 550 over the San Juan Mountains of Southern Colorado


Thanksgiving at Mary's house was bitter-sweet.  Everyone cooked and enjoyed a day of joy but we were sad that my daughters' father was absent. Mark had passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in Albuquerque just a couple of weeks before.  Our family gathering shared many memories of Mark.



Mary's apple pie

My spiced cranberry sauce


Perfectly roasted stuffed turket

Making the gravy

Rosemerry" "Let's eat!"


Mark (RIP August 13, 1951-November 14, 2017) was there in spirit.
Rosemerry and Melody

Matt

For Christmas, 2017, Ron took me to San Antonio, Texas.




Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Buttes on the way to Marfa, TX

The Judd Foundation in Marfa

Our hotel in Marfa - The remodeled very modern Hotel Saint George

Inside the bar of the Hotel Saint George


The Lobby of the Hotel Saint George 

Entrance to the restaurant at the Hotel Saint George

Ron enjoying a beverage

The Courthouse

The Hotel Paisano -
where the movie stars stayed while filming "Giant"

The Lobby of the Hotel Paisano



Our beautiful Hotel Room at Hotel Saint George

Not a bad place to spend the night.
Dinner at the Hotel Saint George Restaurant was very good.  The ambiance and food was a delight.






We spent the next day and night in Big Bend National Park.  This park is hard to reach but well worth a visit.  Delightful!  Unfortunately, my camera broke and I only got one picture when a nice couple took a picture of me where we spent the night at the Chisos Basin Lodge.

Me at dusk with the Chisos Basin Window in the background.

We spent Dec. 23-26, 2017 in magical San Antonio, Texas.  We stayeed in the Drury Inn and Suites on the Riverwalk.  The beautiful Christmas lights were twinkling in the trees that lined the river.







We visited the Alamo, the historic Menger Bar, and









Then we headed for the Historic Market Square with its many Mexican markets and restaurants.








For Christmas Eve dinner, we ate at Bigas on the Bank.  This was a fine dining, Zagat rated restaurant and we had a delicious meal.  














More pictures from our tour of San Antionio on the Hop On Hop Off Bus.

















We drove back to New Mexico on December 26th and were safety home before the New Year. 

Travel is nice but home is always a welcome place to return to.