2004 This was the best time, even though the van broke down and Stan's ibook died it was still so much fun, just him and me and the dogs and the rest of the place to ourselves. We fixed Lime flavored Ramen noodles and looked out over the back yard, across the golf course, over the valley, past the mesas and to the San Juans setting in the sun. Even though the van was in the shop and we had to drive around in his mom's blue Crown Victoria that looks like a police car, it was so much fun. We'd watch the only cable network we could get on her TV, drink African tea we bought in Telluride that made us sleepy, and laugh our heads off at The Discovery Channel like we were stoned college students. When we weren't eating the Ramen noodles, we got take out Chinese. But our favorite place was the Buffalo Wings place. Those wings were so good, and you could get them in all shades of hot. Of course, like all good things, it was gone the next year.

2000 I hadn't showered as the water in the motel on Lake Michigan in the UP smelled bad. It was a nice enough place, except for the water. We took the dogs for a walk on the beach, Plato on a leash and Hieronymus without. We still carried him a lot, as this was right after his fall trying to escape the Albatross, the final days of the Albatross in our lives and he nearly kills our dog. We put him on the sand and let him waddle around following us. I think it was very therapeutic for his injured back. He was on steroids and panted very hard. My poor dog. The sand was beautiful, as iron ore ran out of the ground and stained the beach with amazing rainbow colors.

199? 200? We leave the Lincoln Comfort Inn before sunrise. Cold condensation fogs up the window as we head for downtown, across the seedy part of town. Our defroster works full speed, but not without the help of our hands brushing away the steam or ice. The dogs shiver in back, partly from the cold, partly from the anticipation of our next destination. We get our coffee at our favorite coffee shop in the world as the sun starts to make its entry, big styrofoam cups of rich tasty brew to fuel our veins across the plains and prairies before our final destination. Depending on whether we travel east or west in I-80, I will either be happy on the start of the second day of our vacation, or depressed because it is the final day.

Labels: Vacation