A Little Break

I took a little break from politics last week. Not a complete break mind you. It’s hard to get away from things like Ossoff and that amazing Washington Post article. But a break nonetheless. 

It felt good.

So, I’ll share that break with you.

We spent a family vacation in Vail. Not a big family vacation as in the past, but big enough. There were 11 of us. Coming from four locations (NC, MA, NH, and DC).

There are two things I learned about Vail:

1. It is very beautiful.
2. It is very high.

Day 1

The first evening I crashed and burned due to altitude sickness.

Day 2

The next morning I went hiking to Booth Falls with my husband and the older “kids”. Booth Falls is 4 miles round trip with a 1200 feet elevation change.

There were several times over the course of the hike I thought I was going to pass out. I was gasping for breath anytime we took a step up. This was the first time I have ever been the weak link physically in a group. It bugged the s***t out of me.

On the way down, I slipped and fell bruising my thigh, scraping my knee and palms, and smashing by tail bone. My husband, who was behind me, claims I bounced three times. I only remember one bounce.

I still can’t sit comfortably.

By the end of the hike, my legs were shaking. I finally realized how bad off I was when I saw that I had made a grammatical faux pas in an Instagram post.

But, I had a blast and it was beautiful.

Day 3

Our event for this day was white water rafting. Some of us planned to go on the level 4 trip and others on the level 2. There are 6 levels to rafting where 6 is considered unnavigable in a raft. Niagara Falls is a 5. I called the rafting place that morning to discuss the soundness of attempting the level 4 while not being able to sit. After having them describe the trip to me as “intense”, I decided to go with the level 2. My husband, who was already on edge about this trip, positively panicked. My sister, who had organized EVERYTHING for this vacation, seemed to be thinking “What am I doing with these people?”

Here is the level 2 trip:

And here is the level 4:

Day 4

On the fourth day, our method of transportation was via all terrain vehicles. By this time, my husband had purchased a donut for me to sit on. I have never been so filthy in my life. We were covered in dirt. I had to scrub my donut when I got back to the hotel.

Day 5

With Susan responsible for scheduling, you don’t get much down time. This was our one day for R&R. It’s also the day that three of the twenty-somethings traveled back to their jobs. (Zach has a break between graduating and his next job.)

Day 6

R&R was over, and we were back to business. This time some crazy adventure park at the top of Vail where we watched the kids dangle 60 feet above our heads. My feet were sweating. Dave was hyperventilating. 

This was the day that Dave got mad at Nicole, and Nicole got mad at Dave. Over a pulled pork sandwich. And then I got annoyed once I overhead Dave tell Sue it was my fault. The look on Sue’s face once again said “What am I doing with these people?” 

 

Day 7

My brother Matt, remotely via text, noted that Sue was resourceful in selecting activities where we took our lives into our hands. Day 7 was no different for Zach and Nicole. They biked down the ski slopes. Zach finished off on a black diamond.

Day 8

The final day consisted of a two hour car ride followed by a four hour plane ride followed by a one hour car ride. While sitting on a donut.

At least I can once again breath while going up small inclines.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll be ready to get back into politics.