Denver 2020: I did it!

I've been back from my Denver Road Trip for a week and I'm just coming up for air. Why is it when you take three days off work you end up working an additional five? 

The trip felt GREAT! Sheldon and I had such a good time. First, we didn't get through our entire Topic List, even though we had five (5) full hours together. I'm not kidding when I say my throat was sore at the end of day one...but I persevered and came back strong day two.

We took 1.5 days to drive to and from Denver (from Minneapolis). It is a total of 891 miles, estimated at 12.5 hours, and we didn't have a need to push through in one day. We made North Platte, Nebraska our overnight stop both ways. So many friends have mentioned North Platte for similar road trips that I couldn't resist. We stayed at Husker Inn, due to the high reviews and cheap rate ($44.99/night), and it was perfect. Nothing special, but it did the job and included free cold breakfast and fabulous service. Pro-tip: They don't have a website so call ahead to book a room instead of going through Booking.com (I hate booking.com). We had breakfast at Penny's diner, where the waitress scared me she was so coarse, but it was a fun experience in a renovated rail car.

Gas Station stop with Mr. Cowboy

Husker inn

Old School Check In

We landed in Denver day two and went straight to Denver Botanic Gardens. It was a great way to get our legs moving, acclimate to the altitude, and see some cool things. 

From there we went downtown Denver where I met my nephew at Denver Central Market for some dinner and a couple drinks while Sheldon went for a massage. The weather was great during the day, but I ended up freezing my ass off while outside (note I was wearing my winter jacket and jean jacket). I imagine it was due to being a bit tired, the altitude adjustment and possibly the liquor. 

Nephew Josh and I

We settled in for the night at Carolanne's Airbnb in Boulder. The place met our needs but Carolanne was a bit uptight (all her notes made me feel like I was a child). The next day we went to Chautauqua Trailhead and did some hiking. I say we did more standing than hiking as it was a strenuous hike for the two of us but it was beautiful. It doubled as a photo shoot for Sheldon as we were trying to get him photos for his dating apps. I just posed next to a snowman as I'm not as motivated as him with the whole dating thing (please send men my way that travel, stand more than hike, are bald and sarcastic). 

Our bodies wanted to nap but our minds said "you only have 48 hours in this town get going" so we cleaned up and went to the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder. We walked, stopped at a dispensary (which isn't as fun now since the "shopping experience is hampered by Covid") and ate at Oak on Fourteenth per the recommendation of Josh. It was a fabulous evening - exactly as we had hoped. 

Pearl Street Mall is famous for artists. There were very few, I imagine due to Covid, but we came across @DreamPoetForHire. Twenty (20) of the 24 topics on our Topic List were about relationships and love, so when he asked for a topic I picked "partners". I thought his poem was perfect. 

@DreamPoetForHire

A Dating Profile Keeper

The next morning we had breakfast in our car (literally), which included yummy bloody marys, because we couldn't find a seat at a restaurant. Covid sucks. We drove back to Denver and stopped at the Red Rocks Amphitheater. We actually ended up spending a couple hours just observing the space, having a drink and dreaming about going to a live show again some day. As soon as Red Rock opens I'm flying out - I don't care who the artist is I just want to experience this view. 

Red Rock Amphitheater

Not Sure if Dating Profile Worthy - But Cute

That afternoon we got on the road for North Platte and simply reversed the course that brought us to Colorado. Sheldon got his donuts and I got my diet Mountain Dew along the way and we tried hard to knock items off our Topic List.

Go Vote!!

I want to point out both of us felt safe along the journey. It doesn't need to be said that masking is political, so adherence to the CDC recommendation depends on the state you enter, but we both felt safe keeping our distance from those that weren't wearing them and road tripping allows you to keep your distance, if you so wish. 

This trip met all our desires of getting away, spending time with one another, seeing some mountains and dipping our toes into the world beyond the Twin Cities. I'm thankful to my travel buddy Sheldon for making this happen.

Thanks for following along my friends. I'm not sure why my views jumped from 70,000 eight months ago to 160,392 today, but I'm thinking it may have to do with people "travelling through blogs" due to shitty Covid. If you are new, welcome! My goal is to motivate you to get out and explore this great world we live in - of course safely. Travel truly does give you perspective to different cultures and forces you to look at the world differently. 

If you are from America...please vote November 3 and if you need info please hit me up (I'm an poll worker - aka Election Judge)!

As I mentioned in my previous post I am re-starting my travel life post-Covid so watch for updates soon. Damn I miss traveling. 

Statistics:

• Days: Five (5)
• Countries: One (1)
• States: Four (4)
• Miles: 2,142
• Views on blog: 160,392...from 71,161 in December 2019 (What?!!)
• Hours of Talking: Ninety-five (95)
• Total expenses: $1,071,55 (tracking via Cost Split app...LOVE that thing!)
• Cost of Lodging: $242.11
• Cost of gas (estimated at $2.25/gallon - cheap): $174.54

Covid Road Trip to the Mile High City!

I hate Covid-19. I'm sure no one loves Covid but I want it on the record...I hate Covid. To avoid sounding pretentious I want to acknowledge I sympathize with everyone impacted negatively by Covid. I'm sorry. But this is a travel blog so I'm using this post to document my travel impacts during this unprecedented time in history. 

I cancelled five (5) trips for that damn virus. Five. A week in Phoenix, a week in Orlando, a weekend in Vegas to celebrate my daughter's 21st birthday, a week in Cuba and two weeks camping in the middle of the desert experiencing Burning Man (for those concerned, I had a camper rented so it wasn't really camping). This doesn't begin to mention the trips I had planned but not yet booked. 

I clearly remember cancelling my first trip on March 19, which was a solo trip to Phoenix. I did so only because I thought I would be travel-shamed. I was simply going to hang by the pool drawing out the last days of winter so I figured I would take one for the team. Wow...how things changed rapidly. It is important to note on March 18, just a day prior to cancelling that trip, I bought a ticket to Burning Man which is held Labor Day weekend. I said "If Burning Man gets cancelled, which isn't until Labor Day, we are all f*cked". It was cancelled. 

I am now six (6) months from that first cancellation and I must admit my new normal feels...normal. I had a fantastic summer hanging at the pool, walking in newly discovered parks with friends, and having more phone conversations than I have had over the past six years. There are some good things that have come out of this pandemic no doubt. 

Today I am re-starting my travel life post-Covid. I am hitting the road with my friend Sheldon for a road trip to Denver. Why? No reason other than to get away, dip our toes into the world beyond the Twin Cities, view some mountains and most likely stop at a dispensary. 

You may remember Sheldon from a previous post when we went to Cancun. Ahhhh...Cancun. Remember the beaches, sun and all those frosty drinks? Wake up Rae Ann!!! Oh yes, I digress. For curious minds Sheldon and I's relationship has changed. Our friendship has grown stronger and I agree with our mutual friend when she says "you two are besties". I'll cut through the bullshit - we are no longer lovers. But I am grateful we navigated through the challenges of figuring out how we are best for one another and I am beyond excited he continues as my travel buddy. 

So here we are driving 12 hours to a city where flying would cost much less. It is a weird weird world we are living in. But I am excited to get back into travel, revisit some beautiful parts of this country, and get some "good old fashion behind-the-wheel" time with my bestie. We started a "Topic List" and I'm worried 24 hours will not be enough time 

Final Post: South Padre Island

This will be my final post of the trip. During lunch today we evaluated the week. We agreed traveling the week of Christmas is nice. Compared to an all-inclusive in Mexico the girls agreed this was better because we are able to keep busy doing things. They aren't into the beach-chair-reading scene as much as I am, and I get that.

Yesterday Paradis and I visited Sea Turtle, Inc. It is a really nice rescue center. Afterwards the three of us walked the beach, hung out at the pool and watched the sunset.

Today the weather wasn't great. It was warm but cloudy and foggy. We had lunch at the Painted Marlin so Paradis could get her seafood fix. After that we hung out at the apartment and did our thing. I washed all the sheets and towels in our Airbnb. That is part of my thing.

Ceviche and a Bloody

Our Airbnb host has been fabulous! We arrived on Christmas Eve at 9pm, after all the grocery stores were closed, so our host picked up an order for us from Walmart. That was fabulous since all the grocery stores were closed the following day as well. Because our flight wasn't until 9pm today she let us stay in the apartment until as late as we wanted. I would definitely recommend this place. It was a quick walk to the beach and had plenty of space. 

Our last meal was well planned out, as we wanted to experience a Whataburger. 

Overall, this was a great week. I love hanging out with my girls. I made a couple connections on the island regarding some rentals, and even went and looked at a one-bedroom on the water. I could see myself coming down here for a few weeks over the winter. It is very quiet but the prices are pretty reasonable. We shall see.

Happy travels my friends and Happy New Year!

Statistics:

• Days: Six (6)
• Countries: Two (2)
• States: Two (2)
• Miles: 4,437
• Views on blog: 71,161

Day Three & Four: Turtle Release and Mexico

The last couple days have been pretty chill on the island. Thursday the girls and I attended a sea turtle release.

After the release we went to Walmart to resupply food and drinks and settled our butts back on the beach. It was beautiful out, although a bit too chilly to go in the water. Paradis and I finished our books and Annelies settled into her video zone on the beach. 

Friday we made our way to Mexico. We were told Progresso was the best place to cross. We stopped at the bank for change and drove for about an hour-and-a-half avoiding the toll roads since going on them in a rental gives you a $30 penalty...hate that! It was nice to drive the back roads and see the agriculture and small towns.

We set our GPS for Progresso International Bridge and easily saw parking for only $2. We crossed into Mexico by paying $1, in quarters. No guards. No passport check. I guess they didn't care if we entered.

Annelies gets anxious in crowds and being in Mexico where the streets are very crowded with vendors and people are constantly asking you to buy stuff almost puts her over the edge. I'm proud of her for going. We stopped at the Red Panty Bar (yep, that was the name) for $4 margaritas and churros.

The majority of the stores are dentists or pharmacies. You can tell lots of older Americans are crossing over - it is definitely not marketed toward young spring breakers! Although I'm not on any prescriptions I couldn't help wondering if I should be buy some just in case. We purchased some candy, a couple scarves and couple small bottles of tequila.

To get off the streets we settled in for $12 pedicures. Lovely.

Next up was lunch at Pancho's Bar for some yummy food and a few more drinks. The country music in the background enhanced the atmosphere and we had a really good time. 

Crossing back into the states was pretty simple. They had two lines - with documentation (e.g., passports) and without. The wait was only about fifteen minutes since we had passports. It was a great day and I would definitely recommended going over for a bit of entertainment and cheap food and drinks (as well as some dental work if you need that sort of thing!). 

Carbon Offsetting

I'm interrupting this regularly scheduled program to give you an environmentally friendly post.

If you are a long-time follower of my blog you know I like to travel. A lot. You may not know though that I am also a Master Recycler - a regular citizen who gets excited about waste reduction and inspiring others to make environmentally-friendly choices.

Air travel is the furthest thing from being an environmentally-friendly choice. I know that. I think about it often. I have actually lost sleep over it. I realize all this but drive a Prius, work from home keeping my daily commute to nothing, compost in a home that requires me to drive my garbage to a off-site location, do not use paper towels (cloths only) or Kleenexes (hankies only) and bring my own containers for leftovers when eating out. I work hard to reduce waste and make better choices. But what about my air travel? I can't "hybrid it"...but I can offset it.

Every time I fly I offset the environmental impact of my flight by protecting forests and supporting communities. I realize this is nothing compared to Greta Thunberg sailing across the Atlantic, but at least I am doing something. And admittedly, it makes me feel better.

Interested in offsetting the environmental impact of your flight as well? Great! There are several sites you can use, but I'll be honest in saying the information is overwhelming. There are so many organizations getting into this game, along with regulatory non-profits, and I do not have the energy to keep up. So regardless of what airline I fly I use Delta's offset link hoping they have someone on their team that is doing all that ground work. Click here to visit Delta's site. For this trip the girls and I contributed 1.267 metric tons of CO2 to the atmosphere (sorry Mother Earth) and therefore donated $10.14 to the Southern Cardomom REDD+Project. It doesn't cost a fortune and helps me sleep at night.

Happy (carbon offsetting) travels my friends!

The Delta site tells you how your Total CO2 Emissions

Our Carbon Offset Beneficiary

Day Two: Christmas on the Island

Merry Christmas to my friends that celebrate! We landed in Harlingen Texas late on the evening of Christmas Eve and seamlessly made our way to South Padre Island and settled into our Airbnb. The girls satisfied my need to take a photo next to the city sign.

Christmas day we slept in a bit and made our way to the beach, which isn't more than a two block walk. The weather here is beautiful. It was sunny and warm. It is always a transition when you leave frigid temperatures to figure out what to wear. It is almost as if you don't trust the thermometer but instead need to just test the air. We walked back to the condo and sat by the pool for a bit.

We showered and made our way to Isla Grand Beach Resort for their Christmas Buffet. It was a beautiful view overlooking the pool and beach, the food was great, and the company was perfect.

After dinner we walked through the "World's Largest Sand Castle" display. These things are just amazing to me. Snow sculptures are the same, albeit much colder upon viewing. We returned to our condo where we all took naps and despite our goal of walking the beach or going out for some southern dancing our butts never left the sofa. The night ended as it should have with my two favorite people.