5 days and counting until Vacation!

August 28, 2010

Cumbres & Toltec Train


6 days and counting — until Vacation

August 27, 2010

New Mexico, North of Santa Fe.

Driving North out of Santa Fe on the road to Pagosa Springs the scenery is beautiful.  This is truely Georgia O’Keefe country.


7 days to vacation and counting

August 26, 2010

Rio Grande in Northern New Mexico.

7 days until vacation and counting!!! In State College Pa. on business so I missed blogging the last couple of days.  If you are ever near Santa Fe you should take a side trip to Taos.  The Rio Grande gorge there is well worth the the trip.


10 days until the Vacation

August 24, 2010

Looking out my back door in Pagosa Springs

This is the balcony view from where we will be staying in Pagosa Springs. 105% in Dallas today and 79% in Pagosa Springs — I can’t wait!!!!


Vacation in 11 days

August 22, 2010

11 days until our vacation starts!! We know where we are staying every night of the vacation and Saturday night we have tickets to the Pagosa Springs Folk Festival to see Ricky Skaggs.  Otherwise, we have no plans.  I am torn between developing a plan of things to do to fill up the time or just playing it by ear.  Maybe the middle road is the best alternative.  Tomorrow I will start searching the Internet to find at least a list of things to do if we want to.

Also, I paid for the Folk Festival tickets but all I have is a receipt from Pay Pal.  Should I just show up with the receipt or do I need something else?  I am thinking I need something else. Will check on that tomorrow also.

Parting thought of the day — work is getting in the way of planning this vacation.  I have been working 80 hour weeks 6 or 7 days a week.  Need to find a way to resolve this next year!!


Planning a vacation

August 13, 2010

I have heard that planning a vacation is more fun than actually taking a vacation.  Don’t know if that is true. However, I do know I am having a blast planning our trip to Pagosa Springs Co. and Flagstaff Az. the 1st week of September.  Maybe the expectation of the vacation gives you a high.  At least I have something positive to look forward to besides another day off 100+% temperatures

This year I plan to blog planning the vacation the next 3 weeks as well during the vacation.  My goal is this will help my writing skills — we will see what we will see.

To date we have worked out our itinerary, planned how we are getting there, and where we are staying.  I don’t have a lot of time to plan because work is eating my lunch right now (if an alien or a computer read this would they/it understand?).  Since vacation starts on September 2 I need to get serious about the plan.  Our current plans are:

  • 09/02 – Pick up rental car at DFW and drive to Palo Duro Canyon and campout at the State Park.  Do some major hiking.  This is one of the big 12 state park hikes.  I have a goal to do all 12 before I am too old.  This is the 1st so I better get hiking.
  • 09/03 – Drive to Albuquerque.  Gwen flies in from Dallas.  Stay at the Hilton Garden Inn by the airport
  • 09/04 – Drive to Pagosa Spring.  We are staying at the Wyndham Pagosa Springs Timeshare. Also going to the Pagosa Springs folk festival Saturday night.  Ricky Skaggs is in concert.
  • 09/04 – 09/07 – Staying in Pagosa Springs 4 nights and leave the morning of the 8th.  No plans yet.
  • 09/08 – Drive to Flagstaff.  Staying at the Wyndham Timeshare in Flagstaff.
  • 09/08 – 09/10 – Staying in Flagstaff 3 nights; leave the morning of the 11th
  • 09/11 – Drive to Amarillo;   Staying at the Hilton Garden Inn
  • 09/12 – Drive home and recover from the vacation.

Younger daughter’s destination wedding in Cancun

May 11, 2010
Sara's wedding resort - The Royal, Cancun

Gwen lounging by the pool

Just returned from younger daughter’s destination wedding at The Royal in Cancun.  It is a all inclusive  adults only result and is top shelf.  Never been to Cancun before but we will definitely return.  Can’t beat a place like this to simply relax and de-stress!


My Avocation

April 19, 2010

I am reading a book “Work Less, Live More” trying to determine how to wean myself from working for 40 some years and figure out what I am going to do when I retire. I see too many people retire and do nothing! Anyway, the book has numerous exercises. The current exercise is on Avocation. I always thought my Avocation was my job but I was wrong. The dictionary definition is: “An activity taken up in addition to one’s regular work or profession, usually for enjoyment; a hobby.” So, my Avocation can’t be Systems Engineer — why not? Activities besides work I enjoy a lot in no particular order are:

  • Programming – a creative act
  • Gardening – another creative act
  • Photography
  • Exercise
  • Reading

In theory, I need to work on enablers to turn my Avocations into a revenue stream to help in retirement. I believe the most likely candidate is “programming” and then maybe “gardening”. “Reading” does not often pay much unless you are an editor. I am studying PHP and plan on becoming proficient in that area. In parallel I will network to find some volunteer work in this area.


Traveling Man

March 21, 2010

I have been on the road for a month now and am ready to be home.  Actually I have been in Denver for a month working including the weekends.  More than ready to be home!! Miss the wife, the kids, the grandkids, the dog, the neighbors, and the home!!  Like Dorothy says “Toto – there is no place like home!”

One huge problem when you are traveling is what you don’t get done at home.  Just before I left noticed one of the toliets does not quite shut off and the outside faucet on the patio leaks a little when I turn it on – probably because of he record low temperatures in February.  Also, I need to do taxes bad.  On top of all that Spring has arrived in Dallas and I need to be digging up winter plants, putting in the Summer plants.  While I am on the subject of landscapes I need to do something permanent to the  Northeast corner of the house landscape!  And no telling what my better half has not told me because she does not want me to worry.

So farewell beautiful Denver, but I am more than ready to be Home!


Tattered Cover Bookstore

February 28, 2010

If you are ever in Denver and like books the Tattered Cover Bookstore is a must do event!  There are several locations but I visited the one on Colfax avenue.  It contains a huge variety of books with plenty of well worn sofas and chairs to lounge around in while reviewing books.  It also has one of the largest periodical sections I have ever encountered.  I spent 2 hours there and could have stayed much longer.  I bought the latest copy of Wired while I was there just because I felt guilty having spent so much time in the store!