Epic Holiday part 1
Woo wee! I've been looking forward to blogging this since it started! Lets hope I can remember everything I want to tell you guys about!
My dearest friend Emma (MissSBird here on the net) flew in from Scotland on the 5th of September. It'd been three years since we last saw eachother, and did any sort of visits. While this is her third time to the states, and to my home town, it was definitely the best yet! I'm planning a visit to her already in 2014 and she's due to return in 2016.
Emma and I met on Horsecity.com forums. I was 13 at the time, and she was 15, my we've grown up so much! Anyway, enough backstory. On to the adventures which include; car troubles, long distance drives, mustangs, rain, concert, a festival, Nan Desu Kan (anime con up here), zip lining and zoos!
09/05/12
Emma was due to arrive at 6:45. I got off of work at 4:30 and she'd already been nearly an hour delayed. My mother volunteered to come along and keep me company since I get anxious while driving in cities and it now came to be a bit of a wait in the airport. We drove down and got lost pretty easily in Denver Airport. It's under construction right now and parking is a bit of a pain in the rear. Turning around is not a simple move!
Having 45 minutes to wait until she even landed (Flight in from London, so she got to go through customs!) I sipped on coffee and hung around the international arrival section. Stalking my ipod for any texts and awaiting her arrival anxiously. Well, nearer to 8:30 she finally appeared! Without luggage.
We glomped, squeed, and there were a tiny bit of tears. Turns out she had a very close flight (her Glasgow flight was delayed) and her bag hadn't made it. They'd deliver it to us the next day, but still! Eek!
Her carry on made it fine, which was the important part. But we'll get to that later!
Soon we headed out to get a late dinner, Perkins was the destination because Emma fell in love with their Chicken Noodle soup years ago. Sadly they were out this time, so we settled on a appetizer platter to split, pancakes, and muffins.
I have no idea what time we actually finally got home, but it wasn't too late. She unpacked, handed out some presents, and crashed. I must say, the only jewelry I ever wear is a gift from her or her mother. I don't buy it, I don't go out enough to ever consider wearing it.
Anyway...
09/06/12
Still missing luggage, she borrowed some of my clothes. We're not really the same size, three inches difference and completely different body types, but it worked well. We took our time, had a Cinnamon french toast breakfast with bacon and headed out to go riding..
Emma rode Asher, a Polish Arabian over at the stables I ride at. He's my usual mount, standing at an adorable 14.2hh (maybe a tiny bit shorter...). The barn manager had repeatedly told me we'd not be able to ride, but we were welcome to visit. We hung out, watched him work with a youngster, and then were offered to ride. We jumped on the chance and soon had Asher and McGuyver saddled up. I've never ridden McGuyver and he's a bit bigger than Asher (by a couple of hands I bet!). Anyway, I quite enjoyed riding the gelding. Sadly I didn't expect to ride so didn't bring my camera. Emma relaxed right into Western riding once I gave her a few steering tips. Fun morning!
Next! We went hiking. We choose Gem Lake as it was easy to get to, not overly busy, and fairly close by. It's only a 1.7mile hike one way, but the last .7 miles really gets to you. I warned her there was a spot where you're wondering if it's really worth it, and that's when you know you're near the top. It was true!
The view from partway up.
Taking a break by Paul Bunyan's Boot.
We spent some time up at the top, enjoying the cool water on our feet, and discussing plans for the holiday. Eventually hiking down as the storm clouds rolled in behind us. I wish it wasn't so hazy, I'm not really sure where the smoke is blowing in from, but the sky was never entirely clear.
That evening was the kickoff to the Scottish Irish Highland Festival. Emma purchased tickets for us both to go, so we went! It wasn't quite as epic as I'd expect it to be, but it was quite nice to watch the drill teams. The announcer kind of ruined it, as did the TV crew who couldn't stop talking during silent times. The music was ok, the drummers were awesome, and it was in tribute to WW1. So that was interesting to see. They don't actually tell you on the website what it's honoring, so I may be wrong with that.
09/07/12
Friday! This day we went to that Scottish Irish Highland Festival.
We woke up bright and early and headed down to the festival grounds before they were busy. Wandered around and pretty much ate all day.
Around noon we went over to the jousting tent to watch the light armor, left, and came back to watch the heavy. It wasn't nearly as epic as recent years, there were no grudges being settled on the field. Just lots of trainees and returning losers. Which is horrible of me to say, but I didn't see any big names other than Shane Adams.
Sadly no fun pictures, in traditional weather, we had rain and lots of clouds. At one point in time it was actually a bit cold.
The horses got to come say hi after jousting though, and they were quite friendly!
That evening we went off to the Health Club to steal their aerobics room and let Emma demo her costume and practice her routine for a contest the following weekend.
It was a good thing we did that, as when we pulled into the parking lot we smelt something pretty nasty...and saw smoke coming from my recently repaired Acura. I figured it couldn't be something too big, but would call the shop and see what they could do when we got home.
Practice went well and we were able to spot the upcoming problems and think of ways to fix them. It was good for her to have an 'audience' and she listened to all of my suggestions and took them to heart. I think this year we communicated better than ever!
Upon returning home, I called the car shop and they agreed to take a look at it in the morning. I stressed my point of needing it ready to go nearly 200 miles on Monday, and they said they'd get it done.
09/08/12
We drove the car into the shop and had it looked at quite quickly. Having been in that shop with all of our cars pretty constantly that year, they remembered us and gave us speedy service. The bad news? The rear calibur breaks had gone bad, and the brand new radiator (from the previous owner) was leaking. Yay. The brakes themselves were brand new, so they offered to do it free of labor charges. But they couldn't get the part until Monday afternoon. Great. Fine. I was only planning on ZipLining on Monday, but that reservation could be changed. No big deal. Right? Keep reading.
So we drive the car back home, it'd be another fairly expensive fix, but I didn't really have an option at the time. None of the car rental places had cars available or would answer their phones. So fix my car please!!
The day was mostly spent wasted, fixing costumes, packing bags, playing with animals and taking it easy. We were pretty grounded due the the car thing, I can't drive a stick, and the Toyota's steering is going. Not a good thing on mountainous roads.
That evening we dressed up to head out to the Celitc Concert. Sponsored by my mother who bought Emma and I tickets fairly last minute. I have to admit, Emma can be amazingly beautiful when she tries, I really enjoyed having her randomly model for me whenever I was fawning over her.
At the concert, alcohol was had in impressive quantities in short periods of time. We were immature and silly, and really only got up to bounce/dance at the very end. Previously wandering off and devouring Fish and Chips from the proper bar/restaurant around the corner.
Yay for alcohol allergies!
We came home around 11pm, and turned on 300 to wind down. Yeah, we're strange. We ended up ignoring most of the movie as we had girly time and discussed things that you probably shouldn't talk about while drunk. Though by then the alcohol was wearing off and it was more of tipsy discussions and random cuddles.
09/09/12
We were suppose to be heading into my job around 10am, so having stayed up quite late, we should be ok to get up around 9.
Bzzt.
I get woken by my dad around 6:30, informing me that my boss will be by to pick us up closer to 8:30. Fine. I crawl my butt out of bed (yay, headaches!) and get myself sorted. Prodding Emma and dragging her out of bed. He arrives around 9 and we're put to work writing numbers. There's a large group of people traveling and our job is to direct and count them. Getting everyone loaded onto the bus so they can get transported up to the Camp they're staying at. I did volunteer to work with her that day, but ugh! What a long day!
We arrived to the airport fairly early, drawing signs, sorting people, and getting to work. Emma's sign was awesome, you could read it from very very far away. She did a good job holding it and directing people over to me, where I'd check them in and watch their bags so they could run off and do whatever needed done.
They never stopped coming! Four or five bus's later, it was our turn to come home. We got out of there around 4:15 but our regular shuttle driver was a bit slow. I ended up doing my job some more in the van ride home, calling the office and playing the middle man while we drove in circles looking for someone who should be there. Overall it was fairly uneventful. But hey, extra money was nice. I was even able to get my paycheck early!
We came home and twiddled our thumbs, watching more movies and changing plans and directions around.
That's it for part one, make sure you check out part two!
My dearest friend Emma (MissSBird here on the net) flew in from Scotland on the 5th of September. It'd been three years since we last saw eachother, and did any sort of visits. While this is her third time to the states, and to my home town, it was definitely the best yet! I'm planning a visit to her already in 2014 and she's due to return in 2016.
Emma and I met on Horsecity.com forums. I was 13 at the time, and she was 15, my we've grown up so much! Anyway, enough backstory. On to the adventures which include; car troubles, long distance drives, mustangs, rain, concert, a festival, Nan Desu Kan (anime con up here), zip lining and zoos!
09/05/12
Emma was due to arrive at 6:45. I got off of work at 4:30 and she'd already been nearly an hour delayed. My mother volunteered to come along and keep me company since I get anxious while driving in cities and it now came to be a bit of a wait in the airport. We drove down and got lost pretty easily in Denver Airport. It's under construction right now and parking is a bit of a pain in the rear. Turning around is not a simple move!
Having 45 minutes to wait until she even landed (Flight in from London, so she got to go through customs!) I sipped on coffee and hung around the international arrival section. Stalking my ipod for any texts and awaiting her arrival anxiously. Well, nearer to 8:30 she finally appeared! Without luggage.
We glomped, squeed, and there were a tiny bit of tears. Turns out she had a very close flight (her Glasgow flight was delayed) and her bag hadn't made it. They'd deliver it to us the next day, but still! Eek!
Her carry on made it fine, which was the important part. But we'll get to that later!
Soon we headed out to get a late dinner, Perkins was the destination because Emma fell in love with their Chicken Noodle soup years ago. Sadly they were out this time, so we settled on a appetizer platter to split, pancakes, and muffins.
I have no idea what time we actually finally got home, but it wasn't too late. She unpacked, handed out some presents, and crashed. I must say, the only jewelry I ever wear is a gift from her or her mother. I don't buy it, I don't go out enough to ever consider wearing it.
Anyway...
09/06/12
Still missing luggage, she borrowed some of my clothes. We're not really the same size, three inches difference and completely different body types, but it worked well. We took our time, had a Cinnamon french toast breakfast with bacon and headed out to go riding..
Emma rode Asher, a Polish Arabian over at the stables I ride at. He's my usual mount, standing at an adorable 14.2hh (maybe a tiny bit shorter...). The barn manager had repeatedly told me we'd not be able to ride, but we were welcome to visit. We hung out, watched him work with a youngster, and then were offered to ride. We jumped on the chance and soon had Asher and McGuyver saddled up. I've never ridden McGuyver and he's a bit bigger than Asher (by a couple of hands I bet!). Anyway, I quite enjoyed riding the gelding. Sadly I didn't expect to ride so didn't bring my camera. Emma relaxed right into Western riding once I gave her a few steering tips. Fun morning!
Next! We went hiking. We choose Gem Lake as it was easy to get to, not overly busy, and fairly close by. It's only a 1.7mile hike one way, but the last .7 miles really gets to you. I warned her there was a spot where you're wondering if it's really worth it, and that's when you know you're near the top. It was true!
The view from partway up.
Taking a break by Paul Bunyan's Boot.
We spent some time up at the top, enjoying the cool water on our feet, and discussing plans for the holiday. Eventually hiking down as the storm clouds rolled in behind us. I wish it wasn't so hazy, I'm not really sure where the smoke is blowing in from, but the sky was never entirely clear.
That evening was the kickoff to the Scottish Irish Highland Festival. Emma purchased tickets for us both to go, so we went! It wasn't quite as epic as I'd expect it to be, but it was quite nice to watch the drill teams. The announcer kind of ruined it, as did the TV crew who couldn't stop talking during silent times. The music was ok, the drummers were awesome, and it was in tribute to WW1. So that was interesting to see. They don't actually tell you on the website what it's honoring, so I may be wrong with that.
09/07/12
Friday! This day we went to that Scottish Irish Highland Festival.
We woke up bright and early and headed down to the festival grounds before they were busy. Wandered around and pretty much ate all day.
Around noon we went over to the jousting tent to watch the light armor, left, and came back to watch the heavy. It wasn't nearly as epic as recent years, there were no grudges being settled on the field. Just lots of trainees and returning losers. Which is horrible of me to say, but I didn't see any big names other than Shane Adams.
Sadly no fun pictures, in traditional weather, we had rain and lots of clouds. At one point in time it was actually a bit cold.
The horses got to come say hi after jousting though, and they were quite friendly!
That evening we went off to the Health Club to steal their aerobics room and let Emma demo her costume and practice her routine for a contest the following weekend.
It was a good thing we did that, as when we pulled into the parking lot we smelt something pretty nasty...and saw smoke coming from my recently repaired Acura. I figured it couldn't be something too big, but would call the shop and see what they could do when we got home.
Practice went well and we were able to spot the upcoming problems and think of ways to fix them. It was good for her to have an 'audience' and she listened to all of my suggestions and took them to heart. I think this year we communicated better than ever!
Upon returning home, I called the car shop and they agreed to take a look at it in the morning. I stressed my point of needing it ready to go nearly 200 miles on Monday, and they said they'd get it done.
09/08/12
We drove the car into the shop and had it looked at quite quickly. Having been in that shop with all of our cars pretty constantly that year, they remembered us and gave us speedy service. The bad news? The rear calibur breaks had gone bad, and the brand new radiator (from the previous owner) was leaking. Yay. The brakes themselves were brand new, so they offered to do it free of labor charges. But they couldn't get the part until Monday afternoon. Great. Fine. I was only planning on ZipLining on Monday, but that reservation could be changed. No big deal. Right? Keep reading.
So we drive the car back home, it'd be another fairly expensive fix, but I didn't really have an option at the time. None of the car rental places had cars available or would answer their phones. So fix my car please!!
The day was mostly spent wasted, fixing costumes, packing bags, playing with animals and taking it easy. We were pretty grounded due the the car thing, I can't drive a stick, and the Toyota's steering is going. Not a good thing on mountainous roads.
That evening we dressed up to head out to the Celitc Concert. Sponsored by my mother who bought Emma and I tickets fairly last minute. I have to admit, Emma can be amazingly beautiful when she tries, I really enjoyed having her randomly model for me whenever I was fawning over her.
At the concert, alcohol was had in impressive quantities in short periods of time. We were immature and silly, and really only got up to bounce/dance at the very end. Previously wandering off and devouring Fish and Chips from the proper bar/restaurant around the corner.
Yay for alcohol allergies!
We came home around 11pm, and turned on 300 to wind down. Yeah, we're strange. We ended up ignoring most of the movie as we had girly time and discussed things that you probably shouldn't talk about while drunk. Though by then the alcohol was wearing off and it was more of tipsy discussions and random cuddles.
09/09/12
We were suppose to be heading into my job around 10am, so having stayed up quite late, we should be ok to get up around 9.
Bzzt.
I get woken by my dad around 6:30, informing me that my boss will be by to pick us up closer to 8:30. Fine. I crawl my butt out of bed (yay, headaches!) and get myself sorted. Prodding Emma and dragging her out of bed. He arrives around 9 and we're put to work writing numbers. There's a large group of people traveling and our job is to direct and count them. Getting everyone loaded onto the bus so they can get transported up to the Camp they're staying at. I did volunteer to work with her that day, but ugh! What a long day!
We arrived to the airport fairly early, drawing signs, sorting people, and getting to work. Emma's sign was awesome, you could read it from very very far away. She did a good job holding it and directing people over to me, where I'd check them in and watch their bags so they could run off and do whatever needed done.
They never stopped coming! Four or five bus's later, it was our turn to come home. We got out of there around 4:15 but our regular shuttle driver was a bit slow. I ended up doing my job some more in the van ride home, calling the office and playing the middle man while we drove in circles looking for someone who should be there. Overall it was fairly uneventful. But hey, extra money was nice. I was even able to get my paycheck early!
We came home and twiddled our thumbs, watching more movies and changing plans and directions around.
That's it for part one, make sure you check out part two!