Memorial Day weekend was an eventful weekend, to say the least. It began early Saturday morning, as a certain someone thought it would be "awesome" to leave by 6 in the morning to drive through the mountains for a three hour trip to Glenwood Springs, in the middle of the Rocky Mountains. Granted, it was a gorgeous drive, I just fail to see why leaving at 6AM was necessary. That said, we did make a stop at Starbucks, which made things a little more tolerable... Actually, I'm being dramatic. For some unknown reason, I was wide awake before the alarm went off at 5:30.
The drive was gorgeous. We drove through both Vail and Aspen, and a few times, reached altitudes where there was still plenty of snow on the ground. In other places, mountainsides and meadows were in full bloom, and the lakes we passed were breathtaking.
Our first real activity after arriving in Glenwood Springs and meeting up with Andy's friends, was white water rafting. I had always wanted to do this, and when Andy asked if I'd be up for it physically, I said I'd make it work! It's definitely not the kind of thing I'd be advised to do by any medical professional, given the state of my health and the fact that I have a loose piece of bone hanging out in my spine. But I was determined to do it, and made sure my back brace was cinched as tightly as it could be without actually suffocating me. When we got to the river, our guide asked for a couple of volunteers to sit at the front of the boat. In other words, he needed volunteers to sit in the scariest spot, and take the most water up their noses. Of course, I was immediately like, "Ooh! Pick us! Pick us!" As no one else was volunteering, they picked us. Andy normally would not have opted for the front, but he knew he was dating a Dauntless, so he managed to allow his Erudite self to sit in the front.
We got going, and boy, was that a ride! There were several times we'd come up to some rapids, and Andy and I could see the several foot drops into the rocks, and we would yell, "OH CRAP!" As we were thrust into the rocks and assaulted by walls of water in our faces. I should probably also mention that the water was about 40 degrees. Talk about cold! After two hours of bouncing out of our seats, holding on for dear life, and having so much water shoved up my nose I wondered if I was going to drown while in the boat, we made it to the end of the trip, and we all went back to our hotel to change. We went out to eat later, and how Andy's friends still had energy left after that to keep going while Andy and I decided to call it a night, I will never know. Sitting at the bar in that restaurant, I realized I had never in my life been simultaneously ravenous and so exhausted I was in pain from being so tired. Usually, I'm exhausted, but I'm more hungry than tired, so I eat and then go to bed. Other times, I'm very hungry, but I'm more exhausted than hungry, so I go to sleep without food. But this time, I was so hungry and so tired, that I simultaneously wanted nothing but sleep, and nothing but food. It's an odd feeling, let me tell you. Add to that the odd lady sitting next to Andy who decided to make us her best friends and talk to us about everything under the sun, and we had a bit of an odd night.
I slept through breakfast the next day, because...EXHAUSTED. Once I got up, I started taking inventory of my bruises from rafting the day before. My word. That was a LOT of bruises. I looked like I had been mugged! Andy kept patting my knee and I'd yelp in pain for about a week after that. I still say it was worth every bruise and every sore muscle!
The day after rafting, we went to the amusement park there in town, which is built on the top of a mountain. Roller coasters at 10,000 feet? Yes, please! I again wore my brace, as I was participating in activities no doctor or physical therapist in their right mind would clear me for. But my brace proved extremely effective, and I suffered no more than a few more bruises and sore muscles. We went on a barn door swing that went way over the side of the mountain, with nothing but the town and the Colorado river several thousand feet below. We also went on the more typical carnival swings that again went out over the edge of the mountain. It was an exhilarating feeling to be swinging out over nothing. I loved it.
At the end of the day, we went for a soak in the Glenwood hot springs. That was a lot of fun, and very relaxing. I will give you one piece of advice, though: Do not drink an individual sized box of wine (equivalent to three glasses of wine) on an empty stomach, at 8,000 feet, while in a hot springs, and in a mere 20 minutes. Nothing bad happened, I just...wouldn't recommend it. After that, we again went for dinner, and then said goodbye to Andy's friends, as we wouldn't be seeing them in the morning.
We headed home the next day, and while I was popping Ibuprofen like candy, the drive was nice. Not only does that weekend hold a lot of great memories for me, but I also love the decisions I made. The decision to go on a trip with just Andy, and four other people I had never met. That's never a comfortable thought for me. I'm not great with people, and I'm definitely not great with new people. Between being a highly introverted INTJ, Autistic, with Anxiety disorder, and a bit of an unusual past, it's just never very comfortable. Not only did I go on a trip with a bunch of strangers, but I also decided to go white water rafting and to go on various rides, all of which pose a threat to my back. I broke my back nearly 20 years ago, and in that time, I have been extremely careful, mostly because I have had to be. But not only have I just been careful because I have needed to be, I have also avoided risks because of what could happen. And while there is a time and place for that, I do finally have a brace that is extraordinarily effective. I decided that the risks, with that brace, were worth taking. I wasn't going to let the "what ifs" keep me from doing things that are very much me. Dauntless things. Things I have wanted to do since I was a small child. And guess what? My courage paid off. My refusal to let a possible, but unlikely, outcome daunt me, resulted in some amazing experiences and memories I will love forever.
Hopefully, we'll go rafting once more before the summer is over, and many more times in the years to come. It was SO much fun, and completely worth the soreness and exhaustion after! I think this was the most fun I had had in over a year. Moving to Colorado was the right move. I love it here, and I love all the Dauntless things I can do. I can't wait to do more things in this glorious place!
The drive was gorgeous. We drove through both Vail and Aspen, and a few times, reached altitudes where there was still plenty of snow on the ground. In other places, mountainsides and meadows were in full bloom, and the lakes we passed were breathtaking.
Our first real activity after arriving in Glenwood Springs and meeting up with Andy's friends, was white water rafting. I had always wanted to do this, and when Andy asked if I'd be up for it physically, I said I'd make it work! It's definitely not the kind of thing I'd be advised to do by any medical professional, given the state of my health and the fact that I have a loose piece of bone hanging out in my spine. But I was determined to do it, and made sure my back brace was cinched as tightly as it could be without actually suffocating me. When we got to the river, our guide asked for a couple of volunteers to sit at the front of the boat. In other words, he needed volunteers to sit in the scariest spot, and take the most water up their noses. Of course, I was immediately like, "Ooh! Pick us! Pick us!" As no one else was volunteering, they picked us. Andy normally would not have opted for the front, but he knew he was dating a Dauntless, so he managed to allow his Erudite self to sit in the front.
We got going, and boy, was that a ride! There were several times we'd come up to some rapids, and Andy and I could see the several foot drops into the rocks, and we would yell, "OH CRAP!" As we were thrust into the rocks and assaulted by walls of water in our faces. I should probably also mention that the water was about 40 degrees. Talk about cold! After two hours of bouncing out of our seats, holding on for dear life, and having so much water shoved up my nose I wondered if I was going to drown while in the boat, we made it to the end of the trip, and we all went back to our hotel to change. We went out to eat later, and how Andy's friends still had energy left after that to keep going while Andy and I decided to call it a night, I will never know. Sitting at the bar in that restaurant, I realized I had never in my life been simultaneously ravenous and so exhausted I was in pain from being so tired. Usually, I'm exhausted, but I'm more hungry than tired, so I eat and then go to bed. Other times, I'm very hungry, but I'm more exhausted than hungry, so I go to sleep without food. But this time, I was so hungry and so tired, that I simultaneously wanted nothing but sleep, and nothing but food. It's an odd feeling, let me tell you. Add to that the odd lady sitting next to Andy who decided to make us her best friends and talk to us about everything under the sun, and we had a bit of an odd night.
I slept through breakfast the next day, because...EXHAUSTED. Once I got up, I started taking inventory of my bruises from rafting the day before. My word. That was a LOT of bruises. I looked like I had been mugged! Andy kept patting my knee and I'd yelp in pain for about a week after that. I still say it was worth every bruise and every sore muscle!
The day after rafting, we went to the amusement park there in town, which is built on the top of a mountain. Roller coasters at 10,000 feet? Yes, please! I again wore my brace, as I was participating in activities no doctor or physical therapist in their right mind would clear me for. But my brace proved extremely effective, and I suffered no more than a few more bruises and sore muscles. We went on a barn door swing that went way over the side of the mountain, with nothing but the town and the Colorado river several thousand feet below. We also went on the more typical carnival swings that again went out over the edge of the mountain. It was an exhilarating feeling to be swinging out over nothing. I loved it.
At the end of the day, we went for a soak in the Glenwood hot springs. That was a lot of fun, and very relaxing. I will give you one piece of advice, though: Do not drink an individual sized box of wine (equivalent to three glasses of wine) on an empty stomach, at 8,000 feet, while in a hot springs, and in a mere 20 minutes. Nothing bad happened, I just...wouldn't recommend it. After that, we again went for dinner, and then said goodbye to Andy's friends, as we wouldn't be seeing them in the morning.
We headed home the next day, and while I was popping Ibuprofen like candy, the drive was nice. Not only does that weekend hold a lot of great memories for me, but I also love the decisions I made. The decision to go on a trip with just Andy, and four other people I had never met. That's never a comfortable thought for me. I'm not great with people, and I'm definitely not great with new people. Between being a highly introverted INTJ, Autistic, with Anxiety disorder, and a bit of an unusual past, it's just never very comfortable. Not only did I go on a trip with a bunch of strangers, but I also decided to go white water rafting and to go on various rides, all of which pose a threat to my back. I broke my back nearly 20 years ago, and in that time, I have been extremely careful, mostly because I have had to be. But not only have I just been careful because I have needed to be, I have also avoided risks because of what could happen. And while there is a time and place for that, I do finally have a brace that is extraordinarily effective. I decided that the risks, with that brace, were worth taking. I wasn't going to let the "what ifs" keep me from doing things that are very much me. Dauntless things. Things I have wanted to do since I was a small child. And guess what? My courage paid off. My refusal to let a possible, but unlikely, outcome daunt me, resulted in some amazing experiences and memories I will love forever.
Hopefully, we'll go rafting once more before the summer is over, and many more times in the years to come. It was SO much fun, and completely worth the soreness and exhaustion after! I think this was the most fun I had had in over a year. Moving to Colorado was the right move. I love it here, and I love all the Dauntless things I can do. I can't wait to do more things in this glorious place!
Courageous girl! Love your grit and gut to do what has no appeal to me but looks like fun to others!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda!
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