Day 12 - Not Good...

Trip Information

Time: 9:00am (Mountain) - 10:30pm (Central) - 12.5 hours
Total Distance: 7,000?
States: CO > NE
Current Destination: Lincoln, NE
Next Destination: Cedar Rapids, IA (Ramsey House)


Daily Dialogue

Today was not so good.  My play-by-play commentator left me this afternoon.  ~sniffle~  We awoke around 8:30 and were out the door by 9:00am.  Had about a 4 hour drive ahead of us to Denver International.  On the way, we stopped by Glenwood Springs, CO to gas up.  Backseat Billy (BB) showed me the hotel (hospital back then) where Doc Holiday took his last breath.  We then traveled through Breckenridge, Vail, Keystone and a few other ski resort areas on our way to the airport.  One other side note is that we reached an elevation of 11,200 feet.  Candy was NOT happy...

Once in Denver BB also pointed out the Purina dog food factory.  We were fortunate enough to catch a free whiff of the product as we drove by.  Based on the odor, it was quite obvious that their Naturally Complete Dog Chow - a wholesome 5 grain blend with high quality protein and no artificial flavors - was in production.

Shortly thereafter, we arrived at the airport.  BB grabbed his things and offered a hug in a joking manner as a farewell gesture.  I leaned in for the hug as he pulled away.  So I leaned further and forced the issue.  We performed the man hug flawlessly:

1. Arms high around the back and shoulders to ensure there is no accidental touching around the stomach, lower back, or below the waist.
2. Only the arms, shoulders, and chest touching, no accidental brushing of the cheeks or anywhere else on the face.
3. Rear-ends arched outward to ensure ZERO contact in the pelvic region.
4. Less than 2 seconds of touching.
5. Few words after it's over (to minimize the already uncomfortable feeling).

I jumped in the truck, put Des Moines, IA in Gabby and off I went.  Hit Target to refresh the cooler and snack pack.  A fairly uneventful day.  I didn't snap any photos because we were in a slight hurry to get BB to the airport so no time this morning.  Then once I left, I was in Nebraska... so clearly I had nothing to photograph.  If you do want to see some photographs of the Rockies that we traveled through, click here.  You'll find more than you care to peruse through.

While on the way to the airport, BB was talking to his brother (Nick) who suggested that I hit the Field of Dreams tomorrow because I'll be in Iowa.  What a fantastic idea.  Honestly, this may be one of the highlights of my trip!  I looked up the operating hours of the Field of Dreams and ironically, they open tomorrow, April 1st!!  How coincidental is that?  This doesn't happen to Brian Bishop.  Usually they would close on March 31st since I'll be there on April 1st.  But I must say, this trip has been going phenomenally well so it only fits that this would fall into place.  Hopefully a sign of what's to come once I get home and merge back into my life.  In fact, it will be.  Good things will happen.

So that's what is on the agenda for tomorrow - Field of Dreams (about a 4.5 hour drive from where I currently am) then I'm heading over to Cedar Rapids, IA to visit a friend from the military who I haven't seen since he and his family moved from MD 4.5 years ago.  The Ramsey's!