Mittwoch, 8. Dezember 2010

Three chairs, one theme

It's saturday morning, everybody sleeps late. ME setting the table for whoever wants breakfast. One after the other THE THREE TEENAGERS scuff out of their rooms. Normally its very likely that they want to turn on the TV and watch some cartoon or Disney movie or whatever is on saturdays and sometimes they are allowed to. But today its No3 asking if anybody cares to know what happened in the last chapter of the book she's reading. SHE and HE roll eyes but I wanna know. So No3 recites one complete chapter of "Madita".
I know SHE has to read "Der Schimmelreiter"
in school, so when No3 is done, I asked, how SHE's getting along. Of course SHE complains about all those charakters and different angles in the story, I very well remember the turmoil up in northern germany, north sea coast, and can litterally smell the wind and the sea. No3 is impressed and compares Madita and her friends with Hans Mommsen und the people he meets. HE thinks its too much to think so much about any characters in a book. He likes to read the books from Werner J. Egli and finds the heroes clear, easy to understand, very close to real life. And without noticing THE THREE TEENAGERS are in the middle of a discussion about LITERATURE. For almost an hour. Now that's DELIGHTful....

Sonntag, 5. Dezember 2010

One at a time


So what do you do, when little babies turn into smallkids turn into bigger kids turn into teenagers turn suddenly over night into young people? You try to treat 'em like that. SHE earned herself a treat and choose Venice, what a joy! In order to keep things lowkey we set off for Lake Garda the day before, stayed overnight at bf (which is best friend I learned) and left the peaceful mountain site of San Zeno di Montagna early morning heading for Venice.
Smooth 90 minutes later we turned into the parking at the airport (Darsena, not very expensive to leave the car there!) and took the ferry over to Venice, another 90 minutes drive. SHE slept most of the way. Coming this far - schoolwise - needs strength and even though beautiful sightseeing lied ahead the way was not the goal. Arriving was.
Found our recommended Hotel/Pensione in less than two seconds, a most pleasant place on Dorsoduro. Pure Delight about the tiny rooms, a slight reminisence of Paris days.
And then we walked. SHE had to agree to culture in order to equal shopping time which SHE gladly did. So we visited Peggy Guggenheim Collection, gave the most important wishes in our lives a chance and then walked Venice. Amazing to see that the beautiful city still has her impact even on facebook spoiled kids, sorry: young people. ME just following where the city lead her just smoothly trying to point out the breathtaking architecture and layout of the old place.
Lunch where not many tourists gather for the city is a pain with herds of umbrella-followers. More walking, Piazza San Marco, Basilica, and back via Ponte di Rialto. Taking the long walk back to Dorsoduro leads you through the university quarter where we took a first glimpse into exhibition for La Biennale. The atmosphere of these wonderful campusses didn't miss the target to sway a breeze of how the future could smell and feel like on SHE.
Its getting dark when we reach the tiny Hotel, it's still warm outside while hometown is wet and cold. Time for a nap and then Harry's Bar. Yes, you have to do that, take the chance while there, you never know when you will be able to make it back. Bellinis later exploring the city by night adds another dimension to experiencing Venice.
The last Pizzeria open is close to the Hotel when ME and SHE finally get our long awaited pasta and then our feet definetly deserve a rest 'til morning.

DAY 2

ME being up early takes the chance to have the first coffe outside with newspapers of the day, enjoying the busy Canale della Giudecca at start of a normal business day. SHE needs more than one wake up call and joins when the sun is already warming the pavement.
Today is Biennale day. Again we walk the distance, feeling already quite at home, passing some points for the third time since we got here. All we manage because there is so much to see is Giardini-Arsenale. Theme of this years Biennale is People meet in Architecture and its amazing to see the various approaches. Not all of it understandable, not all of it agreeable but thrilling in the mixture.
Time to say good bye, to get some souvenirs and take the boat back to mainland. Difficult to say what will last and what not. An impresson and an idea about what more there is to explore might sunk in. We'll see...

Mittwoch, 22. September 2010

Back to normal?

We made it home alright. Home. We fell from heaven seventeen into reality landing in Zurich the next day. While we stretch and yawn and wait for our luggage we realise we will come home to a pile of boxes because just short before holiday we had to move appartement. From a fairy big part of a whole house into a four bedroom one floor appartement in an appartement building. New village, new neighbourhood, new kids on the block. And yes, new schools too. Times three. I don't know if any of you have ever done that, but those who did know what was waiting for ME and The Three Teenagers. Besides unpacking boxes.
Still two more weeks of holiday left us enough space to get done as much as possible. Astoningishly HE is the first one to completely finish his room. All set. SHE wants a pink wall.
Or two. Fine with me. ME being very happy that SHE starts to arrange herself with the new situation, it's been tough to leave the neighbourhood and The Three Teenagers have a hard time going back and seeing all their friends. Even though its just over one hill, exactly 7.5 Kilometers from where we used to live. There is no direct public transport. So SHE and HE take their bikes downhill and ME picking them up at night, because I don't want them to ride their bikes in the middle of the night. There is no bike trail alongside the street either. Mama taxi with bikes on top of the car....
Slowly but surely we adjust to the new situation. There is much lesser room in the new place, so we had to get rid of furniture during moving.
Leaves boxes with stuff that has no desk, no board, no basket, no cupboard anymore. Yes, I know, chance to throw out stuff. But I am a confessing collector and do need alot of things for work. Like papers, magazines, ideas, souvenirs. And the archive. And and and....
Lots of work is waiting too, welcome home!

Donnerstag, 16. September 2010

Last day...

Even after travelling for more than ten years with all three kids I'm still nervous on the departure days. So ME setting the alarm double because I hate to check out last minute. The alarm goes off. Sounds weird, its dark, ME probably dreaming and mixing together all kind of happenings ME and The Three Teenagers had the past 21 days. Because I cannot remember that the alarm on my iPhone ever talked to me. Puzzled I check the alarm clock. It reads 2:34! Exactly! Did we slepp in? No, the cleaning ladies would have swept us out of the beds by now. No, its MORNING! And here goes the alarm again, a steady ennervating blast. And then it hits me: Fire! Thats a fire alarm!
Sure enough a voice is giving out orders how to behave, follow the signs, immediately, walk down (yes, all 11 flights), do not use the elvator. The Three Teenagers are wide awake by now. Is it real? I don't care, I tell them, we do as if. Put on some clothes please, don't panick, grab your most important thing (Plüsch animals of course...and the MP3 players/iPhones, okay!) and get out of here. ME putting on jeans, shoes, a sweater and grab my bag whith passports, tickets, money.
In the hallway we can detect nothing, no smoke, no fire. Still the voice tells us to proceed leaving the hotel. We join a group of others making their way slowly downstairs, following an old man who can hardly walk. The Three Teenagers keep asking me if its fake or real. ME answering that I do not know, but we better get out of here just in case.
In the lobby a fairly small group of people is gathered together, some outside. The stuff looks at us amused, I ask them about the reason for the alarm. They do not know, but they do not move either. Obviously they never had any emergency training. The reception desk is deserted, nobody there to give any information.
But now there is movement in the group. The mostly pyjamas and jogging pants wearing group of families, old and young people, men and women is joined by a pair of giggling very young looking girls, twenty maybe. They wear nothing but Victorias secret lacies, the latets arrival I can tell, nice bright colours. And high heels and their clutches. They can hardly stand upright and my son is impressed. ME trying again to find somebody who knows the reason for the alarm and I see a completely exhausted lady in hotel uniform yelling something in a walkietalkie and flying through the hall. She shouts at everybody to calm down (all of us are very calm, except of course the two very blond girls in High heels) and to go back to the elevators and back to our rooms. Does she know the reason for the alarm? She says no, but they are working on finding it out. Wow! So there could be a fire somewhere, you just don't know after about 15 minutes, where? No, she says, its false alarm. But if you don't know if there's a fire... I give up. And tell her, that she forgot that the elevators do not work. So she yells in her walkietalkie to operate the elevators in one part of the hotel.
Nobody really is moving, I mean, if you don't know if there is a fire or not, you don't want to get stuck in an elevator in a burning house either, right? So we wait. Finally the alarm stops and the sweating supervisor is POSITIVE that there is no fire. The elvators work and luckily for my son we get into one with the giggling lacie-girls. Only, that they start to have problems obviously with beeing able to hold back their body fluids. One is absolutely SURE she has to go right here in the elevator. I can tell, my girls can't wait to witness that. But before the elevator stops in every single floor, the Miss Victorias going crazy with each stop. We get out at floor 11, the high heelers had pushed the top floor button. Still wondering if they made it.....
No3 is not sure if she wants to sleep again at all, she rather stays awake, sure. ME falling back into bed, gulping down water (no drinks served or water offered in the lobby...) and sleeping like a rock (so did No3, of course, HE and SHE anyway).

At 9 the real waking call goes off and we do the whole routine, this time only throwing together what we had spread out everywhere in the room. ME bringing an extra suitcase are greatful I did so. No way you fit in dirty clothes the way you did the clean ones before. Plus it gives us extra space for the last shopping task: Supermarket!
We check out, ME half expecting some "we are sorry for the inconvenience last night, can we offer you breakfast?" or something, but sure enough that did not happen. My questions about the source of the alarm remain unanswered til today. Maybe the two blondes were guilty? Never mind...
So, yes, its again a fast food Starbucks breakfast and we leave this very comfortable hotel. Next stop: Hershey kisses, marshamallows, biskuit - stuff, we don't have in switzerland. We spent the last dollars on this and squeeze everything in our suitcases. Done. Almost. There is one more thing: Rodeo drive. The most overrated street in the world I guess. We walk down one side, back up the other, explore the real nice Ralph Lauren Shop and then back to the car. The picture with the kids in the Beverly Hills sign is taken, nothing more left to do. And yes, we skipped the Hollywood sign all together. Next time..........

Freitag, 10. September 2010

Finally 21

In most of the US 21 is the legal age. You're allowed to drink, go to bars, these things. And our day 21 really is the day when The Three Teenagers and ME start to wonder wether we ever want to go back home or not. You get so USED to living this way, maybe its time to get out of here. On the other hand: Who wants to go home to a broken bank account?
Our last day is completely The-Three-Teenagers-got-to-do-what-I-want day. This time its an earlier wake up, but instead of indulging in the no doubt georgious breakfast buffet (which does cost extra, there is a family special, where the kids have breakfast free of charge, but only with TWO paying adults....an experince I kept making ever since ME travels alone with The Three Kids and later Teenagers. A couple gets all kind of freebees, a single mother doesn't...) its some crackers and water, because I want to hit one special place I visited loooooong ago (the last time, I was five month pregnant with my first babe, having diner with the kid's dad and some friends) for breakfast. That small shopping area still is small but always attracted the most beautiful people (like ME....) and sure enough VIPs and Hollywood celebrities. VERY good coffee too and nice doughnuts, rolls, everything. This is where the Mileys and Ashleys and Jacks of this Soap Opera World get their Coffee on weekends. Without Make up. So you just do not recognize them at all.
Later on we do see Paris Hilton with a friend, shopping for frozen food in a supermarket. The Three Teenagers and ME just HOPE she knows how to defrost the food before biting her teeth out. She looks plain normal, thank god.
We only hit that supermarket to get some food and drinks for the beach and a beachball and a magazine. Then we walk to the beach, which is only a surfers beach here, lots to watch. Our last day in sunshine, drifting away, taking a walk, play with the ball, explore the shore with the tiny riffs, watch pelicans, and beautiful unmakeuped people (I know, that word does not exist, but it fits!)

The Three Teenagers and me leave well done and medium rare, heading back into the land. We are invited to a barbecue, more friends from long ago. The Three Teenagers get to visit one of the newer neighbourhoods around here, they can jump in a pool and enjoy a real american barbecue. Thank you, Joy! We sit long and talk, lots to touch up on. This area is very often hit by fires and ME wondering how you can live in such a dangerous place without going nuts each hot and dry summer.
When we leave, its pitch dark of course and we drive back into the glittering city in our glamorous hotel for another luxury night. We are a little burned from the sun, had a sizzling barbecue, talked about bushfires - and have no idea, what lays ahead.......

Mittwoch, 8. September 2010

Hitting the TWENty

Good morning, Hollywood! Sure enough its too late again to have a regular breakfast, so its again Starbucks at the pool. The Three Teenagers and me feel sooooo america doing that. ME actually reading a newspaper this morning and even in LA there are still discussions about the desaster in Duisburg (we were in Trinity, TX, when we saw the news online). ME watching The Three Teenagers splashing in the pool cannot imagine that its actually possible that you wave your kid goodbye because its going to a happy and friendly just a little crazy event and never comes back again. But then again you can't pin them to your bellybutton, right? Hopefully they have enough common sense to stay out of trouble BEFORE it even occurs. The sixth sense so to say.
Okay, because we missed the big A&F shopping yesterday (Why would everybody wanna go there: The clothes are average, the shops too damn pitch dark and icy cold, the music deafening?) we look for the nearest shop and find The Grove. Turns out to be another beautiful shopping center with a little tram running in the middle of the inner street, looks like a filmset to me!
We park the car get out of the parking garage and get stucked in the first shop. The customers, a huge amount of customers, are making phonecalls. The whole hour The Three Teenagers spent in there to explore the latest gadgets a chinese guy was obviously talking to aunt Simsungsang or something, presumably in Shanghai. The Three Teenagers and ME sent text messages around the world.
While the kids have their fun ME getting a cup of coffee, sit down on a bench and - yes, sorry folks- light one of the very few cigarettes I smoked in the US. It's almost nowhere allowed anymore, in Santa Monica they draw an imaginary 25 feet around each window and door on the pavement where you are not allowed to smoke. In my head I have this picture of businesspeople in the middle of a highway, cramped together on that one foot green and smoke during coffee break because there is nowhere else to go. I'm not saying I don't like those rules.
Finally we hit the spot of desire and now I get the picture. Half naked boys are swarming in and out of the shop, attracting customers to come inside. Now is that prostitution or not? SHE gets a heartattack and a dress, No3 had her share in the kids store where there is no ten year old with a bare chest thank god.
Even happier than yesterday, we leave ths tempting city-in-the-city and walk to the supermarket across the street. We want to get some take away and eat in our hotel room. The supermarket is one of those healthy ones, not healthy for your budget. But the stuff is great and we enjoy the cosy dinner.
Something we haven't done either is go to the movies! They are almost playing 24/7 so we do not bother to look up the starting times. The film we want will begin in 45 minutes, plenty of time for the very last shopping adventure, where HE thinks HE is in wonderland but gets tired of looking at all that stuff after about 30 seconds. Now is that a good or a bad sign?
We watch "Dinner for Schmucks" and its worth every penny. We laugh endlessly, and with puffed bellys from too much puffed popcorn The Three Teenagers and ME walk back to our hotel, ME trying to smoothe the corn with a gin tonic before going to bed. I call it a day!

Dienstag, 7. September 2010

Day 19

Anybody missing anything so far? You're right: We haven't done any shopping yet. The tough task is to find te right place where you can get as much done as possble without driving too much. So after breakfast - would you believe The Three Teenagers and ME never made it ONCE early enough to enjoy the hotel restaurants breakfast? - from the in-house Starbucks (yeah, not very inventive, I know!), we checked online, which mall would be the one. There is a huge variety and we decided on a mall north from Hollywood. The Three Teenagers are entitled to get a new outfit, one a piece, for school. Of course they want the typical stuff: Hilfiger, Vans, Converse, Abercrombie. We find everything but the latter in one and after some relaxing time at the pool side of the hotel we get the car and go.
We manage to spent the rest of the day there, turning each outlet upside down and at closing time almost everybody is happy with a new outfit. No Abercrombie though. So more shopping left for the next day.
We have dinner at a typical American Diner at the mall too and carry home our precious bags with clothes that hopefully will last a little. Not too exciting of a day, more a practical one. The Three Teenagers and ME end the day with a nice walk through the shopping mall next door, a very very elegant one, thank god all the shops are already closed! and that incredible view over Los Angeles from our hotel room. Our room looks like a clothing storage after a tornado, but the kids are all smiles and happy. Pretty spoiled!

Montag, 6. September 2010

Already 18

Day no 18 already, time flies. ME waking up to a beautiful early morning, had to set the alarm clock because we are in for another wake-up-packing routine. HE wakes up too and we quickly decide to go jogging on the beach, SHE and No3 still asleep. We leave a note and off we run. Beautiful! And very tempting to jump in the Pacific right away but it's freezing cold. So we go back, wake up the girls and do the routine.
The Three Teenagers are in for a surprise today because ME made the decision to finally play along with the LA tune and booked a really nice hotel, downtown close to Hollywood. The last four nights we will enjoy a nice room, a pool and all the wonderful things that come with staying in a hotel. But first The Three Teenagers and me have to check out, pack the car (did I ever mention that part? Maybe not, because its absolutely ridiculous. Does anyone know how it is to drive somewhere with three kids? Carseats do NOT come in doubles. There is only one drivers seat, one front seat, one middle....you get the picture. No matter how much you decide in the first place on a switch routine so everybody gets to sit everywhere in the car - except the drivers seat of course - each kid is always sitting in the wrong seat. Would you believe I booked a van just beacuse it has three rows of seats for The Three Teenagers so they do not have to sit in one row together? No3 is the most peculiar about it and we spent several hours - no kidding - during our cartrips with rearranging her backseat space. Up to the point, where No3 would be in charge of packing the car so every piece of luggage would be exactly where she wants it to be - she loves to build caves, if you know what I mean...) without having a nervous breakdown and take the short trip to our next hotel.
On the road we stop at a pancake place, that was on the what-you-have-to-do-in-the-US list. The Three Teenagers are not much into experiments, they order what they know, ME trying out some yummie sounding whole wheat blueberry thing with other seemingly healthy ingredients. The place is peculiar, right on Santa Monica Blvd, and the waitress surely things we are nuts because The Three Teenagers and me want to eat outside. But we love it and love every crumb of the pancakes.
On we go to Hyatt Century Plaza. Its right next to MGM building. We ascend to the 11th floor and step into a room with incredible view, south towards Santa Monica and the pacific in the distance - if there is ever a clear day. Yeah, I know, its a joke, LA and clear days...
The Three Teenagers and ME drop the luggage and head back to he car, its Hollywood Day. We do the tourist thing: Park the car (only $2 the whole day, if you get a stamp on the guest relation center) and do the walk of fame. Chinese theater. Only look at Madame Tussaud. Hard Rock Café. Souvenir Shops. Stars Stars Stars. Three hours later we had it and I can tell, that The Three Teenagers are not sure again wether they should like this or be disappointed. The Hollywood thing I mean. Its not as glamourous as you think...For instance no way getting close to the Michael Jackson star because a fake one was busy making money having his picture taken. I had George Clooney in my hands....
We go get the car and drive into Beverly Hills. After asking a real nice young man for directions because driving around and looking at houses makes you soooo dizzy, that you loose orientation, the day ends absolutely perfectly at friends house, where we - in lack of seats or tables or anything - have pizza on the floor. Some nightly grocerie shopping, good girls talk while more teenagers and spouse are watching a movie.
The Three Teenagers and ME go back to our giltterati hotel in the glitterati part of glitterati LA. The view at night from our room is breathtaking and ME putting The Three Teenagers to bed. First time in 18 days that ME leaves them alone to have a drink at the bar. Guess what: The bar was closed and it was only midnight. Partypoopers!


Sonntag, 5. September 2010

SEVEN TEENs

Good morning, Santa Monica! The Three Teenagers and me wake up after some very good nights sleep. Wonderful beds they have in this little hotel, we are somewhat cramped here but its okay. We have breakfast with the leftovers form some grocerie shopping we did in San Diego, the hotelroom actually has a coffeemaker, which is nice. Today is the big US day:Universal Studios! We get directions and off we drive.
It has been some time since ME visited LA, last time I was pregnant with my first Baby. LA certainly has changed ever since then. Friends told me I should be warned about the traffic. Can't be that bad, I thought, but it's worse. Stop and go all the way from Santa Monica Beach to Universal Studios, that's enervating!
We find the Studio okay. And, boy, has that changed! My first visit was about at the time, when "Alien" was made, a little later (i took a chance to visit the cutters office and saw that THING laying on a desk...). They had a parking spot for visitors close to the studio entrance back then, you walked in and took a ride with the tour bus. Period.
Today, you're guided to an enormous parking garage, the further away from the main entrance the cheaper. Then you walk up to Universal CityWalk. A huge city of its own with shops,
restaurants and a huge theater. Something funny: Ever seen "Forrest Gump"? Universal opened up a whole restaurant and shop chain called Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.. Now you go see the movie and find out, why...
You walk all the way through that city to get to the entrance to a main gate. The Three Teenagers were impressed already, but it looked somewhat familiar, like Disney. At the gate ME almost got a heartatack: 72$ a piece! to get in. Where? All we wanted to do was the studio tour. Not possible I learn. You have to buy the whole package, studio tour is just one possibility of all the other stuff, you can do. So ME arguing about the price. And after only 45 minutes waiting in midday heat at some guest realtion desk with a very slow clerk I finally get us in for 50 a piece. Not much of a reduction but it makes ME feel a little better. Note: There are coupons and all kind of downloadable reductios I learn later. Do that next time!
The Three Teenagers are already tired from waiting and driving, but the sight of Universal Studio Amuesement Park wakes 'em up again. We explore the whole entire park, one section after the other. Its huge and some of the stuff IS fun, okay. For example we get in line for a Simpsons ride. What looks like a rollercoaster through a little park of its own turns out to be a fascinating "ride" in a 3 D 6-seater. You are ushered into a room with this wagon, expecting a door to open to let you out onto whatever ride. But instead a 180° movie starts, the wagon lifts up and you experience to be part of a simpson episode (Waiting was nice: I usually never get to see Simpsons on TV and here, while moving slowly foreard, you can watch Simpsons...) ME not really the rollercoaster type because it makes me wanna throw up has a hard time making it through this somewhat stationary rollercoaster alright. Its fun though because the effect is incredible. Maybe that's the future of cinema but I doubt that one can stand that longer than five or ten minutes.
It takes me only two hours to get rid of that feeling, The Three Teenagers want to go again and again. But its afternoon already and you have to hurry to be able to make ALL the lots. We watch different shows (Animal Actors is cute), the typical House of Horrors, watch how Special Effects are made and spent 30 minutes in line for some food.
Then the tour. That hasn't changed much since the first time ME took it (yes, they still have "Shark" effects...). But again 3 D fascinates: The whole bus drives into a garage, the door closes behind the car. All of the sudden you are part of the new 3D King Kong movie and even though you know the bus is not leaving the garage its a n incredible sensation. Nice.
We finish with The Three Tenagers taking a ride on the Jurassic Park ride where you get soaking wet at the end, and ME leaving the Universal Studios with The Teenagers smiling from head to toe. Sure enough everybody is hungry again. We get some food, some souvenirs and leave the park when its already dark.

Back in the car a sign is flashing which I hate: gas. Okay, so its getting gas before returning to the hotel. Find a gas station (2.69 in Chicago - 3.19 here???), stop the car, get out, take the nozzle, put it in the tank - nothing. ME waving at the clerk behind the window, he's waving back. No gas. So I walk in and tell him, I really would love to get some gas. He says I have to pay first. I say how am I supposed to know how much gas fits in the tank? He says, then just give me some money and he'll give me back the change when I'm done. Obviously half America used to get gas and take off without paying. So they changed the attitude.
Okay, I only have a hundred dollar bill and I think it's pretty rude to make ME feel like a criminal. But I need the gas or we won't get back to the hotel. I give the guy the money and wait. He looks at me puzzled again and sure thinks I'm the most dumbfold driver he ever had in his little gas station. ME making clear I want a receipt. If he thinks I would run of with his gas, than I have the right to think, he can deny ever having received my 100$. At the end of the day I get my receipt, I get my gas, I get my change. And yes: It would have been easier to get gas with the credit card. I just hate to be treated that way...
We make it back alright, snuggle up in our doghouse-size hotelroom, behave very american by watching a movie which I cannot remember because I doze off quickly. Tomorow is checking out of this place and entering the glitterati world of Hollywood....


Donnerstag, 2. September 2010

Sweet 16

Sorry, readers, but due to loads of work I was too tired to continue our diary. Left the blog at sunday night, right? Won't bather you with all that waking-up-shower-get-dressed-clean-a-house-change-linen-go-to-the-grocerie-replace-food-get-packed-out-of-the-house-stuff anymore, because this time it took too long. Do not count the hours you spent cleaning up behind The Three Teenagers when you travel like this! Its frustrating... But then again: We had a tremendous time so far. Now comes the tough part: Where will we sleep the next 6 nights???

Bye bye beautiful San Diego, our next destination is Los Angeles (what a boring homepage! better read this, that's thrilling!), we drive there of course, along the coast as long as possible, then on to the Highways and back down again. Crusing, my kind of travel...
Before we left switzerland, I checked the options of where to sleep in Los Angeles. Lots of friends had lots of recommendations like hotels or beach cottages or alike. All quite expensive when you travel with three kids. So I got into Couchsurfing. A real astonishing organization. I sent out my request fo accomodation for the four of us and got back an answer from a single mom, who would gladly host us in LA. I wrote her back, that we would happily accept that offer for a night or two in case we do not find anything else. If you ever travel alone, try that out. It sounds absolutely fun, one hell of an experience.
Instead ME and The Three Teenagers have our first stop in Hermosa Beach. Recommended by a very good fotographer. And he is right, that place is georgious (not only because ME buying the first real good tasting coffee in two weeks!) - if you're free, single, under 30 and into surfing, beachvolley and lots of stuff. Motels are so so, a real nice looking hotel right on the promenade is very tempting, has a room (we have to share one room, otherwise we get nowhere with our budget). There is a surfers/backpackers place too right in the center of Hermosa. The blonde and gloomy looking receptionist in Quicksilver Shorts smiles and says yeah why not. He even has three (mind one) beds free - in three different rooms. Now that would have been an adventure. ME passing on that friendly offer (30$ a piece by the way) and we grab a snack and keep going north.
We repeat those beach stops occasionally, always with the same success: The Hotels/motels/hostels are either booked out or much too expensive. Til we get to Santa Monica Pier. Right next to it is a very small hotel with Pacific view, love the do-not-disturb signs instantly. Its very small, but they have a room for two nights. Affordable, even though anything but nice-price. But we are tired, hungry, and don't want to spent our precious holiday just driving around. The place is packed with young people, the rooms fit four, but in some are probably more than that.
We head off towards pier, which is a huge amusement park. ME half expecting to have to pay entrance fee at the entrance...Not that thrilling anymore, The Three Teenagers are pretty spoiled when it comes to rollercoasters and othe rides. We can even do some VIP dipping, there is a private party going on and a long row of limousines drives up to a red carpet. Nice beginning of our LA experience, The Three Teenagers are mildly impressed.
We walk the whole Santa Monica downtown, it really became huge, classy, shiny, but at the end of the day just another shopping area like any other. Lost its uniqueness. ME disappointed. Very disappointed. I don't even feel like going into a bar, so we don't, they would throw us out anyway because of The Three Teenagers. Because of the hotel prize by the way its pizza again, but a special one, had my first bite of those in NY ages ago. Still good stuff!
It's dark and pretty cold when ME and The Three Teenagers walk back to our hotel room. Let's hope for nice weather tomorrow, the big US is waiting....

Samstag, 28. August 2010

MY day 15

Sleep in. Beach. Food. Bed.

What more can one ask for? Okay, there was a LITTLE more going on. Breakfast for instance. ME dutyful mother gets up while everybody is still sleeping to chase pork for bacon and chicken for eggs. Hunt 'em down at 7-eleven, because ME, that sleepy-om-smiling-to-the-waves-listener, did not bather ot drive just one block further, where there is a wonderful supermarket. Doesn't matter, find everything okay. ME carrying home the trophies and check the refrigerator, carefully taking notes of what I use so we can replace that later. Surprisingly or not so surprisingly taking all that yoga things in the area I find only vegetarian or even vegan nutritions. Here I am, with vegan butter in one hand and bacon in the other.... Oh well, ME having Three Little Lions still sleeping in the basement decide for the martial breakfast but make sure to really really scrub evrything that touched the meat really good, when doing the dishes.
After breakfast (which was actually a late lunch) ME and The Three Teenagers grab our towells and walk down to the beach. Find a spot which we won't leave 'til sunset. We watch surfers, read books, play ball, walk on the beach, have icecream, enjoy live. ME not sure, if The Three Teenagers realise that they are in California.
Water is pretty cold, but inviting fresh as well. Swimmig is tricky though because there s tons of seeweed in the water, which you have to pass before you can swimm, not many do. HE and No3 dip in shrieking, ME splashing around, SHE couldn't care less. Tan is her programm.
The Three Teenagers want to stay and watch sunset. Fine with ME. Watching the sun go dwon is watching the time go by and let your mind wander free over the horizon. How ME missed that sensation....
With batteries charged The Three Teenagers and me walk back to our beautiful accomodation, change and drive off to look for a restaurant. Last night this place was jam packed with people inside and outside the restaurants. Today its completely empty. Most places closed. It's sunday night. Everybody left from the weekend I guess, heading back to the city. Just one restaurant is still open and serves wonderful italian food. The Three Teenagers are very hungry, so we eat there. Even though ME didn't exactly fly half around the world to eat out pizza and pasta....
Happy and tired we go "home", sweep rooms, so all four of us get to have the extraordinary experience of sleeping with Pacific View. Again ME in bed BEFORE The Three Teenagers, drawn into the novel I read and falling asleep very very quick.
ME dreaming, so many what-ifs and why-didn't's. Just like a movie which I find a wonderful idea, even though the script writer had a hard time bringing the film to an end. But ME just love the idea.....

Freitag, 27. August 2010

Still FOUR TEEN

The Three Teenagers and me are definitely NOT the desert types. We are relived, when we realize, we're getting close to San Diego. Can't wait to have the first glimpse of the Pacific. It takes a while, we are on the road now for almost eight hours with all those stops and have-a-looks and Boarder Patrol stops. Obviously there are not enough Border Patrols to keep the current situation under control. We later learn, that there are about 40 Million people - official figure - in California. Almost half of it - about 16 Million, and that is only guessed - are illegals. ME, I'm not a politician. But when half the population of a country is doing their share of working and running the country but not officially - they cannot legalize their citizenship - and the other half is doing the same but paying all the taxes for it...That is impossible. Only a small percentage of the immigrating people is making trouble. The majority would apply for citizenship if they could, all they want is a better life and a real existence. Tough job, Arnie!
To be honest, right now ME and The Three Teenagers do not really care about legal or illegal immigrants. We are busy finding our accomodation for the next two nights, an offer from friends which ME was happy to take. We drive by the adress various time because its hard to believe what we see: The most beautiful house with the most beautiful view from above at the Pacific Ocean. Very lucky and happy friends live here, right now they are out of town and we can occupy the place. Unbelievable generous!
We drop our luggage and head right to the beach. Shoes off and run to the water. It's freezing cold! The people say they had a very cold summer so far. For us coming from humidity to dry to desert heat its perfect. Just perfect! HE is not sissy, HE jumps right into the water. No3 makes a short attempt too, SHE and ME pass on that one.
We play and sit and walk and watch surfers 'til almost sunset, then we look for food. When you look for something in an area where you've never been before you almost read every sign. Amazingly every other store or location has something to do with yoga or meditation or similar ideas. There is even yoga jewellery, yoga fashion of course, yoga gift shops and yoga places. And sure enough a yoga restaurant. That's it for tonight. We om our way through the menu and figure out with the sweet smiling waitress - ME wondering where this fey smile comes from, I'm still very naive sometimes... - what the food is all about. Basically its healthy food, ME very impressed by the bottom line in the menu. It reads: "We appreciate your patronage and wish you radiant well-being and happiness". Namaste. The Three Teenagers are not sure about this and order food where they partially know the dish, like veggie enchilladas or green tea or avocados. Good food.
Exhausted we return to "our" home and ME - after running out once more to get some stuff for breakfast at "Oh thank heaven for 7-Eleven" - indulge in the luxury of sitting on an outdoor terrasse, listening to the ocean, starring at the horizon occasionally and reading a book. This is heaven. The Three Teenagers are impressed too - with the huge TV screen this household has. ME going to bed BEFORE the kids, maybe the first time in 15 years for another reason than being simply sick. I just want to experience the luxury of laying in a huge bed and look out on the ocean as long as possible.

Donnerstag, 26. August 2010

FOUR TEEN already!



Couldn't sleep. It's not the wiggeling No3 I'm sharing a double bed with in our incredible Tucson estate (thank you, stranger! We never got to meet you but you must be one heck of a generous guy!). Nor is it the heat I try to thwart by waving with kitchen door, opening screened windows (Arizona mosquitos are mean!) and NOT touching the aircondition (last time I obviously turned on the de-humidifyer - know the swamp-feeling? There you go...). It's actually worries. We are pretty close to the Mexican boarder and whatever stupid war over drugs and weapons is going on over there, affects the security on this side of the boarder too. News are not reassuring either (its gotten worse, since we're back). So I have no idea wich road to take to California. San Diego is the destination we're heading to and we have a wonderful opportunity for accomodation there, so we want to stay south.
Which means also: No Route 66 (would have meant driving north to Flagstaff, staying somewhere overnight and then continue), no parks (kids, you HAVE to do those with your buddies one day!), no adventurous lets-see-where-in-the-desert-we-sleep-t'nite...But ME being a mother of Three Teenagers, having succeeded in getting them safe and sound 'til here so far, I want to have a little bit of the cake. Early morning I'm sure: Route 8 it is, leading pretty close along the mexican boarder all the way to San Diego. Some 500 miles, should be possible in one day without racing. No side sightseeing though.
You know, what comes next: Wake-up-The-Three-Teenagers-shower-brush-teeth-get-packed-can't-find-this-and-that-take-off-sheets-collect-towells-dump-those-at-friends-house-have-breakfast-pack-car (thats new!) and all in slightly two hours only! Wow, I'm impressed. Saying goodbye is not so hard this time, the friends we visited, will fly home to switzerland too in two weeks time. ME getting directions how to get to the Highway and off we go.
Get gas. HE is worried we could end up somewhere in the desert without gas, water (the car is packed with water) and food, let alone no internet. And to be honest: For ME it's the first time, driving that distance in a deserted country. I really don't have the slightest clue what I'm getting us into. So we fill up the tank, funny, that the guy in the gas stations wants money first, but I have no idea how big this tank is, we can get the gas first and THEN pay.
We cross almost the whole 2 million people city of Tucson to get to the Highway 10 direction Phoenix and then turn left to San Diego. Up to Phoenix road is busy, but easy, not too many cars travelling tody. But as soon as we hit Highway 8 to San Diego its like we are the only ones driving west. We stay on a multiple lane Highway but the feeling is this:

Roads seem to go on for ever. We realize we're driving towards mountains. Temperature keeps changing, it was under 80 on HW 8, now the more we drive west the hotter it gets. Looking at the map ME decide that we drive until Yuma. The scenerie is fascinating. Miles of cacti turn into miles of nothing and then miles of lemon trees. Another distracting view: Those freight trains. We try to count the containers, but its impossible, we give up by 70, 80, 90. Those trains have hundreds of containers. How long can a train like that get?

And there are almost always TWO containers on top of each other. The longest train I learn was 500 wagons long.....
There is a stop ahead obviously and driving closer a familiar feeling winds its way up my stomach. Have you ever driven the transit roads between West-Germany and West-Berlin BEFORE the wall came down? You know exactly that you did not do anything wrong but those guys with guns and weapons and uniforms made you absolutely nervous? These wave us through, ME and The Three Teenagers do not look suspiscious I guess! Today we will experience more of those check points, we get used to it.
Yuma looks like a prospering place. Lots of constructions, new roads, new houses, huge shopping centers. We take an exit to - yeah, sure, absolutely not creative, but it had to be the closest, you know...- MC. ME sensing that The Three Teenagers are a little uncomfortable driving this way. They tell eachother stories about stolen cars by using the radio of an iPhone, forgotten kids in Highway Restaurants and so on. And they want to eat seated at a window to be able to watch the car. At least they start to feel some responsibility for our things, thats the good part about it!
We continue through the heat that is here unbearable, but not before filling up the car - you never know.... We go from Sea level and even below that up to over 4000 feet and back down again in some two to three hours driving. The mountains of the Peninsula Range down here look funny, like Pebbles was playing with pebbelstones for ever! Sanddunes, the biggest in whole California (we are still hundreds of miles away from the Pacific Ocean..) dascinate ME beach bum. HE dozes off in the back seat, misses this sign and I'm glad, its too hot and I'm not in the mood. I want to see glittering ocean now, feel seabreeze, smell salty water. Definately too hot to climb up this guy too. Sorry to disappoint you....no sightseeing at all, but everybody is eager to get to San Diego today. Stay tuned......

Mittwoch, 25. August 2010

Lucky 13

Yippie ayeeh! We have a wake up call this morning because The Three Teenagers are up to a very special treat. Inhale a huge breakfast and off we go, including friend and his youngsters. We drive out of Tucson, using the Old Spanish Trail. A favorite biker route an sure one road with a history. It ran from Florida all the way to San Diego once, built some hundred years earlier. There is an historic part an a modern one, both with concrete cover nowadays. Some historic parts through New Mexico are still just small ways for horses or carriages. Here ist road. A windy one and you see mountains ahead. Those mountains raise up to 3000 meters!
We're heading to Colossal Cave Mountain Park, the riding stables to be exact. Friend reserved 5 horses for The Three Teenagers and the two youngsters. Even though its only short before 9 its allready sizzling hot.

It takes some time until evrybody has the right helmet and the matching horse. But then off they go, with two girls watching them. Hope this works out well. SHE is the only one with real riding experience, fell off a horse only once and broke her arm. HE has been on a horse occasionally but never got into exactly LEARNINg how to ride. No3 loves all animals, but ths one is very very big! She's struggeling wether to stay with ME and to give in to her doubts or not loosing her faith and just go. I'm jealous. Do not trust my back though, surgery 8 years ago went perfect but I'm scared to damage it again. Not a good premise for riding a horse, ME much too nervous. Leaves me waiting.
So I explore the little park with turtles, a coffeshop, a museum about the colossal caves and some explanation about plants and animals. Over coffee I talk to the lady who runs the place. They have a hard time, economy crisis hit them too, they need tourists of course. A special and very friendly place, go there if you ever have time in Tucson!
The Three Teenagers and the two youngsters make it back in extremely good mood. A one hour ride in comparable modest warmth (gets hotter by the minute) with the most beautiful scenery - what a way to spent the last day in Arizona!
We drive back, on both sides of the beautiful road lay areas with devastated brandnew houses. Estates were planned and never sold. Georgious houses. Its a shame.
The Three Teenagers want to hit the pool, understandable. So again its ME and the bunch, more quiet time at the pool....stop! Not ths time. Three days together has been a strain on the two sets of kids and sure enough they start to fight like hell in the pool. ME the jugde: I draw an imginary line through the pool. One family on one side, the other on the other side. And beware of crossing! Danger! First its fine, they try to impress either party with the most outrageous things. Then that gets boring and they start to move closer. By not allowing that, I take the black Peter now (does black Peter exist in american language???), so its all of the sudden ME against FIVE. But they are where I wanted them to be: happily united and together again.
The rest of the day goes by quiet, some more grocerie shopping, more movies, diner at home. We pack tonight, because we want to leave early morning. No idea where to, not exactly at least. There is only an idea....


Dienstag, 24. August 2010

Desert 12



What a night. Wonderful! The Three Teenagers and ME slept like rocks in the desert. Nice and long. The Three Teenagers inhale a huge breakfast and off we go to the pool, which is situated right in the middle of this housing estate. As a matter of fact its The Three Teenagers, ME and two YOUNGSTERS, completing the numerological rhythmic team (age girl 15, boy 13, girl 11, boy 9 and girl 7). ME always wanted a dozen kids, now I get a glimpse of what it would have been like, hadn't I stopped...
They organize themselves, the younger ones get supervised by the older ones and they play happily in the pool so ME gets some time to read my book, follow up on our travel diary, and figure out, how much we already spent on this trip. Money it is. Until now we are doing pretty good thanks to zero expenses for accomodations. Deep down inside ME, I know it will not stay this way (sigh).
An hour later everybody is pretty much exhausted and roasted, and we decide on a very typical american way of sightseeing: Exploring Tucson in an airconditioned van. Turns out we stay right close to a very historical site, the old Fort Lowell. Nothing to impress The Three Teenagers and two youngsters though. I know why: They lack the Bonanza-sensation! Or High Chaparall! Clearly those TV series formed my idea of America when I was a kid. What's their inspiration today? HE has a vision: Oakland. That MUST be heaven because that's where his favorite music group comes from. SHE can't wait to go shopping. Shopping in the morning, shopping for lunch and night-shopping. Favorite labels you hardly get in Europe are the goal, those models they use probably one of the reasons. No3 is into baseball these days. Guess her favorite team?
That one was easy, wasn't it! Back home No3 plays with the Challengers and ever since Zurich just got switzerlands first international sized baseball field there is hope that we will be able to watch some pretty good games here.
Okay, so we cruise Tucson. And take a turn into The University of Arizona Campus. Empty of course, all those 40.000 (!) students on holiday. What a campus! There is nothing you cannot study in this college. As we drive those endless streets of this own city in itself we read things like Stage School, there are more than 20 colleges in this one campus and an endless number of topics. Sports is a big thing here too, they just completed the renovation of the playing fields. Football stadium for the students is a 45.000-seater! And the Baseball Stadium, thousands of fans can watch the games (Zurich set up 400 places...yet).
We park the car and walk, our friend knows a lot about the buildings and the area. The Three Teenagers try to avoid the sign "museum", lucky them, its already closed. ME would have loved to go there. Next time.
Highlight of the day so far: A falcon, sitting in a tree (right in the middle, those iPhones don't have a zoom!).

Enough tree watching and history oh-and-ah-ing. The Three Teenagers and the two youngsters are hungry - again. Reday made dishes from the super market it is, but BEFORE we HAVE to stop at a MALL. Just to walk through, just to get a glimpse of what shopping would be like. Just a little bit window shopping, please mom! Okay okay. Those who don't want, go home, the others shop. Just a little bit, at Sears for a starter, the warm up. Sure we can take a look at shoes. Just look, touch maybe. But not buy. Frozen Yogurt is main course to cool minds down. Abercrombie for dessert....
Made it! Only two shorts, one top, one CD. That one went well...
Another diner night home with movies, that's so american! Sweet dreams everybody, get ready for THE desert tomorrow....

Montag, 23. August 2010

Day ELEVEN: First Time


Travelling the United States for the past 29 years again and again I have quite a history of states and cities I've been to. But ME never made it to Arizona yet. Waking up this morning in the very comfortable Red Lion beds in Denver after only some 5 h of sleep is a cruel thing, but The Three Teenagers and ME really have something to look forward to. Wakingupbrushteethhaveacoffeeandsomewatergrabthingsandleavehotel - this time in only some 45 minutes because The Three Teenagers and ME do not have our luggage sure enough. It was checked through to Tucson already. The shuttlebus-drive back to the airport at 6 o'clock in the morning gives us a very short idea of what Colorado might be. We see mountains in the distance, the first since we left switzerland eleven days ago. Everything looks nice and tidy and clean. Approaching the airport reveals a very special designed roof
looks like snow tents (or Munich, Olympia Stadium...) - which is what its supposed to be probably. In the shuttle bus with us is a Native American Couple, on their way to a convention. ME starts talking to him, his Name is Danny Beaton and he's a film maker and a flute player. He sells me a dvd with a movie about a song. Danny is a Mohawk, not very talkative, more the quiet Hippie-type. Nice to meet you.
So here we go again, Denver Airport. Check in, find some bagels and some more coffee, find the gate and off we go. More spaceous plane from frontier, this time no delay, we make it to Tucson in time.
The night before I checked with Alamo, our rental car provider, if they hold my car until we get there. They promised. We'll see. Surprisingly our luggage arrives with us! Yeah! A dear friend and his kids pick us up from the airport, helps us find the rental car, which is where it was supposed to be: Waiting for us.
Me and the kids move into that van that will be our transportation system until we fly back home. No3 is not sure yet wether she should be happy about not having to fly until then anymore or being unhappy about having to sit in a car from now on. Knowing The Three Teenagers I wanted a car that has three rows of seats. One for each Teenager. I HATE kids fighting in the car about seat positions. The grass is ALWAYS greener on the other side, grow up! I could have taken a smart by the way, it makes no difference.....
Short trip from airport to house and we have incredible luck: We are allowed to use an entire HOUSE next door to our friends house, the owner is out of town. Real nice neighbourhood. Tucson is s expected very hot but dry. Doesn't hit you as much as the humidity in Chicago suburbs (The CITY is never that hot, always windy, I like!) or Texas. But still, high in the 90ies. The Three Teenagers get their treat anyway: pool time!
Hungry after swimming, we hit a similar place like in Houston: An all you can eat chinese restaurant, located at Grant Rd. Perfect, low price, tasty dishes, friendly people. Then we go grocerie shopping, our house is empty of course. We get all we need at Trader Joe's, a place, I've not known before. ME delighted! They have a huge variety of fresh fruits and healthy stuff. Nice.
More pooltime for The Three Teenagers, Me and friends. We also rent movies (because Danny-the-Mohawk's movie about an indian prayer really does NOT hit the fan, will watch that later, when I'm alone...) and have a cosy evening home. Good nights sleep lies ahead, once again we share beds, the house has two bedrooms. Its incredibly hot in the house, old aircondition is not running properly and the house misses insolation. Plus ME, being not very familiar with that technology, obviously pushed the wrong buttons. Time to learn.... The Three Teenagers and ME are very curious about what Arizona is like, we cannot wait to get out into that land and explore the scenery. Hot sleep....

TEN four! TEN four! In the air tonight....



Due to internet problems last night day TEN is delayed. And so was our flight... But lets keep it in chronological order.
Day TEN starts out as rehearsed before: The whole wake-up-get-packed-cleaning-have-breakfast-shower-pack-rest-procedure in less than THREE hours! Well done, Teenagers! Its another hot day in Texas, our travel day to our next destination: Tucson, Arizona. My friend drives us to the airport, weather is changing a bit, clouds in the sky over Houston, which we never visited once. You can only put SO MUCH into one trip, this time friendship and homebound things are more important than sightseeing cities.
Heartbraking goodbye with the dogs and later on with my friend at the airport, it was a very special time we spent together. And its not easy to host a mother with Three Teenagers just like that.
To explain what happens now, I have to make a little excursion. When ME booked this entire trip, convenience was top subject. Me and The Three Teenagers travelled before and there was always something going wrong, sometimes because of not enough information, sometimes by accident, sometimes out of simple stupidity. So this trip was meticuosly plannend with nice departure times late afternoon, enough lay over times for connection flights, not too late arrival times.
ME approching happily the front desk of Frontier, our next carrier, a small one as I assume by the low number of desks here at Houston Airport, whose name George Bush Intercontinental Airport - to be honest - does not sund too reassuring. But then...Frontdesk clerk of frontier looks at my bookings and says "As a matter of fact your connecting flight from Denver to Tucson was cancelled, we booked you on the next flight". Which is fine. I learned, that small airlines do that to save fuel, when they have not enough bookings on one flight. Economical, right? Okay. Then the frontdes clerk from frontier says "And we took you off your original flight from Houston to Denver". Without asking ME. And they sold my places on the earlier flight. They are gone. Now, if everything goes okay, there's nothing to be worried about. But outside water and hell are coming down. The arrival/departure boards of all airlines are already going nuts with all those delays and pile up. When this tornado/thunderstorm has passed George Bush Airport, there is one hell of a line of waiting airplanes. No way we will make that last flight out of Denver to Tucson.
Its tuesday afternoon, one look at my watch tells me, that Zurich offices are closed. I call my travel agent anyhow and leave a complaint, they must have gotten the notification about that later flight and never told me. Or asked me if its okay.
Then I call customer relationship (CR, wonderful) of frontier. Very slowly I explain my situation and that I want right now a promise to get a hotel room for free n Denver. The startled guy on the phone needs some backs-and-forts, but then he gives his okay, just in case.
Now ME and The Three Teenagers have almost four hours to kill on George Bush Intercontinental Airport. If you ever plan on a lay over, do it here, there is plenty of things to do. Like a long train ride from one terminal to the other, lots of shops, restaurants, attractions.
The Three Teenagers have to follow me into a book store and have to pick out one english book. Their selection is typical. No3 chooses one, where Zach Efron is on the cover, bestseller which was turned into that movie. SHE picks "Patty Jane's House of Curl" by Lorna Landvik and ME can't wait 'til SHE finished it so I can read it. ME very busy though reading the latest John Irving Novel, the longest he'd ever wrote, they say. And the most erotically too... The tattoo on the cover draw ME to it, browsing through a book store in Chicago O'Hare Airport. No, ME haven't got a tattoo...not yet.
HE picked "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4" by Sue Townsend. Only because its similar to one of his favorite books. Packed with our new items we search for food. Panda Express turns out to be one of the Three Teenagers favorite throughout the trip, nice asian dishes.
We are back in time at our gate for the official departure time but sure enough that flight is late. No way we will make the connection. The frontier plane though is nice, pretty with those animal pictures on the tailwing and lots of soce inside, really, there is much more space than in the swiss planes.
To make a long story short: We get to Tucson alright, one hour late for our connecting flight. ME have to explain the whole story again at frontier CR-desk, but after only 30 minutes ME and The Three Teenagers have a hotel. When you ask No3 which was the best bed on our trip No3 points out the ones at Red Lion, the hotel we were shuttled to from Denver airport. The reason is simple: Apart from that the bed which really was great was, that each one of us got to sleep alone, ME and The Three Teenagers had two rooms and each one their own bed. Luxury!
On the way to the hotel ME and Three Three Teenagers got into a conversation with the shuttlebus driver. And because ME being light hearted because its nice when you don't have to cuddle up at the airport for seven hours with The Three Teenagers, I told the guy, that now only a pizza could top the whole day. Sure enough driver calls hotel and preorders pizza for us which ME and The Three Teenagers can take to our rooms. What a service!
ME taking advantage of the cooler air in Denver and spent some time alone outside . TEN Days so far, nobody got hurt, evrythings fine. ME being pretty happy right now.....