New Town! New Job! No Husband :(

I just arrived at the Hanzon home in Broomfield, CO where I will be staying for the next three weeks. I'm nervous and excited about starting my job tomorrow morning, but sad that it means I have to live without Don for three weeks. A new town and new job are fabulous, but I'm really looking forward to sharing them with my husband!

OUR ADVENTUROUS TRIP TO COLORADO:

Don and I had planned on driving through Durango instead of through New Mexico, but Don forgot to look at his flight plans until Friday evening. The trip through Durango would have taken 3 hours longer and been much more scenic, but we realized we could never get Don to the airport for his 3 pm flight back to Tucson if we camped in Durango. Unfortunately, we had already reserved and paid for a campsite near Durango when we realized we wouldn't be able to make it. Neither of us really cared that we would have to find and pay for another place to stay, but it was funny that just a few minutes before realizing our mistake, I had said, "Man, Don, we are getting so good at this trip planning thing!" Ha! Just when you think you've got everything figured out...

We started driving yesterday morning and drove for about 10 hours through Southern Arizona, through the middle of New Mexico and through Southern Colorado. When I say “we drove” I really meant that WE drove! I drove! Yes, I know you are all amazed! I faced my fears and put my dog-killing past behind me and drove on a freeway for an extended period of time. I had a success rate of 100% passing semis and I even braved the wily mountain roads of Southern CO! Ok, so maybe they weren’t wily, but they were roads and they were in the mountains and I was proud of myself.

We stopped in Walsenburg, CO, which is a little old mining town near Trinidad, and stayed at a place called La Plaza. It used to be a fancy hotel when the town was booming that has since been made into a bed and breakfast. Keep in mind, the town was booming in 1907, so this B&B was a little creaky, squeaky, and old, but we liked it.

Actually, we liked it until the trains started roaring through every hour a few hundred feet from the hotel starting at about 3 am, honking for about 5 minutes straight each time. The trains were so loud, I felt like they were going right through the room. The first one really scared me! After that, I just about cursed every time the unbelievably loud horn would catapult me from deep sleep to awake and angry.

We had a smooth trip car-wise until I dropped Don off at the airport. Of course, as soon as he leaves and I'm stressed trying to figure out how to get to the Hanzon’s, the car overheats. I waited in a random K-Mart parking lot until it cooled off and it wasn't a big deal; it was just ironic that it died when I was all by myself in a city I don't know, driving with all of my stuff. Just my luck!

I love Colorado and I’m so happy to be here, but I think this may be the longest three weeks ever. I'm particularly worried about my ridiculous inability to get anywhere without very specific directions. I guess my personal GPS system (a.k.a Don) will be getting a lot of calls from me as I try to navigate this new area.

Well, I’m off to bed and then off to my new adventure tomorrow morning! Wish me luck!