2021 Wrap Up

It has been several months since I’ve blogged, but I couldn’t end the year without my usually wrap up post. 2021 has been a great year.

I kicked off 2021 asleep. We were in Florida with the kids and we had just spent an entire day at my favorite theme park: Disney’s Animal Kingdom. I was completely exhausted and just crashed. Due to covid, the park closed before the customary midnight celebrations, but the area surrounding our rental home was filled with partiers and fireworks. I briefly woke up, gave everyone “Happy New Year” wishes, and headed back to bed.

Our winter holiday 2020/2021 vacation was epic. About a week prior to Christmas, we said “screw it” and opened our presents early, including having a classy holiday dinner of frozen White Castle burgers. The next day, we hit the road driving through Kansas (largest ball of twine), Missouri ( Arch), Arkansas, Tennessee (night in Memphis, no Graceland), Mississippi, Alabama, and a two night stop at the freezing beaches of Pensacola, Florida. After Pensacola, it was ten nights in Orlando, where we did both Universal and Disney, also a gator airboat ride. The idea was to continue for four nights in Key West, with Dan flying the kids back to Sweden out of Miami. However, the weather was absolutely miserable, so we altered course, heading to Texas with a two night stop in New Orleans.

As a teen of the 90’s and Anne Rice enthusiast (RIP), I had always wanted to visit New Orleans, but in a covid world, it lacked the vibrancy I was expecting. Many of the stores and restaurants were shuttered and the streets were empty. We went to the fabulous National WW2 museum. Our museum visit occurred on January 6th, and upon returning to our hotel room, we saw the news of the insurrection. It was heartbreaking, and I literally had no words to explain the situation to my European step kids.

In Texas, we stayed a few nights in Houston and toured Johnson’s Space Center. It was too cold in Texas to be outside for a long period of time, but we want to go back when the weather is nicer. Ditto for New Orleans. I said goodbye to the kids and Dan, who flew out of Houston, and drove solo back to Colorado. On my way back, I did a night-stop in Miranda Lambert’s hometown of Lindale and visited her store, The Pink Pistol. I drove through Oklahoma and did a second stop in Garden City, Kansas. The third day, I met Dan at the Denver airport and we finally headed home after our epic trip!

I was surprised, when in the summer, the kids expressed an interest in doing another road trip. We have a family goal of hitting all 50 states before they are adults, and if we plan it right, we might just meet the goal. We did two short road trips. One to California and back ( hitting Utah and Nevada). In California we stayed for two nights at our family favorite hotel, the La Quinta Resort and Club, just to enjoy pool time and sunshine. We did one night in Vegas at the new Resorts World- more pool and sunshine.

Our other mini road trip sent us to Wyoming ( Cheyenne Days Rodeo), South Dakota ( Mount Rushmore) and Nebraska (Carhenge). We also showed the kids many of the sites in Colorado, including the Royal Gorge, Pike’s Peak, Vail, and Colorado Springs. Summer also brought a discovery of a new family activity that we all enjoy: escape rooms. I hope that we will do a few more next summer!

Autumn brought a last-minute trip to the UK! We visited for just over a week with Zoe and Felix taking their first solo flight to meet us at Heathrow. The solo flight was a big success, which should make future vacations easier to coordinate and cheaper- or saving money to spend on fun things, rather than flights. We made our base in Newbury to be near my sister-in-law and close friends, but did two day trips to London, where we visited Madame Tussauds, the London Dungeon, the Tower of London and did lots of shopping. Dan and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary in London with tea and cake at a cafe inside a crypt. In England we also went to the Cadbury Factory and made a seaside day trip to see Dan’s uncle and aunt.

On the job front, we are doing well. Dan started his own business and has had some big contracts with major companies. I’m so proud and excited. I left tutoring at Cambly to start working at Denver’s largest independent bookstore chain- Tattered Cover. I helped open a holiday pop-up location at a local mall and it has mostly been a blast. I love being around books and helping customers. I think I really needed to get out of the house and be more social. It has been good for me.

I had a poem published in Cordella and an essay published in Local Honey|Midwest. My Intima essay from 2020 was submitted by the Columbia University for consideration in the Best American Essays collection. I was not chosen and quite frankly, it was a HUGE long-shot, but I was honored to have been recommended. I finished three courses at Arapahoe Community College, very close to finally finishing my AA. At this point in my life, I’m not sure how important it will be to finally complete my bachelors, but I like the idea of accomplishing it. It was frustrating to have to re-do my science credits, but I’m taking different science courses to expand my knowledge and I love learning, so this is a positive. I have four classes to finish my AA and then transfer, which will be completed over the next two semesters.

Last winter we finished our basement. The idea of not only having a basement, but being able to transform it into another level of our home is still mind-boggling. We added two bedrooms ( serving as Dan’s office and music/gaming room), an enormous bathroom with soaking tub, a full-size home gym and oodles of storage spaces. It’s amazing. However, now I have no excuses for skipping the gym and must develop a habit of going in 2022. I am ringing in the new year approximately fifteen pounds lighter than last year, mostly to do with working retail.

I had a Christmas miracle last week to round out my 2021. We were having a lazy morning and I happened to look at Facebook messenger, noticing a two-week old message from a stranger. The stranger is the wife of one of my father’s childhood friends. My father died when I was four and the situation was traumatic, so I know very little about him. So far, I’ve had two long conversations with Brian, my dad’s friend, and so many gaps have been filled. The conversations have not been light or easy, but they have altered my perspective significantly. I’m hoping to learn more in the new year and also start focusing on writing a historical fiction novel based on my family. The biggest aspect of this situation is I never thought that there would be someone still living that remembered my dad. Brian is 85, but still sharp. Meeting him is a true gift. i’m hoping that I might even have an opportunity to meet him in person. He lives in Florida.

We are still in the middle of a pandemic, but I’m grateful to be both vaccinated and boosted, allowing for so many special moments and in-person connections this year. I hope 2022 continues this positive trend.

Summer 2021- Las Vegas Resorts World

It has been over a decade since a new resort has come to the Las Vegas Strip. In early July, we had the opportunity to stay at the three-week old Resorts World.

We used to be frequent visitors to Las Vegas, which was just over three hours from our home in Big Bear Lake. We eloped at the Aria and even my Swedish step kids have been to “Sin City” several times. It was our home away from home. However, a move to Colorado and covid meant that nearly two years have elapsed since our last visit.

This was a spur of the moment idea, as we decided to trade one of our planned nights in Palm Springs for the opportunity to stay at the Conrad in Resorts World.

This is a view of the Conrad, as we pulled up to the property. On the lower half, you can see some the Circus Circus building, which is an unfortunate trashy neighbor for Resorts World.

We were expecting the property to be busy, but we walked into the lobby to find it dead. The lobby is both serene and whimsical. In particular, I liked the pink elephant artwork behind reception.

Reception is where we encountered our first disappointment with the level of service. My husband waited several minutes without being acknowledged, as staff chatted amongst themselves, clearly having seen him. Throughout our stay we encountered slow waits at the valet and the phone line to call to have our vehicle pulled up for us, was not working.

In fact, their system for calling staff simply didn’t work. It relies on leaving messages on a phone line, rather than speaking with a live operator. We left many messages and never received replies. It was frustrating.

The employee at reception gave us bottles of branded water and escorted us to the elevator bank. This was a nice touch, although his attitude was aloof, rather than welcoming. We felt a bit odd at tipping the guy for showing us the elevators, especially as his service at check-in was less than stellar, but did it out of expectation.

Here is the big mirror by the elevators, perfect for vacation snaps.

And the hallway.

The halls smelled like fresh paint and chemicals. It was definitely still new, but I prefer the fake floral scents that the Bellagio mists everywhere. The chemical smell was overpowering.

Our room was well appointed and comfortable. I like the fragrance of the bath products called Mojave Ghost. I also loved the plush hotel robes. Hotel robes are one of my favorite ammenities.

The room had a few problems, the biggest being that we could not connect to the internet. It was like we were in a dead zone of the hotel. Although we had two queen beds, we were not give enough towels for everyone, the body wash dispenser in the shower had not been refilled, and several items were missing from our mini-bar, although we were not charged. Normally, we would just call the front desk for help, but as mentioned above, their system for calling employees was also broken.

We had views facing the Stratosphere and Circus Circus, so not lovely, but also, technically a “strip view.”

Since we only had one evening, our main goal was to hit the pool complex. The pool area was nice, with separate sections for young children and adults. The adult area had a cool infinity pool, unfortunately, the view from the infinity pool was a dusty construction zone. When the construction is complete, it might be an awesome view. The main pool is a long, rectangular shape, making it easy to find sun beds just a few steps from the water. It also featured lounge chairs in the water, which I very much enjoyed.

The pool was good, but we were again, disappointed in the lack of service. There was no poolside cocktail service, walk-up bar only. Also, we were out for a few hours and saw no employees cleaning up the piles of trash and used towels that had been abandoned by people finished with their pool day. The area was a mess and kind of gross. Even the kids commented on the lack of cleanliness.

Later in the evening, we briefly stepped inside the shopping/dining part of Resorts World, as my husband had to hunt for an ATM. We only scratched the surface regarding the things to see and I was very impressed with this portion of the resort. Whether or not I ever stay here again, I will certainly return to dine, shop, and play! The enormous globe with projections was mesmerizing.

I loved the whimsy of the casual eatery “Sun’s Out Bun’s Out”, which had egg shaped chairs!

We didn’t have a chance to visit it, but Resorts World also has a large food hall with stalls featuring fancy asian street food. I want to go back with an empty stomach.

My husband did speak with the manager to express our disappointment at check-out. I kept thinking that the problems were from lack of staff due to covid, but the manager confirmed that it was new hotel teething issues.

We felt liked we had made a very bad choice leaving the magnificent Waldorf Astoria in Palm Springs for the Conrad in Vegas. We are very loyal to the Hilton Brand, spending many weeks ( if not months) a year on Hilton properties, and left the Conrad feeling even more disappointed that the manager acknowledged the many problems, but didn’t offer any apology or compensation. Something small on his part, even a warmly expressed apology, would have gone a long way.

I think my husband summed it up best when he stated that the Conrad is a convention hotel. It’s located directly across from the convention center and would be a perfectly adequate hotel if you came for business. It reminded me of The Palms. It’s a trendy, mid-range hotel on the strip. The Conrad is pitched as a luxury hotel, but the true high-end property at Resorts World is Crockfords, which we didn’t realize until we had already booked the Conrad. We might be enticed to stay at Crockfords, but we would likely wait a year or so, to allow them to settle in.

Late Summer Road Trip 2019: McMenamin's Kennedy School Hotel

During our year of living in Portland, we discovered a chain of very quirky hotels and restaurants called McMenamins. Founded in 1983, the family-owned business has become famous in the Pacific Northwest. Although they are a chain, no two locations are alike.

Our friends from California visited us during the spring of our year in Portland, and they raved about McMenamin’s Kennedy School Hotel, which they visited for cocktails. The location of the hotel was a former elementary school that was built in 1915, it had been abandoned until McMenamin’s renovated it, turning it into a unique hotel with a movie theater, multiple bars and restaurants.

Here is a picture of the Kennedy School in the 1940’s.

And how it looks today…

The entire property takes on an Alice in Wonderland air, as visitors explore the different rooms, passages and multiple levels. The art work that adorns the walls are clearly not original to the school house, as they take on a nightmarish quality. I kept sensing that this would be a fantastic building for a halloween event. It also must be a very trippy experience for visitors who worked at or attended the original Kennedy School.

In keeping with the “school theme” the hotel has a detention bar. The principal’s office has also been turned into a bar, which two of our friends who are retired teachers, really loved.

We parked ourselves in The Boiler Room for the signature cocktail, Ginger Pear Sidecars. The Boiler Room is an overwhelming experience for the eyes: exposed pipes, ornate lighting fixtures, and beautiful stained glass.

Whether you visit the Kennedy School Hotel or one of their other properties in the Pacific Northwest, you are sure to have a memorable experience at a McMenamins! Make sure to bring your appetite for adventure and stomach for a strong, well-made cocktail! Also, if you plan to visit more than one McMenamins Property, make sure to ask for a passport. Each location will stamp your passport, challenging you to drink your way through all of the McMenamins.