We're back!

Chris and I went on quite an adventure over the past 8 days.

We started out in Silverthorne, CO visiting with my best friend and her husband. I don't ski but I was happy to hang out with this cutie while they skied. Ginger and I had planned lots of walks and plenty of relaxing and stitching.

That plan went totally awry. The condo was at 9600 feet and I got an astounding case of altitude sickness. After drinking lots of water, to no avail, they got me oxygen and that helped enough for me to have the energy to book a hotel in Golden for the last 3 days. Chris dropped me there and I Lyfted all around Golden and Denver for a few days.

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While Chris skied I checked out fabrics stores in the area. One of the highlights was finding this quilt shop. Have you heard of Wooden Spools? They sell beautiful yarns and fabrics and have the coolest business model. They BUY and SELL fabric! If you have unused fabric that is still in new condition they will buy it and they offer it for sale at wonderful bargain prices. You can tell they they are picky about what they buy so it's all great quality. If you are ever in Denver be sure to check this place out.

I also found the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum and was thrilled with the current exhibit. The theme is "It Takes Two" and the show features famous artist duos Claudia Clark Myers and Marilyn Badger, Sue Nickels and Pat Holly, Jan Hutchinson and Gail Stepanek, and collaborations from Christine Perrigo with Chawne Kimber, Latifah Saafir, Kathleen Probst, Karen Lee, and Stephanie Ruyle. It's a wonderful exhibit! I took lots of photos and will try to get them edited to post next week.

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When Chris and I planned the trip I considered the first part "his" vacation so I added on a "her" vacation and that was to stop in Flagstaff on the way home so I could finally see the Grand Canyon. I had adjusted to the altitude in Denver so an extra 1000 feet wasn't a problem. We only had 2 days but we filled then up! There's no describing the vastness of the Grand Canyon and I'm so glad we stopped to see it. We drove to the lava flows at Sunset Canyon, visited the meteor site and even went to Winslow so that Chris could get a photo "on the corner" and pay homage to his favorite band. Between the meteor, lava and canyons we definitely got our science on.

The second day, after visiting Winslow, we drove the stunning Oak Creek Canyon drive to Sedona and I got to meet Patricia Caldwell! That's the exact same Patricia Caldwell who makes so many beautiful things with my fabric. We visited the gallery where her work is sold so I got to see several pieces of hers along with the fabulous photos of her husband, Bill Caldwell. They took us on a great tour of the red rocks around Sedona. We are definitely going back there sometime.

We had lots of adventures with flights and rental cars. Going out we just barely got up the mountain before the blizzard hit because our flights were delayed by 2 hours and then the rental car company couldn't seem to give us the right car. They would send us to a parking spot but it would be the wrong car. On the third try they were so embarrassed that they gave us a Mercedes SUV. It was a lovely car but we are so inept that we had trouble figuring out how to even turn on the windshield wipers.

When we got to Flagstaff there were no cars! She actually offered us a 15 passenger van. We were about to take Lyft to the hotel and wait for a car to be delivered the next morning...which was fine. But then she gave us a big Nissan SUV that she wasn't supposed to rent out. It was a nice ride. Much nicer than what we paid for.

I learned a long time ago that if you are nice to the customer service people they will generally bend over backwards to help you. When we were leaving Richmond last week our flight was delayed so much that they had to book us on a later connection in Charlotte. While I was at the counter a couple came up INSISTING that the nearby gate be opened to let them on the plane (because the plane was still at the gate). "They didn't hear the flight being called and we were sitting right there". The guy was really ugly and the counter lady finally said "Are you sure you want to be so rude to the person who is about to help you?" His wife finally pulled him away. They seriously acted like it was the airport's fault that they missed their flight. Well, they wound up sitting beside us on the flight to Richmond where I learned the truth.....they were in the bar while the flight was boarding! There are 2 people who are always going to be disappointed in what life hands them.

Meanwhile the American agent was kind enough to wave a $20 fee for me.