Yesterday I decided (rather quickly) that I would drive up to Colorado to see my mother and brother today. Last February, my younger brother had a rather complicated surgery, and then developed pneumonia at the hospital. Both my sister and I went out to be with him.
Luckily, he had a wonderful recovery, so I was able to go visit him some time in early spring (April?) This time, my mother’s fiancé is in the hospital. She relies on him for almost everything, as she does not drive. I am going up to see if I can talk her into getting someone to help her around the house, who can drive her to her bridge clubs, shopping, etc.
Anyway, I am going up for a week, or maybe a little longer. My husband has set my laptop up so that I can get on the internet… with a T-Mobile “stick”>>> which is great, since my mother found that she was no longer using the internet, so she had it disconnected. Yikes! What’s a person to do without the internet?!? (I think my husband thought I would have “withdrawal” symptoms!) Since I will probably have a lot of time during the next week that will be dedicated to waiting, I shouldn’t have a problem keeping up with you all.
I remember way back in time, before I started using the internet, when I couldn’t wait to get up to the hotel room so that I could get organized and settled in for the night. Not so now! I think my husband might have been right about me having trouble with internet withdrawal symptoms>>> I couldn’t wait to get up to my room at the hotel so that I could turn on my computer… Forget hanging up my clothes or getting my toiletries organized. Get me my T-Mobile connection fast!
Du says
Enjoy your visit.
Petie says
Danna, prayers for a safe trip and visit and for all who are ill. Hugs from a rainy Houston!
Maria (BearMountainBooks) says
My parents don’t leave the internet connected either! It was downright maddening. These days we connect for a whole month even if I’m only going to be there a week.
I hope you have a lovely and safe trip. It might be cold up there!!! I predict you’ll get your fill of that fourth season!
Susan says
Best wishes!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thank you for the well wishes.
My family used to make this trip every summer, but it seems like lately, I have been making it a few times a year – alone. Both of our children were born “in Denver” (Aurora) so our yearly trips always included a day at the Denver Zoo and the Denver Museum of Natural History.
The closest I get to sight seeing on my trips out to here now is a drive through the Garden of the Gods rock formations. When I lived here (years ago) I would use that road through the formations as a “cut-through” to old Colorado City. Now I have to make a mental note to go through it at least once while I visit. It is truly a remarkable place. (I mean the rock formations, not the tourist center!)
Maria (BearMountainBooks) says
I’ve been to the Garden of the Gods–they are awesome. We really enjoyed that drive. Co is very beautiful.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Maria, imagine being able to drive through any day of the year! I loved taking that road/path.
marja says
Danna, I have the feeling your mom might just enjoy a “break” from the hospital to appreciate that natural beauty.
I think they call it “Garden of the Gods” for great reasons!
I’m so glad you’re in a spot where you can travel to see your Mom a couple of times a year. It’s so important to be there and be with your parent[s]. (If I could live my life again …. well, never mind that.)
Enjoy being with her while you can.
linda says
Amen Marja!
Donna says
Have a safe trip and a good visit. 🙂 I’m a caregiver for two elderly parents, and it takes a huge amount of patience in soooooo many ways. Hoping my Mom will take to using email and photos, been trying to teach her because I think she will really enjoy keeping up with the extended family if she ever gets the hang of it.
Regina says
When I first started visiting my daughter in Denver, I was much more agile so we visited many of those spots that you mentioned. On one memorable trip, my husband and I drove all the way across CO to take the train in Durango and to visit Mesa Verde. We are so used to driving across CT in a few hours that we were amazed at how much time this trip took. My grandchildren feel closed in when they visit us with all the trees. They are used to those wide open spaces. Have a safe trip.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Regina, Mesa Verde is one of our national parks that is highly underrated. Love that place!
alfred says
Hi Danna and all
I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have internet. I mainly use it for a few things such as I visit a gaming site (that you and I talked about) every day. I also watch a soap opera on here everyday on another website and love to order all my mysteries from amazon.com Please let us know that you made it safely to your destination and everything went ok.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
How did we ever do without the internet, Alfred?
I got her safely, albeit tired…
Regina says
I echo Alfred’s comments. I bought my Mac just a few years ago after my oldest daughter who teaches Computers insisted that I get one. It has been a god send as I am not too mobile. I can shop online, buy books and stay in touch. Now that I can blog with all of you, whole new vistas have opened for me.
alfred says
Regina the one site I refered to Danna is pogo.com. Are you a member? I am . It is a fun website if you like to play alot of games. They also have weekly and daily challenges for badges that are alot of fun as well. By the way how did your booklights work on your vacation????
Regina says
Alfred thanks for the tip about pogo but I am afraid I am not a game player. I was expelled from the neighborhood ladies bridge club for not taking bridge seriously. I was traumatized about games. HA!! The lights were terrific. They served double duty as mini flashlights, and even my husband liked them. They are now packed away for future reference.
linda says
Danna, My oldest brother moved to Colorado Springs just about last year this time. He had been living in San Diego but decided he didn’t want to live there after his wife died. He is now livng with his daughter’s family. We hope to be able to visit this summer, we’ll see. We just hate to drive those long distances anymore. Too many other people drive like they are NUTS!!! Have a good trip. Hope your family members are okay and are on the mend.
Laura says
Ok, I admit I am not the most tech savy person, but can anyone explain what a T-Mobile stick is and how it works? I was just thinking the other day about how quickly society has become dependent on the internet. It is kind of scary. There was an article in the local newspaper about how some twenty-somethings refuse to be on Facebook. Their peers were suspicious of them, as though something was wrong with them.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Laura, I know two twenty-somethings who refuse to be on Facebook, also. It really is sad that they are in the very small minority… as if it’s a club that you absolutely HAVE to belong to…
I call this thing a “T-Mobile stick” but that’s not the technical name for it… it just looks like that to me. (I think it’s actually a USB internet adapter.)
It’s my understanding that it is a cell phone stick. I plug it into one of the holes on the side of my laptop and it enables me to get the internet over a telephone type of “airwave”… In other words, I have no idea how it works, other than it enables me to get the internet (so that I can post entries and comments) without being in a house that has the internet hooked up.
Since I started the site, I have gone on trips without the internet, which meant I had to post-date entries and then have either my son, daughter, or husband (if he wasn’t with me…) to OK the comments…
Laura says
Thanks for the explanation, Danna.
Donna says
T-Mobile sticks and WiFi – sounds like you’ve been watching The Man from U.N.C.L.E DVDs again! 🙂
Margaret says
Danna, I never imagined I would take my laptop on vacation with me but after I lost my two older cats and adopted two new kitties; who alas were way too much for my parents to care for at their home; I had to resort to a Pet Sitter for vacations. So in order not to be a nervous wreck while away, I got wireless “Petcams”. So now wherever I go so does the laptop and I can watch the little “devils”. Plus I find it handy to use online travel brochures instead of paper ones. I have a Verizon Wireless broadband device that works wonderful for travel it has great coverage (I have Fios for home). I also check in with my wonderful Sitter while away. Who knew one could become so dependent on such a device especially since at the end of a work day I didn’t think I could look at another computer screen!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Margaret, those Petcams must let you rest assured that your little fellows are all OK in between the Pet Sitter’s visits.
On my way home, I started thinking of all the “modern conveniences” that made my trip so much easier than it would have been had I not had them:
1) my trusty 2007 car
2) my audible.com MP3 player… loaded with my favorite authors
3) my Kindle for reading at night…
4) my laptop for linking me to 2012
5) my GPS for being able to “recalculate” and thus take my lead whenever we disagreed
6) my cell phone for keeping me connected to my husband, son, daughter, and sanity
All of the above gadgets (if you can call a car a gadget!) made the trip oh-so-much more pleasant for me.