So, in March 2018 I went to visit Paul, Sarah, and Orion in Vermont. At the end of my trip, Paul drove me to the Burlington airport for my flight home. Well, United had oversold the flight, and had to lose 3 passengers before they could fly. This was right after that incident where they pulled that doctor off the flight and got a lot of blowback for it. So they wouldn't even load the plane until they got three people to give up their seats. They started offering travel vouchers. Then they raised the amount the offering. Then they raised it again. When it got to about $1500, I thought, "hmm. Maybe I should take that. I'm working a part-time temporary job that will still be there if I miss one day..."
In the end, I got $2200 from United to not fly that day, and Paul came back to the airport and picked me up. United rebooked me to fly the next day, and Paul was relieved because they didn't have childcare worked out for the next day, so I was going to get the whole day with Orion! As it turned out, a blizzard came through and they canceled my flight for the next day, so I flew the following day. One takeaway is that I always overpack on underwear when going to Vermont, I frequently end up staying longer than I thought I would be.
So for the next year, I was able to have some fun trips and use my United money to buy flights for my family as well. Here's what I did in the last year with my United money:
April 2018
My good friend from the Peace Corps, Anna, was getting a surprise baby shower thrown for her in Louisville, Kentucky. I thought I wouldn't be able to go, because who flies to Kentucky for a weekend when your friend doesn't even know you're coming? But when I got the United money, I booked a flight, and rounded up our other Peace Corps friends, Tim and Erin, to join me. It was a great little surprise mini-reunion!
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| Tim, Eric (Erin's husband), Erin, me, and Anna on a chilly April weekend in Louisville |
I was able to spend the rest of the weekend with Anna and Kyle, and I visited Anna at her job, as well as checking out the American Printing House for the Blind museum. It was so cool, had tons of information and artifacts about the history of braille. I highly recommend it. Also, it was free! You should go!
August 2018
Orion turned 2 this summer!! I used my United money to fly out to Vermont to celebrate his birthday. I got to spend some time with him doing Auntie Adventures, while Paul and Sarah were at work. We went to a nature center right by their house that has this cool outdoor preschool playground. We spent a long time there and Orion loved it.
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| Two years old!! |
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| The obligatory Orion and Tia Laura selfie |
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| We did some rock climbing in crocs at the nature center |
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| He is happy boy! This is also at the nature center. |
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| Here he is cooking me some pie soup. This is in the fenced in preschool playground at the nature center. The preschool itself is in the red barn behind him. |
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October 2018
In October, Paul and Sarah went to an no-kids-allowed wedding in California, so Orion came and stayed with his Colorado family for the weekend! I was able to buy all of their tickets out here with that United money. It was beautiful weather and we had tons of fun with O. We took him to the zoo, and to this cool park near us, and to storytime at the library which featured a visit from a real firetruck!
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| Orion riding a triceratops |
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| Reading with Uncle Awesome |
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| A little rest and a snack with Grandpa Craig |
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| Checking out the firetruck with Tia Laura at storytime |
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| Walking through the zoo with Grandpa Craig |
February 2019
My dad turned 70 this month! We decided to throw him a big party with all his friends. It was a super great party, everyone had fun! As a special surprise, I was able to bring Orion and Paul out for a long visit. He was very surprised, he had no idea they were coming! They stayed a week, which meant we had lots of time for fun! Paul, Brian, and I did an escape room with our friends Dana and Henry. We had dinners with the Westlunds, dinners with Phoebe, and dinners with other friends. Orion got to visit the zoo again, the Children's Museum, and of course, I took him to story time at the library.
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| The room set up for Dad's party |
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| Orion contemplating life in a box |
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| Orion and Paul video chat with Sarah, who stayed in Vermont to settle into her awesome new job |
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| This is when I said I was going to take a nap, and Orion said he would sit by me and work on his computer while I slept. : ) |
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| Sudsy boy in the tub |
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| Nothing is as fun as the recycling bin, am I right!? This was Orion sitting in his 'paper machine' |
February 2019 (two days later)
Right after the boys flew back to Vermont, I used the last of my United money to go to San Diego and visit my friends Yaw and Helene and meet their new baby, Alexia. It has been a long time since I've seen them, and it was just the best trip, exactly what I needed after the stress of the week before, which was the Denver teacher's strike. We did lots of relaxing, which was fantastic. They live right across from Balboa Park, which is amazing, so I spent several hours there, looking at things, doing the audio tour, and visiting the United Nations country cottages. On the weekend, these little cottages (House of Norway, House of Puerto Rico, etc) are open and filled with memorabilia from that place, and a person hosting the day, and often food, music, or other cultural activities. If you go to San Diego, be sure to visit Balboa Park on Sunday afternoon!
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| The buildings are amazing! This is Casa Del Prado, just one of the places built for the 1915 California-Panama exposition. 1915! It's basically brand-new! |
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| The beautiful California Tower, one of the few places built for the exposition and expected to last a while. |
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| Helene and Lexi |
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| Lexi and I got along famously |
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| Again, the obligatory Lexi and Tia Laura selfie |
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| Lexi finds swinging and listening to Yaw talk to be highly entertaining. |
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| It was not excessively warm that weekend in San Diego |
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| But it was beautiful! |
Bonus Adventures
I also took a trip to Michigan to be a bridesmaid in my friend Dana's wedding in May! I did not use the United money because I wanted to fly Southwest, but it was still one of my fun trips this year!
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| It was a fairy tale wedding! |
If you haven't seen this video of Brian and Orion, do yourself a favor and watch it several times in a row.
Also, on Labor Day, my good friend Ben came to visit from Utah! We rode bikes around Golden and did an escape room! And as good luck would have it, our friends from Tucson, Claire and her boyfriend Tomas, were also passing through Denver that weekend, from Argentina (!) and so we were able to get together with them for a little picnic in the park!
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| Ben, Me, Tomas, and Claire! Reunited in Denver for one afternoon only! |
P.S. Sorry for everyone in this post who uses accents in their names. I couldn't get it together to figure out how to do accents on letters. Je suis desole and lo siento. : )
