Monday, January 30, 2006

The stories you will hear are probably true...

The weekend is over...Thank God. And that's not a bad Thank God, it's just a "Hey, this was a really good, but long and emotionally hard." We spent time hanging around the island in this beautiful house, talking, laughing and playing "Would you rather?" We watched movies on the big screen tv and we talked about our community and where we've been, where we are at now, and where we have the possibility of going. It was fun to see so many different people using their strengths this weekend. It was beautiful.

So, the story you are about to hear is completely true. There is no way in hell that I would make this up...it's too good.

When we left Breckenridge, it was 3:00 pm. The snow had been falling steadily since we got up that morning and Loveland Pass had been closed. We decided that we would all stick together because there is safety in numbers. We stopped to get gas and then proceed to take 30 minutes to go 0.5 miles to get on to I-70. That's right 30 minutes. Luke, Sheralee, Maria D., Jim, Beth, Frank, Vivie, and Jen Po., decided that they would turn around and go 285 because they thought it would better than waiting to get onto I-70. That left Mark, Jenny, Maria G., Jared, Jeff, Tsinia, Wendy, Beth Anne, David, Sara, Hayden, Nick and myself on I-70. Then it took us 3 hours to get from Dillon (Highway 9) to the Eisenhower Tunnel. 3 HOURS!! In the process of that, cashews and chips were thrown between cars. Jenny left her car to sit in ours and left ours to sit with Beth Anne and Wendy. Yogurt was given to us, but without a spoon to eat it with, I threw it back at Wendy and Beth Anne. The phone was ringing off the hook. Come to find out, the group that went 285 got turned away half way and it ended up taking them to the Springs, so they didn't get home until at least 9:00 pm last night (remember, we left at 3:00 pm).

So, when you are sitting in a car, waiting to get to the tunnel, eventually you have to pee. David came up with a creative solution twice. Jenny, Wendy, and Beth Anne took their friendships to a whole new level and Jenny ruined (that's my opinion fully) Wendy's Nalgene. I however, saw an opportunity of a lifetime. There was a RV on the highway next to us. I couldn't hold it any longer, so Nick and I swapped seats, and I ran across three lanes of traffic (they weren't moving so I felt safe) to knock on their door. I kindly asked to use their bathroom and THEY LET ME!! I couldn't believe it either, but that my friends is the power of WOO.

The beauty of this trip home was that Nicky and I laughed, a lot. It was exactly what I needed (and I think he needed as well). The trip home, all 4.5 hours of it was beautiful. And the memories we all share are wonderful...so it wasn't all that bad.

And let the Internet know...no matter what you hear, "To The Max" will not, I repeat, will not make a come back, no matter how often Beth Anne decides to use it.

3 comments:

Nick Richtsmeier said...

Believe it or not that story is entirely true. Amazing how sixty miles through the mountains that takes you 4.5 hours to drive could be such a positive and memorable experience. One might say that it is true to the max. "To the max" in this case meaning that it is so true that it makes it the kind of true that you want to remember, think about, laugh about and remind you how good the world can be, even in the randomest of circumstances. A great day... to the max.

Viv M. said...

to the max indeed :-D

and for the record, those of us that "felt" the springs were the way to go made it home at 8:30pm, not 9pm... granted, we'd been in the car since 3pm... son of a...

there's only so much trivial pursuit you can play... jen pope and i played the "i went camping and brought a..." game... (we brought and apple, a boy, campsite, dog, estrogen, fire, gumdrops, hairball, istanbul, a jew, kalamazoo, liquor, mantage, nukkie, opium, q-tip, roadblock, staple, tacoma, underwear, vase, window, xena the warrior princess, yo-yo, and a zebra. crap! i forgot what p was!!)

apparently the car in front of us was singing songs in the voice of elmer fudd...

a great day to the max, indeed...

Anonymous said...

Actually, Sara said,

I peed between David's front and back doors - squatting, ending with Kleenex... Just wanted ya'll to know.