Getting out of Dodge

I know I said that South Carolina needed to get out of Dodge....but so did I. And I knew I had a chance coming up, with a conference this week in a ski resort town about 3 hours away from my home. This has been planned for months, and I've been so looking forward to it. But then it got even better....

Ranger decided that I've been under too much stress lately, and took it upon himself to help with that. The conference started Wednesday, but I was to leave on Tuesday. Ranger and I decided we could spend all day Tuesday together in a lovely town about an hour away, drive the rest of the way to the conference site on Wednesday morning, then he would head back to his home on Thursday (he had to work on Friday). I would drive back to my home on Friday, after the conference.

He had a mission in mind. And as astounding as it was to me, he wanted to make that time about me. "I want you to leave all the stress behind," he said. "This is not about Blogget the Mommy, but about Blogget the woman. Time to be you."

Tuesday morning, I took my kids to school, said "goodbye" until Friday, and headed to see Ranger. He'd come to Grand Junction right after work Monday night, so we could get an early start. When I got to his hotel room, he said, "Remember how I said this was about you, the woman?" He stepped aside and revealed a chair draped in layers of lovely clothing. All manner of get-into-bed clothing.

As I picked up the top one, he said, "This is the only one that's about you as a mom." It was a super soft nightshirt, that read "Special Mom." Another soft nightshirt was red with kokopellis on it. I love kokopellis! Then, a silky pair of pale green pajamas (which I'm wearing now!). Three beautiful items of lingerie. Very sexy! And one super-comfy t-shirt, with my beloved wolves on it. He produced another t-shirt, with similar wolves on it for him. The pose of the wolves was very reminiscent of the pose of the wolf statue he gave me, after our first lunch together. He did that deliberately.

Before hitting the road, we stopped at my office. I had to tidy up some loose ends before leaving town. I returned some voicemails and noticed Ranger watching me. He was seeing me in action, being Smart Blogget The Go-To Gal.

Then, we made our escape. Almost. We took a tour through Best Buy -- one of our favorite haunts. We're such dorks! We had lunch at a local barbecue place. Our conversation took a serious turn, and he talked about the abuse he endured from his father. It's in these comfortable moments together that he opens up to me. He told me about the incident when he retaliated, and put an end to the beatings. He was 14 years old. He also told me the story behind a particular scar on his nose....which apparently was left by someone's toenail, when he stepped in harm's way to allow someone to get away who was less able to defend themselves. Yeah, it's quite a story.

Because he had to come back earlier than I did, we had to take two cars. He allowed me to set the pace, and set it I did! He later scolded me because I went too fast when passing the big rigs. The thing is, they scare the dickens out of me, so I get past as quickly as possible! However, this meant Ranger had to go very fast to catch up to me. He watched the sky, though, and warned me when a plane or helicopter was overhead, beaming radar to the highway below.

Ranger would also call me whenever a song came on his player that reminded him of me. We made note of them, so he could play them for me later. As we neared our destination, he passed me and sped ahead, leading me to a nice place to stop while we figured out what to do with our day. We walked past a hot springs pool and talked about maybe swimming later. We looked at an art shop, and inadvertently walked in on a tap dance lesson for small children. We watched for awhile, delighted at the sheer cuteness of it!

We walked up the hill and stopped in front of a historic hotel. The Hotel Colorado, famous for being the "birthplace" of the original Teddy Bear. The staff here presented President Teddy Roosevelt with the little stuffed bear, after he'd had a particularly unsuccessful hunting trip there. You can read more about it here: http://www.hotelcolorado.com/history.html

The hotel is nothing short of spectacular! Filled with antiques and historic charm. I fell in love with the place. Well, that did it. Ranger spared no expense and found a room for us there for the night. A beautiful room, overlooking the courtyard and famous fountain. The room was charming and luxurious, and very romantic. Okay, okay...so the bathroom was tiny and the hot water takes seven minutes to reach you (they actually tell you this in the hotel portfolio in your room). And the water pressure sucks. But the plumbing was installed in 1940....what do you expect?

Still, knowing how I love history, he'd found the perfect getaway for us for the night. Each step, he was truly making that day all about me.

We combed through the hotel's shop. I found a book with wonderful old pictures from the hotel's history. I "ooohed" and "ahhhed" over it, but put it down because I thought it too expensive. I went to read all the little stories about the many Teddy Bears for sale. They have the Hotel Colorado "original" Teddy Bear -- complete with green velvet vest, embroidered with "HC", and little round Teddy Roosevelt glasses. Other bears are there, each with their own outfits and stories.

I finished reading and turned around to find....Ranger had bought the book for me! The perfect souvenir for this history buff!

We walked to where they've built an amusement park near the entrance to some caverns in the mountains there. The place was closed, but we picked up information to make a trip with the kids another time. So, we walked back, taking time to browse the windows of the shops, which had closed by that time.

We strolled hand-in-hand, arm-in-arm. Sometimes, he'd put his arm around me and hold me close, our strides falling into pace with each other. We just fit together. Comfortably, as though we were always meant to fit together. With our nearly-matching wolf t-shirts!

It was getting close to dinner time. We crossed the bridge, which took us over the interstate, the train tracks, and the Colorado River. An evening breeze stirred and made me chilly enough that he kept an arm around me as we walked. We figured we'd peruse downtown and find a place to eat that struck our fancy.

Right by the bridge entrance, something struck Ranger's fancy. A steakhouse. Juicy Lucy's Steakhouse. The place was PHENOMENAL! I'd drive the hour just to go back there. We had a mushroom soup to die for. We battled each other for the big chunks of mushrooms in the thick soup. Ranger's ribeye was so tender, he could cut it with a fork. I had a melt-in-you-mouth halibut with a crab cake on top. The place is in an older building, too, with exposed brick inside and delightful wait staff and atmosphere.

Dang, I sound like a reviewer, don't I?

But it was the perfect place to end a perfect day. We strolled back to the hotel, with Ranger fussing over my bad knee and all the walking we'd done. At the hotel, we showered...enjoying the hot water after waiting the appropriate seven minutes for it to reach us. Being the dorks we are, we set up our laptops on the small table and shared music back and forth, checking email all the while. He gave me an external hard drive, full of his music collection. 800 albums in all! I know....not the typical romantic evening, but we liked it!

And we figured out part of why we drive so differently on the highway. His driving music is mellow, pleasant, peaceful...enjoy the scenery music. Mine is...manic. Power driving. It's Ra's "Rectifier," or Taproot's "Poem," or Nickelback's "Animals." Flying down the highway, don't-fall-asleep music!

And we made love. Sweet, glorious lovemaking. Breeze fluttering in the antique curtains of the window. Stars in the sky. And us, completely wrapped up in each other and the rare intimacy we seem to have. It was heaven on earth, that night. Sharing a bed with Ranger was perfection itself. He knew when to wrap me up and when to back off. Even in his sleep.

In the morning, I showered and dressed for my arrival at the conference. We had two hours to drive yet, and I'd have to check in when we arrived in Breckenridge. As I dried off, Ranger gave me a whiff of his gourmet coffee, from the shop downstairs. It smelled wonderful! I don't drink coffee, but this aroma was rich and lovely to me, anyhow.

We chatted as I dressed. I started gathering my belongings together and packing up. That's when I noticed something new in my bags....

My very own Teddy Bear. One last souvenir from this glorious day (and night) we shared. Our first time actually sleeping beside each other. And figuring out how well that works for us.

Then, we headed up the road to Breckenridge, and the rest of our little adventure.

More later, dear diary!