The Lesson of the Long Weekend

On Friday, I left Gunnison and drove to Colorado Springs. I drove over the Continental Divide at Monarch Pass, which was pretty amazing. It was snowing up there, and I stopped many, many times to take pictures and to look at the scenery from up there. I've included a picture here, of the eastern view of the pass. Even with the snow, it was so quiet and peaceful up there.

Unfortunately, the weather all day on Friday was pretty bad, and the drive to Colorado Springs was no picnic. In fact, the fog was so dense about 15 miles before Colorado Springs that I finally just pulled off the side of the road, stopped for a coffee, and read a book for a while. But I finally made it to Dax and Amethyst's house.

I went to medical school with Dax and Amethyst, and I must admit that I haven't been the greatest about keeping in touch. I last saw them when they were both doing fellowships in Houston, which was many years ago now. But now they live in Colorado Springs, and they have two children, a 6 year-old boy named Alex (actually, he's "six and three-quarters!"), and a 4 year-old girl named Dara. And one super-athletic dog, Starbuck, who has this insatiable drive to play fetch. Literally. All day and all night.

So I lived with a family for several days. And it was fun! The basic rundown was as follows:

• Friday, I had dinner with Amethyst while Dax and the kids went to birthday party #1.
• Saturday, Alex and Dax had soccer game #1 at 8am, and then we ate pancakes and played for a while. Amethyst and I did a little shopping, and then got home so that Alex and Dax could go to soccer game #2 at 4pm (Dax is the coach). Then that evening, Amethyst took the kids to birthday party #2, and Dax and I drove around Colorado Springs and went to dinner.
• Sunday, Dax made us crepes for breakfast, and then he took me out for a spin in his new car, a fully-electric Tesla convertible (pretty fabulous, especially since the weather was beautiful that day). Then we all went to Manitou Springs to do a little wandering around. We came back that afternoon and I stayed home with Dara while she napped, and Amethyst and Dax went to Alex's soccer game #3. That night, we ate supper at their house, and after the kids went to bed, the adults watched Avatar.
• Monday, I took Janie in for her annual well-check (really, her 12,000 mile checkup), and then I took the Cog Railway up to Pike's Peak! Then, last night, I had dinner with the family, we put the kids to bed, and then the adults hung out in the hot tub for an hour or so, and caught up with where our classmates were now, and what they were doing.

First of all, Colorado Springs is beautiful. Dax and Amethyst live just north of Garden of the Gods, which is this amazing rock formation which spreads north/south through town. I have a picture of it here, with Pikes Peak in the background.

Now, as to Pikes Peak: I was not prepared for the weather on the peak. Despite the fact that it was 65 degrees in Colorado Springs, it was only 22 degrees up on the peak, and with a bit of a wind, too (16 degrees with the wind chill). I was not dressed appropriately, with my sandals and lightweight jacket on. I was pretty cold up there, for sure. But secondly (and more embarrassingly), I could tell that I was kind of goofy up there at 14110 feet! I went to the restroom, and somehow, couldn't figure out quite how to pull back up my underpants -- they seemed to be turned around somehow! Now, mind you, it's not like I have trouble with this in my regular life, so the fact that even using the restroom seemed confusing made me realize just how wacky I was up there. It made me think about Jon Krakauer's book about the Mount Everest disaster Into Thin Air, and about how everyone was so confused, even as to who each person was. Trust me, I got a clear visual of how this would be possible, as I stood there, unable to figure out my own underpants....

Anyway, it was a very mellow weekend, overall. I did a little sightseeing, but no hiking and no yoga. I took naps on both Saturday and Sunday. And I played with Alex and Dara and with Starbuck, watched a movie, and hung out in the hot tub. And laughed a lot. It was really nice.

It got me thinking about what this trip is really supposed to be. On the one hand, it's the opportunity to really see the country, to sightsee, hike, be active, take pictures, and get into adventures. On the other hand, it's an opportunity to rest, to relax, to catch up with people with whom I have lost touch, and to explore.

So I'm trying to figure out the balance between the two. And this weekend definitely demonstrated the beauty of slowing down, taking it easy, and being present. I had a really nice time playing with Alex and Dara, and playing fetch for what seemed like hours with Starbuck. I loved my crepe lesson from Dax. I had a wonderful time just chatting with Amethyst. So now I'm trying to figure out how to "do" this trip. Do I:

1) keep running to different places, with the occasional decision to stay in once place for several days? I'll get to see the most this way...

2) change the plan, so that I'm in no more than 1-2 places per state, and therefore able to spend a few days to a week in each place? I'll get to relax more this way, but won't see as many places.

3) stick basically to my itinerary now, but after Alaska, return back into the Southwest, so as to spend more time in the places there that I really liked?

I don't know how to answer all of these questions yet. What I do know, though, is that I really appreciate having time to relax, to talk, to be present, to read, and to think. That I really like being with friends. That I love playing with children. That a simple life can be very fulfilling. That, all this time, I've been wanting something dramatic to happen, when maybe what I need is something simple.