Saturday, August 10 –

Sometimes in life you are in sore need of a vacation. It seems today I had reached that point! Going to graduate school year round, four nights a week and on Saturdays during some terms, has been challenging. Working full time, commuting up I-85 traffic and attending classes from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., before commuting back to the northwest burbs every night has become tiring. I basically use my lunch to study and read every day and spend weekends catching up on case studies, homework and group projects. The grind made me hungry for a vacation!

Exactly 10 years earlier (and a lot younger!), I was an Eagle scout in Alabama. My Dad and our adult leaders took all of us older scouts on a backpacking adventure to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone in Wyoming. This year my mom did a great job planning a trip for our family to visit again.

This was my first trip flying since I started grad school. Mom and Dad drove over to Atlanta last night and then we went out to dinner before finishing packing.

Today we flew out of Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport to Denver International Airport. This airport in Denver is fantastic! Upon arrival, we picked up our rental SUV and drove up to the hippy and university town of Boulder where we had lunch. We then took Highway 66 up to Estes Park. We stayed in Estes Park for the night. We loved the cool temperatures, especially after flying from Hotlanta in the summer!