Monday, July 16, 2018
11:37 p.m.

Vacations are great. Family reunions are even better.

Early in the morning of July 12th, I was on a Greyhound bus headed for Trinidad, Colorado with a full suitcase, my laptop, my phone and a gazillion books courtesy of my Kindle. It's about a four hour trip from Denver, the driver was amusing, and the bus was only half full on a Thursday morning, so I was able to sit alone.

Yay!

Nothing against other people. but I like to spread out while I read. You get it, right?

Anyway, I arrived at my destination just before noon, and the fun began.
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Sunday, July 22, 2018
10:16 p.m.

Maybe I should just start over. Suffice to say, the REAL fun began when I tried to download the vacation photos and my laptop developed a huge case of I-don't-wanna-itis.

Took me a few days, a High School class get together and a few other things to get back to this post.
You know, after dealing with the laptop issues.

So, to continue the Family Reunion post--here we go!


My sisters picked me up at the bus stop, which is oh-so-conveniently located right across the highway from the hotel where everyone stayed. How cool is that?

I got checked into the La Quinta in Trinidad, Colorado, which I will highly recommend to anyone who wants a people and pet friendly venue. Great customer service, clean and comfortable rooms, a great breakfast buffet and reasonable prices--what more could you ask for?

I quickly met the newest member of the household, little Molly, ten weeks old, full of fun and sass.

She was not at all interested in posing for pictures! Ha ha! Every time I aimed my cell at her, she rushed me and ducked her head under it and attacked my chin. I got lucky with this sneaky shot!

My brother got this little deer-head chihuahua for our parents and she's the best gift ever. She keeps them on their toes, and it's important for folks to be engaged with a pet, I think.

Happily, she took to all of us right away, and was quite the belle of the ball.

I don't know if I can express how happy it makes me to see so many family members in one place for a few days and get the chance to visit with them.

Parents and siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins and second cousins--it was awesome. Also, lots of doggies!

Look at that lovely room. It's part of the dining room, where we were given free reign after breakfast to sit and visit to our hearts' content. Pretty nice.

I generally don't mention names in my posts (unless it is a pet!), but this time I would like to do so in order to acknowledge those who made the trip and made my weekend.

Paul & Joyce Shablo (parents)                              Melanie Kotter (sister)
Donna Wardell (sister)                                          Rick & Kelly Shablo (brother & sister-in-law)
Phil & Lynn Shablo (uncle & aunt)                      Al & Carol Shablo (uncle and )
Bob & Bea Turmenne (uncle and aunt                 Gloria Ferraro (aunt) & her fiance, John
Mike and Debbie Shablo &son (cousins)             Tony & Reta Shablo (cousins)
Stacy Shablo-Lydic (cousin)                                 Michelle Foster & Mark (cousins)
Mark and Shelly Turmenne (cousins)                   Bobby and John Foster (2nd cousins)
Scott Kingry (cousin)                                            Kelly Kingry
Skyler and Victoria Kingry (2nd cousins)            Shanna Kingry (second cousin) and children
Cameron Shablo (second cousin)                         Santana and Roman (third cousins)

We were also visited by a few local friends of the family, and that was great.

I don't know about your families, but mine likes to eat. Off we went to Tequilas for some great Mexican food. Great service, too. But--my, oh my, it is so noisy! Lots of people talking at once is a little headache-inducing. (In a good way, of course.)

 

 

 

We were so full we could hardly wiggle.

 Speaking of noisy, we were pretty loud in the dining area of the hotel. But who could blame us? We don't get together that often. So much to say!

We also took advantage of the large patio area while we were there. Great place for kids and dogs, and grown ups who need a little sunshine and fresh air.

 

There's nothing more important to me than family, and it means the world to me that so many of us agree that it's a priority to make time to get together and keep the bonds strong.

This reunion had a great turnout, but I'm hopeful that next year even more family members will be able to attend.
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Coming soon--Things to do in Trinidad when you thing there's nothing to do.

It may not be big, but this place has a lot of interesting places to visit.

Until next time!

Cio!