Thursday, July 23rd
Aloha, compadres! Hmmm, I don’t think I am quite far enough west to use that phrase. I’ll have to save Hawaii for another trip. But enough jibber jabber. On to the day’s adventures!
Morning Road Trip
We wake up not quite bright and early ready to hit the road in our rented car. Destination? Estes Park, Colorado: this year’s location of the ever-entertaining Porter Family Reunion. It is a rather small car that we pile all our luggage and personages into, but we make do and hit the road with our trusted guide: Carmen the Garmin.
Now Estes Park is not that far away. Maybe two hours tops. Well two hours, if you’re not driving with the Porter family. Deciding to take the age old adage to ‘stop and smell the roses’ quite literally, our road trip is peppered with stops to stretch our legs…every twenty miles.
Ok, ok, this is somewhat excusable because of the 4 licensed drivers in the car, only my mom could legally drive the vehicle (stupid age restrictions). So we decided to carpe that diem and visit anything and everything that looked interesting along the way.
Boulder: the college, the rock, and the best free frappés
While driving on our way to Boulder, Colorado, I happened to remark that I had a few friends who went to school at the University of Colorado at Boulder. This realization of course morphed into a spontaneous decision to stop and tour the campus. I mean, why not? The destination was entered into Carmen and we realized that the exit was only 0.6 miles from our current location. How is that for timing?
Navigating the streets of Boulder was a little confusing, I admit. Ultimately, we were forced to stop and stare confusedly at the campus map until a nearby student took pity on us and offered to help. Rugged Mountain Man (who was actually neither rugged nor really a mountain man – he just had a beard) was very helpful and sent us in the right direction.
But alas, it was not to be, as he sent us to the wrong building. Thanks a lot Rugged Mountain Man.
So first stop, fail. We left the college to seek out any place that sold caffeine, preferably in large quantities. Lo and behold, just around the corner was a Starbucks. However, just beyond that corner was a McDonalds, whose prices were about half that of Starbucks. Being of the frugal type, we chose the latter.
This turned out to be a great decision.
At this McDonald’s, we went in and ordered a selection of mocha frappés and smoothies, all of which were delicious. Standing there at the counter we were passing them all around to everyone since we couldn’t decide which one we liked the best. I mean, seriously. They were all delicious.
The manager noticed us standing there, making a quite a big deal about this fact. (Yes, we get super excited about little things). He asks us if we want to try the caramel frappe and then proceeds to make mini frappes, complete with whipped cream, caramel sauce and adorable little cups FOR EVERYONE. AND he gives us cards for free Red Box rentals. Gahhhh, I love spontaneous nice people. Thank you, awesome mr. manager!
So all in all, Boulder is on my good list.
Nederland
The next stop we make is at Nederland, whose only claim to fame is what they refer to as The Frozen Dead Guy. Now this is some po-dunk little mountain town of about 1,000 people. But apparently, several years ago (I forget the actual date), two Dutchmen showed up here toting a frozen dead guy. Side note: these Dutchmen have since been deported as I am pretty sure importing dead people is mildly frowned upon at customs.
So this dead dude was one of those people who freeze themselves in hope that one day we’ll discover how to reverse death. Now, despite my slight condemnation regarding this practice, I was intrigued. However, much to my displeasure, we were NOT permitted to see the body. I was not happy.
But we do go explore this tiny mining town and its cute little shops, stopping to take classy pictures such as these:
The rest of the road trip was fairly uneventful as I slept most of the last leg. When we stopped taking breaks every 20 miles, my body did what it always does when granted a few spare moments: sleep.
Y! M, C, A
We arrive safely, soundly, and late at the large YMCA campground/retreat complex that we will be staying at for the next few days. This is a large area covered in lodges, sporting fields/courts, cabins and the like. Rimming the entire complex are gorgeous views of the mountains.
Checking in, we manage to bump into a number of relatives. Much rejoicing, cheek kissing, and re-introductions ensued as we all reacted enthusiastically despite the fact we only vaguely remembered each other’s names much less how we are actually related.
The first problem arose we when discovered that we actually didn’t have enough beds for everyone in our immediate family. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem since we are great at sleeping in floors or bathtubs, but our meal cards were tied to the number of room occupants and four was the max. Uh oh. Luckily another nearby relative took me in and has graciously offered in bed for me in their room. Thanks Anne!
Meeting the Clan
After dropping off our stuff, we head to the giant meeting hall where mayhem ensues. Every family member present at this reunion is in this small room and we are all rejoicing at seeing each other. And if there is one thing I can say about the Porters is that we loooove to talk.
So just a brief summary, we have a little over 80 people attending this reunion, as unfortunately many Porter family members were unable to make it. I’ll find out the exact number of descendents still living and give you guys that tally later. But it’s still a lot of people, so nametags were a necessity.
Anyways, it was actually a lot of fun, as Social Ellen came out as I flitted and fluttered among the relatives. A good hour and a half was spent in high-powered jibber jabber before we went to dinner. And then much more jibber jabber at dinner. And then more post dinner. Finally, after all of that chattering, we all got the chance to introduce ourselves to the group and provide updates since our last reunion in 2007.
Hmm so this post is already extremely long, so I’m going to stop here. I might give you guys a summary of what my family is actually like, but I’ll save that for another post. One thing I will say though, is that the ultimate test for any potential future fiancé out there is to survive an encounter with my family. This is no small feat, I assure you. Think My Big Fat Greek Wedding style family, though minus the Greek.
That being said, I am signing off for the night. Hasta luego!
1 Response to Free Frappes and Frozen Dutchmen
Social Ellen? Man, so many Ellens to keep track of...
seriously, the part about the Big Fat Greek Wedding minus the Greek part is hilarious. One of my favorite movies. A bit unfair to the stiff WASP side of the family, but love the crazy large family part. And oddly familiar!
Enjoy the family time, and the social butterflying...
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