~*~ John Denver Affirmation Tour ~*~
“That John
Denver
is Full of Shit”
Date: July 26 – July
29, 2007
I got a call a few weeks ago
from Brad
asking about the possibility of taking a long weekend. It turns out he had
decided to fly me to Denver for
his family reunion. We decided to make a full weekend of it and spend some time
in Rocky
Mountain
National Park.
It was dubbed the “John
Denver
Affirmation Tour” as we were on a mission to prove that John
Denver
is not full of shit when he sings “Colorado
Rocky
Mountain
High”. And here I was…about to walk into a lair of unsuspecting Holloway’s.
I think I should have been more scared than I was.
I
left Newark bright and early before the buttcrack of
dawn on Thursday morning since my flight left at 6:45AM. I had decided ahead of time that since
this was a direct flight, I’d bring all of the items I would need for the
upcoming trip to Montana so as not to lose them. It worked out
well as my flight was on time and my luggage arrived with me.
My
first thought as we landed was that John Denver really was full of shit because I could
not see a single mountain anywhere. That changed once we left the airport and I
was treated to the Rocky
Mountain view off in the distance. We had about an
hours drive to Stone Mountain Lodge in Lyons, CO which I spent most of with my
mouth open, giggling and trying not to lick the windows of the Jeepasaurus. I
think Brad appreciated my efforts. When we finally
arrived, reality set in and I was a little bit nervous realizing that I was
about to be confronted with about 40 members of his dad’s side of the family. I
would have been on my best behavior…but that really isn’t saying much to begin
with and he assured me that his family wouldn’t be.
Fortunately,
most everyone was out and about doing different things so my arrival was nice
and quiet. His parents were the first that I met and immediately I liked them.
How could I not? They really did a pretty damn good job with at least one of
their sons. After exchanging hugs with Bob and Cathy and spending some time chatting, I met
his cousin Sean, his wife Marlo, their kids and his
grandmother. 
We relaxed at the pool and had a beer or
two while just talking. It was nice to feel so at ease with people I had never
met. It reminded me a lot of when Brad
and I first met two years ago in Banff…just an instant connection and friendship
of two very similar people with a lot in common.
The
onslaught arrived a few hours later and pretty soon there were children scampering
all over the place, madness in the pool, and just general mayhem that comes
with family reunions. When you have a family as small as mine, this kind of
thing can be amusing. I don’t think I could name 40 people in my entire family,
let alone on just one side of it and only some of them! People were actually
missing! Everyone kept saying I would be tested on names later…oh Lord…there
was Sean, Brittany, Marlo, Wendy, Bob, Cathy, Larry, Louise, Lexi, Morgan,
another Sean, Darcy, Chelsea, Chelsea’s boyfriend who’s name I have no clue,
Ryan (Brad’s brother), Timmy, Tyler, Luke, Kim, Jeff, Bob and a ton more. For
awhile, I thought my head might explode.
Jeff and Kim were getting married that night in a
small little ceremony so before long people retreated to take showers and get
ready. I was assured that shorts, tee-shirts and Crocs were fine to wear and
that people would 
probably not put their beers down. Love
that! I was a little tired so Brad
and I retreated to the luxurious honeymoon suite of the SD Brothel for a nap.
Beautiful tenting area right between the parking lot and the road. hahaha
Fortunately, he had taken the liberty of kicking the month old dog crap away
from the tent and was also kind enough to shake the tent free of the millions
of ants that had taken up residence on the fly. He’s lucky I love him so much.
By
early evening, everyone was ready for the wedding. We spent about an hour
taking pictures of everyone and every family in every direction possible. I had
to laugh thinking about my mom, grandmother and I with a self-timer and we’re
done in about 2 minutes. It made me feel good when Bob, Cathy, Ryan and Brad went up to have their picture taken…Cathy yelled over to me to get my butt in the
picture. It was a nice gesture and made me feel very welcome and wanted!
The
wedding was beautiful and simple and romantic. After the ceremony, we all
chipped in and brought the dinner (mmmm brats!) down to the reception area
which consisted of a huge white tent and picnic tables. We spent the rest of
the evening talking and laughing as I took every opportunity that I could to
get to know Brad’s family. They are a very welcoming, kind
and dynamic group of people who are simply just fun to be around. More than one
person was ready to marry Brad and I off by the end of the evening. I
enjoyed my time with each of them and look forward, hopefully, to many more of
these times in the future.
It
wasn’t too late when we decided to go to bed…it had been a long day of
traveling and socializing and I was more than happy to crash out and be ready
for the rest of the weekend gallivanting around Rocky Mountain National Park.
Friday
morning we awoke fairly early and found Bob outside with coffee in hand. Of course, I
immediately beelined it for the coffee pot. Marlo had made the most delicious
cinnamon muffins I have ever had – I have to get that recipe! It was a low key
morning with everyone packing up and preparing to leave. By 10:00am, we were ready to hit the road. Brad, Ryan, their parents and I left to meet Cathy’s sister and cousin about an hour away. Bob and Cathy were picking up Tori for a 2 week visit. We
stayed only a short while to transfer all of Tori’s stuff into their car. As it
was, the car was loaded and Brad
and I had managed to get ahold of Ryan’s
cooler which just happened to still be filled with beer. Checkmate!
After
all was said and done, Brad and I were on our way to RMNP at last! I
was very excited to see the park and spend some time around the 14’ers that I
have heard so much about.
The Friday of being a touron
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