"Roughing It" on the Way to Vail

Thursday, June 29 23:04

Our family has always enjoyed the adventure of cross country driving, so two years ago (our first time going to Vail) we took advantage of that opportunity. However, our 1992 Dodge Caravan with 180,000 miles didn't have the same enthusiasm for the long haul. Before we arrived in Vail, the timing belt and the air-conditioning quit on us, and we vowed not to do this kind of excursion again until we had a new car. So, this year we took the plunge, got a new mini van and headed for Vail.

We also added camping to our plans. We stayed at KOA's in Indiana and Nebraska, fully equipped with tent, camping gear and, yes, a microwave. I don't have the luxury of Vail accommodations with a kitchen, so the microwave is very helpful. Even though plugging a microwave into the electric post next to our tent definitely drew the attention and laughs from our hardcore camping neighbors, we enjoyed embarrassing ourselves by "roughing it" as we did.

Anyway, my wife Jane, our daughter Alliya and I arrived in Vail fully nourished by our trip and are once again thrilled to be here.

Warmest regards to our Rochester friends,

--Charles Ross, Principal Timpani
RPO member since 2003