The Walker's Haute Route Trip Report: Day 1

Goodness it's been a long time since I posted anything on this lovely blog...six whole years!! Much like video killing the radio star, I think instagram killed the personal blog. So what am I doing here all these years later? I decided that the best way to record and share our recent trip-of-a-lifetime to Switzerland would be here on my blog. As we were preparing for the trip, we found the information that other people shared on their blogs and websites an invaluable resource, so in order to document our fun and share what we learned with others, I'm posting our trip report here.

Day 1: Albuquerque-Minneapolis-Amsterdam-Geneva-Chamonix

Oh what an incredibly long day! We left for Albuquerque around 10 am. We had to stop at REI before going to the airport because after looking at the weather reports, we decided there was a very good chance we'd be hiking through rain the entire trip, and Justin's only rain jacket wasn't exactly waterproof.  It's amazing how relaxing and not stressful flying is when you are only traveling with adults. It's also pretty nice when you are only traveling with small-ish backpacks. We flew together to St. Paul, and then we were booked for two different flights from there to Amsterdam. Fortunately, the nice lady at the Delta counter was able to switch my flight to go on the earlier flight with Justin (this was apparently such a big no-no, that she didn't even charge us the flight change fee because she didn't want to leave any record of the transaction). It was nice to be together for the long flight over the ocean--especially since I got super motion sick at the end. I made it all the way until we landed before I threw up...We had a few hours of a layover in Amsterdam, but I was feeling so exhausted and nauseous, that we opted for sleeping on the floor rather than trying to go into the city at all. Justin was kind enough to take the picture of me conked out on the floor.

We were excited to finally get on our last flight to Geneva! When we arrived, we were very disappointed to find out that our shuttle was delayed due to some sort of car fire at the tunnel, so we had to wait a couple of hours...

The drive to Chamonix took about an hour, but it provided us with our first views of the Franco-Swiss Alps and Mont Blanc! We used Chamonix Valley Transfers, and it cost 35 Euros each (which seemed to be the going rate for most of the shuttle services). It was easy to book and they were very friendly. 

Oh how happy we were to get to our hotel in Chamonix!! We stayed at Hotel Le Faucigny, which was right in the center of town and had one of the best breakfasts of the trip! The person at the hotel offered to keep the hot tub open for us, but we'd basically been awake for about 24 hours at that point, so we really just wanted to eat some dinner and go to bed. We were very grateful for the restaurant recommendation. We ate at Cap Horn, which was one of our top two favorite meals of the entire trip. It was also one of the cheapest (due to the fact that food in Switzerland turns out to be insanely expensive)! Justin had to try escargot since we were in France. They were actually really yummy! I guess if you soak anything in enough butter and herbs, it will be delicious. We both chose the fish (which was amazing), and a cheesecake and sorbet dessert that was fantastic. The whole meal probably took two hours, and I may have started dozing off between courses, but it was totally worth it for the delicious food. When we finished dinner, we wandered around the center of town a little bit (and Justin took a video of me). But then we went back to the hotel and crashed! We had to get some sleep for the long day ahead of us on Day 2! Here's me (obviously tired) talking about our dinner:

Merry Christmas 2012

Harpers Ferry

We recently went on one last family rock climbing adventure with our friends/neighbors before they leave city life for Montana.  Colton keeps telling us that he is going to go to Montana with Harper.  He's pretty sad to lose his "best friend."  We're pretty sad too.  Here are some highlights from our adventure:

How YOU doin'?

Hi, Mommy.  I'm irresistibly cute!

Foreshadowing?  If I'd gotten the shot two seconds earlier, he actually had his arm around her waist.  He loves her.

Colton and Harper even got in on the action.  I think Justin put a little more muscle into getting Colton to the top than Colton did...

"I've been crawling around eating dirt and trying to choke to death on acorns for the last two hours.  Rock climbing is awesome, Dad!!"

"Thanks for bringing me Mom!"

I think Harper might have been ready for Colton to let go...

Weightlifting

Justin's been working out.  He got two very cute (though not-quite-evenly-weighted) volunteers to help him out.  These two are available for anyone looking for a good shoulder workout.  Just to warn you, they are a little bit squirmy.  

Brian's first haircut

After posting twice about Colton's haircuts, it would seem amiss not to document Brian's first haircut as well, even if it wasn't quite the traumatic ordeal that Colton went through.

I'm so happy.  I have no idea what is about to happen.

What's that thing?  Why is it coming toward my head?

Hmmmm... I'm not sure about this.  It kind of tickles.

Oh, I see.  I'm supposed to suck on this cord.  Now I get it.

Dad's pushing my head down.  This is great!

Okay, maybe it's not so great.  Dad, could you please let my head up?

I'm serious!  Stop pushing my head down!  I don't like this one bit!

Are you done yet?

You let my head up, but this doesn't seem to be any better...

I guess I'll forgive you guys for the torture.  I look super cute and you let me go to town on some delicious peaches with rice cereal.  Hooray for my first haircut!

I said it wouldn't happen...

I assumed I would never get around to blogging about the months that I missed, but the boys are both still napping, and I still don't want to clean up...so here's to a photo recap of the un-blogged months, in no particular order. 

Colton looked cute in a helmet and harness while rock climbing with all his Durham cousins in Rock Canyon.

Rather than roasting a marshmallow on our family campout in Bryce Canyon, Margaret decided on a different treat... (don't hate my for that caption, Marg!)

Colton enjoyed his marshmallow, but was less appreciative of the sticky hands it left behind.

Marg and Josh posed during our hike.  (And despite the lack of horses and photo evidence, Chad hiked as well!)

Colton is probably the best 3-year-old hiker ever.  EVER.

Michael and Spencer hiked too.

We love national parks, and we wish the picture of our whole family had been in focus!

Colton loved hiding in a cave with Parker and Jane.

Fourteen years later, and Em and Dan still know how to pose for an engagment shot!

I'm so cute without my helmet!

But I was cute with my helmet, too!

Arrrrrgh!  Fair thee be warned...

Hey look! I participate in family activities as well.

It doesn't matter if the library parking lot is filled with all your favorite trucks in the whole world.  A loud horn is horrible no matter what.  (Yes, we had to leave truck day because the honking was a little too much for him.)

Same, same!

I had to throw in some pictures of me because my original version made it appear that Justin is a single dad.  I swear I'm an active part of this family.

Looking cute (and similar) at the park.

Please don't hate me Brian, but you honestly have the cutest bottom in the entire world.

Intense heat and humidity will make even the most scary pirate loose a little enthusiasm.

So that is what we've been up to by way of photo-worthy activities.  The end.

Some things never change

I can't believe that I haven't posted anything in five months.  And I don't mean that rhetorically.  I was literally surprised to see how long it's been since my last entry because I have written so many fantastic posts in my head over the last several months.  I guess I just forgot to actually write them down.  I apologize to my adoring fans who were dying to see Colton and Brian at the park or in Utah or on a Pirate Adventure in the Chesapeake.  I'm sure those posts would have been witty and amusing, and hopefully you will forgive the fact that they are now probably not going to ever happen.

Well, this was one post I couldn't let slip away into the recesses of my mind.  It had to be recorded.  I know that it is not uncommon to document a child's first haircut.  We did with Colton.  It was awesome.  He was screaming and covered in hair and yogurt.  We recently gave Brian his first haircut as well, but that is not the point of this post.  The point of this post is Colton's 27th haircut.  Okay, I don't really know what number, but the kid is three and has had plenty of haircuts in that time.  You'd think he'd have calmed down about it by now, but I just had to share with the world have far we have not come.  Behold:

Colton was a little bit chubbier at 7 months, but I'm pretty sure the sentiment was the same: "Why are you doing this to me?"

"I thought I could trust you.  Why would you submit me to this?"

"Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop RIGHT NOW!"

At least this time the hair wasn't sticking to the yogurt on his face.  Poor child.  He did get a sucker at the end to compensate for all the suffering...