It wasn't all misery

So, after four postings detailing what was wrong with my Christmas vacation, was there anything right about it? Certainly spending time with my brother and sister counts as a positive. Jeremiah and Ellen are both very funny people, so they kept me laughing.  Not everyone is lucky enough to have siblings they genuinely like and enjoy spending time with.  And they were properly sympathetic and supportive as regards my travel woes. On Christmas morning we got up and opened the presents under the tree, just like we did when we were kids. Three people in their 60s exclaiming with glee about this present and that, as if we were seven years old. There were even goodies in our stockings -- hung by the chimney with care -- thanks to Elf Ellen & Elf Jeremiah, who slipped things in at different times. (Elf Melody completely forgot about the stockings, as soon as she'd asked, upon seeing them when she first arrived, "Is there anything in our stockings?" "Not yet!" E & J both exclaimed. "It isn't Christmas morning yet!")

The dinner we had at the Broadmoor Hotel on Christmas Eve was lovely. This huge hotel, located at the lower edge of the foothills that lead up into the Rockies, is actually a AAA Five-Diamond luxury resort, ranked #1 among 104 hotels in Colorado on TripAdvisor. It naturally has several restaurants; we ate at the elegant Charles Court, which is in what they call Broadmoor West, the building on the other side of small, pretty Cheyenne Lake, which lies behind the main building. Both my appetizer -- Little lettuce with duck confit -- and main course -- Jumbo Lump Maryland Crab Cakes -- were excellent. E & J both had the Coconut Crusted Atlantic Salmon, which they also proclaimed excellent. (And note that we were all consuming perfectly prepared seafood, far from the sea.) Because Ellen was on her pain medication, and Jeremiah is essentially a tee-totaler, we didn't have wine, but I enjoyed a Rusty Nail, which soon had me feeling pleasantly relaxed, all thought of my missing suitcase banished for the moment.

The meal served to remind me of my former life, when such dinners out, with friends or my current Significant Other, were not that much of a rarity. I am someone who has never liked to cook, but has always enjoyed "fine dining," as the cliche goes. This evening at the Charles Court was a perfect example of that, with only a few negative notes sounded during the course of the evening (it was a little too cool when we first sat down, the main course took a little too long to appear on the scene). And the hotel was beautifully decorated, with a gorgeous Christmas tree in the lobby of the building we were in (I adore Christmas trees), and trees throughout the grounds covered with lights, turning the grounds into a true winter wonderland. It was also snowing, lightly, which also contributed to the magical look and feel of the evening.

But speaking of the Christmas lights reminds me of a surprising positive note that was sounded on my unfortunate flight back to Portland. On the bus ride from O'Hare Airport to the hotel, as we came off of the freeway, we were greeted by all these trees and shrubs and wire shapes covered with multicolored lights. Even from the depths of my black mood, I couldn't help noticing, and feeling amazed, particularly by the scale of the display. I haven't been able to find online any kind of explanation for this incredible display -- was it just the city of Des Plaines going all out? Something the businesses in the area did? -- but it was unquestionably something "right" about my Christmas vacation.