La Quinta Inn – Glenwood Springs, CO

March 2021

I called to see about checking in early as we were driving for about 4 hours. Initial feeling from that phone call wasn’t warm and welcoming. In their defense, they state on the email confirmation check in is at 3:00. I understand completely.

Parking was easy when we went to check in. Sometimes there can be a backup of cars/people at check in time. But, they have it laid out so there is movement through the area. Walking inside my first thought: What a lovely place! It looks to be newly renovated. The fire was going which was very welcoming. Unfortunately, due to covid, the chairs were put up so we couldn’t enjoy the entry way in its full capacity.

The staff at the front desk were busy with all of us checking in. They were friendly and helpful. Taking time with each party checking in. They were helpful with directions on where everything was located.

The ladies in the breakfast area were absolutely wonderful! I cannot say enough about how awesome they were!! The coffee was great also. WAY better than Holiday Inn hotel brand coffee, and we all know how important coffee is.

The location is great! We were able to walk next door to a diecious restaurant. Walked to dinner across the river/highway to The Pullman. It is a good location to reach the hot springs, downtown and many other adventures.  

I am not sure what is happening here in the sink…. But uhm GROSS!!

The shower didn’t drain properly. Ended up with water pooled up pretty early in the showering process.

We had some issues with the toilet not flushing. Maintenance had to be called a few times, but everything “worked out”. Haha! This is a MUST in every bathroom.

Swirl Travelers gives this location one thumbs up!

2021 Goals

As we start the new year, we are focused on the goals we have. We are always setting goals, small, large, short term and long term. We feel this is important for all of us to have goals in life.

  • Germany to visit friends
  • More skiing! Crested Butte, Vail, Beaver Creek…. We love them all! Maybe we will venture out in April to Telluride! Skiing is such an adventure! The “Got the Rover stuck in the snow” blog is coming forth.
  • Dog sledding.. how fun will that be!? It is something neither of us have ever done.
  • North Dakota family reunion. I think with the way the world is now and has been for the last year, we need to cherish family even more.
  • Yellowstone for the Bison rut. After our adventure in South Dakota with the Bison, they are my favorite!
  • As I am typing this, Big Will sent me a link to a VRBO site in Key Largo. I love his spontaneity! It’s our anniversary month too. Romantic get away with one of our kids in tow. HA HA
  • Have an article published in a magazine. We were perusing Travel and Leisure magazine and found an article that discussed traveling as a black couple. Chubby Diaries, article “On the road again”, published in January 2021. Granted, we are a mixed couple, but the concept can be applied.
  • Have a custom logo created. How exciting is that!? Our own logo… makes my stomach flip over with excitement
  • Complete past Blogs. I am way behind!
  • Look at starting a podcast… because, why not!?
  • P.S. Avoid Porsche in Denver, they are not Swirl Traveler friendly. Porsche in Colorado Springs was Fabulous!!!

As usual, we will discuss the good, fabulous, wonderful and the bad in our blogs. We will let you know our personal experiences and thoughts about our travels.

#goals #Germany #CrestedButte #Vail #BeaverCreek #Telluride #Yellowstone #Bison #Bisonrut #VRBO #Anniversarymonth #TravelandLeisure #Peopleofcolortravel #ChubbyDiaries #Roverstuckinthesnow #Swirltravelers #Keylargo #beachfront #Porsche

Oh Covid

It is amazing how Covid has impacted everyone’s lives. We can choose to look at it in a positive way though. Here are a few of our positives.

Dream: We can plan exciting adventures! Making a bucket list is always a fun time. We need to dream in 3-D. Spending time dreaming of places to explore is one of my favorite things to do. Our newest additions to the bucket list are: Plaza Hotel in NYC and Greece. A link for 3-D dreaming to s: https://www.quora.com/Have-you-ever-had-3D-dreams

Family time: This is a biggie for us. We truly enjoy each other, our kids and our Grand babies! We cherish family time. Playing games over zoom has been a big hit for all of us. One of our daughters set it all up and it is a blast to see everyone on the cameras and play the games! #jackboxgames https://www.jackboxgames.com/

Local: Why not look at what our local area has to offer? We live in a beautiful state, truly! We have been kayaking and fishing a lot this summer. We did a trip to Glenwood Springs too. (Blog to come later) What a wonderful weekend. Glenwood Adventure Park is always fun! The hot springs made for a lovely day relaxing, swimming and soaking. #glenwoodadventurepark

Friends: Hanging out with friends doesn’t have to end. Keeping distanced is much easier when you are outside enjoying life. Virtual runs has been a go-to for us as structured runs are not allowed. Little T even took 3rd place overall in one of the races! #Army10miler #Dundermifflinrunningteam #Hotchocolate10k #alloutmulticourse #maythefourthbewithyou Shout our to Boulder Running Co for keeping us on track with shoes, clothes, sunglasses and other goodies #boulderrunningcompany

Saving money: I don’t know about y’all, but we have saved some serious money this year! Not traveling and staying local, has kept our vaca budget up. When we are able to travel, we have plenty of money to book those trips!

House repairs: Since we have been home, we have spent time doing chores around the house. New gutters, garage door replacement, gardening, upgrading the chicken run, landscaping, new fence… we have tackled a bunch of projects that we have talked about for a long time.

Weight Loss: Spending time at home together has allowed us to cook more at home, which has lead to almost 50 lb loss between the two of us! We started the Plant Paradox in June. It has been a game changer for us. I used to eat an entire container of grape tomatoes from Costco, little did I know that they are full of lectin and make my body angry. On Friday/Saturday we make a list of what we want to eat for the week. Then we make a list of all the ingredients we will need to pick up to make the deliciousness we have listed. Saves us money, trips to the store, time and bonus…. lost some weight. Downfall: we have to purchase new wardrobes.

Star Trek & The Office: Watching from beginning to end….. multiple times. Thank goodness for Netflix

Additional positives from some of our friends: Less traffic, less people in the drop off/pick up lanes at the school, people not standing close to them (I had to laugh at this one), less money on gas, dog is happy with all the love/time, less feeling of being rushed, starting business, not commuting to/from work, appreciation of wine, no pressure to run races through an injury/able to heal properly, hubby home helping with a toddler and preggo mama, more time with kids, no pants, time with an ill dog.

Get to know us!

We are a mixed couple enjoying life! Big Will comes from the East coast and Little T comes from the West coast. We met and fell in love in the middle, beautiful Colorado. Our kids are mostly out of the house, only 1 left at home. So, we love to travel and experience what the world has to offer. We both work full time, but our careers allow us flexibility to travel as we want. Sometimes its weekend get aways, or staycations. Other times, it a cruise around the world or a trip across country in our RV. We have traveled in many different formats. Our plan is to have you travel “with us” virtually that is. One of the challenges we face, that may not impact others, is we are mixed. As much as we want to believe that the world isn’t prejudice, we have had experiences with it. I would love to say we haven’t, but we have. We want to share the positive and the negatives we experience on our journeys.