Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Altitude Sickness

As I mentioned in the previous post, we are in Colorado. Mountain Village, Colorado, to be exact. It's over the mountain from Telluride. We take the gondola to get there. Nifty, huh?

I want to be clear that the purpose of this portion of the post is to cause envy in the reader. Having established this, I shall continue with a description of our lodgings. We are staying in the "smallest" of the Mountain Lodge's suites. I put "smallest" in quotes because it has a foyer, living room and full kitchen. There are two closets in the foyer, one of which I imagine is designed for ski gear, but Emma's stroller fits into it nicely even when unfolded. There is also a full mirror which Emma has discovered is always there for her full enjoyment.

The kitchen has a stainless steel refrigerator, and came supplied with all the cutlery, pots and pans, dishes and silverware Suzy Homemaker could ask for. The only thing that is really missing is an oven, which I definitely miss every time I have the urge to make sauerkraut, but I am on a diet after all so who needs all that salt. There is a breakfast table between the kitchen and the living room.

The living room has a leather couch and armchair that sit across the room from the large screen TV which is mounted over the fireplace. There are also french doors that open out to our balcony with a view of the snow-peaked mountains. The fireplace is what separates the bedroom from the rest of the suite. It has a king size bed, another TV, and a grid from the fireplace in case we get cold. There are large windows with a view of, you guessed it, snow-peaked mountains.

The bathroom is another story in itself. I've never seen a bathtub so deep. It is contoured so that you have arm rests and a headrest if you let the water come up to your shoulders, and on the left there is a little button you push to make the jets come on.

Other details include the tile in the bathroom, kitchen and foyer, which are of stone. All the curtains are this amazing blackout curtain that really does succeed in "blacking out" the light if we want to go to bed early, which we have been doing. And did I mention the view?

So those are the things that are supposed to stir sinful envy within you. Now here is the thing that is going to bring you to reality: altitude sickness.

I am so tired. The problem is that my muscles are used to getting more oxygen than they are right now, so I'm very sore. That is why I'm updating my blog this late. Emma hasn't been too effected by the difference in atmosphere. She did get over her bout of sickness (thank you, Jesus) and she's eating normal food again.

The only problem Emma is having is with her bed. Apparently it's uncomfortable because for the past two nights she has woken up sobbing, and it's not like her to be afraid of unfamiliar places. So she's sleeping in our bed. She's taking up about half of it, actually. Meng and I are on either side of the bed and she is smack dab in the middle, lying sideways, stretched out as far as she can be. I've tried moving her. She just ends up back the way she was. We are going to have to find a different arrangement because I'm constantly worried I'm going to roll over on her, and quite frankly, she is stunting any sexual activity that could be possible in this altitude.

But enough about her. I'm here to moan and complain. My muscles hurt. And my head hurts. I can hardly walk 300 yards without worrying that my heart is going to jump out of my mouth. Also my nose is bleeding. It started with just trace amounts and it's gradually becoming more and more. I'm tired often. And I can't eat big meals! Who knew you needed oxygen to digest big meals?

With the way my heart is pumping all the time, and the little that I'm eating, I had better lose 10 pounds while I'm here.

So besides all that, we're having a blast. Frequent trips to the hot tub have been in order, along with gentle shuttle rides and drinking lots and lots of water. Tomorrow we plan to stay in and read, and the day after hopefully hit a hiking trail. Goodnight, world. Here's to heavy sleep due to oxygen deprivation!

1 comment:

  1. And those are all the reasons Colorado is the most "in shape" state. No oxygen!

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