Various Writings

WESTWARD HO!

- being the True and Compleat accounting of the author's journey westward, beyond Pike's Peak; the which gained him, and his wife, membership in that most elite group of western Travellers - Pike's Peak Busters.

by: C.J. Van Becelaere

Chapter the Fourth - A Very Pleasant Stay wherein our protagonists find themselves possessed of a marvellous suite and a disgraceful choice in autos

        Arriving via shuttle-omnibus at the Denver airport with time to spare, we settled
ourselves to await our aeroplane's appointed departure time. Having learned through hard
experience the foolhardiness of attempting to time departures closely, we found our way to
the appropriate gate in excess of fifteen minutes in advance of the scheduled take-off,
only to find that the aeroplane was yet being serviced, and our departure would be delayed
somewhat.
        Eventually, the most efficient and friendly attendant began taking names in
preparation for our boarding. Looking out the window, though, I could see no evidence of
an aeroplane - the only vehicle which seemed ready to service our gate was an omnibus of
the most ordinary kind. Needless to say, we were somewhat apprehensive as to our arrival
in Santa Fe's being on time, as omnibuses are notoriously slower than are aeroplanes.
        We soon came to realize that this was but a connecting conveyance to our eventual
vehicle at its resting place near its hangar. The aeroplane was a bit of a surprise, as
it was almost no larger than our omnibus, accommodating no more than nineteen passengers
and most of their luggage. The flight to Santa Fe, with but one stop en route, though
exciting, was essentially uneventful; though we saw more mountains than most people are
blessed to see in their entire lives, and from such angles!
        Santa Fe soon hove into our view, and the aeroplane banked eagerly into the turns
our pilot charted. Once on the ground, we had but to retrieve our luggage from the small
wheeled cart, and we had done it; we had actually made it to Santa Fe, and less than
four-and-twenty hours behind schedule!

Quickly and easily finding the car rental counter, we proceeded to procure our
vehicle, when, horror of horrors, it was discovered that there were no Buick automobiles
to be had1 To make matters worse, the best that could be done for us was to supply us
with (shudder) an Oldsmobile! Fighting back revulsion and disgust, we bravely entered the
heavily padded interior of the cruiser, setting our collective mind to enjoy the ride as
much as was humanly possible, under the circumstances.
Driving soon eased our mental muscles into a more relaxed state, wherein we were
able to actually enjoy the ride, as we passed magnificent, majestic mountains on our way
to La Posada de Santa Fe, that most honored of hostelries.

        Finding the way with very little trouble, we soon arrived at the hotel's office,
checked in, and were finally in our room - or rather suite, for it turned out to be rather
one of the nicer accommodations we had occupied for any short period of time. Nicer, in
fact, that many of the apartments wherein I had resided during my years at university;
nay, nicer than all of them!
        And there, awaiting us in the refrigerator, was a fine bottle of champagne and a
splendid assortment of fruits and cheeses, all in the quite nicely outfitted kitchen.
        We then proceeded to have one of the nicest week-ends we had spent since our first
meeting, lo these few years ago.

The details of our stay would be tedious to our dear readers, (as well as
embarrassing to your faithful author) and accordingly shall be omitted, but to say that we
enjoyed the hospitality of our fine host-in-absence to the full, and found very little (if
anything) wanting in our choice of destinations.

In the next, and final, chapter, dear reader, we shall finally reveal the amazing
twists of fate which led us into another state altogether, before we finally were reunited
with our dear home.

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