New Year's Celebration

Here we are at the start of a new year. it seems like just yesterday we celebrated Thanksgiving and now we are heading towards Valentine's day!

I thought I would post a few pictures of our New Year's Eve bash. We have spent many New Years with a group of our friends and gone to many different places. My dream has been to stay in downtown Denver, dance the night away and see the fireworks at midnight.. this was to be my year!

As a group, we decided to stay in Denver but the challenge was to find an affordable venue. Out of the blue, one of my friends heard about a dance being held at the Ramada which would offer Swing, and Ballroom, dancing. Yippee!!  The best part...was the price!  Well, that should have been our first clue!

I wish I had taken more pictures, but when we first arrived at the hotel, the reality sunk in and I was in shock for the first hour.  Now don't get me wrong, I am not a hotel snob but I think my expectations were too high...way too high!

We walked into the lobby, for check-in, the carpets were dirty and the decor was from the 70's. Does anyone remember the foiled wallpaper? This place had not been renovated since the 60's or 70's, and every nook and cranny revealed the wear and tear.

 After receiving our room key's we asked where we could park the car ( silly me, I thought the room was inside this main building)...Oh No..we had to drive around to the back of the building where the rooms were. Let me tell you, any Motel 6 would be better than what we found.  One couple, who checked in before us, drove immediately to Safeway to buy Clorox Wipe's  and then tore down the sheets looking for bed bug's!

Sorry I did not take pictures of the bathroom..the toilet was stained, the grout on the floor tile was moldy..thank goodness it was only one night!  Our friend's room was so cold they had to ask for a portable heater to keep them from freezing in the single digit temperatures that Denver was experiencing.

After everyone had checked in, laughed about the rooms and the venue, we decided to go out for dinner. We went to La Loma's Mexican restaurant.

I tried to enlarge this but for some reason it could not make a change

Waiting for our dinner.

The Tortilla Machine!

The tortillas went through the oven, then the conveyor dropped them into the basket.

Handmade Gingerbread House

The meal was fantastic and I need to get better at picture taking because my meal was devoured before I thought to take a picture! The tortilla's were so soft and yummy, my mouth is watering just thinking about it! We enjoyed good food and fellowship. The conversation flowed as we caught up on our respective families, pets, jobs, activities of the retiree's, health and anything else that popped into our heads.

After dinner, it was back to the hotel to put on our fancy dud's, for a night of dancing! Although the ballroom left a lot to be desired,  we had a great time with our friends.

Our Table

S and the two G's..

K and B

G and A

Guess who!  Yep, Me and Hubby!

Dancing the Night Away

Two-Step, anyone?

How about some West Coast Swing?

Can not tell here, maybe Night Club Two

The Hustle Champs!

Then it was time for the Countdown..out came the party hats, the noise makers, bubbles and horns!

Yes, you have to wear the hat!

Happy New Year!

Midnight came, champagne toasts, New Year's kisses, fireworks, more dancing then it was off to bed!

I tried to get a picture of the Fireworks!

After little sleep because of the many revelers that partied ALL NIGHT outside our room, we met for breakfast. I will say the breakfast was FANTASTIC! We talked about our night and decided that we would not return next year. REALLY????  Because I like the idea of staying in a hotel,  I will be on the hunt for a hotel that is affordable and offers dancing.

Even though the venue was not what we expected, it was fun to be together. We were able to laugh about the circumstances, no one was upset, we enjoyed bringing in another year and look forward to many more!

We made more memories to add to the many we have shared!  

Blessings,

Shawn