The Lemonade Trip

Sometimes life just doesn't go as planned for whatever reason. And sometimes, it's really crappy when things don't go as planned. Really, really crappy. And while it's cliche, when life hands you lemons, you can either be all bitter and crabby, or you can make lemonade. And while the lemonade doesn't change or make the crappiness go away completely, it leaves a much better taste in your mouth than staying home and being bitter and crabby.

So with that, here are pictures from "The Lemonade Trip" to Aspen this weekend.

A little schoolhouse outside of Leadville

Heading up Independence Pass

It was not long after this shot was taken that it was deemed unsafe to try and get licorice out of the bag while driving at anytime the guardrail is nonexistent.

At the top of Independence Pass

Is it just me or does it look like they carved out the top of the sign so that people would know they're at the top of the pass?

Headed down into Aspen - some of the only blue sky we'd see the whole trip

Natasha and I at the Maroon Bells

The Maroon Bells

A pretty little church on the road to Aspen Highlands

The show poster at BellyUp Aspen the night we were in town

Even in Aspen, an ice cold PBR following an adventuresome day is delightful

The Hotel Jerome

This is where we stayed. It opened in 1889. The halls are decorated with framed newspapers from years past. The woodwork throughout the hotel is amazing. The staff, some of the friendliest ever. Our spacious room faced Ajax Mountain. Who doesn't love an upgraded room, right?

The J Bar at Hotel Jerome

We caught the end of the Nuggets heartbreaking loss to the Lakers here while enjoying the bar's specialty "Aspen Crud" (milk, bourbon and ice cream, blended up to make a delicious bourbon milkshake) and truffled fries (AMAZING)!!!

Sunday we took our time getting going since it was rainy and overcast, again. Then it was off to checkout the neighboring areas. First stop...Snowmass Village

The flowers in the picture are tulips. We were amazed momentarily that they had hung on for so long. Then we remembered that the mountains are a month or so behind us as far as the seasons go - so they're right on time, and absolutely gorgeous!

Woody Creek Tavern

Then it was time for lunch. After a morning of looking at multi-million dollar homes that made our heads spin, we found this little out of the way hot spot for lunch. We left the highway and followed a smaller road along the river, through a little trailer park area and then came upon the Woody Creek Tavern. The walls are covered in pictures and bumper stickers and the tables were packed. It appeared that most of the patrons had arrived on bicycle.

Colorado River

The river was hauling through Glenwood Canyon, the amount of whitewater was amazing! We drove by the hot springs in Glenwood, but it was rainy, and cold - so the the thought of swimming wasn't so appealing at the time. Not so for the probably 300 or so people who we saw swimming when we went past.

Empire, CO

The last stop on the trip was in Empire - home of the chocolate covered bacon and the most amazing Mountainberry Pie!

Norm didn't go on the trip, but he was happy demonstrate exactly how tired I felt by the time we got home.

Friday Five - VACATION

1) What did your family do for vacations when you were a child? Or did you have stay-cations at home?
Our family vacations were almost always to Estes Park, CO. Camping in the summer, sometimes a cabin in the fall or over Easter. One year, we even had a stop in Kansas City, MO on the way to Colorado. (I grew up in southeastern NE - for the geographically challenged, KC is not on the way - however, Barry Manilow was playing a show there the night we were to leave 2 out of 4 enjoyed the show - Dad and sis sat way in the back on the lawn at the Starlight Theater). There was one year that we spent sometime around Colorado Springs too. The longest vacation ever had to be the year mom signed up for a workshop in Jackson Hole, WY. We drove, in the little car. On the way, we spent a few days in Estes, then on to Jackson where Dad would take Katie and I to all the cool things around the area while mom was at class and then in the evenings, we'd go back and do the really cool stuff again with mom. They had planned to stop in the Black Hills on the way home, but I remember quite a bit of protesting from the backseat - we were tired of being in the car and just wanted to be home. If I knew then what I knew now, I would have been game to go - the Black Hills are gorgeous!

2) Tell us about your favorite vacation ever:
There are several. The year my friend Megan and I came to Colorado for a couple of days of whitewater rafting (that would be the trip that got me thinking about guiding someday). The trip to San Francisco last fall - even if half of it was actually work. And the epic car trip through Estes Park on the way to Jackson Hole, WY. Backpacking with Bonnie last year, even if it was only two days, it was a good one. Oh, and of course, the year that I took Braden & Sam and their sister camping in Colorado...for a week. The boys were 4 & 7, and I think they loved every minute of the Gameboy free week...except maybe when I made them take a shower to send them home clean to their folks. They were just talking to me about that trip earlier this week.

3) What do you do for a one-day or afternoon getaway...is there a place nearby that you escape to on a Saturday afternoon/other day off:
Estes Park and neighboring Rocky Mountain National Park. Growing up I always wanted to live close enough to make having an annual pass worth the money. I find myself there often - it's a place that feels like home (especially Sept-May when it's not full of tourists). When it's too hot in the city, sometimes I load the furkid into the car and head "up the hill" for the afternoon. Or when my heart is aching for whatever reason, it's always been a place that I could go and get away from the troubles of the day and find some peace. Nothing seems to clear my mind like a drive in the mountains, grabbing a sandwich and heading into the park for a drive around - and usually a stop at the old fashioned candy store on the way home. :)

4) What's your best recommendation for a full-on vacation near you...what would you suggest to someone coming to your area? (Near - may be defined any way you wish!)
There are so many options. A week camping and in RMNP. Making a big loop from Denver down to Colorado Springs (Garden of the Gods, Cave of the Winds, the cliff dwellings, etc.) on to Canon City to see the Royal Gorge, then on up the highway to Salida and Buena Vista for some rafting. A winter trip to any of the ski resorts (Keystone & Vail are my favorites) - even if you don't ski, there's plenty to do!

5) What's your DREAM VACATION?
I have a list...Hawaii, St. Lucia, San Francisco (again), Alaska, South America, Prauge...I can't pick just one.

Bonus: Any particularly awful (edited to add: or hilarious) vacation stories that you just have to tell? ("We'll laugh about this later..." maybe that time is now!)
There's a story, but I'm not laughing about it yet...

We Did It!!! - Half Marathon Recap

So a couple of weeks ago, a day that seemed so far off in the distance when we signed up in February arrived...


It came very early. So early that when the alarm clock went off, the furkid didn't even give a thought to stirring. Not even when I got out of bed, and started moving about the place. It wasn't until I woke him up and made him go out just before leaving that he got up, and even then, I detected some attitude. The picture above is the clock in my car...and it's 20 minutes fast.

After a quick stop in Longmont to pick up my half-marathon buddy Natasha, we were on the road to Fort Collins. We pulled into town and I was surprised by the number of cars on the road. That is until I realized that they were all headed to the same place I was. We found a parking spot in one of the reccommended garages near Old Town and finished readying ourselves for the task at hand. I picked the garage farther from where the busses were loading after assuming that the one closer would be full from the marathoners who had to be there an hour before we did (stay tuned, this was probably the best assumption I've ever made).

I think the excitement of the event started to get to me a little, because while truthfully, I was scared and wondered what in the world I had talked us into doing, all that ever came out of my mouth was "I'm so excited"...

So we boarded the mandatory bus to the start of our race. Funny, we waited in line maybe 10 minutes or so, and it never dawned on me to snap a few pictures. Oh well. Once we were dropped off at the start, we had plenty of time to stretch and wonder some more about what we had gotten ourselves into.

Here we are waiting for the start with the Cache La Poudre river in the background.

Just before 7:00AM, the whole lot of us halfers started to migrate toward the start. This was about the time that I started remembering the dreaded 5-10 minute run we used to start P.E. off with every day in junior high. I wasn't going to be running this race, but still, I knew I was in for at least 3.5 hours of walking, best case scenario.


Thankfully, Tash thought to get a photo as we actually got started. About a quarter of a mile down the road was one of the coolest scene of the race. There was a huge bend in the road, and the entire visible road had people trying to find their pace and place in the pack. It was pretty cool.


The route made it's way out of the canyon on the highway and into the little town of LaPorte where we met up with a hiker/biker trail that would take us all the way into Fort Collins, and mostly along the river. There were many beautiful scenes on the route, one hill and by mile 6, two big bad blisters that slowed me down significantly. I had serious thoughts of bailing at miles 8, 10, 11 & even 12 (there was no aid station at 9, or I would have thought about stopping there too.) But then, just as we came off of the hiker/biker trail and turned the corner...the most beautiful sight of the day appeared before my eyes.

There it is...off in the distance...the FINISH line! Again, thankfully Natasha thought to snap this picture, because finding my camera was the last thing on my mind at the time.

Here we are, just past the finish line, with our half-marathon finshers medals. We did it! After hanging out at the finish for a while, sending some messages and getting some much needed water, we headed off to the car. Here's where that assumption about parking came in quite handy...the car was just across the street from the finish! And by some miracle, we had even managed to snag a spot on the ground level, just inside. After unloading our bags and finding our flip-flops, it was time to get back on the road and head for home.

Loveland is half way between Fort Collins and Longmont. Loveland is also home to the only (that I know of) Runza in Colorado. We decided to stop for a post race celebratory lunch, and stretch our legs a bit too. I'm sure it wasn't the best choice for post-race dining, but it can't be any worse than the pizza they were serving at the post race party which we skipped.


When I signed up for this race, my only goal was to finish...and I did it. The next couple of days were pretty slow going, and I was quite surprised. But by Monday night, I was sure that I'd be signing up again next year. And now I have a time to beat (hopefully by a bunch), lots of advice on keeping the big bad blisters at bay and hopefully even some motivation to really train for it, and maybe even run next year.

Last weekend Natasha and I got together to celebrate one more time - this time with post race pedis. We figured a week later, our tootsies deserved a little pampering!

Now, time to find the next race. It probably won't be a half, but having something on the calendar is certainly a little extra nudge to get to the gym more often.