December 2019

December 6^th weekend – we took Friday off and slept in before whipping up some coffee.  Soon we were packing up and loading Flo for the drive up to Glenwood Springs to celebrate the 21^st anniversary of us dating.  By the time we left the house we were hungry so stopped at Qdoba and Firehouse Subs for lunch and were then on our way. 

The drive to Glenwood Springs was uneventful as traffic was light and the dogs were thankfully quiet.  Susan remembered a couple of things we had forgotten to bring so we stopped at City Market for a minute before checking into our hotel. 

We stayed at Hotel Colorado which is a historic hotel with wide hallways and odd-shaped rooms.  At Susan’s request I had called to ask that we get a room overlooking the courtyard and we were.  This was great as there were neat Christmas lights and it was fun to people-watch in the evenings. 

Hotel Colorado is pet-friendly but only allows two pets in total.  As we brought all three dogs we had to employ a bit of subterfuge.  Basically I carried Bella up to the room covered in a blanket after we’d walked the other two dogs in.  No biggie as Bella never had to leave the room to do her bid’ness since she uses puppy pads. 

We were hungry again and brought our swim bags for the walk across the bridge to The Pullman for dinner.  We found it to be a hip restaurant with interesting offerings.  Susan got a burger and I ordered a chicken dish.  The food was wonderful and we enjoyed the atmosphere. 

After dinner we walked to the main hot springs pool and started hot-springing.  We found the pool to be largely the same except for some stairs that appeared since our last visit.  It was chilly outside but not unbearably so and we enjoyed a couple of hours walking back and forth across the large pool and boiling alive in the smaller “hot” pool. 

Once done at the pool we walked back to our room to hang out with the pups and crack open a bottle of wine. 

Saturday we slept in before feeding the dogs and taking Pebbles and Mel out to do their morning business.  We elected to eat a late breakfast in the hotel restaurant and found the food and coffee acceptable.  I was feeling out of sorts so we went back to the room to relax and let the caffeine kick in.  Once I determined a nap was out of the question we dressed and left. 

We drove to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park to have some adventures.  We rode their new gondola up the mountainside.  It was a longish journey with a nice view.  At the end of the line was a faux town and several attractions.  We elected to do the cave tours. 

The timing was such that we first went on the King’s Row Cave Tour.  The tour lasted 40 minutes and was packed.  The guide really tried hard to be entertaining and his enthusiasm was generally effective.  The grand finale was a room chock-full of natural cave features that our guide had personally lit with different colored lights.  We were sufficiently wowed. 

Once back outside we walked to the entrance to the Historic Fairy Cave and sat on some benches.  Soon enough a different guide arrived and we entered the cave.  This guide had a nervous personality but did a great job telling us about this and that.  Our group was a bit oversized but we made due.  The Fairy Cave was discovered a long time ago and most of the original formations are gone.  It was still an interesting tour and proved to be much longer than the King’s Row tour. 

Upon exiting the cave the tour guide mentioned a spelunking box Susan might enjoy trying.  She eyed me and told me I wouldn’t fit.  We walked around and Susan was delighted to jump in the large contraption and climb about.  The sign said to expect a 15 minute journey but Susan pulled herself out in a hair over 10 minutes. 

We walked along the faux town and discovered their alpine slide “Alpine Coaster” was operating.  For some reason we thought it was closed for the season.  After picking up tickets from the gift shop we came back to take a ride.  The operators told us that the brakes were unnecessary so neither of us utilized them at all.  The ride was surprisingly enjoyable and faster than we expected.  We both agreed it was worth the price though the seat backs seemed to have been designed with children in mind instead of full-grown adults. 

After walking around the gift shop and looking at this and that we took the gondola back down to our car. 

We returned to the hotel to feed and take care of the dogs before driving to Rivers for dinner.  Unfortunately we were informed on arrival that the restaurant was closed for a private party.  We sat in the car looking for a substitute eatery and settled on Glenwood Canyon Brewpub. 

We drove back to town and found excellent parking on the street around the corner from the restaurant.  The brewpub had a standard tavern-style menu and Susan ordered steak and I their fish and chips.  The food was amazing and we absolutely stuffed ourselves. 

Iron Mountain Hot Springs was our next stop and we made our way there with no delay.  It was busy though we managed to find room in the various small pools when we needed to.  While Susan reveled in the hot pools I enjoyed the cooler ones and we alternated for a few hours.  It was a really nice time.  Iron Mountain isn’t cheap but has a pretty slick operation going on including nice showers complete with soap and conditioner. 

We returned to Hotel Colorado to find zero parking as there were three separate parties going on.  I drove around the building twice before lucking into finding someone leaving. 

Later in the evening we people-watched the courtyard.  It was interesting seeing the various couples doing their couple-things.  Lots of selfies and holding of hands.  It was cute enough that we decided to head down ourselves.  I brought Pebbles and Susan led Mel down and we sat next to one of the outdoor fireplaces and chatted about this and that.  It was cold but we didn’t mind. 

Sunday came and we were up and out of bed before 8:00.  After taking care of the dogs we again ate breakfast in the hotel restaurant.  Susan wanted to get a picture of all of us in front of the main Christmas tree so, after we packed a trolley with all of our things, Susan asked someone to capture the moment for us.  Susan had dressed the dogs up in various holiday clothes and they looked cute as could be. 

We stopped for gas on the way out of Glenwood Springs and hit the road a whisker before 10:00.  Said roads were a mix of wet and slick as the morning had begun with snow.  The closer we got to Denver the worse the traffic became and it was stop and go up to Eisenhower Tunnel.  Despite the delays we made decent time and made a stop at our favorite Walmart for food stuffs before finally arriving home. 

After completely unpacking (something we usually don’t do) we plopped on the couch with our tired pups.  During the afternoon we napped off and on before ordering pizza for dinner.  It was a wonderful anniversary weekend. 

December 14^th weekend – not a lot went on.  On Saturday we slept in before coffee-time and drove to a new liquor store to get free wine glasses and cheap wine.  The holiday traffic was pretty ridiculous in Park Meadows so we went to the Parker Walmart and then Target to buy other stuffs we needed.  Once we were home and unpacked we hung out with the pups for the remainder of the day.  Sunday we didn’t get up to anything which was alright. 

December 20^th weekend – I took Friday, Monday, and Tuesday off to burn up the remainder of my 2019 vacation.  While I did accomplish a few errands much of my time was spent hanging out and chillaxing with the pups.  Over Saturday and Sunday I’m confident Susan and I did this and that though I honestly can’t think of anything particularly noteworthy. 

Christmas day started with a mid-morning alarm followed by coffee.  Our food assignment was to prepare mashed potatoes and bring stuff for a relish platter.  I thought it would be fun to make the potatoes a little different this time so we made a parmesan, caramelized onion, roasted garlic mashed potatoes.  After I chopped stuff Susan handled the caramelizing and roasting before I mixed it all together.  I thought it tasted pretty good but Susan was unconvinced. 

I called Mom to wish her a happy birthday.  Sounded like her holiday was shaping up to be a good one which was nice to hear. 

Susan and I packed up our food stuffs and headed to Kari and Alvin’s around 1:30.  We arrived just before the turkey was lowered into the deep fryer.  We’ve seen some scary videos about deep frying turkey but Alvin did a great job and no flames were forthcoming. 

We hung out and chatted about this and that while the turkey cooked.  One thing that is super-nice about deep frying turkey is how fast the meat cooks.  The bird was essentially ready in about an hour.  Just before food-time the last guests made their appearance.  In the end Susan, myself, Kari, Alvin, John, Karen, Emily, and her husband Jeff sat down to eat a fantastic meal. 

I liked everything but Susan absolutely did not like the taste of the mashed potatoes.  I think next time we’ll prepare the potatoes in a more traditional manner.  Once our bellies were full and the tables clear we played a few hands of Cabo. 

Susan and I hadn’t played in many months and had a good time.  Emily and Jeff had to leave to pick up Emily’s kid and we all started a new game once they came back.  This game seesawed all over the place with several crazy hands and high points.  It ended abruptly when Susan successfully “shot the moon” and punished everyone into her winning the game. 

Susan and I finally got home after 10:00 to take care of our needy creatures.  It was a nice Christmas for sure. 

December 27^th weekend – Friday we went out after work.  First was a stop at the post office to pick up a heavy package.  In the box were the parts necessary to swap Scrappy’s motor.  Then it was off to dinner and a bit of shopping. 

Saturday we woke to find a fair bit of snow on the ground with more coming down.  With the weather outside frightful we elected to stay in all day and hung out with the pups. 

Sunday it didn’t snow anymore but it looked cold out so we snuggled up on the couch again.  Not exactly a productive weekend but it was nice nonetheless. 

New Year’s Eve was just Susan and myself at our home.  I made a bunch of spinach and artichoke dip and bought entirely too much pita bread for us to munch on.  As the final seconds of 2019 ticked down I popped a bottle of Costco bubbly we had left over from last year’s New Year’s celebration which was surprisingly still yummy.  Crazy to think that another year and decade has begun.