Glenwood Springs, CO

Glenwood Springs in western Colorado is known for it's famous hot springs. People have been swimming here for centuries, and the Hot Springs Pool has been around for at least one of those. This is the side of the canyon where Glenwood sits. Upon our arrival I was lucky enough to see these hang-gliders slowly falling through the canyon - everyone else was inside checking us into the hotel.

After checking in we headed over to the pool, there was just enough time for a few hours of swimming before dinner!

Dinner always has to be at the Italian Underground. Usually the wait is long, but it's worth it. The snug sitting is in the basement of an old brick building. TripAdvisor visitors give it 4 out of 5 stars. If you're ever in Glenwood, check it out!

As we waited for our turn to eat I wandered up the walkway to find some interesting metal art...

My niece could not resist hiding behind one!

All throughout Colorado, smoking in restaurants is prohibited. Frequently, you'll see people standing about on the sidewalks having a quick smoke before dinner or between drinks at the bar. This sign is a good indicator that some of those smokers have no respect for the gardens surrounding Grand Avenue.

 Day 2 was full of swimming - all day - until this set in...

Guess it's time for a drive home :(

On the drive to and from Glenwood Springs from Denver via I-70 you will pass through a mile long tunnel build through the middle of a mountain. As kids we always tried to hold breath through the whole drive and dad would slow down the closer we got to the exit of the tunnel! 

The tunnel portion on the left is the Eisenhower Tunnel, built in 1973. In 1979, the Johnson Tunnel was opened to allow more traffic to pass through the area.

Driving through the tunnel - hold your breath!!!

One last stop on the way home for some grub. Beau Jo's is the maker of mountain pies, "Colorado Style Pizza." They're made with thick, wheat-honey crust that is perfect for dipping in honey at the end!

Pueblo, CO - Days 1 & 2

Okay, so I'll admit, when the school announced that this year's professional development was to take place in Pueblo, Colorado I was not too excited. I decided to make the best of it and take along my camera and Pepe to tell the story of our trip.

We came into town on Monday night and settled into the hotel room. Pepe didn't mess around:

We had this huge room to ourselves - one bed for Pepe, one for me:

Tuesday was spent in training all day with a short dinner at Ruby Tuesday - ha - that was totally coincidence! Many of my co-workers had driven down that morning and were ready to "hit the hay" for the evening so I wrapped up my night early. I did manage to catch a glimpse out my window to see my view:

Yeah, not really the best view, but I did find out that one of my co-worker's uncle owns the liquor store - Loco!

Pepe and I settled in and watched a bit of TV before wrapping up the evening:

Wednesday was, again, full of training. I tried to snap a picture of Pepe working hard, but the camera was acting up. He was fully engaged - take my word.

The evening was full of a paid dinner and $1 drinks at a local bar. Pepe took a peek over the railing into the Pueblo river walk and said river:

We walked down the street to the bar and it was cool! The place was called Phil's Radiator and looked exactly like an auto shop. Seems like a great concept for a place - although the owner sometimes has clueless people wander in with car parts, set them on the bar, and ask if he can repair it! Hilarious! "No, but here's an ice cold beer"

I decided to leave the bar early - 9ish - before the "crazy" comes out of everyone. I'm thinking that co-workers and $1 drinks are not a great idea. So far our trip has been fun and we learned a little bit about Pueblo. Tomorrow is our last day, so we'll see what kind of adventure comes our way!

Southeast Colorado

A few months ago I took a business trip down to southeast Colorado. I've never really been out that way, so I decided to take some pictures to share my journey.

This is a railroad bridge on the way to La Junta. I think it's very simple and "old skool" so I couldn't resist taking a pic.

 Corn fields are always amazing to see right before they're cut down.

I think this house looks very much like an old plantation. I was driving past so I didn't get the best shot, but you get the idea.

Rocky Ford has a great announcement to their township. I've never seen anything like this!

Rocky Ford grows all kinds of fruits and veggies - I regret not stopping on my way out of town.

This was my destination - La Junta, Colorado - although not super exciting it was something different.

On my way back home I stopped and met up with my in-laws for dinner. They took my a this BBQ place on the side of I-25. Not too bad for a highway joint.

As you approach Pueblo from the south you see this lone windmill on the side of the road.

It was a warm trip - I had the AC on - but I thoroughly enjoyed seeing new sites!

The Sights... Hollywood!

Hollywood Blvd and the Chinese Theater - many celebrities have imprinted hands and feet in cement outside of this theater. As I walked around and saw the famous names laid forever in dried mud, I wondered what it must be like as a current actor to be asked to lay your name beside the greats... I would never feel worthy enough.

Shirley Temple is one of favorite actresses. She was so young and spent many an hour inside bars with her mom and manager, while they discussed her work and pay she would just sit patiently and wait. My great-grandfather was a bartender inside a frequented bar and one day decided to create a special drink just for her, maybe you've heard of the Shirley Temple? When I was young, that too was my drink! So awesome!

Although difficult to see, in the upper left hand side is a sign at Hollywood and Vine. I knew this intersection was famous but could not recall what for, according to Wikipedia it gained fame in the 1920s for being the center of radio and movie-related businesses. Although there is not much there now, you can see that the sidewalk is adorned with Stars as part of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Hollywood sign - this is about as close as we could get. It sits amoung a beautiful area in the mountains and looks over the city, as seen in the picture below.

This is the Griffith Observatory. It's a great FREE way to learn a bit about space. The dome to the left contains a high powered telescope that scientists use to observe the sky, day and night. Of couse, it is also the location for many a movie scene. Can you think of your favorite?

For those of you that are fans of Kat Von D, here's a shot of her tatoo parlor, LA Ink. Only minutes from my cousin's apartment, it's not in the best part of town.

This picture did not turn out great, but the top sign is a higway marker for the famous Route 66. In my previous blog post I included a picture of the "End of the Road" in Santa Monica.

Although these are only a few of the sites to see in LA, we managed to cram it into a day and a half. Not too bad! I look forward to returning and being able to spend more time exploring to see the beauty and infamy that's almost at every corner!

Food!!!

Food - it wouldn't be vacation if I didn't talk about it!

There are so many famous places to eat in LA, but we had only so much time. One necessary stop was In-N-Out Burger. These will never move to Colorado because it would be too far to transport their never-frozen meat, so one must consume it when one can. We managed to squeeze into this one during the noon-hour and after fighting our way to a table, wolfed down fresh cut fries and yummy burgers!

As we walked toward Hollywood Blvd., we came across this gem. You may have seen Ron Howard hanging out here in the film American Graffiti (not exactly this location, but you get the point). We had already stuffed ourselves full of In-N-Out so stopping was out of the question, but still a great landmark!

Donut shops were a common site whilst driving around LA. I snapped a picture of this sign while we were stopped at a light, later I found out that it's actually part advertisement for a Neon Sign Museum - it's a shame we didn't have time to look around.

As I mentioned in the previous blog entry we ate at the North End Cafe and Pinkberrys, both mentioned on TV.

We were lucky in that our breakfast was provided by the hotel every morning. This made it easy for 4 of us girls to grab a quick bite and then get ready for the day. On Tuesday we visited Santa Monica and had dinner along the promenade at a great Italian place. The waitress, although nice, was a little overly excited about being in Hollywood and finding out about goings-on around town. She was giddy when my sister explained she had just tried out for The Voice... at least she's enthusiatic.

Wednesday night we treated my cousin to a mexican dinner at a great place on Sunset Blvd. The margaritas were huge and it put us in the mood for swimming!

Along our journey towards Hollywood Blvd., my cousin took us into Yammy's Pizza. Come to find out her roommate is empolyed there and is trying to make it a landmark in LA. They recently installed wood panelling on the front of the counter - sign your name and praise the pizza!!!

Adventures in LA - Days 1 and 2

My sister decided to try out for a reality show called "The Voice" where the producers are looking for talented singers. My sister chose a try-out location of Los Angeles, California. Our adventures began on August 29th. We flew to LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) in the afternoon. Our cousin, Jenny, was nice enough to pick us up. I have to admit that LAX is a bit intimidating probably because it's in the middle of the city, whereas Denver's airport is in the middle of nowhere. Immediately I caused us to take a wrong turn because A. I didn't read the directions correctly and B. I was under pressure. Jenny managed to turn the car around and we headed in what we thought to be the correct direction, but the signs weren't matching up to what we knew to be the way, so AGAIN we had to turn around. My mistake in the beginning was actually the right way! Awesome... Finally headed in the right direction we managed to merge onto the highway amoungst other cars headed home for the day. The driving reminded me of living in the UAE and dodging crazy drivers. Jenny fit in perfectly - even though she's only been here for 4 months. Without flaw we found our hotel and checked in.

After getting settled in it was time for dinner. I convinced everyone to check out a place at Manhanttan Beach called the North End Caffe. It was only a 20 minute drive down the highway and we saw an amazing sunset when we arrived (hence the top picture!). The North End Caffe was visited by Guy Fieri of "Diners, DriveIns, and Dives" on the Food Network and he made it sound fantastic. We were a bit disappointed except for the kalua pork egg rolls, so it's great for a quick snack after the beach, but not so much for great food. Oh well, at least we know!

Day 2 in LA brought us to "The Voice" auditions. My sister's check in time was 2 pm, so we hung out at the hotel and allowed her to practice and prepare. Everything was very organized and she was in and out in 2 hours. Although they did not accept her for the show she said she had an amazing experience and met with some very interesting people.

With some of the afternoon and rest of the evening remaining our cousin suggested Santa Monica pier. We drove north and walked along the pier with tourists and beach-goers alike, it was beautiful and amazing!

Santa Monica is also the end of the infamous Highway 66, which 'back in day' was THE highway to travel. It's a classic road that people struggle to help us remember (did you see the movie "Cars?")

We ended the day walking along the promenade and window shopping. We stopped to eat at a little Italian place and then made our way to Pinkberry. I wanted to stop there due to the fact I saw it on a show called "Ugly Americans" just last week. It's just your typical frozen yogurt shoppe but apparently I'm a sucker. It was a great end to a beautiful day! On to more adventures!!!