Lazy Sunday (Kind of Like the SNL Skit...But Not)

I spent the weekend in Laramie again.  I have been there three times in the two months since I've been here versus maybe one visit a year.  It's so great!  For once, the girls and I can see each other nearly anytime we want.

And...I needed some stuff from my "life wall" in Linds H.'s garage.  I'm going to Napa in a couple weeks for a bachelorette weekend and the sweaters and long sleeve tees still required here won't likely cut it there.

I started the day off in Ft. Collins with Linds and her son watching her husband, Nate, cross the finish line for his marathon (great job, Nate!). As we passed the border rock between Laramie and Ft. Collins I had Linds take a picture.  For those who don't know, the rock sits outside Ft. Collins and is painted and repainted by CSU and UW students.  It's usually particularly interesting around Border War time, but I would say the current art isn't so much. 

After the race I took off to the Loveland outlets to pick up a cosmetic I can't get in the mountains. This took all of five minutes, leaving a lazy, open Sunday before me - my first in about a month.

I hauled out my atlas in the outlet parking lot and contemplated a couple different routes home.  I thought seriously about going through Estes Park and Central City, but in the end decided on I-70.

How boring, those of you who know the state might say!  But, I decided on the I-70 route because I had been wanting to stop in a couple towns I hadn't been to in YEARS.  And there were a couple antique stores along the route I was dying to check out.  Predictable, I know.

After a quick swing through an expensive and consequently disappointing antique mall outside Evergreen, I made my way to Idaho Springs.  The I.S. downtown is quaint and fun.  If I had been hungrier I would have stopped at Beau Jo's pizza, an old stomping ground with delicious pies you put honey on the crust of.  Sounds odd, but believe me...it is YUMMILICIOUS.  The antique store I wanted to hit was closed (two strikes!) so I hopped back on the interstate.

Next stop...Georgetown.  A long time ago my family and I would stop in

Georgetown pretty frequently, it seemed, for an ice cream cone at the downtown mercantile. We've done the GT loop, a train that goes around the mountain, and used to visit the giant Christmas tree they decorate each year outside the town hall.  Moreover, Georgetown is the beloved stomping grounds of John Denver.  My sisters and I used to watch The Christmas Gift over and over, which starred JD and took place in Georgetown.  I was going to have a beer at the bar with the JD chair in the window, but found out, much to my dismay, it is no longer there.  The ice cream shop has moved too, replaced by an antique store where I found a couple cheap Jadite plates - my new thing to hunt for at antique stores.  

I talked to one of the owners for quite some time too.  Turns out he was born in D.C. and used to work for an Attorney General several years ago.  And his daughter is a teacher, so overall it was a very interesting and pleasant conversation. 

I also visited the Canyon Wind Cellars wine tasting room, which is a cross between genuine Napa and old wild West.  The wine was quite good.  I chose a glass of the Syrah and sat back at a table watching other tasters come and go. 

Finally, I decided to get on up to Vail.

It was a really nice, lazy Sunday.  I thought a lot about turning this post into a rap like the SNL skit, but decided against it.  It would have taken too much time.  

Ok, here are a couple more random pics from the day:

I took this one because the point on the mountain is so oddly pronounced.  It reminds me of the pictures you draw of mountains when you're little.  

The name of this place - Nacho Mama's - cracked me up.  It made me think of Rob M. in his Nacho Libre costume.