Golden mornings

The capitalization is deliberate.  As I start to draft this on Monday afternoon in a United Club in Denver airport, I have the past three nights behind me spent in Golden, CO.  My first time in Golden, and I hope it's not my last.

Van is not a morning person, so no, he did not join me for any of these morning walks around the town.  Conrad made it for the Saturday and Sunday walks, but not this morning.  That's ok.  I also relish getting that time to myself as I mosey around.

We were staying over on the west end of the town, in a nice little boutique hotel called The Eddy Taproom and Hotel. 

A terrific room, a good bar and restaurant, a convenient location near a bunch of trails.  On Saturday, we left Van to sleep, and Conrad

and I

set out northward in search of a Starbucks.  Uphill, sunny weather.  Remnants of snow on the ground in spots. 

We got a nice view of the hotel and Zion Mountain on which students from the local university (the Colorado School of Mines, kind of a big deal, it turns out) deposit rocks that make up the big M. 

Conrad took coffee with him,

but we picked up coffees for me and Van.  Then we swung close to downtown before heading back to the hotel to join Van and start the day.  2.64 miles. 

Not bad at all!  And what a lovely, sunny morning.  Autumn has dried things to a golden colour against the blue skies.

Sunday morning Conrad

and I

set out again.  This time we ventured west under a mistaken (my mistake) impression that we could loop around to the downtown area.  Nope!  Well, maybe, but not easily.  Anyway, we headed along Clear Creek,

then doubled back to head into the town and onto the campus.  The Colorado School of Mines has a very handsome campus, indeed, and on a Sunday morning it was absolutely quiet.  We took a few photos,

then headed to the main street of the town in search of a coffee shop.  A stop at the Windy Saddle Cafe,

and then it was along the creek to the hotel to get Van going.  4.19 miles that morning. 

A little less sunny, but still a wonderful, mild autumn morning.

This morning it was just me. 

Sunday zonked us all out differently, but I still got up and was out the door before 7.  I headed north to Starbucks but veering a little farther west than two mornings previously.  From Starbucks, I continued north, then looped around that part of the town along a little creek on its eastern side. 

What I loved about the town is the abundance of paved trail/path for walking, running, or biking.  Wonderful.  I made it through downtown and back along the river. 

Those signs? 

Yep, tubing in the creek in season.  Too late for that, perhaps, but I saw swimmers yesterday and today (pre- and post-swim, that is).  A total of 4.55 miles today. 

Great!

It was a treat to stay in Golden (we would have done Boulder, but it was a football weekend and super busy and pricey).  Thank you to Van for picking the hotel.  I am so glad I saw the town, and I hope I get back there.

hey, Laurie!

I miss Laurie.  She started working for me at the library several years ago - I sort of inherited her from another unit, it wasn't a competitive search - and we hit it off right away.  Laurie was invaluable when she worked in my library, and I miss having her around.

Good news:  she's in Colorado, in the Denver suburbs, easy to visit.  So when I left DC and flew into Denver and was met by Conrad and Van, we took ourselves promptly to a restaurant in Wheat Ridge and enjoyed catching up with her and her husband Marc over a nice meal.

Ah, Laurie, can I convince you to come back to the library?

DC, briefly

It's Monday afternoon at Denver airport.  I left Pasadena early last Wednesday morning.  So, a handful of days away, and not blogging during that time.  Bad me.  I'm back.

I made it to the airport by about 5:30 last Wednesday.  Even for me, that's an early start.  I hunkered down for a bit in the United Club (nicely decked out). 

Once aboard the first flight

(I connected through Chicago), I dozed a good long while.  Then it was mostly reading on both flights, making it to my hotel in Washington, DC (The Lyle) by 5:30, well in time to get to my room,

unpack, change, and head to meet colleagues in the hotel restaurant for dinner.

Thursday morning I was up early on the east coast, meeting colleagues at 6:15 in the lobby for a walk. 

That accomplished, it was over to a nearby office

for a day of meetings, capped with dinner with colleagues and then some wine and my book at the hotel bar.

Friday started much the same.  A little different route,

one fewer colleague, but a walk at 6:15.  Cool statue of Gandhi! 

Meetings, and then on to Dulles. 

My DC time was done, and I was glad to have it behind me so I could meet up with my men and enjoy the weekend ahead....

I love a man who cooks

I mean, come on.  I'm in the kitchen all the time.  And I do enjoy it.  But ah, what a treat to have a man cook for me.  So then, thank you, Van! 

The steak and cauliflower rice bowl was darn tasty.

pop-up at Maestro

Monday night is not a usual night for going out for us, and especially not to Maestro, which isn't open on a Monday (but did allow us a private patio booking when I turned 50 on a Monday in the middle of the pandemic).  But it was a special event, and I'm traveling again the next two weekends, and most importantly, Van was back behind the bar for one night only.

Ah, Van.  No, not Van, our Van.  Van from Maestro, pronounced as Von.  Super guy, great bartender, and you can tell the love for him both by the fact that the owners welcomed him back for an event and by the people who came in to enjoy drinks, light bites, and seeing Van again.

But I did come with our Van. 

Conrad, sadly, is out of town.  The cocktails were tasty - my first was the refreshing Rigo's Breakfast,

while Van enjoyed two rounds of the From the Mangroves and I made my second the Tostado.  There were live musicians,

and we enjoyed some tacos and a bit of guacamole.

And then it was home for an early evening and feeding the girl.  Tonight will be a quiet, early night as I've got a plane to catch at 7AM tomorrow!

paloma

Just a short entry, a photo of a refreshing paloma from yesterday afternoon when we got on FaceTime with Courtney and Robert to plan our time seeing them this coming weekend.  Yes, that's a blood orange slice, not a grapefruit slice or wedge.  In life, we make do with what we have! 

Sunday morning walks

Yes, walks.  It's always good when I get a chance to walk the little girl, for sure, but she's not the most vigourous of walkers, and a walk with her means lots of stop for her sniffing and doing her business.  So, this morning, I got myself out the door around about 7AM

and had my own walk of a couple of miles,

enjoying the quiet morning and admiring Halloween decorations before coming back to the house to pick up Olive and take her out.

Not as long a walk in total as yesterday (3 miles today versus 5.35 yesterday), but not too bad for an easy Sunday, right?

It's travel ahead this week, and I shall blog that when I'm able.  In the meantime, have a great week ahead, everyone, and a fine transition from October into November!

wrapped around her paw

Offered without much other comment:  Olive.

I love this little girl.  She has all three of us wrapped around her paw.

morning walk alone

Yes, alone, woe is me.  Conrad just landed in Boston shortly before I started this post, and Van would not be out of bed that early.  Nor would he walk that far, I think (nor Conrad, for that matter, not without grumbling).  So there I was, roaming the streets of Pasadena on a Saturday morning, setting out a little after 7:00.  The sun was coming up when I set out, and I loved the light as I passed through the loops of 134 and 210. 

And then it was on to the rest of the walk, a total of 5.35 miles that took me past the Rose Bowl and across the lovely bridge on Colorado and then to pick up breakfast to bring home and devour before I settled into a day of getting rid of accumulation!

Happy Saturday!