The Air is Thinner Up Here

Okay, I confess that Dave and I are already in Maryland, and we have been very lax about providing updates from Colorado. We did some neat stuff, so I thought I'd summarize the highlights from the last two weeks.

Much of the visit was consumed by mandatory bank and doctor visits and TONS of shopping. Other than the PSP gaming system for Dave's birthday and a little stop at the Body Shop for me, most of the shopping was strictly for things we needed to buy like suits, luggage, fall jackets, and bedding. We bought enough that I've had to schedule an Air Freight shipment.

Our second weekend in Colorado we went on a mini road trip to Lake City Colorado. I'm not sure who named this place a 'city,' because the population falls a bit short for the title:

What you see in this picture is the entire town. The population of the town is a few hundred during the summer (for 'tourist' season), and it falls down to about eighty during the winter. Most of the inhabitants work for the county government or run small businesses. Despite how small the place is, it is surprisingly sophisticated. We stayed at a lodge run by a French couple that served some of the best french food and wine I've ever had (including in Paris). Besides the mountain view and nature attractions, Lake City's claim to fame is a man named Alfred Packer. The man's culinary taste led to him being known as the Colorado Cannibal. He oddly enough seems to be a somewhat celebrated local character, but I suppose when you live in a town of 80, you take publicity where you can find it.

My mom was there for the French food, but my dad was there for the hiking. He continues his quest to hike all 54 "Fourteeners" (mountains over 14,000 feet in elevation). He's done 35 so far, and Uncompahgre Peak is in the area. It was still too covered in snow for dad to summit it, but he and Dave did a test run up to about timber line. He was thrilled to have a hiking partner, because my Mom and I firmly stick to the "I don't hike" mantra. That left us plenty of uninterrupted shopping time while the boys were off hiking. One of my favorite stops was a small soda fountain shop where I had an old fashioned cream soda, and Mom had a chocolate malt. The locals were very friendly, and we enjoyed the company as much as our sodas.

The next day, the boys went out on their own again and had a successful fishing trip. My mom and I lazed around town and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast (seeing a pattern here?).

When we got back to Colorado Springs, it was time for some girly activities. We dragged Dave kicking and screaming to Glen Eyrie - the mansion/castle of William J. Palmer, founder of Colorado Springs.

The castle now serves as the international headquarters for "The Navigators" Christian organization. It's primarily a conference center, but the Navigators have maintained many of the castle's beautiful historic features and offer guided tours. After the tour the staff serves a proper British cream tea in the castle's music room - a favorite mother/daughter activity.

After a very nice few weeks in Colorado, it was time to move on to Maryland to see Dave's parents and shop for a house. My suitcase, which was well under the weight limit when we boarded the plane in Poland, suddenly weighed 53 pounds when I initially put it on the airport scale. The man checking us in firmly informed me that my bag could not weigh more than 50 pounds - thankfully he then removed his hand from my bag which suddenly only weighed 49 pounds. Melissa: 1, United Airlines: 0.

We were highly amused when we arrived and the airport and saw a hot air balloon right over the parking lot of the Colorado Springs Airport. Happily it didn't wander into the runway area or cause any flight delays. Everyone at the airport seemed amused and calm about the situation. If this had happened in Washington D.C. airspace, I can't help but picture two F15 fighters escorting the unfortunate balloon to the nearest military base. Can't you picture the headlines? "Terror alert raised to red after hot air balloon strays into the National Capitol's airspace."