It has been a weekend to remember....Kelly and I escaped to a long anticipated trip to Estes Park, CO. After a warm greeting and a tour of the Mt. Olympus Cottage at The Black Dog Inn, we settled into to our delightful Victorian get-a-way. Kelly remembered a quaint little restauraunt near the YMCA of the Rockies called the Dunraven Inn. It has been in operation since the turn of the century. It is an ecclectic blend of English Pub and Italian Restorante (the influence of various owners). The food was phenemonal. (In hindsight I think we ate our way through the weekend!) The bar was "wallpapered" in over 13,000 one dollar bills that have been autographed by patrons through the years. Since we were celebrating our first aniversary, we added our "Kelly and Rhonda" currency to the wall.
Saturday morning our senses were awakened with a delicious breakfast in the lodge. What a treat to have a tasty meal prepared just for us. The spinach quiche was yummy, but Kelly loved the Orange Cornmeal Cake. We were happy the cook shared the recipe with us. We took her advice and went to the South Entrance of the Rocky Mountain National Park to the Wild Basin. On the way we saw a herd of over 50 elk. After a drive into the forest, we parked at the Coleman Falls Trailhead. With cameras in hand, we walked about a half mile to the upper and lower falls. There are several waterfalls and lakes along the seven mile hike. The others will have to wait until a warmer day to be discovered. You know it is cold when there are icicles in the waterfalls! We decided to continue our hike in Estes Park where we enjoyed window shopping and lunch at Poppy's. We arrived back to our cottage in time for a long nap. That evening we went to Mary's Lake Lodge where we dined in the Tavern. It is another Estes Park landmark.
This morning we arrived in the lodge as other couples were leaving--can you believe I ran into a gal I know from Cheyenne??? She and her husband were there for the Family Life Conference. Today's breakfast was equally delightful with a sausage and berry bread, scrambled eggs, and baked apples with icing. After we packed and said our goodbyes we took the back road to the Big Thompson Canyon. We went through Devil's Gulch and Glen Haven. The views were breathtaking.
We went to Centerra (which means shopping in my vocabulary!) where we started our Christmas shopping. We are now a great aunt and a great uncle. Hard to believe we now have that title, but Kelly's nephew Dylan is the daddy of a brand new baby girl named Lily Nicole. We got to do some baby shopping, too. We met Kelly's parents at Bent Fork Grill for lunch. After a detour to the American Furniture Warehouse where we were dreaming of a house filled with new furniture for the holidays, we returned to our little house on the prairie in time to welcome Dylan home from his Dad's.
Yes, it was a weekend to remember.......
