The Last Trip: An (Eastern) Fantasy Food Adventure-Bonus Feature, Pam & Her Mom Pt 2 Sept 17 the end

It is nice that the Disneyland Railroad is operational again. Thanks for sharing the photos.

Corinna

It's such a big part of the park, it was sad to see the train parked in front of Main Street Station, knowing that it wasn't going anywhere.

What a lovely train route! Hope you are enjoying your time in Florida!

Yes, and no. You'll have to read the TR to find out! :laughing:

Hooray! Another ride I wanted to do but just didn't have time for it on our visit.

Another reason you need to come back!

Always a welcome idea. I like the new falls/bridge area, too.

It was all very well done!

Gorgeous shot there!

Thanks! It's my FB cover photo right now.

It's the little things, I guess.

I think it was pretty much the only concrete thing they could agree on to have the employees sell! :laughing:

I'm glad they kept these displays intact as well!

They actually put in a few extras that you can't tell from my pictures, but they were pretty cool.

There's something romantic about working with trains.

I totally get that!

YOU NEVER TOLD ME THAT!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, I did. But you said that since you never serve cocktails at home that Ruby wouldn't want you to have a set of four in the house.

I've already forgotten. :sad2:

Good. You wouldn't like it.

Probably slightly more colourful words though.

::yes::

Pushing your fingers apart make things a lot clearer.

Yeah, but still responding from the phone sucks.

What??
Geez! I'm remembering you wrong!
Well, you are statuesque in my memory. Anything else you'd like?

Going back up to read.

The only reason I seemed tall is because we were with Liesa and she makes everyone look taller!
 
Yes, I did. But you said that since you never serve cocktails at home that Ruby wouldn't want you to have a set of four in the house.

You did? I did?

Well.... I don't care. We also have a full set of brandy snifters and cocktail glasses that we never use.
They only sell them in fours?

Yeah, but still responding from the phone sucks.

Now that I understand!

The only reason I seemed tall is because we were with Liesa and she makes everyone look taller!

:lmao:
 
Another reason you need to come back!

Julie and I are celebrating our 20th anniversary next year. We've talked about trying to get away for a long weekend or something as a getaway. And Southern California was high on the list--neither of us has ever been to San Diego, and we've heard good things. And as you may have heard, we have unfinished business at DL.

So, stay tuned!
 
Those are really colourful! Like!

And each station had a different color theme, it was cool.

Awww.... you guys look pretty darned happy! :)

The train was back! Of course we were!

I'm sorry... through????

Yeah, through the mountain and you get a glimpse if one of the scenes in the ride.

Love that shot. Turn, to capture most of the train. Bridge. Water. Perfect.

I liked that one too!

This shot. Great! He's saluting the ship!

:laughing: Never thought of it that way!

Oh! Nice!
(And so pleased it's called the Mark Twain. Never knew that.)

And it's been around for years. Walt and Lillian christened it.

I never thought of that... of course!

It will be kind of weird, when Star Wars land opens, the train will not go around the perimeter of the park.

Ack! Keep going

:lmao:

Cool! Yay!
(And thank you so much for all the photos, Alison! :))

That's my favorite part if the train ride!

Good one. I'm thinking he'd be easy to miss.

For the most part, I was just shooting constantly and praying for something to come out! The settings are tricky too. My first few were overexposed.

I really like that shot.
Not entirely sure why. Maybe the background is more visible? dunno.

The backgrounds were great. That's where they plussed it up in the refurb.

Yay!
And I'm not going to repost every picture, but those were cool!
They did a really good job on it.

It was all really good from the original at the World's Fair. It's been long enough that they're not spoilers any more, but they added lightning strikes, rainbows and other weather phenomenon. Previously it was all static backgrounds.

Okay, that's perfect

Live the special touches!

They look blue?

They were definitely purple, I should have taken a pic outside the bag.

Huh!
I don't remember this area. Did we go there? Or was it down even then?

This is where the Jungle Cruise is located. The refurb happened in June.

I'll split it with you too! You can have the asparagus and I'll have the bacon.

Ha! The bacon makes these asparagus better!

How was that?

It's always good. I'm not sure I've ever tried the chicken one.

What a delightful train ride. Those skewers look really good. If you are still in Disney World I hope you are having a great trip.

I'm back now. I love those skewers, I don't get to eat them nearly enough!

I did too, I’m ready to come back :hyper:

Next time you come, I'm going to book at the hotel out there!

At least the calories would always be worth it popcorn::

True.

Me too! :) Can’t wait for next year!!! 296 days to go :cool1:

:woohoo: :banana:

I hope travel home day is much better :hug:

Thankfully it was, but it would be hard not to be.

I’m glad the train was open when we were there, its one of mom’s favorite things. You got great pictures.

The train is great fun! It may not be an E ticket ride, but still I like it!
 


Great updates! 43 more days until I visit Disneyland again!

Jill in CO

Even less now! I sure hope my wait list comes through!

It's neat to see an old classic like this get a little extra fanfare for its return.

People really missed the train! The weekend before it closed down waits were over an hour.

Yeah, that would certainly be an adjustment to have to learn a new role for several months while something is down.

It was a year and half! I wonder if they lost any folks while the RR was down.

Well, if I recall, it was needed. Didn't stroller parking in that area used to just be out in the middle of the walkway? I remember that area

You're absolutely right. It was terribly congested, this is a big improvement.

Again... it's good to see. I know Disney probably doesn't like to give up space where they can sell things, but this was a congested area and more seating, in the shade, is always a good thing.

Well the shops that were shut down sold mostly surf wear and weren't actually selling much Disney branded merchandise so they kept the shops selling their stuff. I bet the Bengal Barbeque does a better business now that there is somewhere to sit and eat your food.

Hey! Look'it that! A new word for me. And yes, very true.. chili without beans is just... gross.

I think I made up that word. :laughing:

Very cool update with loads of wonderful photos from the "new" train. I love the little updates and changes! Thank you for such a lovely tour, Alison. Perhaps we can ride this together in April! :)

I definitely think we should ride it in April!

Hey that's us with you on GoTG! :lmao: Sorry I am so behind on your reports. :blush:

Yes it is you! I didn't mention you guys in that update since Michael suffered his little Faux pas. :rotfl2:
 
You did? I did?

Well.... I don't care. We also have a full set of brandy snifters and cocktail glasses that we never use.
They only sell them in fours?

No you can buy just one....

Julie and I are celebrating our 20th anniversary next year. We've talked about trying to get away for a long weekend or something as a getaway. And Southern California was high on the list--neither of us has ever been to San Diego, and we've heard good things. And as you may have heard, we have unfinished business at DL.

So, stay tuned!

Keep me posted! I will definitely "hook you up"!
 


The train was back! Of course we were!

:goodvibes

Yeah, through the mountain and you get a glimpse if one of the scenes in the ride.

That's so cool. Never knew.

And it's been around for years. Walt and Lillian christened it.

Perfect name for it.

For the most part, I was just shooting constantly and praying for something to come out! The settings are tricky too. My first few were overexposed.

That I believe!

It was all really good from the original at the World's Fair. It's been long enough that they're not spoilers any more, but they added lightning strikes, rainbows and other weather phenomenon. Previously it was all static backgrounds.

cool!

They were definitely purple, I should have taken a pic outside the bag.

Ah. Disregard, then. :)

This is where the Jungle Cruise is located. The refurb happened in June.

No recollection. Guess I'll need a redo!

Ha! The bacon makes these asparagus better!

So.... that's a "no" then? :rolleyes:
 
The only reason I seemed tall is because we were with Liesa and she makes everyone look taller!

HEY!!!

Okay. It's true.

I think I made up that word. :laughing:

I approve!:thumbsup2

I definitely think we should ride it in April!

Done! Imma so doin' this! Been YEARS since a Walt-o-train ride. :hyper:

:hyper:

That's just providing more incentive!

Well, this TR just took a turn for the ... very interesting. :lmao::lmao::lmao:
 
:hyper:

That's just providing more incentive!

Well as your plans develop, keep me posted! So far I only have plans next year with Liesa and @pkondz in April!

That's so cool. Never knew.

We need to ride the train when you come out.

No recollection. Guess I'll need a redo!

And I'll point out this area as we walk through....

So.... that's a "no" then? :rolleyes:

::yes::

HEY!!!

Okay. It's true.

:lmao:

Done! Imma so doin' this! Been YEARS since a Walt-o-train ride. :hyper:

You me and @pkondz will all ride the train!

Well, this TR just took a turn for the ... very interesting. :lmao::lmao::lmao:

:scratchin: Is your mind down in the gutter?

That’s an excellent idea!!! :)

It's the best way to hang out with friends there! No need to go home and feed the cats for a few days, less tiring!
 
So folks I hope you will indulge me in this next bonus feature which takes a departure from Disney. The night before we left a friend of mine in band asked, “what Disney attraction is in Denver?”

To which I replied @jedijill!

We had a whole weekend long DISmeet in her (now) hometown! This trip came about in May when the Hollywood Bowl released their summer schedule. John Williams would be conducting three concerts over Labor Day weekend. The problem was that we were supposed to be in Houston for Labor Day weekend and we had already purchased our airfare on Southwest. Fran was adamant about attending the concert, so we canceled our flights and hotel in Houston. It turned out to be a good move because the whole event ended up being canceled due to Hurricane damage. But when we canceled back in May, we now had an airfare credit. We had until April to use it, but I didn’t want to wait that long. The last time we had a credit on Southwest we ended up losing it. Besides I was itching to go somewhere, remember the whole “last trip” thing was back in March. We needed somewhere to go in the summer that wouldn’t be overly hot and thought about visiting Jill in Denver! The hotel was substantially cheaper near Jill’s house than in Houston, and so was the rental car, so the trip was planned!


Wednesday Aug 9


So the day didn't start as expected. The night before we had decided that we should try and leave the house at 6:30AM. We know we run late and this would build in plenty of time.

Our flight left at 11:15AM and while it is suggested that folks arrive 2 hours in advance, we tend to like to aim for 3 hours in advance being that Fran is handicapped and we move much slower. Since we never know how long the ride to the airport will take (it could be anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours) we like to plan for any circumstance.

I left the bedroom curtains open when we went to sleep to aid in our waking. Imagine my surprise when we woke at 6:15 to a bright bedroom. My first thought was, “Why did I leave the curtains open? What is going on this morning that is special?”

Fran said a few expletives as she jumped out of bed, and yes, she did jump! One of the few times recently I saw her move that quickly! I was still a little groggy, we did have band the night before and I didn't go to sleep until around 1AM. I hadn't even decided on what I was going to wear on the plane. Normally I pick out my outfits in advance and hang them on one of the pieces of furniture in the bedroom, but I barely had time to pick out stuff to pack and never decided on what I would wear on the plane.

Clothes picked out, in haste, I was on to feeding the cats. Thank goodness I had loaded the checked luggage before going to bed. We were out the door by 7:15, a little later than we planned for, even if running ½ an hour late. Luckily we made good time and I was dropping Fran off at around 8:15AM. The people at SW were really nice, they let us unload the suitcases and check in at the wheelchair check in while my car was parked in the loading/unloading zone. Once we were checked in, I drove to the parking lot and took the shuttle back to meet Fran. They gave us a whole bunch of stuff about how we didn't need to buy the third seat and she cancelled it but all we had to do was tell them that we needed an extra seat and they would give it to us. Not sure how much I believe that! And after the last trip, I don't!

We made our way through security and onto the gate. I really like this Pre-chek thing, it takes no time to get through security!

When we got to the gate, they hadn't even boarded the flight before ours, so we sat patiently playing my game and her reading on the tablet. When they finally switched the gate over to our flight, we approached the podium to make sure that they would preboard. They called it something else, but ensured we would be among the first on the plane.

I got us a Ham and Cheese Panini from one of the overpriced airport shops and some water and Coke zero. As we waited to board it became obvious that a lot of children were going to be on the flight. The family seated next to us had a rather rambunctious toddler and I hoped all the running around she was doing would tire her out and she'd sleep the whole trip. Nope.

We boarded, took our three seats and settled down. The family settled in right across from us. From the moment the door of the plane closed the kid proceeded to scream at the top of her lungs. I had decided to order a drink, but when the kid shut up as the stewardess came by to take my order, Fran shamed me out of ordering the drink. As soon as the stewardess left, the kid started again and never stopped howling the rest of the trip.

When we finally landed it was an easy process getting off the plane. We took the train to the main terminal and found our bags easily. Getting to the rental car island was not so easy but we made it, and after a long long wait, we finally got our car. We had reserved a mini van and were really hoping for a Dodge Grand Caravan. Instead they tried to give us a Ford Transit. In the end we paid an extra $25 a day for a Ford Explorer. Boy have they shrunk since I had mine back in the 90s! Or perhaps we are both larger, then again driving an Expedition spoils us with all the space.

Soon we were on our way to the hotel, but first a quick stop for some groceries and beverages and then finally we could check into our hotel. It was just after 6PM and Jill met us at the hotel. She helped me unload the car, and we tried to figure out some “plans of attack” for the next couple days.

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In the end, we were all too hungry to think clearly so we went to a place Jill suggested, the Castle Rock Cafe where they are known for their fried chicken.

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Since they cook the chicken to order, it takes 30 minutes. We ordered a Spinach and Cheese dip with bruleed parmesan on top to tide us over. It was fantastic!

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I had my usual drink, but the first one he brought me was wrong, so Fran drank it instead. It was a Gimlet not a Gibson. I hate when that happens! Dinner also came with soup. I think it was a potato cheese.

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The chicken and fixing were awesome and we left stuffed and taking home leftovers.

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My plate

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By the end of the evening, we had finally set up a plan for the weekend and meeting for the next day.


Thursday August 10


Our plan was to get on the road by 9AM, but that wasn't going to happen. Both Fran and I were tired from traveling the day before and I also wanted to get us settled in and unpacked. I finished unpacking by 8:30 and we went down to breakfast at 9AM. We had waffles, yogurt, and I ate some corn pops.

Jill went to Starbucks and got me a coffee on her way to our hotel.

Then we were on our way. Our destination was around 45 minutes away. The Clive Cussler Car Collection. If you've read his books, you know Dirk Pitt has a collection of cars outside his headquarters and often chooses a classic car to drive on his adventures. The cars featured in the books had a copy of the book in which they were mentioned in front of said car.

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After a couple hours of wandering, ooohing and aaaahing, we all agreed that we were hungry. We went back and forth between wanting Mexican, Fish & Chips, and Italian before deciding on Indian Tacos.

Fran got the Bison ribs, they came with fry bread.

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I got a shredded Bison taco with beans, tomatoes, some kind of salsa, cheese, sour cream and green chilies on the side. It turns out they weren't really spicy at all so I dumped them all over the taco. Yummy!

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I believe that Jill got the ground Bison taco, and I have no idea what options she chose to top it with but she shared with Fran, and Fran enjoyed it.

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Fran shared her ribs with all of us and we determined them to be delicious!

After we gave up on our lunches, Jill brought two kinds of fry bread to the table, one coated in cinnamon and sugar and another with Berry jam on top. They were both delicious, but there was no way we could finish and finally we surrendered.

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We went back to the hotel cause Fran was in desperate need of a nap. It was around 4PM when we got back to the hotel and Fran passed out immediately.

I had realized that I made a serious error in packing. I trusted the phone app which said rain and thunderstorms throughout the duration of our trip. I had packed mostly clothes for colder weather. So Jill and I went to the outlet mall nearby and I found an outfit on clearance to supplement my wardrobe for the rest of the trip.

I came back to the room and I tried to play Mahjong on my tablet for a bit, but by 4:45 I succumbed to napping and set an alarm on my phone for 30 minutes. Power nap complete, I helped Fran take her shower and she was all done getting dressed at 6PM when Jill arrived. Having built in the half an hour dilly dally factor, we were leaving the parking lot at 6:30, just as planned.

Dinner tonight was going to be at Del Frisco's. If you've read my previous reports, you'll know how much Fran and I love this place! We ordered a ton of food between the three of us. It's too bad I was still relatively full from lunch. Jill and I ordered cocktails.

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We got:

Onion Rings

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Thick Bacon

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A Ribeye Steak

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Creamed Spinach

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Mach Choux Corn

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Potatoes au Gratin

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And took most of it home.

My plate.

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When our lemon cake and butter cake arrived I was in so much of a food coma that I couldn't even take a bite.

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We even took what was left of our wine togo. Leftover wine? I've never heard of such a thing before!

Back at the room I barely got my clothes off before crawling into bed and I fell asleep immediately.


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Friday August 11


Today needed to be an early day. We were going to be taking Jill's favorite jaunt for out of towners and needed to get an early start. She started texting us at 6:30AM and surprisingly we were actually awake! We got dressed and made our way down to breakfast. I brought along one of the leftover pieces of chicken so that we could have chicken and waffles for breakfast.

Jill met us just before 8:30AM again bearing Starbucks. The launching point for our journey would be Estes Park, situated at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. It was at least a two hour drive just to get to the start of the journey, but with traffic and a potty stop we made the trip in two and a half. The drive to Estes Park followed this river much of the way.

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I love these obviously “glacially formed” peaks. And to this Southern California gal, snow in August was a shocker! Even when I knew it was 10,000 ft or higher.

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We drove around the grounds of this hotel, The Stanley where Stephen King’s inspiration for The Shining came from. He stayed at this hotel for one night before it closed up for the season. You can thank Wikipedia for this:

“On October 30, 1974, horror writer Stephen King and his wife Tabitha spent one night at the Stanley Hotel during their one year of residency in Boulder, Colorado. They were driving through Estes Park as night approached when they happened upon the Stanley Hotel. They decided to book a room and, upon checking in, discovered that they were the only overnight guests. "They were just getting ready to close for the season, and we found ourselves the only guests in the place — with all those long, empty corridors." He and his wife were served dinner in an empty dining room accompanied by canned orchestral music. "Except for our table all the chairs were up on the tables. So the music is echoing down the hall, and, I mean, it was like God had put me there to hear that and see those things." That night, according to King, "I dreamed of my three-year-old son running through the corridors, looking back over his shoulder, eyes wide, screaming. He was being chased by a fire-hose. I woke up with a tremendous jerk, sweating all over, within an inch of falling out of bed. I got up, lit a cigarette, sat in a chair looking out the window at the Rockies, and by the time the cigarette was done, I had the bones of The Shining firmly set in my mind."”

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Then we headed into the main part of town, and we saw these critters.

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We stopped in town briefly for Jill to make a purchase and I snapped this shot of the quaint part of town.

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We wanted to have lunch before we embarked on our journey through Rocky Mountain National Park and I had found a place in Estes Park that sounded good, in theory.

They had build a burger and that sounded cool to me.

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I should have paid more attention to the reviews where people said service was slow, because it was like the sloths at the DMV in Zootopia were cooking and serving the food. It wasn’t very busy when we got there, but it was pretty packed by the time we left.

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We got an order of their Tater Tots which I thought were pretty tasty.

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Neither Jill nor Fran liked their Beer Cheese soup. It was way too thin and had a funny taste to it.

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Fran and I enjoyed the burger.

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However we wasted so much time waiting on our food, it was doubtful that we were going to make our dinner reservation. We didn't get started driving until 1PM.

We headed up the Mountain into Rocky Mountains National Park and began our journey.

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It became clear that we wouldn't make our reservation when we ran into construction traffic at 1:30PM. We sat here for half an hour waiting for our turn to go through a one lane portion of the road.

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I got creative with my pictures being in the same spot for a while.

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They were repaving and one lane was closed for a good bit of the road approaching the top. There was nothing we could do about canceling our reservation at this point though because we had no signal on our cell phones. After we passed the construction I counted the cars that were lined up to go through the one lane section and lost count at around 124.

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The higher up we got, the less oxygen was in the air.

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And we were above the tree line by now.

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More Elk!

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Human sighting!

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I could totally feel the lack of oxygen by the time that we stopped at the Visitor's center and gift shop.

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Fran asked us if we wanted to climb this hill, but there was no way I was going to exert any more physical energy at this elevation, my head was somewhat spinning already!

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Jill told us that the posts along the road are to help the snow plows know where the road is when it’s time to clear it in the spring.

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As we started to make our way down the hill, I started to feel very queasy and wasn't sure how up to our next day's excursion I could be.

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We saw some Elk along the side of the road and getting out to take pictures made me feel a little better.

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There were still pretty flowers out.

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We stopped again at another clump of cars where some people claimed that they saw a moose. The Ranger wasn't buying it though. After not spying a moose we drove on and finally left the park on the opposite side where we entered. We still had at least two hours drive back home. It was just after 4PM and our dinner was at 5:30, not back at home, but it turns out we passed the on ramp to the city where dinner would have been more than two hours later. As soon as we had a signal we called to cancel the reservation. We stopped at Mickey D’s for a potty break and a soft serve ice cream cone.

We saw more elk on the way.

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After we passed the city of Winter Park there were more cars stopped on the side of the road. This time there was a ginormous moose. He just stood there and put on a show for us!

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Once we got back on the road, I realized that what would make me feel better was some ginger ale. Too bad we just left civilization!

Eventually we came upon a gas station with a mini mart and while they didn't have any cold or individual bottles, I was able to get a 2 liter bottle of Ginger Ale and a cup full of ice. I sipped on this as we came down the mountain and finally I started to feel human again, even hungry!

I decided that noodles sounded good and we decided on Magianno’s. Yes, I know I can eat that in LA, but it's at the Grove and Fran and I generally avoid trendy places like that because they are usually crowded and you have to wait a long time.

The only reservation we could get was for 8:15 and we'd be there before then. The 50 miles to empty light came on while we were driving so we went to Costco for gas before checking in for dinner. There was no way around it we'd still have to wait another half an hour until 8:15. We were all tired from the long drive and just zombied out on our phones while we waited.

Once we were seated and we started to discuss our choices, no one wanted the same things. We had a ton of leftovers from the night before and now we were looking at a bunch more. We decided, why not? We could just send everything home with Jill, like we did the night before and have leftovers at her house for dinner the following night. Fran and I hate going out on Saturday nights so we all ordered what we wanted.

But first we all agreed on splitting a Spinach salad, sorry I forgot to take the pic until after we had served ourselves the first helping.

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I got Linguine and White Clam Sauce

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Fran got Chicken Picatta

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Jill got the Gnocchi with sausage and tomato cream sauce

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We all loved our dishes and ate just about half so we'd have something left for tomorrow. Then we ordered dessert. I got the Peach Crostada which was the seasonal dish.

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Fran got some kind of brownie that was incredibly rich, but really good.

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Jill got the butter cake because she said it was her favorite.

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We agreed that my dish wouldn't travel well so everyone helped me finish that off and we took the others togo.

It was a long day, and we went back to the hotel and Jill went home. I didn't crash immediately. I think I watched Stephen Colbert until I finally fell asleep.
 
I'm so happy you guys came to visit me! I love showing Colorado off to my out of town friends!

Jill in CO
 
The night before we left a friend of mine in band asked, “what Disney attraction is in Denver?”

To which I replied @jedijill!

Jill is an attraction?

Fran was adamant about attending the concert, so we canceled our flights and hotel in Houston.

whoa. She was really adamant!

It turned out to be a good move because the whole event ended up being canceled due to Hurricane damage.

Good thing Fran was so adamant!

The night before we had decided that we should try and leave the house at 6:30AM. We know we run late and this would build in plenty of time.

Our flight left at 11:15PM and while it is suggested that folks arrive 2 hours in advance, we tend to like to aim for 3 hours in advance

So you were aiming for 8:15PM. So... leaving at 6:30AM gives you... just under 14 hours to get there.
Wow. You said LA traffic was bad... I didn't know it was that bad!!!



:rolleyes1

Fran said a few expletives as she jumped out of bed, and yes, she did jump! One of the few times recently I saw her move that quickly!

Now you know what to do when you want her to move. ;)

Clothes picked out, in haste, I was on to feeding the cats.

Hmmm.... two thoughts.
hasty clothes. wonder if that will getcha.
feeding the cats.
I retract my comment about the 14 hours. It'll take you at least 10 hours just to feed all the cats.

We were out the door by 7:15, a little later than we planned for, even if running ½ an hour late. Luckily we made good time and I was dropping Fran off at around 8:15AM.

So an hour door to door. That's not bad at all!

The people at SW were really nice, they let us unload the suitcases and check in at the wheelchair check in while my car was parked in the loading/unloading zone.

Hmmm... not quite my experience there... :rolleyes:

They gave us a whole bunch of stuff about how we didn't need to buy the third seat and she cancelled it but all we had to do was tell them that we needed an extra seat and they would give it to us. Not sure how much I believe that!

Uh, huh. Yeah, I wouldn't believe that either.
"You don't need to buy the third seat!"

Followed by:
"The flight is fully booked. If you needed a third seat you should have booked it."

When we got to the gate, they hadn't even boarded the flight before ours,

Well, of course. It took you an hour to get there, so you still had 15 hours to go!

:rolleyes1

(I'm just gonna keep milking this. Don't mind me.)

The family seated next to us had a rather rambunctious toddler and I hoped all the running around she was doing would tire her out and she'd sleep the whole trip. Nope.

Uh, oh...

The family settled in right across from us. From the moment the door of the plane closed the kid proceeded to scream at the top of her lungs.

Oh, dear Lord.
You didn't bring your noise canceling headphones? Sounds like the ultimate product test.

I had decided to order a drink, but when the kid shut up as the stewardess came by to take my order, Fran shamed me out of ordering the drink. As soon as the stewardess left, the kid started again and never stopped howling the rest of the trip.

You should have. Maybe even a triple. That would quiet her down.

In the end, we were all too hungry to think clearly so we went to a place Jill suggested, the Castle Rock Cafe where they are known for their fried chicken.

Mmmmm...

Since they cook the chicken to order, it takes 30 minutes.

Oh? Come up here for a visit and I'll take you to a place that's a bit of a secret, but has the best fried chicken in town, is cooked to order, but doesn't take 30 minutes.

We ordered a Spinach and Cheese dip with bruleed parmesan on top to tide us over. It was fantastic!

Looks good!

It was a Gimlet not a Gibson

You can pass that over to me, then.

Dinner also came with soup. I think it was a potato cheese.

No. It wasn't.



Or maybe it was. :)

Jill went to Starbucks and got me a coffee on her way to our hotel.

Nice of her!

Our destination was around 45 minutes away. The Clive Cussler Car Collection.

No. Freaking. Way.

If you've read his books, you know Dirk Pitt has a collection of cars outside his headquarters and often chooses a classic car to drive on his adventures.

::yes::

The cars featured in the books had a copy of the book in which they were mentioned in front of said car.

Cool!

After a couple hours of wandering, ooohing and aaaahing

No kidding! I would love to see this!

Fran got the Bison ribs, they came with fry bread.

Interesting! I've had bison... usually in a burger... but never ribs.

Fran shared her ribs with all of us and we determined them to be delicious!

Good info to know.

After we gave up on our lunches, Jill brought two kinds of fry bread to the table, one coated in cinnamon and sugar and another with Berry jam on top. They were both delicious, but there was no way we could finish and finally we surrendered.

:laughing: I can see you waving a little white flag.

We went back to the hotel cause Fran was in desperate need of a nap.

As am I.
Midnight shift as I write this. Only 7 more hours to go!

I had realized that I made a serious error in packing. I trusted the phone app which said rain and thunderstorms throughout the duration of our trip. I had packed mostly clothes for colder weather. So Jill and I went to the outlet mall nearby and I found an outfit on clearance to supplement my wardrobe for the rest of the trip.

So.... you hadn't packed for rain? Or you had but it was nice out?

Dinner tonight was going to be at Del Frisco's. If you've read my previous reports, you'll know how much Fran and I love this place!

::yes::

We got:

Onion Rings

Those things are huge!

Thick Bacon

<drool>

Sorry about that. Lemme just wipe up.

Creamed Spinach

whoops! Obviously an error of some sort.

When our lemon cake and butter cake arrived I was in so much of a food coma that I couldn't even take a bite.

:faint:

We even took what was left of our wine togo. Leftover wine? I've never heard of such a thing before!

:laughing:
You don't know me at all.

Back at the room I barely got my clothes off before crawling into bed and I fell asleep immediately.

Awwww... poor sleepy Alison.

We were going to be taking Jill's favorite jaunt for out of towners

She's really going all out for you guys! :)

Jill met us just before 8:30AM again bearing Starbucks.

She's a keeper. :)

And to this Southern California gal, snow in August was a shocker!

To this Northerner too. Living in the prairies, we don't see mountains.
We see horizon.

“On October 30, 1974, horror writer Stephen King and his wife Tabitha spent one night at the Stanley Hotel during their one year of residency in Boulder, Colorado. They were driving through Estes Park as night approached when they happened upon the Stanley Hotel. They decided to book a room and, upon checking in, discovered that they were the only overnight guests. "They were just getting ready to close for the season, and we found ourselves the only guests in the place — with all those long, empty corridors." He and his wife were served dinner in an empty dining room accompanied by canned orchestral music. "Except for our table all the chairs were up on the tables. So the music is echoing down the hall, and, I mean, it was like God had put me there to hear that and see those things." That night, according to King, "I dreamed of my three-year-old son running through the corridors, looking back over his shoulder, eyes wide, screaming. He was being chased by a fire-hose. I woke up with a tremendous jerk, sweating all over, within an inch of falling out of bed. I got up, lit a cigarette, sat in a chair looking out the window at the Rockies, and by the time the cigarette was done, I had the bones of The Shining firmly set in my mind."”

Thanks for that! Never knew that. Did know he'd stayed there, but not those details.

Then we headed into the main part of town, and we saw these critters.

q17DV0811EP06.jpg

Wow! There's tons!

I had found a place in Estes Park that sounded good, in theory.

Uh, oh..... "in theory"...

I should have paid more attention to the reviews where people said service was slow, because it was like the sloths at the DMV in Zootopia were cooking and serving the food. It wasn’t very busy when we got there, but it was pretty packed by the time we left.

Ugh.
No surprise it's packed if no one ever gets their food.


Props on the ceiling, though.

Neither Jill nor Fran liked their Beer Cheese soup. It was way too thin and had a funny taste to it.

You're not exactly selling this place, Alison.

Fran and I enjoyed the burger.

Looks pretty good.

I got creative with my pictures being in the same spot for a while.

Might as well and...


... that one's especially nice. :)

After we passed the construction I counted the cars that were lined up to go through the one lane section and lost count at around 124.

Holy crap!

Human sighting!

The elusive High Altitude Siren.

I could totally feel the lack of oxygen by the time that we stopped at the Visitor's center and gift shop.

:hug:

Jill told us that the posts along the road are to help the snow plows know where the road is when it’s time to clear it in the spring.

Interesting! And look how high they are!
We had markers up in Churchill, (and not that high... maybe 3 feet) but they were so that in case of whiteout conditions, you could pick your way back to town by crawling from one marker to the next. Just had to remember to keep the white ones on the right.

As we started to make our way down the hill, I started to feel very queasy and wasn't sure how up to our next day's excursion I could be.

:( Sorry to hear that.


Huh. I wonder why that one was banded.


Pretty shot.

We stopped again at another clump of cars where some people claimed that they saw a moose. The Ranger wasn't buying it though.

Massive moose conspiracy.


Alison. That photo is postcard worthy. :worship:

Once we got back on the road, I realized that what would make me feel better was some ginger ale. Too bad we just left civilization!

Whoops... and... crap.

We were all tired from the long drive and just zombied out on our phones while we waited.

Look! Teenagers!

We all loved our dishes and ate just about half so we'd have something left for tomorrow.

That looked like a ton of food!

I got the Peach Crostada which was the seasonal dish.

That looks (and sounds!) delicious!
 
I love your trip to Colorado! Now I know where to go if I'm there, and yay for DISMeets!
It looks so beautiful there, and the food you ate looks so good! Starting from that fried chicken to order, plus the fry bread, yum!
And Del Friscos is soooo good. Your pictures of the mountains are gorgeous!
 
Wow, your trip to Colorado looks amazing. The scenery is really stunning. The food looked delicious, too.

Corinna
 
Very much enjoying reading about your Colorado adventure with Jill :)

Too cool about a Clive Cussler car museum!!!

Mom and her boyfriend went to The Stanley and had dessert. She said it was beautiful inside. I enjoyed that snippet about Stephen King.

Horrendous to sit in that traffic :(

The moose picture is awesome!

Sorry you weren’t feeling the best. Glad the ginger ale helped.
 

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