Wonder if it's too late for reservations to "Ski Lubbock" over the Christmas holidays?

Major change in plans:  I had hoped to take K and Luke the Wonderdog on a week-long vacation over the Christmas holidays to a new ski resort I recently heard of.  Unfortunately I couldn't afford Aspen or Telluride or Steamboat during the high season, so I got a package deal to the new Masik Resort in beautiful North Korea.

This is a pet project of North Korean (Dear) Leader Kim Jong-un, who reportedly skied when he attended secondary school in Bern under an assumed name.  Western experts also think the project is a response to South Korea hosting the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

Plans were to have the resort open by the end of the year, but are now behind schedule because of heavy rains and mudslides.  Now, to add insult to injury, the Swiss have decided to NOT sell ski lift equipment to the North Koreans.  Prior to this, both the Austrians and French had also refused to sell them lift equipment.

The North Korean Skiers' Association, shown here at their annual general membership meeting, said such equipment should not have been included in the UN sanctions.  They point out that "cableway equipment for the ski resort do not produce any rocket or nuclear weapon."  

They went on to say the sole purpose of the resort was to give the North Korean people "highly civilized and happy living conditions and make them enjoy all blessings."  (It was either this or some food.)

I'm sure K will be disappointed to miss out on this unique opportunity, but I'm thinking Luke might be rather relieved on account of his status as a delicacy in North Korea.

To read more about this for yourself, here is the link to the BBC story.

Happy (?) Monday everyone.  :)

S

One down, two to go

Summer in Texas is a miserable, disgusting time of the year.  Anyone who disagrees has been out in it too long.  When you open the door first thing in the morning to step out to get the newspaper, for example, and you're immediately hit by a blast of air so hot and muggy your glasses fog up, it makes you want to just crank down the A/C and go back to bed.

This climate change thing has blindsided a lot of people this year.  Blizzards when they weren't supposed to, heat waves where we weren't supposed to, floods, freak sand storms....what's next?  But oddly enough, Dallas has so far had a fairly palatable summer.  We've had a few 100 degree days, but we've also had a few days that never even climbed into the 90's. 

This morning before 7 I took Luke the Wonderdog out for a long walk.  My weather app said the temp was 74 degrees, but a pretty stiff breeze made it feel like it was in the 60's.  And if the weatherguessers are to be believed, this will be one of those sub-90 degree days.  SWEET!

I'm not foolish enough to expect August and September to be like our July was, but at least I only have two more months of misery to endure before October relief arrives.

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I like lists.  Not "To Do" lists, but lists of fun things.  Like today on Yahoo news, for example, it had a list of the 10 coolest summer cities (we're talking temperatures), and also the 10 hottest.  

Two of the top 10 coolest are among my personal favorite cities, too:  Seattle and Denver.  Seattle because of its uniqueness and Denver because it's just a short drive (by Texas standards) to the mountains.  THE mountains.  THE ROCKY mountains.  I love THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.  *insert little tiny heart shape symbol here*

My new address when I win the lottery

No surprise, 4 of the top 10 hottest summer cities were in Texas, Dallas being #3.  What's that old saying?...."I've got a spot in heaven guaranteed 'cause I've already done my time in hell."

Carry on and stay cool.

S

Happy Valentine's Day

This is my Valentine, the lovely and talented "K"....

Fortunately she doesn't get spiffed up too often, as she, like me, is much too casual for that...

Ahh...better!

We have a pretty good GREAT life together!  Oh sure, we sling some arrows now and then, but we're both pretty bad shots.  She takes great care of me, and I try to do the same for her.

We've been to a few fun places....

With hopefully a lot more to come.

She's a real adventure junkie, too.  I like that!  (We're at the front, naturally.)

And she's not at all demanding.  Even a day at a local art show has her grinning ear-to-ear.

She loves my daughters, and they love "Miss Kelly", too.  So do all the young 'uns.

I love her much, and best of all, she loves me right back.  Sweet!

Happy Valentine's Day, my love.  :)

S

This could be reeeeeeeally BIG!

I love Aspen, Colorado.  It's a great place to visit but a lousy place for anyone but a billionaire to live.  My casual observation is that they seem to have an inordinate number of beautiful young women there accompanied by "more mature gentlemen".  Maybe that's why Aspen Sojourner magazine is suggesting the development of several Aspen-specific iPhone apps such as this:


"The Trophy Wife Locator app....After a few hours of drinking at the Caribou Club, picking out your recently acquired 35-year old blond wife from the others who look just like her can be tricky.  Especially since you're 70.  This app will ensure you head home with the right missus.  Pro Upgrade includes Alimony Calculator."

Isn't money wonderful?  ;)

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Looks like the Greeks are not too keen on a steady diet of dog food, which is what they'll all be eating once the latest austerity measures being imposed on them kick in.  They do, however, have a supply of matches which they're using to burn down their country in protest.  I've never understood that....you get mad, so you burn up your own stuff.  The logic escapes me.


"Hey Nikos.  Whatcha eating?"  


"Dog food."  


"Why are you sitting on the floor?  Where's your stuff?"  


"I burned it up."  


Yeah, that'll show 'em!  Did you know that a third of all Greek workers are employed by the government?  What could they possibly do all day?  Process each other's paperwork?  Oh, wait....I'm beginning to understand.  Government workers....no logic....OK, I get it now.

All our TV stations are on "Storm Watch" mode, with reporters spread out all across 6 counties showing us the falling snow.  And it melting as soon as it hits the ground.  "Look....wet pavement!"  *big yawn*

Happy Valentine's eve, everyone.  Fair warning....  :)

S

  

La Dolce Vita....Colorado style

K found us a sweet package deal to Aspen*, including 3 nights in a very upscale hotel, the Viceroy at Snowmass Village.  When we checked in on Friday afternoon I was indeed impressed.  The lobby had this very elegant contemporary "fire and ice" display:

We arrived at our "room" on the 6th floor (right below the penthouse) to find that it was actually a suite:

*pardon our mess*

Even our  TV menu was personalized:

The clincher, however, was this bath.  It measured 15' x 18'....HUGE:

We spent many happy hours (OK, maybe I exaggerate) under the shower rainhead:

I honestly think 4 or 5 people could have comfortably fit in this shower.  (There must be some mighty kinky folks in Colorado!) The shower was stocked with bottles of designer body wash, shampoo, and conditioner which were also available for purchase from the hotel boutique for $40 each.  (We passed.)

Every morning we put on our fuzzy robes and sat on our balcony, sipping espresso (her) and juice (me).  We also found a German bakery in town and stocked up on a few pastries....yummy!

Mr. Homebuilder here was impressed with the quality of things, too...Poggenpohl European cabinets, Viking, Wolf, & Bosch kitchen and laundry appliances, (2) LG flat screens, see-thru gas fireplace, granite tops and honed marble floors....all top quality stuff.  I wasn't expecting to see this in a hotel!

Valet parking, a concierge of course, an elegant restaurant and bar....it couldn't have been nicer.  Now are you ready for the price? This was regularly a $650 per night room / suite, but we got it for $77 a night.  All I can figure is that Kelly must have sounded SUPER sexy over the phone when she signed us up!  *wink*  :)

S

* "Aspen" is sometimes used generically to include the town and resort of Aspen, and also the nearby area that includes the resorts of Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk, and Snowmass Village.  We stayed in Snowmass, but spent most of our time in Aspen proper.

Colorado High

We're back from Colorado, and I still can't wipe this silly grin off my face.  It was SO cool, both literally and figuratively.  We flew from Dallas to Aspen via Denver with no hitches (United), arriving there about 1 pm.  Since our hotel check-in wasn't until 4, we decided to make the drive to Independence Pass, along the way passing snowdrifts on the side of the road still 12' high:

There was a photo spot a few hundred yards from the parking lot and I made a beeline for it....and discovered the thin mountain air.  Within 50 yards I began to feel dizzy, and recognizing what it was, stopped in my tracks and regained my balance, then slowed my pace.  I (K too) had a mild headache the rest of the day, but after that we were sufficiently acclimated.  Isn't this view breathtaking?....

All along the drive up we kept passing snow runoff headed towards the Roaring Fork River:

We eventually found a turnoff where we could check out a small tributary up close and personal.  That's where K dipped her foot in the river and pronounced it freezing cold.  Umm....Lover....it's snowmelt!  This was of interest to us as 2 days later we had reservations on a whitewater rafting trip down the Upper Roaring Fork.

Yes Sweetie, you...in there!

Later that day we checked in to our room at the Viceroy at Snowmass (more on that in another post), then went out for a nice meal and at 9 pm, a walking Ghost Tour of Aspen.  It was fun, and the only time all weekend that we had to wear our jackets.  The rest of the time it was cool, but sunny and calm.  (Pixel Peeper...nightimes, low 50's; daytime, upper 70's.)

The next day we drove to Aspen Highlands, then took the shuttle to Maroon Bells, probably the single most-photographed mountain(s) in all of Colorado:

We hiked around the lake towards the mountain, seeing deer and a beaver dam along the way, finally turning back as the last bus of the day left at 5 pm and we didn't dare miss it.

That's enough for now.  I'll share more later.  :)

S

The Plan

Our brief whirlwind trip to Aspen is taking shape.  If all goes as planned we will arrive in Aspen early PM on Friday.  Hotel check-in isn't until 4 PM, so we have time to drive around and scope the place out, including finding a nice restaurant for our first evening there.  Then at 9 PM K has made us reservations for  a 1 1/2 hour-long walking "ghost tour" of Aspen, which is enthusiastically recommended.  Sounds fun!


Saturday morning we're going to the farmers market where they have places to eat breakfast and have live music, too.  In the afternoon we'll take the gondola to the top of the mountain where the views are reportedly spectacular. (Hey, it's ASPEN.  Of course they're spectacular!)  Probably have a nice meal up there later, too.


Early Sunday afternoon we have reservations to go white-water rafting.  I don't think this is a terribly violent excursion, probably more "family friendly".  They will issue us some sort of "wet suit", but they also say to bring a change of clothes for when we return, so I imagine we're still going to get plenty wet.  With the night time temps in the 40's and the river being nothing more than snowmelt, I don't think I'll be whining about being too hot.  If anything pneumonia might be more of an issue.  Haha!


That's all we have planned for now.  Our plane departs around 4 PM Monday.  All the gaps in our schedule can be filled in spontaneously with whatever we see that looks like fun.


And just FYI...this morning at 7:30 in Aspen it was 56 degrees.  :)


S

An afternoon with Sluggo

Today I stopped by to visit with my daughter Erica and my grandson Parker....aka Sluggo.  This kid LOVES baseball...and football, and soccer, and basketball, and just being outside.  Today he wanted to play baseball, so we went out into the yard and he blew me away!  The little guy can actually hit the ball.  I can pitch 'em high, low, fast, slow, it doesn't matter.  He can judge them and connect.   The kid's amazing.  And he only 2! 

At what age do you think it's appropriate to get a sports agent for him?  Haha!

Otherwise today was spent playing referee between dueling subcontractors, trying to make sense of what the new building inspector wants (he contradicts himself), and dropping off/picking up the dog from the groomer.  I still managed to get home before K, so I'm doing a few household chores so she (and I) will have a completely free weekend.  

This weekend we'll be doing our homework researching things to see and do in/around Aspen so we can make the most of our limited time there next week. Can any of you who've been there make any suggestions? I'm sure a lot has changed since I was last there 20+ years ago.

Have a great weekend everyone.  Stay cool.  :)

S

Colorado bound

I'm sitting here at the computer this morning eating my breakfast (a croissant, 2 small link sausages, and a glass of grape juice) just giddy with excitement and anticipation.  Last night in a totally spontaneous move K and I booked our reservations for a long weekend (next week) in Aspen.  WooHoo!!


Now is a good time for us to sneak away for a short refresher.  The parts that I'm responsible for (structural) on the 2 homes we have under construction right now are wrapping up.  My brother will soon be taking the lead with our customers in choosing paint colors, tile, countertops, etc, and I can coast for a while. And K is setting the world on fire at her new position, even being called out by the boss at a meeting earlier this week, but at a price.  She's tired.


Isn't this exactly why God made mountains, and Colorado?  Two facts are stuck in my mind:  At 6 AM this morning it was 41 degrees in Aspen, with a high expected to be 73 later on.  Sweeeeeeet!  I know this won't impress you "the hotter the better" types, but to this Texas boy "hotter" is not "better".  Maybe this will get me through until autumn.


We have reservations on a puddle-jumper jet to Aspen, a room at a swanky hotel/resort/spa, and even a tiny tin-can rent car.  Now I just have to get through one more sweltering week in Dallas.  *I can do this...I can do this...*


S