Meeker Park Lodge, Allenspark, CO

We stayed here for my daughters wedding over July 4th weekend 2011. They have a lodge and many cabins.  We had a cabin and our son and family stayed in the lodge.  

Allenspark is about 20 miles south of Estes Park on the east side of Meeker Peak and Long's Peak very close to the Wild Basin entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park.

After the wedding 5 of us went for a horseback ride through the forest. 

Looks like they used local wood for the building including these gnarled logs for the stair railings. Lots of chipmunks were scurrying around on the front porch. 

There is a rec hall where the wedding couple had a pre -wedding BBQ for everyone the night before the wedding.

'

Our cabin "The Nest House" - isn't it adorable?!!

Real working fireplace with stacked wood outside.

It was a real log cabin with knotty pine furniture.

And over the fireplaces is this painting of the cabin.

Meeker Lodge is only open from Memorial Day to Labor Day and is run by a family.  They are all wonderful and so friendly.  

We hope to return one day, just for a vacation and to stay away from the crowded, tourist mecca of Estes Park.

WOW Walk On Water Euro Bobbles / Bubbles

Matt Meister a weatherman in Colorado Springs broadcasting from inside a bubble during Colorado State Fair 2011.

  

At El Paso (Colorado) County Fair, July 2011

They unzip the bobble and the person steps in, and then they re-inflate it.  The idea is to walk inside the bubble in a pool of water.

Looks like fun !! Be careful though - be sure they are disinfected regularly.

Craft Shows We Will Be At - Fall 2011

 
It is that time of year again.  We will be writing names on rice and putting them into little bottles, capping them and making them into a necklace or key chain. eMail inquiries / orders always welcome. 

In addition we will have out clean gag gifts of Survival Kits with dozens of different titles, yarn string scarves and at a few  our *** long scarves, shoelaces, sun visors  and  cool scarfs *** that we sell on eBay.  

Sat.   10/15    Coronado High School     Colorado Springs      9 - 4 ***

Sun   10/16    Coronado High School     Colorado Springs      11 - 4 ***   

Sat    10/29    Horizon Middle School     Colorado Springs      9 - 3 ***

Sat    11/5     Smoky Hill High School      Aurora, CO                 9 - 4

Sat     11/12   Liberty High School           Colorado Springs       9 - 4   ***

Sat     11/19   Sand Creek High School  Colorado Springs      10 - 3   ***

Sat      12/5    Doherty High School          Colorado Springs      10 - 3

 

Cosmos

Cosmos flower, the classic flower of Autumn. I read somewhere that the kanji of Cosmos is written as the "autumn cherry blossom".

What else makes me think of autumn? This too...

Persimmon

Mention Cosmos to my Son and I know his first thought of Cosmos would be, what else? Ultraman Cosmos!

He'll be meeting all those Ultra Heroes soon, as his 9th birthday treat. :)

No Exact Change? No Problem

One thing I absolutely love (well, one of many anyway) about travelling on buses in Japan is that I don't need to bang my head looking for exact change before boarding any bus, unlike using the RapidKL buses here in Kuala Lumpur.

Gotta love that blue machine that can change bills to  coins.

Just be careful not to put the notes you want to change in the slot for paying the fare!

Of course, if one plans to ride the bus often, a bus card may be a better deal and less hassle than slotting coins every time you board or alight from a bus.

OLA: Riding Kentucky's Unbridled Spirit

an RV  flat tire on I 71, just 30 miles north of Louisville, Kentucky

I looked up the meaning of ‘unbridled’ (from this state slogan) in dictionary.com; it has two. The second meaning says: free from restraint.

As soon as we left Cincinnati and, as we were approaching Louisville, the right front tires of M’A ‘turn blew out (she has 8 in all, 2 in front and 6 at the rear, on 2 rear axles!)   It was such an unfamiliar booming loud noise and I got really scared (for once?).  Luckily, Bill was able to steer the 20,000-pound rig to the shoulder of Interstate 71.   In about an hour, our Good Sam road assistance was there to ‘unbridle’ us and we continued on to Diamond Caverns Golf and RV Resort further down in Park City.  

The original meaning is: horse bridles removed. Kentucky is where majestic horses run 'unbridled' in fertile pastures.

grass with a tinge of blue...

Churchill Downs, where the annual Kentucky Derby is held,
shown on its 360 degree screen

It is known as the ‘Bluegrass State’, literally because of bluegrass that is great for livestock especially thoroughbreds native to the state (saddle bred) who run ‘unbridled’ on the fields. Bluegrass is a perennial species native to Europe, north Asia and Africa, but not North America. Colonists brought the seeds with them and native Americans call it white man’s grass..  I spent many hours foolishly looking for grass that’s blue (so what else is new?). The name derives from both its dark green blades and blue flower heads which appear only when the plant is allowed to grow to its natural height of 2 to 3 feet.

the entry to Churchill Downs guarded by Barbaro a Kentucy Derby Winner 

This land makes the breeding of high-quality racing horses possible.   Churchill Downs, now a World Heritage Site, is in Louisville and is North America’s longest operating horse racing track. The famous Kentucky Derby is held there first weekend of every May and this year saw its 137th. We toured the grounds and imagined Derby Day when 120,000 people spill out of its 54,000 seat grandstand, with its famous twin spires and millionaires’ row, onto the grass lawn inside the mile long dirt track.  $150M is wagered through its 3,000 windows. We toured the back barns where 1,500 future champions are being trained and stood in awe at the many testaments to past and current champions and the sublime walkway of those who have passed on. A showcase miniature horse named Winston and a retired champion named Risen Warrior bid us goodbye.

Winston, the miniature horse, and Risen Warrior, retired champ

Frozen Niagara in Mammoth Cave National Park,
longest cave system in the world

North central Kentucky is famous for the Downs, the Derby, and many horse farms. But in the south central part of the state is the world’s longest cave system in over 50,000 acres of the Mammoth Cave National Park. 394 miles of connected underground passageways were formed by the ‘unbridled’ waters of the Green River.  If you remember, in Rapid City we saw the second longest, Jewel Cave National Monument (154 miles), and the fifth longest, Wind Cave National Park (135 miles). The third longest is Optymistychna in the Ukraine (144 miles) and the fourth is Sistema Ox Bel Ha (139 miles) in Mexico.

Carol sanitizing her shoes on 'foam-ations'

The System was formed about millions of  years ago under a ridge of sandstone and shale, making it very stable and dry, though not as gorgeous in formations. We took the easy (I can’t do strenuous tours anymore!) Frozen Niagara  tour, so named for the waterfall that comes through a hole on the cave roof and alternates between a trickle and a downpour depending on water activity above. A huge flowstone with draperies looks like frozen falls. Unfortunately, I was singled out (not for being pretty, sigh) but for having been in another cave system only 2 months earlier, wearing the same pair of shoes! White nose syndrome has killed millions of bats and I had to be sanitized through the ‘foam-ations’.  At the end, all of us had to go through it.

one of the one=car river ferries

Driving through the scenic byways of Kentucky was also pleasant. The Cordell Hull Scenic Bywaygoes down to the border of Tennessee at Tompkinsville where we found an Old Meeting House that was built in 1773 during the religious upheavals. Every day the old game of rock marbles is still played at a unique ‘Marble Dome’ in town. The Duncan Hines Scenic Byway goes around and inside the Mammoth Cave National Park, crossing the Green River on 3 points via small ferries, through pretty treed landscapes, many historic cemeteries of families who once lived on the park, and antique stores full of treasures.

the old Marble Club Super Dome, still in daily use today

Next: Riding Kentucky's Unbridled Spirit, Part 2

Ballast Point Park ~ Tampa, Florida

Ballast Point Park is a located on Tampa Bay (featuring awesome views of downtown Tampa and the Port of Tampa), down the street from Bayshore Boulevard, one of the most picturesque points in Tampa.

click photo for enlarged view

The park dates back to Tampa's earliest days, originally named Jules Verne Park.  The Hillsborough County Historical Commission placed a historical marker at the park which reads:

"Formerly Jules Verne Park . . .

Mrs. Chester W. Chapin, controlling owner of the company which operated the city's first electric trolley cars, purchased these acres and in 1894 developed this site into a tropical park as a terminal for her line.  

She named it for the French writer Jules Verne (1814-1905) who in his famous novel "From the Earth to the Moon" first published in 1865, chose Tampa town as his launching site for the imaginary shot of his rocket to that planet near one hundred years ago."

The park features a lovely fishing pier that brought back so many memories of my childhood.  As we ventured down the pier today, flashbacks of fishing with my dad came to mind.  The one memory that stands out are the ugly blowfish that were often caught off that pier.  They really freaked me out as a child!

click photos for enlarged views

As a dating teenager, the pier was a fun spot to enjoy a relaxing evening after having dinner out.  That pier has been a fun spot for me as I became an adult, looking for a frugal way to spend a very enjoyable evening, either fishing or merely walking the pier watching others fish.  There is something about fishing piers at night that fascinate me in the simple way of just enjoying one of nature's gifts . . . the sounds, the sights, the smells.  It is an awesome way to spend an evening!

click photo for enlarged view

We passed by the familiar picnic pavillions and I could almost feel the happy childhood excitement and wind on my face as I ran around and played with my cousins and second cousins.  Family picnics back in the day meant the whole family got together . . . such happy memories just walking around that park!

Each sheltered picnic pavillion includes a grill, lots of picnic tables in shady surroundings that includes a children's playground. 

The tree-lined walkways along the water are popular among joggers, walkers and rollerbladers with quick access to Bayshore Blvd.

Some views of Bayshore Blvd., downtown Tampa and Port of Tampa from the Ballast Point Pier:

click photos to enlarge views

It was one of those overcast days in Florida . . . hit and miss showers all over town.  Notice the difference in cloud formations . . . watching the sky fascinates me!


Ballast Point Park is an awesome place to spend the day picnicing with family, relaxing on a park bench enjoying the Florida sunshine, fishing on the pier or just passing the day or evening watching others fish . . . there is also a restaurant on the grounds (have no idea what the food is like).


Check it out if you find yourself in Tampa and just want to enjoy a little relaxation with spectacular surroundings . . .

Japanese Curry, Anyone?

Curry. Who likes curry? I do even though I know eating curries a few hours before I start my running workout will make me feel all heavy and acidic.

The curry we would normally see here in KL. Both Zaini and I love curry especially fish head curry.

A dish of fish head curry I cooked many, many moons ago.

Japanese curry is way different from the curries we are used to. It had different texture and taste from Indian curries or curries we are familiar with in Malaysia.

Curry (kare if you pronounce it the Japanese way) is a popular dish in Japan. Japanese curries can contain ingredients such as carrots, apple and honey. oooph! The "weirdness" of their curries I think was due to the influence coming not from Indian curries but it came through the British Navy.

Curry rice can be a cheap option to eat when one is in Japan. For us though, it is something we avoided just like ramen due to the content of lard or any meat products in the sauce.

But that didn't stop us from enjoying them where we can! We can eat Japanese version of curry in Malaysia instead. *^-^*

Ebi furai curry Zaini had at Mizu Restaurant in Bangsar.

Forgot what it's called but it's fried chicken curry rice. No, no tonkatsu curry rice for us, thanks. For obvious reason.

You may have biased view about curries and eating authentic version of curries... Fair enough. But why form a view on that and not be adventurous with your tastebud. After all, Malaysian cooked curries altered to suit our taste too be it Chinese style or Malay style, compared to the real Indian deal, you know.