Friday was a lazy day. Ken didn’t have bike work to do ‘til the afternoon, so we slept in and squeaked in for a late breakfast at one of the hotel’s restaurants. I had the most amazing “skillet” dish. For “veggies,” I expected onions and peppers. Nope, there were perfectly steamed carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower, and the hash browns were light and nongreasy, and the eggs were lovely. Best. Skillet. Ever.
In the early afternoon we went down to the fitness center and health spa, and Ken got a massage while I worked out. The exercise area was huge and very well-equipped. I listened to a Rockline with Styx from 2005 on my iPod and nearly fell off the elliptical a couple of times.
When Ken went off to be pit crew, I sat down to write. Hah. I kept turning into the Tasmanian Devil; I’d type a few words and then my head would spin around and weird noises would gurgle out of me, and I’d get up and do something else. Like wander down to the little shop and get Cheez-Its and gummi bears. It’s been years since I’ve eaten gummi bears. Gotta love those little chewy ursine bits of sugar. In sum, I didn’t get a lot of writing done, much to my chagrin. But by the gods, I cleaned out my e-mail In Box!
We had a late dinner with another bike guy, and then we spent the rest of the night repacking all our stuff, because there’s only so much room on the bike… Well, Ken packed. I lounged on the bed and read a book.
The Wild Canid Survival and Research Center (despite the web address, it’s not a sanctuary) was awesome. They have five types of canids there—Mexican grey wolves, maned wolves, African wild dogs, swift foxes, and red wolves—and we saw all five, which they said wasn’t usual. Such beautiful creatures. Smaller than I realized—I guess I think they’re big and bulky like huskies, when in fact they’re smaller, leaner. Simply gorgeous. The African wild dogs were particularly striking with their multicolored coats, and the maned wolf has this lush, thick red fur…
We grabbed lunch after that, then got on the road to Hope and Bob’s. On the way, I saw a red hawk in a tree right next to the on ramp we were on, and then, when we got there, I heard a red hawk call and saw one waaaaay up in the sky. I was quite chuffed to have recognized its call before I even spotted it.
We were immediately set upon by Hope and Bob’s kids, Sam (9) and Jessie (3). Sam remembered us from CA, but Jessie didn’t, given that when she left, she was still essentially a baby, and now she’s this little person. I don’t know about you, but I really didn’t expect a 3-year-old to walk up to me 10 minutes after I arrived and say (and this is pretty close to a direct quote), “Hey. I had a really weird dream the other night. You wanna hear it?” (Of course I said yes. I had to know what constitutes a weird dream for a 3-year-old. All told, it didn’t sound any weirder than any of my weird dreams…)
We all went out to a brew pub for dinner, and then they took us to a hot air balloon festival. Pictures will ensue.
Sunday was quiet; Bob had to leave in the afternoon to travel to a work site, so we took Hope and the kids out to dinner (excellent barbeque), and then we curled up and watched Wallace & Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit, because after a “Cheese, Gromit!” moment in the car, it came to light that Ken and I hadn’t seen the movie yet. Much amusement was had by all.
Today we made our way leisurely to Tan-Tar-A and checked in to our condo at the resort. It’s so pretty here, the hills covered with trees and the lake glimmering through the leaves, which we can see from our deck. We said hi to a lot of friends, had dinner (I had shrimp and pasta to do for), and popped out to get groceries before coming back to spend a quiet night in. Pictures of the area will be forthcoming when we get home!
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Currently Reading: The Wizard’s Daughter, Barbara Michaels
Lately Listened To: The Serpent Is Rising, Styx
Recently Watched: Missouri scenery
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4 comments:
Well....so what was her damn dream? You can't leave us hanging like that! Sounds like a lovely break so far. Trees! Lake! I would love trees and lake. Le sigh.
It was like any other weird dream your or I might have: pretty much impossible to describe to someone else. There was a car, and a lady, and driving around... Sounds like part of the weird dream I had last night, only mine started out at some sort of a festival that Styx was at, and now I can't remember where it ended. See?
The house where I grew up in Texas backed on a large wooded area, and we used to see Red Wolves stalking the edge of the property (circa 1975). My dad tried to get photos to show the Fish & Game people, but they were like ghosts. I remember being heartbroken when I found out they were endangered.
"I kept turning into the Tasmanian Devil; I’d type a few words and then my head would spin around and weird noises would gurgle out of me, and I’d get up and do something else. "
That's such a great description of some writing days!
Sounds like you're having a lovely time on the trip--the wolf tour sounds amazing. (I saw African wild dogs on our recent zoo trip and was enchanted. They're so doglike and yet...so essentially different. And they play fetch with each other.)
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