And the Mountains Shall Bring Peace to the People

. . . And they did bloggies! They did!!!! My Rocky Mountain day with the boy's family was just what the Doctor (and the trainer) ordered. I relaxed, enjoyed a Friday off, ate some great food, and made some lovely memories!

Yesterday morning did not start with my usual Green Monster. *gasp* :oO I'm shocked too! Truth be told yesterday morning we got up and headed out in such a hurry I didn't even have a chance to blend my ingredients. So instead I made myself a protein shake (with water) and drank 1/2 of it on our way to our first stop.


A rather un-exciting and un-green start to my day! Eventually we arrived at our first destination, a Bavarian inspired ski resort town. We were too early for things to have really gotten going for the day. Nonetheless, we had a good time walking around and popping in and out of the shops.

Speaking of shops . . . they had some lovely bakeries! Oh the temptation!!! Let's just say it's a good thing my office is not located nearby or else I'd have problems! lol The boy and his family decided to indulge and I took the opportunity to steal a small piece of the boy's apple fritter:


I'm kind of fond of this picture! Especially since you can see the super cute German bakery in the background. :o) And the pastry? To. Die. For. Most apple fritters I've had in my life have been overly greasy. This one was perfect. Not greasy. Not heavy. Very light. And full of good sized chunks of apples. Apple fritter perfection!

By this point it was nearly lunch and I hadn't eaten very much all day. I was mungry! Crazy mungry!! You can imagine I was thrilled when the boy's family decided we should stop for lunch before heading to the hot springs.

We chose a cozy restaurant in a lakeside town not far from the hot springs. The specialty of the house seemed to be breakfasts. I ordered the kids breakfast that came with one egg (medium poached), one slice of whole wheat toast, pan fries, a slice of oven roasted ham, and a small slice of orange. In the interest of disclosure I should add that while waiting for my food I stole two fries from the boy's fish and chips.


Next we headed to the hot springs. The views on the way up to the pools were nothing short of spectacular:


We spent a couple of hours at the springs. I was so relaxed by the time I got out, I could have had a long nap! :o) As an added bonus the hot mineral water helped my muscles release. Which means I can get back to running now - yaaaaaaaay!!!!

On the way out from the hot springs we came across some local wildlife. I'm not originally from the mountains. I'm from the big city and sights like these still leave me awestruck:


That bloggies is a pair of big horn sheep!!! Can you imagine they were just sitting there on the side of the mountain? No need to go to a zoo or anything. When you live in the Rockies you regularly get to see sights like these in the wild. I love that about this place!! I chose this particular picture because it was my favourite but the truth is that there were a couple of dozen of these guys on the mountain!! :o)

Next we headed to a local coffee joint that turned out to be uber-cool! I was a happy camper. My trip yesterday managed to combine the best of urban sensitivities with mountain explorations.

For starters, I shared a piece of lovely berry pie (it was tart, just the way I like it) with the boy and his nephew:


Next, the boy had loose leaf gunpowder tea. The tea itself came in a beautiful and heavy Japanese style pot. The tea cups were little egg like cups. They were translucent and beautifully delicate. I would love a pair like these some day!


As for myself, I had the yummiest tea beverage I have had in my whole life!!! It was essentially a London Fog made with loose leaf earl grey tea (with the most delicate aroma) and steamed soy milk. Mind you since the coffee company, Kicking Horse, is Canadian they called the drink a Newfoundland Fog:


It was delish and filling too! Which is a good thing because it managed to tithe me over until dinner. In the intervening period I had a bit of an adventure with the boy and his nephew. We were happily walking along the main street when I saw a totally adorable cocker spaniel running towards us. But it didn't have an owner tailing it! :oO

The little doggy ran into the street and I screamed while the boy tried to signal a pick-up truck to prevent it hitting the doggy. Not suprisingly the little doggy got scared and ran around the tires of the truck. Immediatelythe driver got out, grabbed the dog, and handed it off to the boy. So here we were in the middle of a town several hours from home holding a dog that didn't belong to us.

We checked it's tag and realized it was a local dog. I figured the number on the tag had to be associated with a local resident so we ran towards the local city hall. But it was closed! Luckily we had passed a pet store and gambled that they might know the owner.

Sure enough they did! We walked in and explained what had happened. Their reaction? "Oh Teddy . . . you got out again!" :o) Turns out they knew the owner and promised they would return the dog.

So that was our good deed for the day! Truth be told had the doggy not had a tag I would have been tempted to keep it. And this is coming from a person who's afraid of most dogs! But this one was so calm and beautiful. It didn't bark or snap or anything. It was perfect. Some day I want one just like Teddy.

With a happy heart we eventually met up with the boy's parents and headed to a local Scottish pub where I had some comfort food:


The salad was beautiful! And underneath those lovely piped potatoes? Shepard's Pie. Nothing like comfort food to end the day.

All in all you could say I was a very happy camper! :o)

See you tomorrow bloggies . . .