And yes, it's "Monday" again. For me, it's the dreaded "back to work after a week off" kind of Monday where I have to get back into a routine after 7 days of shunning all things...well..."routine." Add to that the fact that I'm even sicker now than when I started the vacation (despite having been proactive and all that jive and getting meds from the doctor, etc.), I'm not really feeling terribly industrious. All that aside, though, I think that it's time I should post...

The Earth Completed A Full Orbit 'Round The Sun Since My Last Birthday...
Indeed, on the 25th of March, 'round 4:45 in the AM, I became 33 years of age. To celebrate this milestone, my parents were nice enough to take me (along with my wife) out to the Peppertree, a swanky restaurant in a not-so-swanky part of town (literally just a couple hundred feet down the hill from where I work). Despite it's proximity to an outpatient mental health facility and some questionable apartments, the place is really quite upscale. The most important part of any restaurant, however, is the food and in that category, the Peppertree did not disappoint. The house specialty at the Peppertree is their Pepper Steak which is prepared tableside, finished with a brandy flambé and served with spicy mango chutney. I chose said pepper steak, as did my wife, and was extremely impressed. My mom chose the Veal Neil which was more than awesome and my dad had the bone-in Kansas City strip which he surmised was the best steak that he's had anywhere at anytime. Overall, if you're ever in Colorado Springs and looking to impress someone (like maybe me, perhaps) and you've also got some coin to blow, I'd definitely recommend the Peppertree. A all the way.

Get Outta Town!..
On Thursday of last week, myself, my wife, my mom and my dad all took a quick trip up to Estes Park, a small town in the mountains about and hour and a half outside Denver. Among other things, Estes Park is home to the Stanley Hotel which was, of course, the inspiration for the Overlook Hotel in the Stephen King novel "The Shining." The Stanley was actually used as the Overlook in the cheesy Television Miniseries adaptation of "The Shining" and, as you might expect, the gift shop there is simply maggoty with Shining memorabilia. The Stanley was our first stop as we got into town on Thursday and, as Collin mentioned on last week's podcast, it's pretty damn close to EVERYTHING in Estes Park. In the book, of course, the Overlook was completely isolated and impossible to access in the winter months. In real life however, the Stanley is within easy walking distance of the local Safeway and less than a mile from several restaurants, including McDonald's and the Egg and I. Maybe if Jack had just looked around a little...Anyhow, it was decided that we would have lunch at the Cascades restaurant inside the Stanley before checking into the condo which we had rented for the night. As we entered the restaurant, my wife recognized Grant Wilson from the Sci Fi Channel Ghost Hunters show and exclaimed "Hey, T.A.P.S.!" He looked back at us with an almost "I should know who you are" look as we were led to our table (conveniently, right next to his). Soon after, he was joined by someone who I later found out is Patrick Burns from Court TVs "Haunting Evidence" and some others who I figure I should've recognized but didn't. As we ate our lunch, it became increasingly obvious that, just by dumb luck, we had stumbled into the middle of a paranormal conference there at the Stanley. Because of this, everyone (and I do mean EVERYONE) except for us was there for said conference. As such, EVERYONE was staring at US trying to figure out who the Hell we were. As an aside, our waiter at the Cascades, assuming that we were there for the spooky shit, was trying his level best to be as "spooky" as he could be. Poor bastard. His whole spooky act was wasted on our table...The only one he scared was my wife, as he kept sneaking up on her...I will give him credit, though...He moved swiftly...

As an aside, it's always amazing to me exactly how small these TV personalities are in real life. I'm talking homunculi-type small. That Grant guy was a damn midget and the Pat Burns guy...Well...Let's just say that our table could've engulfed and devoured him if the whim struck us...Tiny, tiny individuals...

Another Place To Recommend: The Fawn Valley Inn...
Since it is almost a 3-hour drive up to Estes Park from the Springs, we figured it'd be a good idea to find a place to stay for the night as opposed to just turning right around and coming home. As such, in my search for lodging, one of the few places with a vacancy (Goddamn paranormal conference) was the Fawn Valley Inn, which specializes in condos for rent. Going for what seemed like a bargain as compared to the $500-per-night Stanley (it's still the "off-season" in Estes Park), I booked a deluxe hot tub condo at the Fawn Valley Inn. The website made the place sound top-notch, recently remodeled one bedroom, two bath condo on the second floor with a private 4-person hottub on the deck which overlooks the Fall River. For a mere $188 per night after taxes, how could I pass it up? All four of us could stay in one place comfortably for $47 per person...I have to say that, once we got there, we weren't disappointed...The place was great...Pictures will be posted on Friday...

Then Comes The Sickness...
And then we come to this past weekend...We had many plans which had to be forsaken (hockey, housewarming at the Angellos, dinner at the Melting Pot for my mom's birthday and my mom and dad's anniversary) because I fell ill with a nasty chest...thing...It's still with me today, I was able to get a prescription called in, so I should be better within the week, but it's just so damned inconvenient to be sick. THAT, I don't recommend to anyone...

As always, thanks for stopping by...You kids have a fine Monday now...

Labels: famous folk, get outta town, I eat food, spooky shit