Grouchy

When the alarm went off this morning, I was grouchy. I had to get back to ‘real life’.

Char and I had spent the last few days celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. I’ve aged a little since we were married, Char is as cute as ever. Yesterday, the 11th, was the official day. We spent the day shopping (yes, shopping). I got Char a couple of presents because the minute I saw them they represented certain things about our thirty years together. That and the fact, she deserves them and a lot more for putting up with me throughout the years.

Our trip started Saturday when I met Char in Glenwood Springs. She was there on a school trip. We took the afternoon and drove around exploring the sights and looking at places Char had spent time at as a kid. One of our stops was the town of Carbondale where I took this picture of Mt. Sopris.

On Sunday, we started to Palisade. Fifteen miles from our destination, we decided to take a 400-mile detour. We wanted to go over Grand Mesa. Before long, we were on another detour to the town of Collbran to see the Women’s Veteran Memorial. This picture was taken on the road to Collbran.

This is the view at the top of Grand Mesa. It doesn’t do justice to the majestic view you have up there. Grand Mesa is known as the 'largest flattop mountain in the world'. Five drainages along the mesa provide water for orchards, vineyards, farms, ranches, and towns throughout western Colorado.

This picture was taken outside of Cedaredge where we had lunch at the Ole Bakery Cafe.

From there we continued taking a detour here and there until we reached Palisade. Palisade had several bed and breakfast spots but never a hotel until September of this year, that’s when the Wine Country Inn opened. It’s a great hotel and Char was really happy about the off season rate of $89 a night, especially after hearing me say (repeatedly) the days of $89 rooms were gone forever. The view from our room overlooked one of the many vineyards in the area.

Yes, we did visit some of the vineyards and tasting rooms. We also purchased several bottles of wine. Some will be shared with family and friends.

Judging from the sign, they knew I was coming. Actually, I was in a great mood - at least until the alarm went off this morning and snapped me back to ‘real life’. But thinking about it, the past thirty years were real life.