It's not that often that I have to travel for work, but when a conference came up in Keystone, Colorado, my first thought was to give my college roommate Belk a call. I owe her a long overdue visit, having never been to her house since she moved up into the mountains of Colorado from Denver several years ago. That visit will have to wait though, since timing and schedules didn't align. Second thought was to drop by the Ciembronowicz household. I've known Hana since college, although we weren't really friends, and then we both ended up in Bakersfield working for the big T and living in the same apartment complex. I think it was mutual friends and book club that drew us together as friends.
Hana's already blogged about my visit, but I figure I ought to also, seeing as I've not been blogging much lately. I flew in on Saturday, and was greeted by Hana and the front range. Oh how I've missed the mountains. At least in Bakersfield they were nearby, but Houston...not so much. The memories continued to come back when we had lunch - homemade pasty (pronounced passtee). I realize that you'll have no idea what I'm talking about if you didn't grow up or spend some time in Butte, Montana but trust me when I say "delicious meat pie."
After spending some time meeting the newest member of the Ciembronowicz clan, R2, we headed out to the Butterfly Pavilion. I haven't been taking photos all that much lately, so it was inspiring to be around all the beautiful flora and fauna. You can see more photos from the pavilion here.
The rest of the weekend was spent as follows:
Delicious dinner at Village Tavern - Hana's suggestion of the Ahi was spot on. Body rumbling demonstration of Mike's home theater. Watching a couple episodes of Stargate Atlantis on the very large screen. Sleeping in! Puffins! (the cereal kind) for breakfast. Sitting way in the front for the church service. Chinese for lunch. Being wisked back to the airport with R2 sitting in the front of the car.
I'll save you from rehashing the rest of the week seeing that it was spent at a work conference save for a dinner with Belk and Sam (who it was good to finally meet). I'll be spending a good long weekend up at Jackalope Ranch with them later this summer.
You are welcome anytime. I'm not just saying that either, I really mean it. It was our pleasure to have you as a guest! Thank you or rather the company for lunch.
