St. Patty's in Chicago

Linds, Scott, Syd, Joe, & me took the train to Chicago for the St. Patrick's Day weekend&celebration. I found an excellent deal on groupon for the Essex Inn across from Millennium Park on Michigan Ave with an indoor pool&sauna in a fun neighborhood with bars&restaurants. The first night, though, we crashed at friends' houses - Joe&I at Jeff&Katie's and Syd&Linds&Scott at Rachel's. After getting off the train downtown, we walked up the river to take in it's full dyed-green-beauty before heading north to our respective crash-pads where we pre-gamed before a night out in Wrigleyville. I only have flashes of memories of packed streets and long lines and we mostly opted to stay in at Jeff&Katie's because the sea of green-clad people was too much for our drunken mindsets, but it was a still a wonderful&typical evening. Sunday we all recovered (which included a breakfast at Pick Me Up, of course), checked into the hotel, and got dinner&drinks at a bar around the corner while watching the RedWings&Blackhawks game. On the actual holiday - St. Patrick's Day - we hung out in the pool&sauna in the morning, got brunch at the Kerryman then went to Streeter's Tavern for games&beer before landing at Timothy O'Tooles for the main portion of our day of celebration. Unfortunately, Scott was hurting on Tuesday, but Linds&Syd&I squeezed in breakfast, we all completed our packing, and eventually we made it to the train for our ride back to Metro Detroit. Another year of wild&excellent Irish-style celebrating with wonderful people in a perfect location.

Fiona @ BFF's

An evening at my BFF's house included CD burning for theYooper & a lot of silly moments from Fiona who decided to chase the kitties, hoard anything she could find, and fall asleep on the dining room table.

Everson Lovin'

While in Colorado, I planned a couple days to spend with my friend from high school, Peggy, her husband, Nick, and their 1-year-old son, Everson. I haven't seen E since last summer, so it was very nice to see him again. He's such an adventurous&fearless little man and Peg&I got to enjoy a quiet morning hanging out with him and their dogs. I was amazed at how effortlessly he pulled himself into the bay windowsill, so he could look outside. Not-so-amazingly but still very impressively he'd turn and throw himself off to get back down. He's a quick learner, though, and after just a few times showing him how to turn and scooch himself backward, he started being a little safer with his dismount. Besides hanging with Everson, we also had a game night with Nick's fellow youth leaders at the church he works for and enjoyed a breakfast&shopping out on the town. An excellent end to my Colorado vacation.

Hot Sulfur Springs

Our main vacation adventure in Colorado was visiting some Hot Sulfur Springs about 20mins from our resort. We paid less than $20 a person to go sit in these naturally occurring hot springs that were routed into little pools all over the side of a mountain. The higher the elevation - the higher the water temperature ...so we went right to the top. The sulfur water smelled a little like rotten eggs, but it made our skin and hair so soft&shiny. And it was so nice to sit in the hot water while the snow fell around us. One area even had a waterfall we could enjoy, which was great. It was definitely an awesome, one-of-a-kind experience.

Turning Dustin's Peace Ring Colors

Etching on the Concrete

Sign posted on a bench

Dustin under the waterfall

Waterfall in one of the springs

Hiding

CO Trip

My brother decided to take a late February vacation to Colorado for snowboarding, so I found a cheap flight and decided to join. It was just him and his co-worker, Lauren, at the condo he rented for the week, so the three of us had a nice, laid back couple of days in the pool&restaurant and enjoyed the mountain views. Not an extravagant vacation, but definitely necessary.

Snowboarding Views

Our Resort in Granby Ranch

Windy Mountain Driving