Costello Street Coffee House

Last summer, my husband and I stopped at the cutest, most quaint coffee house I've ever visited.  It is located in the small mountain town of Florrisant, Colorado.  Besides coffee and a variety of baked goods and breakfast items, it also serves a brunch (at least on Sunday) and several interesting sandwich concoctions.  We arrived there at lunchtime, so we each ordered 1/2 a sandwich (since they were rather large).  My husband ordered a BLT and I ordered a grilled vegetable and cheese sandwich.  Unfortunately, since I was soaking in the ambiance of the place and we were fortunate enough to have a dining room to ourselves, I forgot to take pictures of the food, however; here are pictures of  Costello Street Coffee House (I didn't know they had a website)...

Jo-Mama's No More

Last weekend we drove up to the "ranch" to check on things (since it is not a winterized cabin & we don't use it during the winter months).  We planned to stop at our very favorite pizza place, but found out that it "bit the dust" over the winter.  It formerly had been a "Pizza Factory", then was privitized a few years ago - and we've been going there for years.  It's almost as sad as the "Miceli's" Restaurant in my home town going out of business years ago...

Day Trip to Estes & Rocky Mtn. Natl. Park

I am soooo lucky to live in Colorado. Sometimes, as a Colorado native I don't appreciate just how beautiful it is. but when we drive up Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park it really makes me appreciate the beauty of the mountains and how awesome our Creator is!!!

 The kiddos wanted to get out and touch the snow.  It was so warm outside, we really didn't even need jackets.

It's hard to believe my daughter is 6 months pregnant.

How do you like our Jack in the Box antenna topper?

With my zoom, you can actually tell these are Elk...

And these are Rocky Mountain Bighorn.

Day Trip to Estes

 Driving into Estes Park on May 7th...just look at that fresh snow...

A glimpse of the Stanley Hotel (love the 10x optical zoom on my new camera)... 

Twin Owls rock formation... 

They were having their annual duck race although we missed it... 

Here's the rest of my group, my husband, and my middle daughter and her 2 kiddos...

After some shopping we had lunch at Penelope's... 

My daughter's chili cheese dog - Yummm!!!  (Just the way I like a hot dog - with so much stuff on top you can't taste the hot dog...)

My hamburger & fries...the kiddos split a grilled cheese (I didn't get a picture)... 

No trip to Estes is complete without stopping to buy some famous salt water taffy from

The Taffy Shop...

They still use the same equipment I used to watch when I was a little kid... 

And they are always so polite... 

Yum-o!!!

 It was such a beautiful day that we stopped for a rest by the River..

to be continued...

Trip to Boulder and Beyond - Part 2

We continued our trip down memory lane by stopping at the park in Lyons.  Here is a picnic shelter where I had a cookout with my Camp Fire Girl Troop when I was 11 or 12 years old.  I can't believe the shelter is still there and it looks just the same (except there are new picnic tables inside).   OK, probably the roof and rafters are new - but, of course, the stone part is the same...

Here is the place on the river where there used to be a little suspension bridge.  You can still see the rock foundation for it on the other side of the river.

On the way home we needed to make a restroom stop and noticed that a new restaurant had gone in where Fazoli's used to be in Longmont.  It is called Freddy's.  It is known for it's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers and has the best shoestring french fries!!!

We decided to eat dinner there eventhough it was only 3:30 pm.  I ordered the Chicago Dog Combo.  It was delicious (and I'm not a hot dog lover).  It was served on buttered toast - YUM-O!!!

My husband ordered the Steakburger Combo.  He said it was better than the burger at Five Guys today and reminded him of the burgers at Culvers, which he likes.

My husband got this pin at the Shelby Museum - it looks just like the Cobra emblem on the vehicles.

And I got these new Merrell hiking shoes at Sports Authority.

I'd say it was a good day!!

And here's the sole on my hiking shoes.  I will be able to climb those rocks behind the "ranch" just like a mountain goat.  I hope you all had a good weekend!!