I love Boulder

Colorado is an absolutely beautiful state with its great Rocky Mountain range and so many other wonderful natural attractions.

One of my favorite places too is the little town of Boulder just 25 miles away from the capital.

It is even prettier in spring when the city administrators really go all out plant thousands of beds of lilies, daffodil and tulips all over the place. So when my daughter says lets hang out in there, you know who never refuses!

To encourage visitors to flock the downtown area which is never lacking talented street actors, great food and shopping, they also make an arrangement with all the private lot parking to allow free parking to all motorists on weekends.

That is why we usually go there only on weekends!

Easter Saturday we went to spend the day down there with my daughter's best friend Tania who is a yoga teacher and outdoor lover.

She took us to a walking trail/park near her home where the backdrop of mountains is really wonderful. Lots of people go paragliding from the mountain side there too and as we watched them hovering overhead, we all pledged to try it next time we get together.

After a pleasant hour or so of walking, exploring and just enjoying each other's company we headed to our favorite Italian restaurant downtown then we headed to her place to relax  until it was time to drive home.

Another great pleasant and enjoyable day in beautiful Boulder. 

Up into the rocky mountains

The view of the Rocky Mountains from Denver Colorado is really inviting. 

Even better is the drive up into those snow capped mountains, sections of which reminds me  so much of some places in Switzerland.

Many historic buildings are on the tiny Main street

Recently we took a family trip to Breckenridge, an old mining town. However, gold mining ceased in the late 1800's.

Today it is a popular skiing area with lots of historic buildings and a population of just over 4,500, most of whom I assume work in the tourism/retail sector.

To ascend to the attractive town of Breckenridge, some twelve thousand feet above sea level, you go past a series of snow-capped  mountains of all heights and shapes and even a frozen lake which I hear some motorists actually race on when it is solid!

Some small towns on the way to Breckenridge are Echo Lake and Frisco.

Once there,  we stayed at the attractive Valdoro lodge where everything outside

was snow-covered and we even had icicles outside one window.  

Icicles formed outside our wind

But our suite had a lovely fireplace so we were really cozy.

I have to admit however that I have never seen more unsettled weather, with temperatures quickly changing from 17 degrees to in the forties within the hour, as heavy snow and even rain would come down  followed  by bright sunlight which left the streets nice and dry in no time. 

My granddaughter was excited to find icicles on a snowbank, which she reaped and eventually left in the refrigerator for the next guest checking into our room!

Reaping icicles from a mound of snow mound

All that happened during a 2 day stay in April, aka Spring!

However this weather did not at all bother a group of young people who we saw walking in shorts and even a thong, on their way to the heated pool on our property. Our shuttle driver opined that they had to be Europeans as when we saw them it was in the 20's!



I even actually enjoyed the weather when I finally ventured from our cozy suite with the fireplace, after I ceased being intimidated by the constant snowfall and reports about how cold it actually was.

We enjoyed the food in town

Apart from the skiing facilities which I don't use but admire, Breckenridge is a beautiful rustic town, perfect to escape to and enjoy the wonderful scenery, quaint gift shops and many restaurants offering a wide range of delicious food choices.




Other photos of Breckenridge and surrounding areas.

A wonderful matriarch

Grandma Williams surrounded by children and grandchildren  as she celebrates a birthday

I remember as a teenager, loving and always singing a popular song which was regularly played on the radio, painting mothers-in-law as the worse people in the world. After years of brainwashing,  I was absolutely terrified at the thought of having any such person entering my life!

However, it must have been my good karma that allowed me to acquire a lady who was absolutely beautiful, outside and within, to play that role in my life for more than a decade. 

Her name was Hazel Williams and she was the very opposite of what the song prepared me to expect.

And if I expected things to deteriorate between us after I divorced her son, I could not be more wrong, for, over the next thirty years, our relationship evolved to the point where she became my surrogate mother and later, one of my very best friends.

Her eldest great-grandson, says goodbye

My only regret is that I did not get to see more of her after I migrated to Florida some three years ago. For, I did not get back to Jamaica often and she being over ninety, had suffered a stroke and was immobile, so could no longer travel.

 I knew that because of her condition, I could have received a call at any time, saying that she died. However, I was especially disappointed and devastated when I did on the early morning of t Tuesday 19th March 2019. For the very day before, I had booked my flight for a holiday in Jamaica and had told myself that the first thing I would do after leaving the airport would be to visit her, before traveling on the same day to Duncans, Trelawny, my final destination.  

I was, therefore, a bit traumatized that I did not get to see her alive one last time.

I however immediately booked a flight for her funeral as I just could not allow someone who had been so kind to me and whose company I so cherished, to be buried without telling her well-wishers how wonderful she had been to me.

Some of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, pose for a photo

Also, if I had any fear that there would be a shortage of tributes, I certainly could not have been more mistaken, as after living for 97 years, (she died the day after her 97th birthday) she had touched so many lives positively. 

Dozens of her friends and relatives from all parts of the world made the pilgrimage to join those at home to honor the great lady, the matriarch of the Williams family, who kept that large family tightly knit.

 Many paid tribute to her and all the accolades were extremely interesting, enlightening and in no way exaggerated.

She had lived a good, useful and happy life and deserved her rest, we all agreed, so this was really a celebration of her long, valuable life.

Walk good my friend and thank you for your friendship and love.

One upside of funerals is that it gives you an opportunity to reconnect with people you have not seen for a while and this was no exception, for the day before I returned, I got the opportunity to go to the popular fun spot called Ft. Clarence, to hang out by the beach with some of the fellow mourners and enjoy the fish delicacies that the area is famous for.

I also think Mrs. Williams was watching out for my welfare up to the day I returned to Florida, as my flight was delayed for around two hours and waiting on them, I had fallen asleep and had not heard the boarding call. I was only able to dash to the plane seconds before the door closed when I heard my name on the intercom, with a final boarding call and a threat to remove my luggage!

Whew, that was a close call. 

It must have been my late friend who pinched me and woke me up!

Thanks for that last favor my friend. Your memory will always be precious and cherished by me.