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.

Celebrating Jerome's Achievements

Dr. Jerome and I

This was quite a hectic but enjoyable weekend. To begin with, my godson Jerome who is the only son of my late best friend Hilma, recently achieved his goal of becoming a medical doctor and he is presently doing his internship at the University Hospital of the West Indies. Hilma died in 2009 but she had spent many pleasant days on my  veranda and one of her favourite topics had been the giant party she would host for Jerome when he graduated.

 Since she did not live long enough to see him achieve his goal, I as godmother felt obliged and it was as pleasure to host a little party with mine and Hilma's friends to celebrate the occasion.

 As Jerome is busy and is often on duty on weekends, I had to ask him to choose the date. I also asked that he choose a date before the 20th August, as that is when my grandson Shadrach was due to return to New york and I wanted all who had not seen him since he was a little kid to see what a wonderful young man he had become.

Thor with baby Shadrach

Would you believe the date he chose was the 13th August! Whats so great about that date you may ask? Well to begin with, that's Fidel Castro's birthday, but the greater significance for me is that 40 years ago at 3 pm, my late, only son Thor was born. As fate would have it, he was only with us for 24 years but had it not been for him there would be no Shadrach, my grandson. Marsha, Jerome's sister said it was a good omen for Jerome to have chosen that date without even knowing the significance.

Shadrach (front) l-r Jerome, Joan, father Ramsay

It certainly turned out to be an excellent night, great food, lots of drinks and good friends all in one place to celebrate this young man keeping him eyes on the prize and accomplishing his dream despite the tragedy of losing his mother, with whom he was very close, during what was a critical time for him.

In the meantime Fun and Thrills, my riding group,  had planned a ride to Hollywell on Sunday 14th and since that area is a favourite of mine, I made sure to set my alarm clock so as not to miss it.

I did not ride with the main group but left early with Charles and Nicky. The ride up to Cafe Blue was reasonably easy but after we stopped there to have a drink, my muscles started to complain  and I could sympathise with them, for after all, I had already done 7 miles of solid uphill riding. Now normally, as I get tired, I jump into a support vehicle. But each time as I sought to ease the stress to my body, Charles gave me a pep talk so he and I continued struggling up together, for super fit Nicky had left us long before then.

Stefan and Nicky were among the first to arrive

 Soon Dennis Chung  flew past us then so did Andrew. After much pain and suffering, we made it up to Newcastle where we found Chris with the support vehicle and quickly jumped into the juices we had carried up in a cooler. At that point Charles, Andrew and I decided to take the easy way up by driving the rest of the way to Hollywell.


When the rest of the riders (about 15 persons) arrived, Michael drove up with them along with our Maryland " "chef," Coy and breakfast. What a wonderful sight!

After a delicious breakfast, the majority or riders sped off but as I was feeling quite tired, cold and sore, I opted to drive down with Chris, accompanied by Charles and Andrew. 

When I stopped by a neighbour on the way home, she commented how tired and bedraggled I looked. And she was perfectly correct for after the party on Saturday night, I only had about four hours of sleep and I was really pooped.

So you can guess where I headed to right after I arrived home!


For more photographs, see;  http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150340990661823.393930.763366822&type=1