Today I spent several hours just walking around downtown Estes Park. I have done this before, but never so extensively. I spent about four hours strolling along and walking into nearly every store. There were a few surprises (seriously, who needs a Nebraska Huskers store in Colorado?!), and quite a few interesting places that I probably would have passed by if I wasn’t actively looking for such things.
It was interesting to see how — spirited — some of the store owners were. In more than one shop, I would walk in and immediately get a “Hey, there! How are you today? What can we do for you?” In a few places, I felt like I was at a meat market… “FRESH FISH!!! GET YOUR FRESH FISH!!!”… Yes, they were that eager… kind of like a scottish terrier on speed. It’s ok, though. Estes is a tourist town, and that’s just the way things are up there. I did find a few truly amicable store owners, and I made sure, when possible, to purchase my souveniers from them. I enjoy supporting people who don’t try to shove their products down your throat.
After shopping, WG picked me up (I was going to walk back to the house, but it was raining), and brought me home. Last night, I offered to cook dinner — spaghetti, my specialty — and I started on it when we got back. Granny told me to make extra, because the last time I cooked it for her, there was barely enough for leftovers, and she was sad when the last of it was gone. I let the sauce simmer for a few hours, and it made all the difference in the world! Dinner was very good indeed.
Before bed, I printed off my boarding pass using WG’s computer. With AOL. On dial up. It was painful. It took me nearly 20 minutes just to log into my email and print out one silly sheet of paper. Why on earth is there anyone still using dial up?! I mean, really, broadband internet is so cheap anymore that there is no reason not to have it.
It will be so nice to get back to my high-speed connection. I haven’t checked my email in almost a week. If I weren’t so relaxed from my vacation, I would be showing symptoms of withdrawal.