August 1, 2003 Friday Another flight, more security, they didn't make me take my shoes off but I was wanded. I think it was my belt. I haven't been let through yet! I nodded out for a lot of the flight, my first time on Frontier Airlines. One guy with really obnoxious and loud laugh made everyone turn around. Listened to my CD player. Seats had DirectTV which I did not watch. Uneventful flight but 1/2 hour late.

Lesson to be learned: Don't have preconceived notions about roads. In 10 years they change!!! Anyway, national Rentacar didn't have midsize car so I was bumped up to a Buick Century, a boat! My old map sense got me twice. First, instead of taking Peña Blvd. (Denver Int'l approach highway) south all the way to I-70, then I-270 and I-25 north etc., I could've taken a new toll road, route E-470 north that would've shaved at least 20 min. from my drive out of the airport and got me to I-25 north of Broomfield. And then, I got lost going to Dave & Bev's due to my Longmont preconception. Even with my Mapquest Map, I assumed you had to reach the downtown of Longmont before looking for the Pace Street where I had to turn. I then discovered Pace Street was way east of the town. Therefore, I was past Pace Street (my first turn off) before I even started looking for it! I backtracked and found my way there. It was great to see Dave and Bev as they are wonderful people, teachers of more than just school work.

There was a "shrimpboil" party at a neighbor's house across the street. No it's not something that appears on your body, but a whole bunch o'shrimp and sausage in a pot slow cookin' on the grill. They were friendly folk and I had a nice time. Too bad I don't remember their names! I endeavored to stay up to catch up with the time zone change. I showed Dave & Bev the Blackberry (wireless email device) which worked too and took some pix with my Nikon Coolpix. A long but nice first day.

Sat. August 2. Dave cooked breakfast. We then went to Boulder County Fair in Longmont to see some horses and townfolk. I bought some peaches for the road and some lemonade. I came back, took some pix and went on my way.

I had to stop at Starbucks on Hover Rd. in Longmont and do work with my 1999 Mac Powerbook via the T-Mobile hotspot wi-fi connection and my wireless card. I had a list of Colorado Starbucks. I'm Mr. Prepared! Took awhile to find it, which is the theme of the beginning of this vacation! I had to update the Rodeo Bar website but couldn't locate the e-mail with the update info. Turns out that the rodeo bar e-mail I needed turned up in the junk (spam) mailbox! Then I couldn't login to upload the change to the site! It worked when I tested it at home. Finally I was able to login by changing the password (I thought I had it right) and uploading the schedule so I did my work. It was noon about then and I was heading toward to Keystone for recreation and to visit my friend Linda who was there at a business retreat with her company.

Then the real adventures began. I finally got to Keystone and the Gateway Resort which I discovered were private condos. There wasn't an office there. I went all over the place to find where to check in. I went to a hotel that didn't have my reservation but discovered the outfit that did, Resort Quest.com. I finally found them! And I got my room keys. Then I took another wrong turn where I could not find Route 6, snaking my way through Keystone village neighborhoods. I finally got back to Route 6, went back to the Gateway, got to my room and lo and behold it was not a suite with a fireplace that I reserved but a small studio with a Murphy bed! It was hard to reach Resort Quest because the local phone wouldn't work, but I was able to call with the cell phone which saved me. I got moved to another condo called Oro Grande nearby though I went past that entrance before I found it and had to consult a Keystone Map. Now I'm here but there doesn't seem to be air conditioning or I don't know how to turn it on. I called Resort Quest who did not call me back. Little did I know that at night at 9000 feet the temperature goes down to 50 degrees with blowing wind so ya don't need air conditioning. They did call me back with that obvious info the following day. It was a very tiring day. I ate at Mi Casa Mex restaurant, a place I could actually WALK TO and had fajitas with a local beer. I needed it.

It's raining and hailing right now at 7 pm. Anyway it's a nice suite with a separate bedroom and a fireplace. Sex & the City is on. Carrie gets rejected via post-it note. I have not heard from Linda so I went swimming. No one else uses the pool so I will! I await Linda's call though I might e-mail her with the Blackberry since I have no other contact. I was practically asleep when Linda called me around 11:40 pm that she was looking for me at the Gateway because she did not get the message that I had moved to another condo and was unaware it was a condo, not a hotel. Linda did not have my cell phone number with her. Anyway her company, Matrix consulting? commandeered a bar called the Sports Shack in the Keystone Village area. I drove to Keystone Village since I was closer to River Run Village, parked in the public lot and discovered it was so cold in just a t-shirt. I didn't check the weather because I have indoor parking! Sports Shack was located on a tiny cute lake. I met her there and hung out for about an hour. We caught up with our lives, jobs, love, etc. I had a nice time but she then had to talk to her co-workers since technically I was crashing the party which she was nervous about since no knew the heck who I was but nobody really cared. It was a late night. I went to bed around 1:30 am.

8/3/03 Sunday -- It was my day to try mountain biking on the mountain! I noted from last night that The Sports Shack also rented bikes. I went to The Goat (great name huh?) for an egg-breakfast burrito then off to the Sport Shack, but they did not rent bikes for the mountain so off to the River Run Village of Keystone where they rent the bikes that go up and down the mountain. I went to Bicycle HQ, rented a bike and mistakenly bought 2 rides up the quad chair lift. No one told me how long and strenuous 1 ride would be and I stressed to several people this was my first try at this. I felt I was misinformed but headstrong as well. After my first ride during which I took a little fall getting on a trail -- even the easy trails are hard -- I couldn't get a refund for the 2nd ride even though I was very close to the 2 hour limit that I rented. And the smirk of the cashier after rejecting my plea. I should've quit when I was ahead and swallowed the 6 bucks but noooo.

So I rested for 10 minutes, then decided to get a power bar and bottled water and up the lift a second time. Big mistake?.? The weather was much better as it rained and even hailed a little on my first ride down. This was much more difficult with the same trail due to my being tired and the altitude (11,000+). Sometimes I could not hold the line on the trail on turns, turned too wide and ended up on the grass. It was generally OK until I had one bad fall. I must have put the front brake on too tight, I flew over the bike and slid on the ground on my chest. Ouch! I rested for a couple of minutes and was determined to get down but very carefully. Still it wasn't easy but I made it down, battered and bruised as they say, on my stomach, my left wrist, my right forearm. After I returned the bike, there was a hose outside the Bike HQ shop where I washed off the wounds, then returned to the condo and jumped into the Jacuzzi, aaaaahhhhh. One good thing is that the bike shop only charged me for 2 hours though I was more than 1.5 hours late. I then took a bath and went out to dinner back at River Run's Great Northern Tavern. I had delicious duck along with a fried banana sundae. It hurts when I breathe. I may have contused my ribs, but I will sleep well tonight!

8/4/03 Monday - Dark Side to Keystone? Checked out of the condo and dropped off the keys then went to Keystone Village to eat at the Edgewater Cafe I noticed near the little lake when I saw Linda. It was cool but sunny so I ate outside, watching people in pedal boats and kayaks. The waiter ignored me ... twice! I had to go in and tell them (I was hungry, irritable and pushy New Yawka), then I got the buffet myself, an expensive Continental Breakfast, but good with fruit, granola, bagels & lox, etc. I said to myself if the other young guy waiter that served me, giving me thumbs up all the time gets me the right change, I'll give a decent tip, which he did and I did. I thought maybe I was ignored by the other guy was because I was Jewish. Who knows? Then there was the mix-up with my condo accommodations, Linda looking for me where I wasn't and the mountain bike fall ... Bad karma but not my fault. I'm not going back anytime soon!