80205

Sheesh, life is crazy sometimes isn't it? I came down with a severe case of hives (from head to toe!) at the beginning of June & they didn't go away until about a week ago. I think cheese was the culprit. NO MORE CHEESE! My ears were super swollen; my eyes almost swelled shut; my legs were covered in bruises from all the itching. The doc put me on a 12-day pack of steroids. Prednisone. YUCK! I felt like I had no choice. My face was soooo swollen & the hives weren't backing down. I had to trust my gut. If I hesitated & didn't take the steroids to stop the allergic reaction, my throat could have swelled shut. Who knows. I'm glad it's all over now & I hope to never experience that itchy nightmare again! But enough about hives. It's time for the good stuff! :) 


  
80205. My zip code for the time being. What can I say?! The mountains were calling me. Anywho, time for you to gawk. :D

Glenwood Hot Springs Pool! :D

The source of the hot water in the pools. 122 degrees fahrenheit!  

The hotter of the two pools. 104 degrees fahrenheit! 

The cooler of the two pools. 90 degrees fahrenheit!

The old train station! Officially opened in 1904. 

Ever been to Glenwood Springs, Colorado? They're famous for their Glenwood Hot Springs Pool (the 'coolest' pool in the world! HAHA!). You can read about its history here if you'd like! 


A pool that feels like a hot tub. OHMYGOD. If 104 degrees is too hot for ya, you can take a dip in the 90-degree pool. Or you can do what I did; hop from one to the other every 20 minutes or so. That's the way to do it! Having TOO MUCH FUN is inevitable. The pool is a magical free-for-all. Children can float around on their bright & colorful inner-tube or giant alligator without disturbing other swimmers. You can even walk into the pool area with a big honkin' pizza! No restrictions whatsoever (except no running: safety first!). Of course I was the odd man out with a shiny can of tuna in my hand. "One man's trash is another man's treasure". If I close my eyes, a can of tuna is just as tasty as a slice of pizza! :) 


Susie (my darling aunt) & I stuck around the therapeutic pool for nearly 8 hours. Can you believe it?! I barely dodged gettin' crispy like bacon. It's easy to forget how much stronger the sun is here. Sunscreen has to be reapplied more often than you think, especially if you're a pale redhead! 


After spending the entire day at the pool, we arrived back at our motel & slept the night away. We were pleasantly exhausted. It was absolutely faaabulous! On our way out Sunday morning, I managed to get a souvenir: a stainless steel "Glenwood Springs, CO" coffee mug! It'll work great for hot soup in the winter! 


Tonight, the two of us are off on another adventure. A major roadtrip! Our itinerary looks a little something like this. 

Friday: Grand Junction, CO

Saturday: Cedar City, UT

 Sunday: Mammoth Lakes, CA -Yosemite Natl. Park

Monday: Fresno, CA- Kings Canyon Natl. Park

Tuesday: Visalia, CA

Wednesday & Thursday: Los Angeles, CA

Friday: Las Vegas- Hoover Dam

Saturday: Glenwood Springs, CO

Sunday: back to the mile-high city 

I've got 10 cans of sardines, 2 packs of hot dogs, the noodler for zucchini pasta, cucumbers, spinach, lemons, salt, pepper, 6 cans of tuna, & all my vitamins! That's how an SCDer prepares for a roadtrip. I think I'm ready! The computer is coming with me so I'll definitely post pictures as I go along. I better go fill the cooler before I leave without my precious cargo aka my food! ;) Catch ya on the other side! 

~Allie    

Pie on the 4th of July!

Blueberry pie! Betcha didn't expect to see a picture of that on my blog! :) However, please forgive me if I've caught your eye for pie & you are unable to indulge in a piece because of dietary restrictions (like myself!). It's the 4th of July; I felt obligated to bake a pie. What can I say! I'm funny about traditions like that. The Twilight Zone Marathon is another example of my closet tradition addiction. Syfy is the only channel I flip to on this patriotic holiday (I pinky promise!). 

For those of you missing out on pie, you were not forgotten! There's fish! There's veggies! There's cute little skewers! Plenty of other things to smile about. :D 

A whole red snapper; plump cherry tomatoes; mini mushrooms; crunchy carrots; zingy zucchini; tangy lemon; feisty garlic; luscious lettuce; iron onion. 

I brushed all the veggies with a tiny bit of olive oil before I placed the skewers on the grill. The fish was brushed with peppery olive oil and stuffed with lemon & thyme. *DO NOT forget to oil both sides of the fish or it will stick to the tin foil!* On medium-low heat, the whole snapper took about 30 minutes to cook (15 minutes each side). The veggies cooked for the same amount of time, if not for a bit longer. It depends on how cooked you prefer your veggies. I like my zuke juicy & cooked all the way through. We kept the tomatoes raw because they looked so pretty but feel free to grill them if you'd like! 

Once you're finished baking & grilling, DIG IN!!!!! :) The 4th of July is the perfect excuse to have fun in the kitchen. This year I had a grilling extravaganza. Who knows what surprises could be in store next time around! 

~Allie 

p.s. look out for another post coming up about my most recent speed-bump. My clue for you? One word. CHEESE.