Wandering

We had mostly cloudy skies yesterday, but the temperatures were still in the 80s.  Beatrice and I went down to Golden on Monday and had lunch with our friend Carol at Bob's Atomic Burgers on Ford Street.  We were a little early, so we explored the town and saw a few places we hadn't been before - like the campus of the Colorado School of Mines.  The food was pretty good - the best burger I've had in Golden, actually.  We sat under an umbrella on Ford Street and ate and drank and talked for more than three hours.  We had fun, and drew a lot of attention, I'm afraid - just because we were laughing so much.
  Yesterday, we tried out Doug's Day Diner, a new place here in Boulder - they are only open from 6 am until 2 pm, serving breakfast the whole time, as well as burgers, chicken and fries for lunch.  Beatrice was disappointed that they didn't have waffles, so she ordered "Granny's Hotcakes."  I had the "Hillbilly" breakfast - three eggs, biscuit and gravy, home fries and meat (I had the bacon).  We were astounded by the serving sizes.  Bea's coffee was great, and came in an over-sized mug; my diet soda was 30 ounces - both with never-ending refills.  Bea's  two pancakes were larger than a dinner plates, light and fluffy, and with her choices of butter, syrup, and several kinds of jellies and jams (for only $6!)    My Hillbilly breakfast covered a huge platter - big enough to serve a 24-pound turkey on.  We both left with more than half our food in carry-out boxes...  and for only $20!  The waiter was also the manager, and she said she's waiting for two waffle griddles to be delivered - one for regular waffles, the other for gluten-free (we do live in Boulder, after all).
   Then we traveled up Lee Hill Drive and up to Gold Hill.  I took Beatrice to see Carter Lake was was very aghast at how low the water level is.  She had never been there before, and was amazed by the size of the lake, and by the red clay and rocks that, now, ring the lake for 1/8 to 1/4 mile all around, thanks to the drought.  I hadn't been to Carter Lake in eight years, and I was amazed at the receding of the water level.
   Headed over to the Loveland Outlet stores, as Beatrice really wanted to see them - how many and what brands.  We were both disappointed there - more than half of the stores are empty, and several have been converted into churches.  We went into the Levi's store, Dress Barn, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Makers, a kitchen supply store, and a nice arts and crafts shop named "Artsy."  I got a few pages of craft specialty papers there.  I'm not quite sure what the different stores in Loveland thought about the weather, but only Artsy had their air-conditioning turned on.  All the other stores did not have their HVAC systems running at all - and they were extremely warm.  In a way, we were glad that there were so few stores to visit, as we were uncomfortable inside them....
   Oh, well....  Beatrice is back to work today, and I am, also.  Hump day for most worker's but Bea's Monday - and I was last "off"  August.  My next day "off" will be 3 October - and I plan on watching college football!
   No word yet on the stolen Chincoteague filly named Dreamer's Faith.  She has been posted on the NetPosse, a website for stolen horses.  I hope she is found soon.  The latest round of notes and Twitter about her say: Keep the Faith!  -  in her being found and returned; not as an encouragement for the thief.  I'm ready to personally hang him/her (the thief), myself.