Choose the right -- Part 2 (or going to see the referee)

Who would've thought that when you go to contest a parking ticket that you would visit the referee? Well, that's what I did this morning...I visited with the court referee. First of all, I had Bruce go with me down to the Municipal Court Building in downtown Colorado Springs for two reasons...so I wouldn't make the same parking mistake for a second time, and I thought that just maybe he would be a support for me as I try to contest my parking ticket.

So, here is my support...

 as he drops me off at the municipal court building and leaves.

First, I go inside, and have to go through the metal detector, while they check my "Grandma Bag," which at this point has become the best topic of conversation. As I go through the detector, the guard asks, "are those your grandchildren?" "Why, yes they are," I proudly admitted. 

So then he tells me to go through the double doors, and make a u-turn down the hallway, to the first door on the right, Rm. 107. At this point, I felt like I was driving in downtown Colorado Springs again. So, I get to Rm. 107, and there is a sign that says, "Court Referee." Doesn't referee usually imply that there is some kind of fight...what am I getting myself into? Another sign reads, "please turn off your cell phone before entering." OK, what does the referee think you will be doing with the phone? So I then sit down in one of two chairs in front of the referee's desk, and he asks how he can help me. I say, "I've come to contest my parking ticket," and I proceed with my story, complete with the pictures I had taken on Saturday. I told him this was all due to the temporary insanity of a 58 year old woman who did not know the right parking meter to put her coins into since I was unfamiliar with downtown. As he displayed a huge grin on his face, he says, "It happens frequently...may I see your ticket please, I may be able to help you." I then gave him the ticket, he entered something quickly on the computer, and then handed me the ticket back with a handwritten note that he had scribbled, "WARNING-FINE REDUCED TO $5," and he suggested that I be careful next time I park downtown. I would've been happier without any fine at all, but hey, I figured 5 bucks was better than 20, right? He then directed me to the cashier down the hall. I gave the cute little cashier my ticket, and as I'm writing out my $5 check, she sees my bag and asks, "are those your grandchildren?" "Why yes they are," I again proudly admitted, and then began to tell her that I have 9 and another one on the way, and that I will be going to see them in November. It's a grandma thing...we enjoy talking about our grandchildren. So I gave her my check, she gave me my receipt, and I was off. The total experience lasted about 10 minutes. I actually spent more time talking about my grandchildren than I did the parking ticket.

I said good-bye to the guard as I went out the front door, and then had to turn my cell phone back on so that I could call Bruce to come pick me up. His plan was to go to the nearby park and wait for me, thinking it would take much longer. He never made it to the park, due to a wrong turn (see, he doesn't do well driving downtown either), and my quick meeting with the ref. 

Here comes Bruce, my great supporter...

Choose the right (or left), and get a parking ticket as a reward...

There is a reason I don't frequent downtown Colorado Springs. Only when I need a specific item do I even attempt to visit the stores downtown. First of all, I don't like driving in unfamiliar territory (which downtown is). Those of you who know me know how bad my sense of direction is, and second, I have never liked the parking situation downtown. So, my friend Nancy and I decide to go to Sparrow Hawk Kitchen Supply Store on Tejon. We pull  up to a parking spot between 2 parking meters. We both thought that our meter was the one on the right...wrong. Anyway, I put in several coins, and we believed we had 2 hours on the meter. When we came back to the van, we found a parking ticket on the window for $20. Apparently, our parking meter was the one on the left, with no time left. Great...now I have to go down to the courthouse this week, and try to plead my case as to why a crazy 58 year old woman made a dumb mistake, and shouldn't have to pay a penalty for really trying to be honest...even had 45 minutes left on the meter. Luckily, I had my camera in my bag, so I shot a few pictures to try to backup my story.

I'll let you know the outcome in my next post. This should be good.

Hiking with friends in Colorado...

I am so excited to finally have walking partners again after more than 10 years! Every morning, Monday through Friday, bright and early at 7 am, I am up walking, and at least once a week, we go on a hike somewhere besides our normal walking location. It has been so fun, and an added benefit...the weight has FINALLY started coming off again...not quickly, but at least coming off. My walking/hiking partner Kelly has become one of my dearest friends. Our friend Jane, from WW, also joins us when she can. I really appreciate the effort Kelly makes to be there for me, even though she battles with health issues that make it difficult for her. We both love Colorado and being outside in nature...especially love our weekly hikes...and we both love taking pictures. So far we have been on "Rails to Trails," New Santa Fe Trail, Helen Hunt Falls, and Green Mountain Falls. Who ever thought exercising could be so much fun!

Santa Fe Trail

Helen Hunt Falls

Green Mountain Falls

In search of elk jerky...

A couple of summers ago, we took Bev up to Rocky Mountain National Park by Estes since she had never been there before. On the way, we stopped at a little jerky shop not too far out of Boulder, and Bev bought some fresh elk jerky. Now I am not always a huge jerky fan, but this stuff was so good...very tender and nice and lean...yummy! So ever since then, I have wanted some more elk jerky. We have passed a little jerky stand outside of Woodland Park many times, but just never stopped. So finally today we decided to go purchase some elk jerky. Since I didn't have any cake or catering orders this weekend (very unusual), we decided to go play, so we drove up to Woodland Park with the pure intention of coming home with wonderful elk jerky. This is what we found...

So much for Grandpa Joe and his jerky. I was so disappointed. If you look closely, you can see that the sign says "will return at 3:00." We even occupied ourselves for a couple of hours and then came back...only to find Grandpa Joe's still closed...ugh!! So now I am in search of someplace close by that I can get some good fresh elk jerky. I'm open for suggestions. In the meantime, we visited the local arts and crafts festival and came home with  a nice Welcome sign  for our front entrance. So we went to the mountains to get jerky, and came home with a bear instead.

Who is this old man?

Our new Welcome "bear sign" has its new home by our front door.

Love my new sign.

Time to Hike...

After more than 10 years, I finally have a walking partner again that I can depend on to be as committed as I am to walking every morning...or I should say Monday through Friday. We are in week #7 now, and there has only been one day that she was not able to be there. It keeps me going when I know she is there waiting for me. Thanks Kelly...for being determined along with me to make this work! So we have decided that at least once each week we need to change our walking location just to keep things interesting. So far we have gone on two interesting hikes...one on the "rails to trails" trail by the Murray chapel, and last Friday, we hiked the New Santa Fe Trail, from Woodmen Road to the Air Force Academy. Friday's adventure was a little longer...we took our cameras and snacks and took our time, but it was really fun. Monday, we will attempt a trail at Bear Creek Regional Park, and then go visit Helen Hunt Falls. We decided that it was crazy to live here and not take advantage of our beautiful surroundings. Here's a few pictures of last Friday's adventure...