Free at last!

Anyway, I promised a friend I'd let him know about the Golden Corral, so I'll throw in yesterday's jaunts as well.

I found the restaurant with not too much trouble and even though it is a buffet style place the food was good -- at least what I had of it. I was delighted to find they had liver and onions. It's not the way grandma made it but it was pretty good -- at least the liver part. I didn't have any of the onions. They were a little too fresh. Didn't want to fumigate my friends' car. The lemon meringue pie was a little disappointing since they used fresh whipped cream (really good, btw) instead of an honest-to-goodness baked meringue topping and the lemon came from a can, but it was passable. The greens and vegetables were fresh and not overcooked and the broccoli was excellent. The fried okra was very good, fresh and not the least bit slimy -- as it tends to be when cooked too long or in the wrong way. The rolls smelled hot and fresh, warmly yeasty. I didn't try everything they had to offer, obviously or I couldn't have walked out of there, but if everything else was as good as what I had, it was well worth $6. I had water instead of soda otherwise it would have been $8.37 or thereabouts.

After lunch, the ladies kidnapped me and forced me to ride up into the mountains while listening to and singing along with the oldies station -- until we couldn't get the oldies station any more. They then tortured me with a Johnny Cash CD with songs I have known since I was a child and my grandfather played them. Horrible people -- ;-) As we drove up through Ute Pass and on through Woodland Park and points west, we arrived in Florissant and I thought we were going to the fossil beds, but they didn't even slow down to let me find out why the gates were closed. It was after 5 by then. We zipped past Florissant and further into the mountains to Cripple Creek past shaggy llama herds, tongues of yellow-flamed aspens among the spiky green pines, mirrored mountain ponds and bloody ragged cliff faces. We drove down through the middle of Cripple Creek between the armed bandits of casinos blaring their jackpot winners between the well preserved streets left from its mining legacy and out through the outskirts of town past shotgun shacks, grand old Victorian ladies, trailer homes and sundry architectural mish-mash on a winding road through the most gloriously beautiful scenery full of red, gold and orange aspen groves tucked in between rock falls, sere brown plains, mirrored ponds and pine stands. It took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes, reminding me why I love living in Colorado so much.

When we got back to town by some occult and circuitous route, we stopped at the ladies' townhouse just long enough for me to race to the bathroom and drain out the reservoir for a few minutes, only to be dragged kicking and screaming back into the car, along another tortuous route and into downtown where I was forcibly prodded along to Michelle's to gawp at the luscious confections, find a seat in the back and wait to be served a flaming volcano -- complete with flames -- and thus become the envied center of attention, surrounded by oohing and aahing men, women and children, one of whom inquired about my marital status and availability.

I was eventually set free next to my car and quickly got in and drove away, only to get lost on the way home. I did manage finally to find a recognizable landmark and get safely home, but I have been informed I am to be invaded again this evening for some nefarious purpose. There are two of them and one of me and they are taller and bigger, so I guess I should just go quietly along and not cause a scene.

What do you think?

I'll shut up now.