Late Night Tacos / Late Night Guitar

 

Song:  Reflections Of My Life

Group:  The Marmalade

I had sung with this song most of the way home.

It just so happens

that the lead singer's voice (Dean Ford) just fits my range for singing...

and it is why I so frequently sing along with this particular song whenever I drive.

And with the chorus...

I just sing one octave lower...

so I can sing along with them as well.

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I was so tired earlier today...

so much so that I had taken a midday nap and had awoken in the late evening.

When I woke up...

I had the strongest craving for tacos.

I wanted to try a new place...

so I drove to Colorado Springs...

and it was a little after 10 PM when I got there.

I was hoping for some inside seating...

but all they had was outside seating...

or drive through.

As I had already slept for much of the day...

I went ahead and got two Red Bulls to drink...

as I knew I would be staying up late anyway...

and I just ate outside.

I had gotten a tostada and taco plate...

and three extra tacos.

I shall be trying another place in the future...

as these tacos were not my favorite types...

but...

they took care of my mad craving.

After eating...

I just drove back home.

I love late night drives anyway.

The roads are mostly empty...

and I just put on some of my favorite music...

and I sing to my favorite songs all the way there and back...

with fresh air blowing through my hair and through the car.

In a word...

freedom.

I just feel so free as I drive through the forested mountains at night.

My only worries are deer running out in front of the car...

but...

I am always scanning ahead for them as I drive...

and so...

I just practice my singing as I enjoy the freedom of the night roads.

I will just be practicing the classical guitar until I get tired once again.

The night offers the feeling of deep solitude...

that no one else exists...

and so...

I feel freedom from the world.

-------

I am naturally nocturnal...

and so...

I just love staying awake at night.

Whenever I must do things in the daytime...

I always feel tired...

and so...

I will take midday naps.

However...

I feel the best at night.

I am more energetic and creative.

The ideal times to be awake for me is just before sunset...

and going to bed sometime after sunrise.

The night just makes me so happy...

as I just love the solitude of the night...

especially when driving.

However...

before I begin my guitar practice...

I will have to wait a bit for my hands to defrost...

as for part of my drive with the windows down...

the temperature was just a few degrees above freezing  :)

Misty Mountain Day / Cajon Chicken

 

Song:  Mathilda

YouTube Channel:  Midnight In New York

Last night we had a mellow sunset...

and Bandi and I just took in the alpine mountain air and the sunset

on the third deck before retiring to bed.

This afternoon...

I made Cajon chicken breasts and some pasta.

I love this...

and I stocked up on many boxes.

I buy 50 -60 lbs of chicken breasts at a time and freeze them.

After a couple of days defrosting in the fridge...

I just set the oven at 380 F for 25 minutes...

and I will have at least two meals from them.

I make many things from the chicken...

and this time I tried some Cajon spices on them.

Just showing the efficacy of my stairway friction footholds.

The underlying sandpaper like covering is fully waterproof.

And the rubber footholds prevent wear on the underlying waterproof fabric...

and they are raised enough to prevent ice from forming on the surface.

As you can see...

little rocks get trapped by the raised rubber mat...

but as the rubber mats are not stapled down...

all I have to do is to raise the rubber mat and brush the rocks off.

I got all of the materials off of Amazon...

and they were fairly inexpensive.

I left a slight overhang of the waterproof fabric over each stair so as to form a vertical drip line.

It had lightly snowed the night before...

the day sun melted it...

and then when the temperature dropped...

icicles formed.

The wood underneath is fully protected from the weather...

the sandpaper like surface of the waterproof fabric securely holds the raised rubber mats...

and I no longer am in danger of slipping on ice on the stairs.

Today...

the mountains were misty...

as low clouds were passing through.

A patch of blue sky showed through just to the left of Sentinel Peak.

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Bandi and I are just going to relax in bed for the rest of the night.

Today was just a lazy day for me.

---------------

One thing I love about FaceBook is the local communities posts about

various restaurants.

I had found one post about a small place just beyond Woodland Park.

They have Taco Tuesdays...

and I am going to the next one.

They have some of my favorite types of tacos...

ground beef with lots of lettuce and tomatoes on top...

and they have three choices of shells...

hard corn...soft flour...and fried flour.

I am going to try two of each style...

maybe more.

They also have sausage gravy over biscuits...

and burgers and Chicago dogs...

among other great food items.

I am already looking forward to eating there this Tuesday.

I have a feeling I will stop in frequently whenever I go food shopping

(It is just down the road from Walmart)...

especially on Tuesdays.

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Addendum:

This morning I went to that particular restaurant.

They no longer do breakfast...

and Taco Tuesdays are no longer being done.

Too bad...

however, I did go another restaurant I have been wanting to try.

Almost at Safeway.

So...

I stopped by after I went food shopping at Safeway...

and it was just so good.

I will have to try many more of their dishes...

as the BBQ pork sandwich was delicious.

They also do seafood...

so I must go back for some of that.

The view of Pikes Peak from inside the restaurant.

I was there in the late morning...

so it was empty when I arrived.

Their food is so good...

and everything is reasonably priced.

I must try their seafood dishes.

Right now...

I think I have found my new favorite BBQ place.

Country Route To Denver / Amber And Pink Sunset

 

Song:  Side B of Dark Side Of The Moon

Group:  Pink Floyd

Today...

I went to a doctor's appointment in Denver for some tests

(I chose it over a much closer later appointment, as I could be seen today).

As I had plenty of time...

and it would only add an additional half an hour...

I thought I would just take the scenic route to Denver.

I went to a Kaiser Facility for a couple of hours as they ran two tests.

They had an outside area for people to enjoy the views between appointments.

As I was leaving...

I saw there were more clouds in the sky.

I am always happy to see clouds.

Pikes Peak is visible from Denver.

I just took the major highway to Colorado Springs as I had never been on it 

North of Colorado Springs.

Even during rush hour...

we maintained highway speed almost the whole way.

Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs

I decided to try a new Japanese restaurant...

just for an Obento box as they had no AYCE sushi.

It was not so good as I had hoped...

plus...

it was more like a child's portion.

I will have to eat something else later tonight.

I won't be returning there anymore.  :(

I was on my way home just after the beginning of Manitou Springs in this photo.

I took the country shortcut today as it allowed more clear views of the clouds.

I was just a few miles from home here.

As there was a good arrangement of clouds...

I had good reason to expect a nice sunset.

After relaxing for a little bit...

I went up to the loft and then to the third deck to take some photos

of a unique sunset.

I had seen luminescent yellow clouds to the East through the great room front windows.

You can see the bright yellow clouds peaking out from behind darker clouds.

I used the widest angle lens setting to the West as I took photos of the clouds overhead.

At first...

parts of them were also a bright yellow...

but they quickly took on a more pinkish appearance.

There was a 10 MPH or so wind out of the East...

and I could smell the smoke from the 24 Fire...

which is yet to be fully contained...

but will soon be.

The clouds to the East still had some yellow...

and had begun to show unique color patterns as well.

Bandi loves being out on the third deck.

The wind was refreshing...

and the scent of burning wood was almost incense like.

It was very pleasant.

Bandi and I just relaxed on the deck until the final colors faded from view.

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Other than having had a rather disappointing meal...

today was another very pleasant day.

In retirement...

there are no chores.

I turned a necessary drive into a beautiful country drive...

and I had a great time.

As I was driving home from Woodland Park area...

the song 'Us and Them' came up on my play list...

and I just repeated it for the rest of the way home

(the first song on the above included video).

The gentle and lilting melody just fit the mood...

and I just felt so mellow all the way home...

and strangely...

I still feel ultra mellow as I am typing this.

Although I don't drink...

I feel almost drunk...

as I am just so relaxed and spaced out in all of my mellowness.

Pink Floyd has that effect  :)