Hot Springs, now that's a good climb

Saturday started like no Saturday I've had in a looooong time! I got up and had coffee and slowly eased into the morning. No bike ride or training to do! What a weird feeling. Sort of like skipping work or something.

Terri and I went down to Hot Springs and stopped to visit my folks in Benton on the way. They were telling us about that my sister Donna and her husband had taken them down to Hot Springs the day before and had gone to a WWII airplane exhibit and was interviewed by the newspaper. We picked up a paper in Hot Springs and low and behold there is my Dad and several WWII airplanes on the front cover of the paper!

We returned from Hot Springs a little while ago. Get quick trip over and she visited with the hotel staff regarding booking a convention and she did the spa thing. We had a nice dinner at Brick House. Terri's steak was great and my prime rib was the pits! Plus a guy was walking through the place at dinner time with a ladder and turned and hit me in the back of the head. I couldn't help but laugh.

After dinner we went up to the top of West Mountain and caught the very end of the sunset. What a beautiful way to end daylight savings. HA!

I got up early this morning and showered and got ready to ride before Terri got up but realized I didn't have anything to eat. I snuck out into the room and got a cookie that was part of the welcome basket and made coffee in the little coffee pot in the bathroom and sat on the side of the tub in my cycling gear eating cookies and drinking coffee. Hey, ya gotta do with what you have. Right?!

I slipped out of the room around 7 and headed to West Mountian. Beautiful morning with a hint of fall all around. The hickory trees are turning yellow and the dogwoods deep red. White tail deer gazed along the side of the road keeping their kids close by. It was a great couple of climbs.

Then got on Central Ave and turned by the Arlington Hotel and up to East Mountain. I like it better because the road is one way. No that there were hardly any cars anyway. Passed a couple of runners challenging the mountain as well. Got up to the lookout tower and then down and back up again then when around the north loop.

Got back to the hotel and Terri was up and getting ready. I showered and got into weekend clothes and we headed over to Perkins restaurant to eat. Great breakfast!

Terri said that Emily had talked to Tyler earlier and sounds like he is staying in Denver after graduation. She said she still expects him home for Christmas every year still. I do too!