living the high life

for our second day in colorado, we decided to revisit another tourist spot from our last trip to the area - pike's peak.  i was a little leery of it this time around though, because since that last visit i've gotten older and discovered that my body doesn't really love being up in super high altitudes.  i'd already been experiencing a little chest tightening and shortness of breath since we'd arrived, and knowing that pike's peak is more than 14,000 feet up - well, let's just say that i was having a little anxiety.

we drove through the little city of manitou springs on the way there, and giggled a little at the sign advertising santa's workshop at the north pole.

while we hadn't anticipated being able to ride the train that we'd taken up to the top last time, we were  still disappointed to find that it wasn't in operation at all.  the station was all boarded up and it looked like no one had been there in quite some time.

that's okay, though.  we made our way up the road and found ourselves in line to pay the toll that would allow us to drive up to the top of the mountain.

we were treated to some pretty views on the way up, and watched the temperature drop more and more as we climbed higher and higher.  there were even little patches of snow here and there.

when we arrived at the top of the mountain, i was really surprised to find that the altitude wasn't bothering me at all.  in fact, it was easier for me to breathe up there than it was down at the resort.  so weird.  and here, too, things had changed quite a bit.  they're building a new summit visitor center and a research facility and laboratory up here, so there was a flurry of construction activity going on.

there was a pretty long line of folks (most of which were wearing masks, yay!) who were waiting to either go into the gift shop or take advantage of the photo ops.  not wanting to wait, we walked over to the other side of the fenced-off area to take in the views and snap a family photo.

as we made our way back to the truck, we encountered this sweet dog who just watched teddy go nuts, barking and growling at him as we passed.  that dog would eat you, teddy.  calm down.

oddly enough, it was the hub who found himself feeling a little lightheaded as we started making our way back down the mountain.  still, he managed to pull it together enough to enjoy the sights and pretty views as we drove along.

we stopped at this gift shop about halfway down to pick up some souvenirs, like a magnet to add to our collection at home.

off to the side, i found this:

 inside the gift shop, we found the magnet we wanted along with a coffee mug for the hub's (also growing) collection.  and i decided that we needed to bring these home to the old lady's special friend because why not:

back in the car, i picked up the crochet project i'd been working on and almost totally missed the
"leaving pike national forest" sign that i'd wanted to capture to share here.  blarg.

oh well.  you can still see it, right?  sorta.

whatever.  it was still a fun outing, and then we headed back to the resort to relax and take a nap.  ah, vacation.  gotta love it.

wan say RELAX

you know how i'm always down to try something new and interesting, right?  so when i drove by this place a few months ago, that bright blue sign caught my attention:

i mean, what the hell is "floatation therapy," anyway, right?  so i hit up their website as soon as i got home to check it out.  it turned out that it's exactly that - there are 11 private rooms equipped with a shower and an enclosed float tank.  you strip down and then step into the tank, where you situate yourself in 11 inches of water that's warmed to 94 degrees and jammed with a ton of epsom salt.  all that salt literally makes you float effortlessly, and you just lay back and relax for a full hour.  it's supposed to relieve stress, both physically and mentally.  and i totally wanted to give it a try.

after what seemed like forever, the place finally opened.  i received an email promo with a code for half off my first visit, and i decided that instead of my usual post-race massage, i'd give this a try.  and so the old lady and i each packed a tote with toiletries and fresh underwear and headed out to pasadena to get our float on.

i was excited to go beyond the double doors and get started.

it was like a lovely day spa in the front lobby.

having signed the waiver online when we set our appointment, we didn't have to do much in the way of checking in.  instead, we were handed a tablet with headphones to watch an instructional video that showed us what to expect when we got to our private rooms.

this was my home for the next hour or so.  there were lots of toiletries available for my use - hair ties, makeup wipes, swimmer's earplugs, q-tips.  and the shower was equipped with plenty of body wash, shampoo, and conditioner.

 and check out the tank:

i have a thing about getting water in my ear.  it just freaks me out, and it never comes out as easily as it's supposed to.  and so i was grateful for those earplugs, which did their job nicely.  i followed the instructions from the video - took a pre-shower, dried my face off, and stepped into the tank.  i laid back and took a couple of minutes to get myself in the right position, and found that the water really did keep me floating easily.  the hardest part was letting all of my muscles relax, especially the ones in my head and neck.  instinct kept me trying to hold my head up, and it took a bit for me to be able to force myself to just let it all go.  it was really weird to have my ears in the water, but the plugs really did work.  and so i was finally ready to push the button that would eventually turn the lights and music off.

it was...weird.  relaxing and comfortable, sure.  but just floating in that water with nothing but my thoughts to keep me company was just odd.  and the point was to relax your mind as well, which is damn near difficult for me.  i tried the "count backwards from 100" trick to try and clear all the thoughts away, and i guess it worked because i finally did drift off and fall asleep.  it took what seemed like a long time, and i started getting bored, but every time i thought i was over it i fell asleep.  and so i was a little surprised when the lights and music slowly came back on, signaling that my time was almost up.  a few minutes later, i heard the soft chimes that told me it was time to get out.

of course, i forgot which way the door opened, so it took me a couple of tries to actually get out of there.  and i was a little groggy and disoriented, but i was most definitely relaxed.  hell, i was like a freaking noodle.  and having been enclosed for the last hour in that warm tank, it was a bit of a shock to come back out into the room - kind of like getting out of the shower.

i took a nice, long, warm shower to wash all that salt off of my skin and my hair.  i probably should've mentioned it to the front desk, but they really should provide a dimmer switch in that room.  when you're post-float and trying to get ready to go back into the world, putting makeup on in low light is a little challenging.

when i got out of there, i noticed that the old lady was still in her room.  so i headed over to the post-float lounge area to wait for her.

she appeared a few minutes later, looking just how i felt.  we both seemed pretty relaxed, although she confessed later in the car that she'd been bored as hell in the tank and only fell asleep for a few minutes.  she's always the skeptical one, and while we were both glad we'd tried it out, i don't think it's for us.  in comparison, a massage seems like a much better choice for me.

and then when i described the experience to the hub, he was all "dude.  you took a $60 bath?"

well, when you put it like that...