If only these were more available...

Unfortunately, one doesn't typically come across these delightful treats too often in the US. The first time I ever tasted these was in France, I believe. I've been lucky enough to nibble on them several times in my travels, though I will admit that I did find them once at Bristol Farms in San Diego. I was thrilled even though they weren't of the best quality. Mr X says he sees them (and eats them) quite a bit in the UK. I am not quite certain why they are so uncommon here. They are quite tasty little morsels.

Gooseberries.

The Adventures of Mr X

Mr X has been away in the UK for work recently. Last weekend he was able to take a break from his daily grind and do some sightseeing. I'm enjoying the sights of London with Mr X vicariously through the photos he sends back to me.



Signs of spring in London.



Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Mr X isn't going to be too thrilled with this photo but hey, it's fun. And he's a good sport. Hopefully.

I took this with my phone on a rare flight we both took together. We were both starting to get a little nuts after being cooped up in an airplane for two and a half hours.

Cross Country Skiing

This past weekend I treated myself to some cross country skiing. Mr X and I have been learning this year. It's been fun and invigorating. I went by myself this weekend since Mr X is out of town. It's always more fun with him but I still had a great time. I also managed to snap a few pictures with my awful phone camera. (Mr X has the real camera with him.)

This is the spectacular view that you get during your ski session. I love it.

This photo is mostly for Mr X's amusement. It's showing him just how much snow has melted since the last time (a week earlier) we went cross country skiing. It was depressing. I don't think there will be enough for anymore X-country in the future this season.

I fell at one point and scraped my knuckles on some ice (It was too warm for gloves). This photos was after I'd cleaned up the blood - it doesn't look nearly as bad once it's cleaned up.

Mr X's New Toy

Mr X recently replaced his beat up 10+ year old snowboard with this beautiful thing. He was loathe to replace his beloved old snowboard because he was sure nothing could perform better. But of course after trying out his new toy a few times he's decided that this new board HAS to be the most incredible board ever. I'm just thrilled that he loves it so much. Isn't it a beautiful board?

Meandering Our Way Home

On our way home from Crested Butte Mr X and I were intrigued by the idea of heading west for a little bit in an attempt to see the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park. We thought we were closer on the map but it turned out we weren't close enough so we had to turn around just as we got to the beginnings of the canyon. So we saw a tiny bit of the most unimpressive part. I'm hoping to go back this summer/fall sometime so I can see the whole thing in all of it's glory.

This isn't the canyon, obviously, but it was some strange rock formations just outside of the canyon.

The was beginning to set when we got there so conditions weren't ideal for photos. We took what we could, screwed around a little bit and then started heading back toward home. I think we ended up getting up around 11pm. We were supposed to get home around 9 but my little Black Canyon Detour was a bit of a delay. But I promise I'll get better pictures this summer.

Crested Butte

I couple of weekends ago Mr X and I were lucky enough to score two free tickets to Crested Butte. I've heard wonderful things about this mountain and I was absolutely giddy to be able to go check it out - for free!



This is what it looked like on the way there. This town/mountain is completely surrounded by incredible views. I can't believe we don't live there.

This is one of the main streets in the town of Crested Butte.

Town Hall.



The view as you get to the ski resort area.



Mr X was doing camera bag duty most of the day, as usual. There's a lot of black diamond and double-black diamond runs on this mountain.

We've snowboarded through plenty of trees before, but never Aspens. It was pretty and they have less branches to trip you up.

You can't tell from this photo but Mr X is at the top of some seriously steep slopes - see the photo below for a better depiction.



My first double-black diamond run. I survived just fine, I just looked pretty ungraceful during this run for the most part. It was fun. I'd do it again.

 This mountain was so much fun. It wasn't too cold and windy and the crowds weren't so bad either. I completely fell in love with this place. I'd really like to go back there next year.

Snowboarding at Keystone

Mr X and I finally brought our camera with us while we snowboarded. I love bringing it and I hate bringing it. The love is for the capturing of impressive snow-capped views. The hate is for freezing fingers, lost time and lugging it around. Though I have to give Mr X most of the credit for dealing with the unpleasant aspects of toting the camera around - he takes most of the photos and he carries the bag probably about 80% of the time. He's sweet like that. Plus, he's a better snowboarder and if I carried that huge camera on my back I'd probably wreck and smash it to bits. Oh, and he's a much better photographer than I am.

Anyway, here are some photos from a fairly recent outing to Keystone. I used to think I liked Breckenridge better than Keystone, but my mind has been changed this year - Keystone has much longer runs and some steeper terrain. I'm really enjoying it.



This view is from the top of Keystone. That's a snow covered Lake Dillon in the valley.



It was painfully cold out so we had to wear masks this day. They aren't the most comfortable things but they certainly help prevent your facial skin from freezing off.





This is another view from the top of Keystone. In the distance you can see the runs at Breckenridge.