Mountain Get-Away and New Treasures

I can't believe summer is over!  It flew by SO fast!  It seems like just a few weeks ago that we were planning our big road trip...and, then, it was over.  Then, we were looking forward to the many weeks left and now my daughter is back in college.  Whew!  It was an incredible summer and I guess that's why it seems to have gone by so fast.  Great times are usually like that.

Those great times made it harder for my daughter and I when she moved back for college.  We both shed some tears and felt down for a few days.  But, moving ahead means moving on to more opportunities for great times and making more wonderful memories.

Our summer was so busy that we hadn't even made it up the mountain to one of our favorite places, Idyllwild.  We found some time a couple of weeks ago and headed up late on a Friday afternoon.  It was a bit cooler up there and that was really nice.  We got some iced drinks and wandered around a few shops.  Unfortunately, even though it was a Friday, shops closed early and there weren't very many people up there.  So, we didn't get to do much shopping or see much.  But, it was soon time for dinner and we decided to try a place we'd heard about for years but never gone to, Cafe Aroma.  

When we arrived, we were told that all of the outside seating was reserved until later that evening.  They were going to seat us inside and I asked if we could have a table as close to the door as possible so we could hear the live music.  She thought for a moment and the next thing we knew, she was seating us at a table outside.  I think she called it their "banquet table".  It was larger than all the rest and had seating for six.  My husband and daughter and I were thrilled.  It was close to the stage and was one of the best tables to see the musician.  I'm not sure why it's called "cafe" because it turns out to be a pretty high end restaurant.  Although, it does have a casual atmosphere and most of the tables are outside.  That was wonderful on that beautiful night to dine outside.

It was the last full weekend that our daughter would be home before moving back for college.  It was a perfect reason to splurge.  And...we did!  We ordered a delicious bottle of wine and toasted to a great school year.

Our food was so good that I forgot to take pictures!  We all had pasta dishes.  They offer gluten free pasta!  How cool is that?!  And, it's really good gluten free pasta.  My daughter's dinner was smothered in a delicious, creamy, tomato sauce and it had chicken, sausage, prosciutto and shallots.  Hubby had pasta with shrimp and jalapeno cream sauce...yum!  Mine had portabello mushrooms, white wine and garlic.  The music started shortly after we got there.  See how close we were and how nice it was to sit outside.....

Since we were already spending so much and wanted to make it a great evening, we decided to go for dessert.  There were lots of yummy choices.  Here's something I posted on Instagram later that night...

But, we decided to share the flourless chocolate cake (gluten free).

It was very rich and delicious!

I noticed that they had blankets hanging around on hooks for guests to use when it got chilly.

What a great idea!  I even saw a someone take advantage of one.

Our waitress had a ring on that was so cool that I had to ask her about it.  She told me she'd gotten it at a shop in town and that it was going out of business.  Well, that meant I needed to get up there quick before they were all gone!  So, we went back up that weekend.

As we headed up, I realized that I hadn't even thought about how much it might cost.  But, I really liked it and it was worth checking.  I was figuring it would be around $10-$15.  It turned out to be $4.99 but everything in the store was 50% off because they're going out of business.  So, it cost a whole $2.50!  What a deal!  I love my new ring!  It's a shell that's been cut and polished on the top and a hole was drilled through the side to slide it on.  Such a unique idea!  I love it!  Hubby kept laughing at me because I was so thrilled with my new ring that I kept holding it up and looking at it.

Since everything was 50% off, I had to look around!  I ended up buying a second ring.  It's Labradorite.  The color is interesting...it goes from blue to bluish green to gray and sometimes shimmers a bit like opal.  I love the leaves on it and it fits perfectly.  I've been looking for more rings for a long time.  It was fun to finally find some that I like and that they were so cheap.

My daughter found a cute ring that has three colors of Topaz on it.  And, she got a really cute beaded bracelet with a southwest/Native American design on it.  Fun!

It was a beautiful day up there!  Here's a shot looking up the main street of town.  That's Lily Rock or Tahquitz Rock in the center.  The peak above it and to the right is Tahquitz Peak that we've hiked to a few times.  I never get tired of these views!  In fact, we have a peek-a-boo view of Lily Rock from our loft window at home, many miles away.  Pretty cool!

We stayed for lunch and this cute, carved bear was standing near our table.  

 Such a fun weekend and a perfect way to cap off our summer!

I've got tons to do....back to work!