A Day at the Pack Burro Races in Leadville, Colorado

Raisin Bread and I just returned from a 10 day trip to Colorado and New Mexico! One of the highlights of the trip was seeing the Leadville Burro Race during the Leadville Boom Days Festival. Donkeys have always been one of my favorite animals: they are hardworking, gentle and pretty darn cute!

We drove from our hotel in Silverthorne to Leadville, an old Colorado mining town, pretty early in the morning and arrived around 9:30 am. The town was already bustling so we visited some of the local shops to pass the time before we found where the burros were being warmed up before the race.

There were so many cute burros.

Even mini ones! Those little legs can run.

Burros were munching away on grass.

There were some fuzzy burros. Look at those fuzzy legs and fuzzy head.

Gentle burros don't mind a pet on the head.

There was one burro in particular who didn't seem too happy to be at the races. 

After visiting with the burros, we walked with them to the starting line. The Leadville race is the second leg of the triple crown of burro racing. During a burro race, a human racer leads a burro by a rope along a long distance course. Humans are not allowed to ride the burro, and burros must also carry saddle packs. The Leadville race is 22-miles long and goes up Mosquito Pass before returning to the town center with the burros packing 33 pounds of traditional mining gear, including a shovel, gold pan and pick. 

The men's heat went first. Here they are lined up at the starting line. 

Then they were off! They sure can move. 

See you later, burros!

The burros were set to return in about 3.5 hours. Although we weren't planning to see them finish, there were many things a spectator could do before the grand finish.

You could admire the architecture or if you're a little one, ride a train around the main street.

Or buy some antiques. Don't you love these teddy bears for sale?

You could watch some gunslingers in a mock shoot out. 

We decided to enjoy some fair food: homemade root beer, fried pickles and a pulled pork sandwich.

 

There was also a variety of restaurants serving up some grub like the Golden Burro Cafe. 

I never knew the sport of pack burro racing existed prior to planning this trip, but I am glad I got to experience this Colorado tradition! 

{Product Review} Le Tote - Totes #3 and #4

I'm currently on my fifth Le Tote. From this, you can probably assume that I have been relatively happy with the service so far, and I have been overall.

Le Tote #3 

1) Black top with ruffles and faux leather strap in back

2) Purple pleated tank

3) Orange and white print dress

4) Purple earrings, 5) white and gold bangle, 6) thin gold bangle

7) Black statement necklace

As you can tell, this tote contained more than five items, as promised by my stylist to make up for the broken piece I received in Le Tote #2.

I wore the gold bangles throughout the week with different outfits. I wound up wearing the purple top two times, once to work with the purple earrings and once to a festival on the 4th of July. I decided to pair this casual outfit with the statement necklace to make it more interesting and also because I needed to send back my items and didn't have anything else to wear the necklace to. 

I wore the black top to work, together with some old pieces. I actually really liked the fit of this top even though I initially thought it was quite boring. I was thinking about keeping the top but the "leather" strap in the back wouldn't stay closed throughout the day. 

I threw on the graphic dress for dinner one night with my hubby. I wasn't too happy with the shape of the dress and I didn't have an appropriate belt to cinch the waist with, so it was worn for all of 45 minutes. 

I wrote a long-ish email to my stylist after this box. Almost every piece I have gotten so far were flowy and waistless. I asked to receive more interesting shapes and cuts.

Le Tote #4

The items in this tote were completely different from the flowy, shapeless pieces I have normally received in previous totes. They were different cuts and different materials. 

1) Blue and pink dress with pink belt

2) Red pleather dress

3) Blue hummingbird top

4) Red dangle earrings and 5) Blue and gold chain necklace

The weather this week was scorching (in the high 90s and 100s) every single day, so I am quite sure I would have looked absolutely ridiculous wearing a pleather dress out. I thought it was quite odd that this piece was sent to me. Doesn't say summer at all! I did take a selfie of me in it though. 

I thought the blue dress and necklace were amazing together. So sweet and very girly. Honestly, it was a little too girly for me, but I didn't mind putting on some super girlish clothes for the day.

I really loved the hummingbird shirt. I wore it twice and also was pondering purchasing it. Unfortunately, it was a tad snug so I wound up sending it back. I paired the shirt with the earrings since I wasn't able to wear them with the dress. 

I don't think I'm going to cancel my subscription anytime soon. I love not having to think about what to wear after I receive a new tote and I love that it still serves its purpose of mixing up my wardrobe with new pieces. 

If you missed my first review of Le Tote, check it out here. 

Spicing It Up in Philadelphia

At the beginning of July, I headed to Philly for the weekend to visit my baby brother and his fiancée. After a delayed departure via the Megabus, I completed the two hour journey. We immediately met for dinner. Raisin Bread has GERD issues, so spicy foods aren't consumed on a regular basis in our household. Since I have such a thoughtful little brother, he made sure that we took the opportunity to have our fill of spices!

For dinner, we had a spicy Szechuan meal at Han Dynasty in University City. The items on their menu are rated on a 0 to 10 scale of spicy-ness, with 10 being the highest. Two of the items we ordered were rated a 10 and my mouth was burning by the end of it.

We ate family style and ordered four dishes: beef and tripe in chili oil (10), Dan Dan noodles (8), dry pot style pork (10), and string beans with minced pork (0). Although I didn't mind the heat, my favorite dishes were actually the non-spicy ones (the Dan Dan noodles and the string beans). I found the tripe way too oily.

Saturday was my only full day in Philly. We started the morning off with a visit to the farmers market outside of Ed’s apartment, where we bought banana bread and an apple dumpling to share for breakfast plus lots of fresh fruit. Then we started our day of museum visits.

We spent a few hours at the Mütter Museum, which is part of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia and showcases the collection of medical oddities that once belonged to Dr. Thomas Dent Mütter, who wanted to share his collection to improve medical education. Unfortunately, they do not allow photography inside the museum, but some of the things we saw include a syphilitic skull, a nine-foot long colon that had a tumor in it, a collection of skulls, and antique medical equipment. Interesting and grotesque stuff!

For lunch, we got our spice on again at Federal Donuts, which offers fried chicken and donuts. This is apparently a thing now because there are several restaurants that recently popped up in DC that offer the same combo. Federal Donuts has both dry and wet seasoning so we ordered one of each. The dry was called shabazzi, which is a mixture of cilantro, sumac and green chili and the wet was chili garlic. They were both super tasty and messy. We also shared their vanilla spice, strawberry lavender and cinnamon brown sugar (my pick) donuts. Too much food!

The second museum we visited for the day was the Rosenbach Museum and Library. I had never heard of it before, but the future sister-in-law wanted to see selections from the Maurice Sendak Collection, which is held here. We happened to arrive a few minutes before they were to begin a guided tour of the Rosenbach House, which was perfect because we wouldn't have been able to see it otherwise. The tour was so interesting because I had no knowledge of where we were or who the Rosenbachs were. The museum is actually the Rosenbach brothers' townhouse and holds an extensive collection of rare books, manuscripts and antiques.

We saw pieces of the Sendak collection including illustrations, book mockups and a large wall mural. Don't you just love this poster?

We rested up at the apartment before ending our day at Distrito for one more spicy meal. I really wanted to try a Jose Garces restaurant on this visit, so we picked this one. We went family style again and ordered a variety of dishes. We started with the rellenitos, Nachos Ignacio with black beans, tomato, queso mixto, jalapeno, and radish, and the tuna ceviche. My favorite of the dishes was the rellenitos.

 

We also shared three types of tacoes: lengua, pollo and skirt steak. Such great flavor and again, too much food! 

On Sunday, we enjoyed a lighter brunch at The Gold Standard Cafe before I had to make my way back to the nation’s capital! It was a great weekend exploring Philly with family!

Han Dynasty
3711 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Mütter Museum
19 South 22nd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Federal Donuts
1632 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Rosenbach Museum and Library
2008 Delancey Place
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Distrito

3945 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

The Gold Standard Cafe
4800 Baltimore Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19143

Week in Review (July 29 to August 4, 2013)

Source: IWantCovers.com

Happy Monday! For those who read my blog regularly, you know that I am usually not afraid to try new things. This week I was hesitant to try a new class at the Pilates studio I have been going to recently, but I tried it anyway and I'm glad I did. On Saturday morning, I took a CoreAlign class, which is supposed to improve posture and balance. My posture is pretty bad and I'm a klutz, which made this class pretty challenging. It did not come to me naturally at all, but I am glad I went. I'm not sure that I will be adding this class as a regular part of my workout routine, but it was good to get out of my comfort zone.

I had fewer workouts this week but felt like I put in some good quality time!

Monday: Ran 2.84 miles
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: Pilates Reformer class (50 minutes)
Friday: rest
Saturday: Ran/walked 2.2 miles + CoreAlign class (50 minutes)
Sunday: Walked 3 miles

Total yoga this week: 0 times
Total mileage this week: 8.04 miles
Total mileage this year: 220.25

Oh and this is exciting! I am being featured in today's blog post on RealInto.com as this week's F.I.T. Interview. Check it out here. Thanks, Carli!!

Question: What was the last new thing you tried? 

{Product Review} Bulu Box - May 2013

This review is extremely delayed...about 2 months delayed! Oops! Better late than never, right?

Bulu Box is a subscription service that delivers 4 to 5 vitamin and supplement samples every month for you to try. They also offer a Bulu Box Weight Loss Box for those looking to lose weight. Month-to-month, 3 month and 6 month subscriptions cost $10 per month, while the 12 month subscription is available for $110.

I tried out the regular Bulu Box for May 2013. It contained five samples and a brochure with descriptions of all of the items, which I will be referring to below.

1. Artisana Superfood Nut Butter - "Maximum Antioxidants: Already love the delicious and nutritious taste of cashew butter? Now with 5 different superfood additives, Artisana Superfood Nut Butter is a perfect appetite suppressing snack for your taste buds and your body. Take control of your appetite and feel full longer." 

I received a sample of the Berry AntiOxidant flavor. The back of the package said, "Knead it. Squeeze it. Enjoy!" I kneaded and the package proceeded to explode! I didn't wind up trying it because I was paranoid that the package may have already been open before I started kneading and didn't want to risk it. The smell, however, was not at all appetizing, so I am not sure I would have liked it anyway.



2. Fit n' Crisp Protein Snack by Promax - "Healthy Craving Fix: Make a healthy snack decision - reach for a Fit n' Crisp by Promax. Only 140 calories, 13 g of protein and 0 artificial sweeteners or high fructose corn syrup, it's your perfect quell to the sugar craving storm inside."

I had the vanilla marshmallow flavor Fit n' Crisp as an afternoon snack at work and I really liked it. To me, it tasted just like a rice krispy treat. Yum! Plus, it kept me full all afternoon long.

3. Fitmixer Amino - "Muscle Building Fuel: Give your muscles fuel to burn longer and build stronger. By increasing nitric oxide production, the delicious Tri-Flow Amino Blend reduces fatigue and improves your muscle recovery." 

I made a glass of the fruit punch flavored Fitmixer as a post-workout drink. It tasted great and was super refreshing after sweating it up!

4. NeoCell Beauty Bursts - "Delicious Collagen Support: A burst of nutrients with a gush of flavor. Collagen Types 1 and 3, found in NeoCell Beauty Bursts, promote smoother, more radiant skin, hair & nails. Try both super fruit punch and fresh mint chocolate. Treat yourself to delicious taste and beautiful skin." 

Another fruit punch flavored item. While I didn't mind the taste of the chews, I don't think my hair, skin and nails got any more radiant after having the two chews. Lol.

5. Plantiva AllerDx - "Fast Allergy Relief: Boost your immune systems' tolerance to the environment around you. By strengthening kidney health and calming over-active liver function, AllerDx calms histamine reactions and improves nasal airflow. Best part, it works in minutes!"

I didn't feel comfortable ingesting this supplement even though I have pretty bad seasonal allergies. I suffer from hereditary hypertension for which I take daily medication and didn't know if I should be taking this while on my meds.

What's my take? I wasn't too impressed with this month's box, especially because I wound up only being able to try three of the five products. In general, I'm not much of a supplement-taker so I don't think I would go out and subscribe to Bulu Box on my own. The cost of subscription is relatively inexpensive so those who do like to try out new vitamins and supplements might enjoy Bulu Box more.

Disclosure: Due to my affiliation with Fit Approach, I received a complimentary month of Bulu Box. No compensation was received. All opinions are my own. Read my full disclosure here.

Dining in Bar Harbor, Maine

To finish out my recap of my adventures in Maine last month, here is a look at what we ate on our trip!

If you missed my other posts on Maine, check them out first:

- Easy to Moderate Hikes in Acadia National Park: The Tarn and Great Head Trail

- Easy to Moderate Hiking in Acadia National Park: Gorham Mountain Trail, Jordan Pond and Cadillac Mountain

- Short Hikes in Bass Harbor and Bar Harbor

Breakfast

Our first breakfast in Bar Harbor was at 2 Cats. In addition to being a cafe, 2 Cats is an inn and seemed to be very popular. I found their decor to be super cute, and I don't tend to like cats. Oh yeah, and there was a kitty scampering about during our meal so I think there is something to their name!

I ordered the breakfast burrito, which came with home fries and black beans. I was in the mood for something salty, but I must admit this wasn't the best breakfast burrito I've had in my life. Raisin Bread had pancakes and they looked delish!

For breakfast on our final morning in Maine, we went to Cafe This Way, which we had just been to the previous night for dessert (see below). I wanted to keep up my lobster-eating streak and decided on the lobster benedict. I have been trying to convince myself to try a benny again because they have two things I enjoy: poached eggs and an English muffin. Plus, this one, in particular, has lobster. How can I not like something with lobster? But alas, I think this will be my last attempt to like benedicts because they just don't do it for me. Maybe it's the Hollandaise sauce. I also ordered a cup of strawberries and cream and would have liked it much more if that had been my entire meal, although I would have needed another cup or two to be full. So yummy!

Raisin Bread had the granola and, fitting to his name, the cinnamon-raisin French toast. 

Lunch

As I mentioned in this post, we had a picnic lunch from Adelmann's Deli on our first day.

My favorite meal of the trip had to be from Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound. Super simple but so delicious! We originally tried to go to a roadside shack called The Travelin' Lobster but it was closed every time we drove past. There are lobster pounds all up and down the main road. We picked this one from Yelp.

The lobsters are all live here, so when we ordered, the cashier opened a big cooler with all the lobsters napping inside for us to pick which ones we wanted. They were then placed into a rope net/basket and brought outside to this steamers.

When our number was called, we got these beauties. They were so tasty. The only annoying thing about this place was that you have to pay extra for lemons and butter. What's up with that? 

We also each ordered a corn on the cob. Also delish!

Dinner

My second favorite meal of the trip was dinner at Side Street Cafe. The restaurant was packed when we got there so we had to wait a few minutes for a table. I ordered the Curious Traveler Shandy while we waited.

For dinner, I ordered a side salad and a half order of the lobster mac and cheese and added in bacon and mushroom. Oh my! It was ridiculously decadent but I don't regret it one bit.

Raisin Bread had a burger and blueberry pie for dessert. There were blueberries everywhere, but I had no idea Maine was famous for them until we got there.

Our anniversary dinner was at Mache Bistro. It is a tiny place with a rotating menu that changes daily. Because of this, I can't remember what exactly we ate since I couldn't refer to their website for help. 

We ordered the three goat cheese plate to start. Raisin Bread had fish and I had steak. Sorry, no other details available!

Snacks

Snacks were available high and low through all of Mount Desert Island. As I mentioned before, we visited Jordan Pond House for popovers and tea one afternoon.

After dinner at Mache Bistro, we went for a short walk around town for some shopping and in search of dessert. We settled on Cafe This Way for homemade strawberry rhubarb pie and cheesecake.

Ice cream is another popular treat around town. I had a scoop of chocolate chili ice cream from Mount Desert Island Ice Cream. That hit the spot. 

Another ice cream shop sells a vile sounding creation called lobster ice cream. I didn't try it. Ick. 

We visited the Morning Glory Bakery on two occasions because Raisin Bread loved it so much. They have lots of reasonably priced pastries and desserts. We enjoyed blueberry bread and cookies. 

That's all. I had a wonderful time in Maine. It is a beautiful place and reminds me how much there is to see and experience in our great country. 

2 Cats

130 Cottage Street

Bar Harbor, ME 04609

Cafe This Way
14 Mount Desert Street
Bar Harbor, ME 04609

Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound
1237 Bar Harbor Road
Trenton, ME 04605

Side Street Cafe
49 Rodick Street
Bar Harbor, ME 04609

Mache Bistro
135 Cottage Street
Bar Harbor, ME 04609

Mount Desert Island Ice Cream
7 Firefly Lane
Bar Harbor, ME 04609

Morning Glory Bakery
39 Rodick Street
Bar Harbor, ME 04609