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Highway to Heaven is Route 36

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Contributed by: Anthonette Klinkerman on 4/30/2007

The Los Lonely Boys song asks, "How far is Heaven?" As it turns out, it's about an hour's drive from Denver.

My birthday present from my husband was a weekend getaway with a girlfriend to the St. Julien Hotel and Spa at 900 Walnut Street in Boulder. It's Monday, and I'm in mourning that such a fantastic weekend had to come to a close.

We drove up Friday afternoon, and checked in to the St. Julien. Dark woods and marble and granite floors, and flower arrangements throughout the lobby played up the message that one was about to get pampered to the hilt. Our room contained plush robes, fragrant bath products, and there was mellow music playing. Our spa services weren't until the next morning, so we walked to the Pearl Street Mall, and proceeded to explore every inch.

The Pearl Street Mall is a combination of Venice Beach and Berkeley in California, but about a thousand times cleaner. I hadn't been to Boulder for some time, and it was nice to see not much had changed. We skipped the Mork and Mindy house this time, though.

On the Mall, the tulip beds were an explosion of every color imaginable, some of the flowers being about the size of a small head of lettuce. The weather made for perfect strolling, which we ended up doing until about 9:00. We had dinner at our old reliable Cheesecake Factory, and then closed ArtMart in our quest for unique, artist-produced jewelry. I came up with a gorgeous Tiger's Eye necklace, and my friend found a spectacular silver and pink-glass pendant.

The next morning was saved for spa services, but we had to get a walk in beforehand. We chose the Boulder Creek path towards town, and even had an early morning sighting of Ward Churchill.

Back at the hotel, we headed down to the lush spa, where we spent some time in the dimly lit lounge, awaiting our appointments. My masseur led me back to the room where I was treated to the first part of the Rock On! Package - an hour of hot stone massage and chakra cleansing ("When in Rome..."), followed by a facial. As predicted, I was a noodle by the end, and loathe to get up from the table.

My friend had the Canyon Mint spa wrap treatment, and was brought into the lounge to sit and sip lemon and cucumber water and eat ice-cold grapes to end her session. Fortunately, I wasn't finished yet, so we agreed to meet later. I was taken back for the St. Julien Classic facial, and let me just say "delightful" is an understatement.

That afternoon, under the "When in Boulder..." notion, I talked my friend into visiting an oxygen bar with me. She ordered a Manna Mint Julep, which became the comedic highpoint of the weekend. From what I understand real Mint Juleps are nasty enough. The barista came over with something that looked and tasted very much like a mowed lawn with a sprinkling of mint. It is difficult to laugh with oxygen tubing in your nostrils, but it couldn't be helped. She did her best on the concoction, drinking about half. I told her she wouldn't need to worry about eating a salad for a week. As for what the oxygen did for me, I don't really know. I did feel revitalized, and I did expend of lot of energy laughing.

Saturday night was our adventure in eating night. The locals recommended Pasta Jay's, followed by a visit to The Kitchen for dessert. The wait at Pasta Jay's was long, so we decided to try Seven on Pearl. What a find! The Latin American fusion food really knew what it was trying to say. It started with pulled pork "sushi" with a sweet honey soy sauce, and tofu and edamame fritters. Here were two completely outlandish combinations of favorite foods, but astonishing in how well their flavors worked. Each of us was in a beef mood, so my friend ordered the skirt steak with yucca fries, and I had the beef tender with plantain stuffing and sautéed spinach. Every last bite begged to be eaten, which left no room for dessert. Sad to say as the diners next to us fervently recommended the rum bread pudding.

Sunday was spent hiking up Boulder Canyon, and then leisurely strolling the mall one last time. The weather certainly couldn't have been better. The Boulderites were having an Elves and Fairies festival to help welcome the bears awakening from their long winter's hibernation. I don't think I've seen that many children in fairy wings since a birthday party my daughter attended.

It was a weekend that I won't be forgetting any time soon, and yes, my husband is a hero to all who have heard of my Second Annual Birthday-Girl Weekend Escape. (Vegas didn't cut it last year in the "restful and relaxing" department.) It has already been decided that we will be returning.

Two words, gentlemen: Mother's Day.

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Submitted By: Anthonette Klinkerman

posted on 5/2/2007 @ 9:56:16 AM

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Thanks, Michael! There's just something about being pampered and treated like royalty for a day. Now I'm going to have to check our Mirabella...! I'll be forwarding your comment to my Household Hero shortly. ha-ha

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Submitted By: Michael Rule

posted on 5/2/2007 @ 6:11:01 AM

Rated Story

Awesome! I, too learned the secret of treating your lady to a spa; for Susan's 50th birthday (about 3 weeks ago)I treated her, her best friend, daughter, and sister-in-law to a spa treatment at Mirabella's in Parker. Talk about 4 blissed out ladies!Guys: we don't need to understand the whys, just know the ladies LOVE it! A whole weekend? Wow! Your husband is a hero!

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Anthonette Klinkerman

Castle Pines North

Anthonette Klinkerman has posted 78 stories and 44 comments since joining on 4/14/2006. Anthonette Klinkerman 's average story rating is 4.95.

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