Brighton and the WILD KINGDOM

2 weeks ago (has it really been that long) Rick and I had a much needed getaway. I picked him up after work and we took off for dinner at "The Cheescake Factory". We had tried just after it opened about a year ago to get in but it was packed with a long wait. Luckily this day we were able to get right in. We were surprised when they brought out the menu and we discovered that it was quite the work of non-fiction. I mean seriously lots of choices! Rick decided on a cajun dish. Lemon chicken for me. The food was great and we'll definitely go back. The fun part though was choosing some cheescake to go! Just look at the selection! Next we headed up to Brighton Ski Resort where we checked into the Brighton Chalet. It was a quaint room with a sitting area, kitchen, and large bedroom with a jacuzzi tub.

It also had a huge deck surrounded by lots of trees.

We thought we'd walk off our dinner and took a hike to check out the area. The reservoir was overflowing which created a spectacular waterfall. It was running fast and LOUD! We spotted 2 deer in the trees. It got a little chilly so we headed in for the night....

....where we promptly dug into our cheescake. We figured we were going to be there for 2 nights so we got 4 slices to share. I know, we're shameless eating that much RICH cheesecake. Yes, we really ate IN bed. My mother would have a fit if she knew my fettish for eating in bed. Call me crazy but I love to end the day with a snack in my bed. OK, I KNOW that's not a good habit. But truthfully, am I the only one who does this? Rick can be included in this 'cause he does it too.

Our secret is out:)

The next morning we headed back to SL to the Forest Dale golf course. It is one of our fav's! The trees are huge and I have a love/hate relationship with the water there. It's beautiful but dangit I lost 3 balls to it! I did get par on 3 holes though!

Although it was a little warm we had a great time!

Rick ready to tee off on the 3rd hole!

What form:)

This is a par 4 and I had a GREAT drive than promtly lost 3 BALLS in the lake! I have learned it's best for me not to keep score because I have a lousy time if I do. I can take the bad with the good but I do NOT have to have it in writing!

After our game of golf we did a little shopping for the house and then ended up at Sports Authority where we bought some new bikes. I know that seems frivolous but we did it anyway. We headed back up the canyon and had an early dinner then took a bike ride around Silver Lake. It's a beautiful lake with a boardwalk through the swampy areas.

We had heard that someone had spotted a moose so we rode around the lake 3 TIMES to catch a glimpse but got nothin'!

We rode around the loop a couple of times than headed in to our room. I took advantage of the jucuzzi tub while Rick tried to find a good nature show on Discovery. We had the door open to the deck and I had heard a strange sound coming from outside. Kind of like a grunting sound. After about the 3rd time Rick said, "What is that?" Teasingly I said, "Oh, its probably just a bear". Than we heard it again and he jumped out of bed and ran to the patio and said, "There is a moose out here. Sure enough a cow moose was standing about 70 feet away plain as day. We watched her for a few minutes and then we saw the tree next to our deck move. Rick whispered, "I think there is a calf behind that tree." We were trying to discern what exactly what was behind the tree when Rick said, "It's a BULL moose!" We were so excited! As we watched the cow turned and walked right towards us and up next to the bull. After about a minute the cow walked right up to our deck to check us out. I am not kidding she came within 15 FEET of us and just stared at us. Than she nonchalantly walked past and Mr. Bull came following right behind her! Holy Cow! How amazing is that! She was in heat (don't ask me how I know, I just do) and Mr. Bull was hoping for some action. We followed them across the street and watched them for about an hour. What a glorious way to end the day!

It was getting dark out so this picture isn't as good as it could be.

I swear Rick took about 10 pics and this is the best we got!
Who needs the Discovery Channel when you got this goin' on out your back door! What a great time!