So long...

We had an absolutely wonderful vacation in Colorado!  On our last morning, we took some pictures with the kids and with N&J.  Thank you, thank you, thank you for an amazing time!  You are great hosts and great friends!

Me and Maxi...

...just hanging...

Last Day Blues...

How can we not have the blues on our last day here.  We've had an amazing trip, spent great time with great friends and their kids, drank alot of really great beer, and how can you not miss views like this everywhere you go!!

This was a great, fun, relaxing, amazing trip - I can't wait to come back.

Pre-Departure Shipping Policy

As is our usual style, we are all ready with the "souvenirs" we are shipping home.  N&J are going to drop the box off at UPS on Monday, so hopefully by the weekend we'll have 12 "souvenirs" to enjoy.

Now just getting packed up, printing off boarding passes, and settling down for our final night here!

I DID IT!!

We took the kids out for dinner tonight to Fiesta's in Edwards while N&J had a school dinner/fundraiser to attend.  Which meant I needed to drive down the mountain...and back up...while it was snowing.  I decided to skipmy usual 4:00 beer given that six lives were in my hands.

And I did it!  I have to say, the kids were fantastic.  No yelling, fighting, just quietly talking and playing games on their phones/etc. because they knew Le Freak (i.e. me) was a little anxiety ridden about driving.  Totally helped me and Chris with directions to and from the restaurant.

They are all four absolutely fantastic kids - adorable, funny, sweet, smart, sassy in all the right ways - and we had such a fun time with them at dinner and just hanging out.  We'll miss them a lot when we leave for home tomorrow.

Between  low visibility on the road, those goddamn deer popping out everywhere, and slick roads at a 45 degree angle, I REALLY needed a beer.  So now I am drinking my first Pliny the Elder since March in San Diego...and MAN is it good.

Song of the Day...But It Is Still Gorgeous Here

Cloudy
The sky is gray and white and cloudy,
Sometimes I think it's hanging down on me.
And it's a hitchhike a hundred miles.
I'm a rag-a-muffin child.
Pointed finger-painted smile.
I left my shadow waiting down the road for me a while.

Cloudy
My thoughts are scattered and they're cloudy,
They have no borders, no boundaries.
They echo and they swell
From Tolstoy to Tinker Bell.
Down from Berkeley to Carmel.
Got some pictures in my pocket and a lot of time to kill.

Hey sunshine
I haven't seen you in a long time.
Why don't you show your face and bend my mind?
These clouds stick to the sky
Like floating questions, why?
And they linger there to die.
They don't know where they are going, and, my friend, neither do I.

Cloudy,
Cloudy.

- Simon and Garfunkel

Snow!!

We may never get off this mountain.  I hope I don't have to eat Chris.

Hot Tub Time Machine - But Better Than the Movie

Last night we spent some time in the hot tub.  It was freezing outside, so as I stood there in my bathing suit and robe, readying myself to whip off the robe and get in the hot tub, I said, "where are the steps?"  They were in the corner, so I threw off my robe and quickly walked over to get in...misjudging the step by about 4 inches.  Here is how it looked:

Left leg went straight in the hot tub, while some force made me pivot around on my right leg so I wouldn't go in face first.  As I then fell backwards (one leg in hot tub, one leg on ledge), I was caught in mid air by N&J and gently dropped in the hot tub. Chris was frolicking on the other side with the kids and no where to be found.  Nice.  I sustained no injuries, except for a small scrape on my calf and a twisted ankle that will be fine.  And by some miracle, my head never went in the water.

We were in for probably 45 minutes?  Then it started snowing a little. It was absolutely amazing to be outside, in the 35 degree temps, looking up at a million stars, having yourself snowed on in a hot tub.  So fun, see picture below. 

OH!  And there was a shooting star that almost everyone saw...I missed it because my glasses were fogged up.  :(   It sucks to be a nerd.

Glenwood Springs

Headed out to Glenwood Springs today, about an hour from Avon.  Walked around, did a little shopping (bought the CUTEST pair of Dansko lace up clogs - see below), and then had lunch at Glenwood Springs Brewery.  The beers weren't remarkable at all, but it was a good lunch.  Split a good burger and had some soup!

On our way back, we stopped for a little photo opportunity by the Colorado River.  I reached down and stuck my fingers in the river...BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  All I could imagine was falling ass over  tea kettle right in.

On our way back to the house, stopped off on this great little overlook right by N&J's house.  Took a few great shots.  Note Chris and J seem to be strangers...

Back at the house now, two Plinys in the fridge awaiting us in a little while...thanks again to our patient and fabulous driver J.

Six of one, half dozen of happiness.

Six Pliny the Elder procured.  We are going to be very popular when we get home.

PLINY!!!

Heading down to Avon Liquors this morning...two bottles of Pliny per person to be purchased.

YES!!

Score For Today = +204

Our fearless and wonderful drive J took us over to Breckenridge today.  Beautiful day!   We headed out for a walk down the main street and took in a little shopping and kept going down to the end of the strip to stop for lunch at Breckenridge Brewpub.  We were planning on eating there and then going on a gondola ride after I got oiled.

Um, shitheads?  If you are going to be randomly closed, put it on the goddamn website!  There was a stupid sign that said to head over to two other places to have their beer.  Score?  -2.

We went to one of those places, and it sucked.  The menu was scary, the beer list was crap, so we each had a drink and decided to go somewhere else for lunch.  Score?  -1.

As we headed over to have lunch at Kenosha we stopped to take this picture.  As we were all chatting, mumbling, babbling, J said, very quietly, "Is that a distillery?"  We all stopped talking immediately and turned to look.  And yes it was.  I lept up in the air and we went over.  Had vodka and bourbon tasters and made a drunken impulse buy of, quite frankly, more alcohol than we will drink in the next year.  Score?  +2

We then had lunch - it was good, and after another beer I had the guys to do the gondola ride, and guess what?  CLOSED.  Score?  -1.  (I could go with a +1 here if it didn't make me look like a total wuss.)

We then headed back home, through Frisco and stopped to get crickets for SJ's gecko Stanley.  She asked me last night if I wanted to hold him - she was so cute and excited - and I looked right at her and said, "ABSOLUTELY NOT.  I am just fine looking at him through the plastic cage."  She just shook her head, and in that 9, going on 29 way she has, just said, "Oh, Patty..."  But I digress.  Took a nap in the car on the way back.  Score? +1.

We then decided to stop in Vail to do a little shopping.  We pulled into the parking ramp and we set the alarm on my phone for 10 minutes, and all four of us took a nap in the car.  Score?  +5

In Vail at Colorado Footwear where I tried on these KICK ASS boots that they owner designs and they are made in Spain.  They are just over the ankle and have old school ski buckles.  They were awesome.  Comfy, warm, I would look fantastic in them.  Put them on hold and just making sure I wasn't making another couple hundred dollar impulse buy.  Score?  0.  (Will be a +5 if I decide to buy them. Here is another picture of J and Chris after they had enough of watching me and N try on shoes.)

We then came home...

Spent another fantastic day with great friends.  Score?  +200!!

Uncle Buck

We left the house today about 9:45 for a day in Breckenridge - but first we took our ceremonial self portrait in front of the gorgeous view of the Rockies off the kitchen.

We headed out, and coming out of N&J's driveway, here is who we saw.  Seriously, they are all over.  This big SOB just hangs out in their yard, for Christ's sake!  Like I said before, it is like the squirrels are in Minnesota.

Gore Range Brewing

OH!  Forgot to mention we also had beers at Gore Range Brewing in Edwards.  I had the Wit, Chris had an Amber and Pale Ale.  They were really good, but Chris liked Crazy Mountain better.  And the food looked good but we were stuffed from a late breakfast (shocker).

So go there if you are here.

Thursday, Frisco and Breckenridge

Today we will be heading to Frisco and Breckenridge for more hiking, site seeing, shopping, and breweries. Today I will be:

• Wearing better shoes: feet are a little raw from walking so long in my clogs, and since I turned my ankle again need more support
• Taking more pictures: this blog is pretty boring as it is, so I'll try and jazz it up more with pictures
• Eating less:  last night's meal was amazing, and then I was so full I promptly went to bed when I got home
• Breathing better:  I can already tell I'm getting used to the altitude!  Although I haven't gone upstairs yet this morning...I could be wrong

Maybe today I'll see a mountain lion that no one will be surprised by.

Basketball!

The other thing we did yesterday was attend S's basketball game.  Seven twelve year old boys from Vail Mountain School took on a team of about 30 kids from one of the other middle schools.

Couple things to note:
1) It's easy to win when you can exchange your entire lineup five times throughout the game.
2) Those VMS boys played their little hearts out, and were SO TIRED by the time they were done.
3) Twelve year old boys are a wee bit aggressive.
4) The rules don't seem to matter all the time when you are learning fundamentals - things like travelling, double dribbling, and being three feet out of bounds don't really count as issues.
5) Volunteer coaches have the PATIENCE OF JOB.

Even though they lost, S had a couple of great plays.  Go Rangers!!

Fantastic Mr. Fox!!

We went out for dinner last night at this fantastic restaurant in Beaver Creek called Grouse Mountain Grill.  It was an amazing, and I do mean amazing meal.  After we were done, we were waiting by the front door to leave, and I was slumped in a chair trying to stay awake, all of a sudden J said, "Wolf!? Wait, it's a fox!!"

I lurched up out of my chair, and sure enough.  Fox.  Right outside the automatic doors, there he was.  It was HUGE!  Honest to God it was probably four feet long tip to tail.  And beautiful!!

So I went outside to take a picture, but my camera battery was low.  Bummer, because I was only about 20 feet away from him.  After an extensive Internet search, we decided it was a grey fox.  That looonnnggg tail with the black tip was the giveaway.

No one seemed to be that surprised by it, which leads me to believe that wildlife like this in Colorado is similar to squirrels at home.

Beaver Creek and Vail

Wednesday was a great walking day.  We first went to Beaver Creek and walked around - it's the off season for a few more weeks so not much was open, but it was so interesting to walk around and see what it is like to live in a ski community.  You can imagine how crazy busy it is once people start arriving to ski, and I can't imagine what the mountains look like covered in feet of snow with hundreds of people skiing and snow boarding on them.  For sure I would get lost with all the different ski trails.  Of course, only if I didn't break my leg first falling off the chair lift.

Later we went to Vail and took an hour+ walk all around.  Super charming, and while Vail was quiet too, I think the hustle and bustle of the busy season would be kind of fun.  Chris did use the public restroom there, which he said was the nicest bathroom he's ever been in.

The weather here is amazing, sunny and the brightest blue sky you've ever seen.  It was a great day.  And Thursday we'll bring our camera so we can actually take pictures!

Hi, do you have air for sale?

I know we are giant fat asses, but thank God we work out regularly and despite the poundage are pretty well in shape.  Because I cannot imagine the toll that walking up a flight of stairs would take on one that was very out of shape.  I think by the time I get home I will be able to run a 5K!!

Not really.

Crazy Mountain Brewing

Well, day one and we indoctrinated N & J into our standard vacation activity:  sampler of beer at an area brewery.  The brewery was cool, had a pumpkin beer that reminded me of taking a deep breath inside the Yankee Candle Factory and then gagging.  But they did have a great Amber, Pale Ale, and ESB.  A growler was purchased.  How I have missed drinking with my friend! 

Rocky Mountain...

...high?  oysters?  spotted fever?

Nope, just the Rockies.  Obviously I don't want spotted fever, or to eat bull testicles.

Heading there tomorrow for a fantastic couple of days with our great friends.

Wish us good weather, safe flying, and easy landings.  Going to pack.

Fun is just a day away!

Saint Amazing

Last stop...Saint Cupcake.  Got four mini cakes:  vanilla with chocolate buttercreme frosting, pumpkin spice with cream cheese frosting, chocolate with chocolate buttercreme frosting, and vanilla with Oregon Marionberry buttercreme frosting.

They were just the right size and oh so tasty!!

A perfect way to cap off our trip.  We had yet another amazing few days in Oregon, and are sad to leave her behind again.  Think good thoughts for a safe and boring flight.  Thanks for following us on our adventures!!

XOXO - Patty & Chris

Food Truck!!

For the first time today, we tried the Portland Food Truck scene.  We had a grilled cheese and bacon at The Grilled Cheese Grill.  Simply amazing.  Perfectly toasted, a couple of kinds of cheese.  Awesome.

We also had the pork box from El Cubo de Cuba - really good.  Pulled Cuban pork, beans and rice, and fried plantains.  Awesome.

Off to get a cupcake and go to UPS to ship the "souvenirs" home.  Then dropping the rental car off and coming back to hang at the hotel until we leave.

An outstanding last day in Portland.

Tuesday Night Italian

Last night we thought we would try someplace new after Bailey's Tap Room. So we walked to The Pearl to go to Caffe Allora. It got good reviews, and it was a good thing for us to try something new...spontaneity for us. And...it was closed for a private party. Really? Yes.

So we walked over to Piazza Italia - this is the restaurant we went to on our first visit with cousin K and hubby M. We got a table by the window, and it was about 80 degrees in the place. So not comfortable. Then they brought out a huge basket of bread. Which we proceeded to devour. Then came our meals:

• Chris - Pappardelle with wild boar ragout
• Patty - La Something Something fettuccine with egg, prosciutto, onion, Parmesan, and black pepper

WOW.  They were both out of this world!!   The dish I had was fantastic, and it wasn't a creme sauce, just the parm.  It was fantastic.  And then they brought us another basket of bread.  And we ate some.

GH - we'll need some serious power work outs to work off all those carbs.  But it was totally worth it.

Mobile App

No one at work will be surprised by this, but I just literally discovered the mobile blogger app.  Look out blog-o-sphere!!

Pretty...aren't they?

Bailey's Tap Room

At Bailey's Tap Room...having a few beers...half pints (just like Laura Ingalls). Why doesn't anyone in the Twin Cities offer half pints?? It's like a gold mine.

We have already had:

Epic Hopulent Imperial IPA (P)
Two Beers Evolutionary IPA (C)
Green Flash Retro EPA (P)
Block 15 Golden Canary Sour Blonde (C)
Lagunitas Fusion X IPA (P)
GoodLife 29er India Brown Ale (C)
Bear Republic Racer 5 Cask IPA (P)

And trust me, there are more to come.

Lunch at Hopworks

We had lunch today at Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB).  Had the sampler, and their Imperial IPA was really good.  Had some awesome pretzels and pizza that was solid.

Then we came back to the hotel and took a nap and then have spent the last hour packing up our..."souvenirs."  Two boxes to ship home, and two boxes (cases) of wine/beer to check on the plane.  We are going to be very popular...I mean - we ARE very popular.  Right???

Pittock Mansion

This morning we took the self guided tour of the Pittock Mansion, owned by Henry Pittock (Owner of The Oregonian) in the early 1900s.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  Not as big as the James J. Hill house, or certainly not Glensheen in Duluth, but it was amazing.  The materials were all from the northwest coast - sandstone, wood, etc.  It had a central vacuum system, like Glensheen, and an intercom, elevator, and indirect lighting - pretty amazing for 1909!!

The grounds were also beautiful, with gardens all around.  Georgiana Burton Pittock, his wife, was an avid philanthropist and founded Portland's annual Rose Festival.   I am so glad we went; we've skipped it the last two times we were here.

Enjoy the pictures below!  And as a bonus, check out my super cute Queen Bee backpack in the last picture!!

More pics from the Willamette Valley

Vines at Sokol Blosser...grapes on those vines...nearby cows...

That Voodoo That You Do...

Post script to the Cap'n Crunch donut from Voodoo Donuts post...

This morning for breakfast, I had the Portland Creme, and Chris had the Ain't It a Peach fritter.   While I feel slightly ill from eating it, I don't regret it one bit.  Soft, chewy, sweet, buttery, chocolaty, creamy, wow.  It's been a long time since I've had a donut, and that one didn't disappoint.

Good thing we have three left.  Heading to Target today to buy a container to bring them home in my backpack.

Sadness...gone

My sadness over not going to Crater Lake today is gone.  It's going to be 82 and mostly sunny in Portland today!  Beautiful day for a pub crawl and to be outside.

Scratch Crater Lake...

We are "driven" out.  After the long drive yesterday and again today, we have made an executive decision and will be skipping our Crater Lake trip tomorrow.  It's about a five hour drive, and we'd spend the whole day in the car.

So, instead, we are going to do the sites in Portland.  We're going to go to Pittock Mansion, which we haven't done before, and hit a couple of brewpubs too.

Crater Lake will have to wait until a future trip when we can do it right.  So while I'm sad, I'm also relieved!

Beaux Freres - OUI!

OK, ended up at Beaux Freres vineyards - so lovely an charming. Chatted with the people that worked there, had a great tasting. It's nice when you fall upon a winery that is small and wants to be, but just puts up great wine. Lovely!! I sobered up in time to get to this one.  It was a nice cap to our day!!

One thing to note if you are drinking in the morning...Jesus Christ - mainlining 3-4 glasses of wine in an hour at 10:00 am does NOT make for a good time for me. I actually didn't have anything but water to drink at dinner.  Yes, you heard that right.  Don't judge me.

St. Innocent? St. BORING

Went an hour out of the way to go to St. Innocent. Boring, and not interesting. And the woman that served us was a pretentious asshole. Skip this one...need not attend.

Argyle and Lunch

Lots of sparkling wine and pinot...awesome...drunk...bought some sparking wine for Cory...eating lunch on the hopes I sober up some...

OK! Back after eating lunch. AMAZING. We ate at the Red Hills Market - had a roast beef sandwich with blue cheese and carmelized onions, and ham with gruyere. YOWSA. It was awesome. OH! And we also had the bread with olive oil. Wow...warmed olive oil in the bottom of a shallow plate, and crusty bread piled in it. So simple, but so amazing. On our way to St. Innocent now...I'm going to take a nap.

Sokol Blosser

First stop...Sokol Blosser. Excellent pinots. T and T need be ready for wine and card night. We had the same woman do our tasting that lived in Minneapolis for a while. It was a nice how-do-you-do. I am well on the way to total shitfaced-ness. Bought seven bottles, four that need to age 2-3 years. Any bets on me remembering that? Next stop...Argyle!!

YAR!!!!!

That is a Cap'n Crunch donut, people.

A. CAP'N. CRUNCH. DONUT!!

And Jeezy Creezy, it was fantastic. Also purchased: Two Portland Cremes (think Bismarck), and apple fritter, one "Ain't That a Peach" peach fritter, and one chocolate Oreo peanut butter god help me I don't care if it kills me donut.

Portland 2.0 - The Coast

Today was the day on the coast.  After rising bright and early, we left about 9:00 and got our rental car.  Amazingly, we didn't get a Dodge Caliber or a 1996 minivan, as we have in the past, but a Ford Fusion.  The only drawback to getting a rental car that is the same as the car you own, is that when your car is loaded with accessories, anything less is like a piece of shit.

We took off for Yachats, and stopped a at couple of place:  a scary little booth to get some beef and salmon jerky (FYI, the beef jerky was awesome), and then stopped at a little glass blowing studio.  There are a lot of those here - not sure why - but we got a great little vase and a super cool glass float.  It made me miss the glass blowing class we took 11 years ago with N and J - can it be that long ago??

We then got into Newport to eat at Rogue.  Um...has anyone ever had a good experience at a Rogue restaurant??  We always go, think it will be awesome, and frankly, their beer sucks.  And their food is marginal at best.  As we were walking the 6-7 blocks from where we parked the car, we were lucky enough to pass not one, but TWO, seafood processing plants.   (I killed a guy with a Trident.)  Now I will tell you, you have never gagged as much in your life, unless you are dealing with bloated corpses.  I actually gagged.  Between that and the smelly seals, it was enough to make you pass out.

After leaving the sunny, breezy, cool city of Newport, we headed to Yachats where we were ready to do some serious tide pool walking and see some spouting horns!  And guess what!?!  We saw NOTHING.  First it was totally foggy and overcast in Yachats.  Second it was so windy my hair was completely curly after being outside for only about 20 minutes, and I didn't get to wear my cute new hat.  Third, and most importantly...there was nothing in the tide pools but water!!  So much for that.  At least we go to use our walking sticks...and take our signature self portrait.

We then headed back to Portland for dinner - and on the way we stopped at another glass place...you guessed it, I bought some more stuff.  After getting back to Portland we picked a place called South Park, as they have a ton of locally sourced stuff on their menu, as well as seafood.  And my review is...meh.  So so, about a 6.5 out of 10.  I had scallops, Chris had halibut.  The bonus was that we had a Boneyard IPA and that was amazing.  All in all, not an amazing food day.  And as evidenced by this blog, not a very exciting happening day.

Tomorrow is wine day!!  I'm very much looking forward to it!!  Four wineries in six hours - pray for me and my liver, I'm gonna need it!

Portland 1.0 - I'm sleepy...

Well, we made it through the first day.  After an hour and a half nap, we headed out via cab to Hair of the Dog brewing and had a sampler.  It was moderately good, except for the 2009 barrel aged "Adam" that tasted like ass.  Gagged.

After that we walked to Cascade Barrel House and had their sampler of sour beers.  about 1/2 of them were good, and 1/2 were just so-so.  They had a kreik that was really tasty and also a gose - you know my motto:  if my eyeball doesn't fall out while drinking it, it's not going to be at the top of my list.  But those two were good.

After that we walked across the street to Green Dragon - we've been here before and thought that maybe they would have Pliny on tap.  Alas...no.  But I did have a cask Racer 5 that was amazing.  Earlier when we walked by Green Dragon there was some kind of outside party and people were dancing to, "We don't have to take our...clothes off!  To have a good time...oh no!  We could dance and party...all night!  And drink some cherry wine!"  Um, what?  I am easily spooked and let me tell you, I had some kind of awful flashback to my youth.

We hung out there for a bit and then called a cab and went to Henry's 12th Street Tavern for dinner.  Consistent, good, not fancy...just what we wanted.  Stopped at Whole Food for fruit and yogurt and stuff for breakfast.  It is now 8:47 pm and it is all I can do to stay awake.  I hate to say it, but drinking all day is exhausting.

Tomorrow we head for Newport and Yachats on the coast for some Rogue beer and tide pool wandering, respectively.  The walking sticks and my oh-so-cute blue floppy hat are at the ready!!

Portland 0.5

What a great day already!  It's 2:00 and here is what we've done:

1) Walked to Voodoo Donuts so I could get both a donut with Cap'n Crunch on it, and  Portland Creme (think Bismarck).  Well, since at 10:30 the line was about 85 people deep, we decided against it.  We'll hit it at a less busy time - i.e not Saturday morning.

2) Walked through the Portland Saturday Market - think farmer's market without the produce and lots of arts and crafts.  We bought a sweet new cribbage board, complete with a lid that let's you hold a couple of decks of cards.

3) Took the bus and walked about a mile to Queen Bee and Saraveza.  Queen Bee does purses - bought one in Duluth last month, and bought a back pack today.  SO CUTE!!   And Oh.  My.  God.  Saraveza?  AMAZING.  Had a sample of beers from Pizza Port, Green Flash, Dogfish Head, Beer Valley, and Solera.  I think it's pretty cool that we have been to those first three in person...   We also ate:  Deviled Pickled Eggs - I could have choked on one and my life would have been complete; the charcuterie plate - pretty damn good; and a roast beef pasty with hot chipotle sauce - um yeah, fantastic.  I washed it down with the double IPA from Beer Valley (the Leafer Madness).   See how happy we are below with our food and sampler!!

We then power walked back to the bus stop and caught a bus back to the hotel.  I took a little nap on the bus, quite refreshing, and now as I type this, Chris is going to upload pictures of our beautiful lunch at Saraveza and I'm going to run across the street to Johnny Sole and probably buy another pair of shoes I don't really need.

More to come, we are heading to Upright Brewing later, after which I am sure I will be anything but.  Then I'm not really sure...I'm sure it will involve copious amounts of alcohol.

Ready for Portland!!

We are ready for Portland!  Flight leaves tonight, all packed, heading to get dinner and chill.

All laundry done, bedding washed and changed, all dishes clean, bathroom spic and span - who says a little OCD isn't a good thing.

The next 4.5 days will bring beer, food, beer, wine, food, beer, hiking at Crater Lake, beer, hiking on the coast, beer, food, and more beer.  As is our style, packing 100 pounds of potatoes into a 5 pound sack.

Pray for a strong tailwind and calm skies, and that Ativan works like a charm.

Wishing ourselves safe travels!

Pizza Port in Ocean BEACH

Yeah...Oceanside is very different than Ocean Beach...which is where we are. Having lunch at Pizza Port, no where near my parents, but ready to come home. We just had awesome pizza, and I had a 90 Minute in tap, and life is good. We are playing cribbage and hanging out until the plane leaves.

Wish for smooth skies for me and a quick flight home.

We loved San Diego!!!

This morning's walk...

...was so great! Why we haven't been walking in the morning every day is beyond me. It is absolutely gorgeous today, and I think we have landed on going to Balboa Park for a walk, then to Pizza Port in Oceanside for lunch. Funny, my parents will be in Oceanside sometime today - they are driving to San Diego just as we are leaving. Maybe the fates will cooperate and we can see them before leaving.

Last Day in SD

Today is our last day in San Diego. We have had amazing beers, amazing food, got to see my friend CG for dinner, and have seen some pretty fabulous sites. We are heading out for a walk and then figuirng out what to do today until we leave.

Options are:

- USS Midway Museum
- Balboa Park
- San Diego Zoo

What will it be?

Pliny denied...again...

So we went back to Toronado since they had Pliny on tap. And guess what? They were out! I guess I should be happy I got it once. Maybe the liquor store will get some in today. Start your prayers now.

Three Breweries: Ballast Point, Hess, and Green Flash

The three breweries we went to on Wednesday couldn't have been more different.

Ballast Point - in an office park, big tap room, quiet during the day. They had a number of good beers, and Chris really liked the Sculpin IPA. I liked the Wahoo Wheat. It was nice - quiet, nice people working there, low key.



Hess - in an industrial park, whole public area was the size of my living room, people everywhere since I think it was Food Truck Wednesday. They call it a nano brewery, and we had just a couple of samplers - they were good. We did not stay long. Ha!

Green Flash - enormous area, like a giant party, thirty-ish taps on the wall, served 12 different beers. We bought a few for home, I really like the saison. Marketing genius...also had a good truck outside.



We have some great ideas for JM and the new brewery - these places really know how to pull the public in and keep them there. For a Wednesday, it was like a Saturday night!

Lunch at Neighborhood

After we got back from La Jolla, we walked down to a restaurant called Neighborhood - heard they had good food and a great beer list. We went in, and my mouth was watering just thinking about another Pliny. I looked over, the tap handle was there...and then she said, "Oh, we are out of that."

Then. Take. The. Tap. Handle. Down.

In any event, we got salads and split a burger. All were actually fantastic. I had the beet salad and WOW, super good. I was pleasantly surprised - great food. Crabby about the beer.

Breakfast in La Jolla

We had breakfast in La Jolla on Wednesday at this cute little place called the Cottage. Great food, lovely little California bistro. We then went for a walk down to the beach. It was pretty windy yesterday, so not as warm as it had been, but the sun was shining and it was beautiful!

I wonder what it would be like to live somewhere like La Jolla, right on the ocean, weather beautiful all the time. Would you appreciate it? I'm not sure - but I could definitely spend time here just relaxing and looking at the view.

Off to La Jolla and More Breweries!

We are off to La Jolla this morning, and then to three more breweries - Green Flash, Ballast Point, and Hess. We already have one box of "souvenirs" to ship home...we may have another one after today. Looks like it is going to be a beautiful day!!

Dinner with CG and EG

Last night Chris and I had dinner with CG and EG - I worked with CG almost nine years ago on a software project, and he was a consultant. We had such a fantastic time!! It's good to connect with old friends that are not only wonderful, but make you laugh your ass off. So thanks to CG and EG for having dinner with us - it made our trip!!

A Day at the Breweries

On Tuesday, we dedicated most of the day to breweries - Stone and Lost Abbey/Port Brewing. Stone was pretty cool - got there at 11:00, signed up for the noon tour, had a sampler (the Ruination IPA on tap is to die for), went on the tour, and then had lunch there. So the food is good, but REALLY expensive. Glad we ate there, the grounds were beautiful, and the inside was pretty cool too.





We then went to Lost Abbey and had a couple of samples - good beer, bought a few bottles for home!!

Toronado and The Linkery

Why don't we have a bar like Toronado at home? We went there for a beer before dinner.

I had not one, but TWO PLINY THE ELDER! Maybe it is just 'cuz you can get a crazy selection of really amazing IPAs, maybe it is just because you can get Pliny on tap, maybe it is just the cool ambiance, maybe it is because they are so nice and give you great suggestions and ask about where you are from. Whatever, it was fan-tastic.

Chris had a Pliny and the Red Barn Ale from Lost Abbey - wicked good Saison. We are going to Lost Abbey today (Tuesday) so maybe we can get some for home!!



We also ordered the Bar Nuts, and they came in a bowl that held about three cups of nuts. A bit much? Yes, but they were damn good.

We then went to The Linkery for dinner - sausage is their game. And what a game it is! I will let the picture speak for itself...