Family Photos October 2022

Family, Friends, Month-to-Month

Although cases were mild, the pink lollypop influenced much of our October

Colorado Springs

After recovering, we spent a fun weekend in Colorado Springs. One of the highlights was a trip to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

Feeding the giraffes

Feeding the giraffes

Elephant tricks

Nate also got to pet wallabies

A night out…

Band

Pictures from Nate’s fall band concert:

He even had an opportunity to play with the high school band at a football game!

Corn maze with Dakota

Visiting the Pumpkin Patch (photo credit: Alison)

Family Photos September 2022

Family, Friends, Month-to-Month

Our continued Dungeons & Dragons campaign, The Wild Beyond the Witchlight.

photo credit: Allison Weinberger

photo credit: Allison Weinberger

Visiting Boondocks with the Weinbergers

photo credit: Allison Weinberger

photo credit: Allison Weinberger

photo credit: Allison Weinberger

Defeating supervillains with the Marvel Champions card game
Rich and Dorinna rode their bikes to a concert with Steward Copland (The Police) and the Fort Collins Symphony
Why go boating at Pinewood Reservoir when you can play in the mud instead?
Hiking in Lory State Park with the Liprandis
The year 2022, when you can order a new car with your phone
photo credit: Dorinna

Halloween 2022

Family, Friends

This year’s theme was Dungeons and Dragons. Our family and friends dressed up as characters from the game (plus one unicorn).

After Halloween 2020 was ruined by a global pandemic, and 2021 was ruined by 34-degree rain and sleet, 2022 was just perfect. Warm temps, no wind, no precipitation, just streets crowded with people enjoying the holiday. I made close to two dozen cocktails for parents- my busiest year yet!

Nate’s rogue costume.

Maine 2022 Family Vacation Photos

Family, Friends
Nate’s first lobster (Barnacle Billy’s)
Nate at Wells Beach (photo credit: Dorinna)
Rich and Nate playing air hockey at the Wells Beach arcade (photo credit: Dorinna)
Paula drove down to have lunch with us in Portland (photo credit: Dorinna)
Rich and Nate on a schooner in Portland harbor (photo credit: Dorinna)
Dorinna and Nate on a schooner in Portland harbor
Hands filled with doggie
Visiting the Jacksons in Portland (photo credit: Dorinna)
Out to dinner with Mom and Dad
Mussels!

Hawai’i 2022 Family Vacation Photos

Family

On the way!
The first of many Mai Tais
Watching the waves
Nate collected 4 Junior Ranger badges on Hawai’i. This one was at Pu’uhonua o Hōaunau National Historical Park
Ahi Nachos at Magic Sands – my favorite meal in Hawai’i
Modeling with a Silver Sword on the slopes of Mauna Kea
Climbing a cinder cone on the slopes of Mauna Kea. Mauna Loa, the world’s largest mountain by mass, is in the background
Hiking in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park
Windy day on Chain of Craters road
Dinner with Kīlauea Volcano
Black Sand Beach
Shaved ice – another Hawai’i favorite
Being a goof
Still not too old to hold Mommy’s hand

Family Photos June 2022

Family, Friends, Month-to-Month
Nate’s birthday was LARPing (live-action role playing)
Dinner in Carbondale
With our friends the Bradley’s, we spent a weekend outside of Marble, Colorado
We took “Spicy”
Nate opening birthday presents while camping
Dorinna outdid herself this year…
Fort Collins Bike to Work Day

Our vacation to Hawaii started in June, but it’s worth a separate post (coming soon).

Family Photos May 2022

Family, Friends, Month-to-Month

Nate’s new summer chore
More Dungeons & Dragons! (photo credit: Allison)
Savoring
Dorinna and Caelyn at the arcade (photo credit: Allison)
Rich and Mike hiking Black Mountain in SoCal
SoCal has BIG pine cones!
Dorinna and Nate in Old Town
Ready to backpack in Wyoming
Hiking stop for doggie cuddles
Eating breakfast on the trail
Family shot (photo credit: Kris)

Bicycle Brewing Tour 2022

Family

Fort Collins is known for bicycling… and beer. One of my favorite pastimes is riding my bicycle around town and trying different brews. My cousin Laura and her husband Alfredo have been joining me on an annual excursion. This year we did our ride on April 30. The notes below contain my ratings from Untappd.

We started our adventure around one in the afternoon. Riding with Dorinna and Nate, our first stop was Gib’s Bagels so that the beer drinking would start with a full stomach. From there, a nice ride along the Spring Creek and Poudre River trails took us to our first drinking destination of the day.

Funkwerks

I have a bad habit of dismissing Funkwerks as “the place with sours.” It’s actually much more than that. Well, no, not really, but the sours are really good, and it’s worth coming more often. The brewery was packed when we arrived thanks to a noisy bachelor party crowd, but once they left the experience improved.

  • Saison (Saison ale) 5
  • Tropic King (Imperial Saison ale) 3.5
  • White (Belgian-style wheat ale with spices) 3
  • Raspberry Provincial (sour ale with raspberries) 4

Horse & Dragon

Only a short ride away was Horse & Dragon. The beer is top tier, but the grounds themselves don’t measure up to some of the other places in town. They try their best to spruce it up, but it’s hard to hide the fact that we drank on a picnic table in a parking lot in an industrial park.

  • Picnic Rock 4.25
  • Colorado Breeze Juicy Pale Ale 4
  • Flagstone American Red Ale 3
Sign at Horse & Dragon
Sign at Horse & Dragon

Odell

What more can you say about Odell’s? The beer is good, the grounds are nice… and crowded. There’s definitely an assembly-line feel here as you queue up with the other crowds to get your beers.

  • Lagerado 3
  • Tree Shaker Tangerine 2

Equinox

Equinox remains one of my favorite spots in town, both for the ambience of the beer garden and the bitterness of Space Ghost, my favorite beer in town.

  • Space Ghost IPA 5
  • Another IPA ?

Four breweries with very little bicycling in between meant it was time to take a break. After Equinox we walked a few blocks to Ginger and Baker to meet Dorinna and Nate for dinner (sans alcohol). While waiting for a table, I found this dish towel in the shop.

Purchased!

Stodgy

This was my first time to Stodgy, and it won’t be my last. Set inside what looks like an old house, the place was mellow and laid-back, with comfy chairs in abundance. The only detraction was the rap music which felt out of place in the farmhouse.

  • New Zealand Pilsner 4
  • English Porter 3
  • IPA ?

Our original plan was to end the evening at Black Bottle. But after five stops for beer, and two stops for food, we were all pretty stuffed and tired. Laura suggested getting another round here and then skipping the last brewery, but we nixed the second set of beers and just went home.

Our mistake, if you want to call it that, was drinking too much at our first stop. In the future, if we want to hit more places, we have to limit ourselves to a few tasters at each place and not go for the full flights. If you’re wondering “were you hammered?” the answer was a solid “no.” Putting all of the tasters together added up to equivalent of five pints. That’s a lot for one sitting, but the entire ride lasted 8.5 hours. Spreading it out over that amount of time left us with full stomaches and relatively clear heads.

Now… where do we go next time?

22.1 miles of bicycling (Strava link)