Vegas 2013

Day 1 - Arrival
We were up early to catch a 7 AM flight.  We watched Argo on the plane (which was excellent) and landed in Vegas around 8:15 AM vegas time.  ....I was hungry for second breakfast by the time we landed.  MGM had a room available for us (phew!), so we were able to drop our stop and then headed out to get the lay of the land (and find a snack).  We stopped at NYNY, Tropicana and eventually headed to the pool.

Sometime in the late afternoon, we went in search of a good craft beer and lunch.  Pour 24 (in NYNY) offered a couple good craft IPAs - Flying Dog 60 Minute IPA was best.  We grabbed some mexican food in NYNY -- tableside guac was yummy!

One the way back from NYNY, we had fun with taking some pictures.  Look at all the traffic on Las Vegas Blvd behind us!   Crazy traffic there.

With a full belly, I thought it would be best to take nap.  So I did just that.  T spent some time on the casino floor before trying to get a quick nap before Matt & Ally arrived.  We met up with them late on Saturday (they drove from CA).  

Thanks to a great bartender at the Monte Carlo, we were directed to The Pub, which had a most excellent selection of craft beer.  We caught up for a bit with Matt & Ally, drank a few west coast beers that we can't get in MN, then decided to call it a night.  .....well, we stopped to get a soft pretzel at NYNY before we actually called in a night.

Day 2:  the classic Vegas experience

We started with breakfast on the patio at the Tropicana.  Service wasn't great, but sitting outside was priceless and the food hit the spot.

We boarded the monorail from MGM and made our way to the opposite end of the strip.  On the way, we saw a new hotel being built that appears will have a ferris wheel?!?  The Stratosphere is only a few blocks from the monorail and what an interesting walk that is.  We saw a Cadillac pulled off on the side of the road next to a vacant lot with the windows open and no one in it ...very The Hangover-esque.

Due to high winds, some of the rides were closed.  We bought tickets for the one open ride, X Scream, and headed up the elevator.  The views were amazing.  The Vegas Strip looked so small!  And the ride, oh boy, the ride.  It was scary and fun.  and scary.  Totally worth it.

Matt & Ally picked us up from the Stratosphere and we headed to old town or downtown Vegas.  I'm not sure which it is actually called.  It was cool.  Funny.  So different than what the Vegas Strip is like now.

Sunday night we went back to The Pub for dinner.  After a long couple of days, we called it an early night.

Day 3:  Work, then Carrie
The real business of the conference started first thing Monday morning.  General sessions, breakout sessions, client presentations, happy hour with my team.

I did meet up with the Smiths for dinner (sushi) at The Grand Wok.  Matt and T had spent many hours at the craps table that day.

Then I dashed off for the evening entertainment - Carrie Underwood.  I started out about row 12, then row 5.  By the end, I was front row.  I think some of the conference goers weren't Carrie fans, so they eventually made their way out.  The concert was awesome.

Day 4:  the end
More work stuff.  I tried to catch as many rays of sunshine before I left as I could.  Great views on the way home.  I watched Pitch Perfect.  

We arrived home to 10 inches of fresh snow.  Luckily our neighbors cleared our driveway and our walk (in front and up to the back door).  It was awesome.

It felt like a whirlwind trip.  We were happy to see T's family, get some sun, and have some fun.

Winter Carnival

T and I braved the cold earlier this month to stop in at the Winter Carnival in St. Paul. We followed it with dinner at Sawatdee. Yummy.

 

 

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the weekends fly by

We didn't have any major plans this weekend. And yet is seems to have flown by.

We made cookies:

We tried a few new beers. I liked this one, but it was a little too boozy (at 9.5% alcohol by volume):

We played one game of chess after T realized that my Mom brought this chess set up on Thanksgiving:

RTP happenings

My week in RTP was great (despite being sick, ignoring the majority of my day job and missing the family back home).

I met an international crew of folks that are all interested in social media. We are a blogger team -- and thought leaders. We enjoyed a team dinner on the last night in RTP where we ate WAY too much meat and laughed alot. I am looking forward to my social media contributions. AND to keeping in touch with my new international group of friends.

Siobhan (my UK friend) and I

Trying to show my worldy friends where Mpls is

Italy and Australia representatives

Siobhan with Renata & Rodrigo from Brazil

the wine cellar at The Angus Barn

I also made sure to get out and try some craft beer. I picked up a sampler, wrapped it in my yoga mat and brought it back to MN.

Lift Bridge Brewing, Stillwater MN

T and I took some time off on Friday afternoon to head to Stillwater and do a beer tasting at Lift Bridge. We had both tasted the IPA before (on tap at George & the Dragon) and the pale ale (bottled at a restaurant in Stillwater).

It was a nice drive there. We saw some fall colors, since we assumed the brewery would be in downtown Stillwater, along the river. It is not.

Anyway, we tried a few of the brews, chatted with other beer lovers (and home brewers), and enjoyed the afternoon. I liked the Cross Cut pale ale (which we got a growler of) and T like the Hop Dish IPA (which we also got a growler of).

We also took home 2 t-shirts, and 2 pint glasses. ...all courtesy of a Living Social deal (which was an amazing deal).

Trouble is brewing....

T bottled his first home brewed beer this week. How proud does he look?

Chicago. Beer.

Where did I leave off? I can't believe it has been that long since I posted anything. Rolling along on the river of life, I guess.

I was in Chicago for work for a couple days. I stayed in my old neighborhood. And I walked around to some of my favorite spots.

Jack's old swimming hole -

After an hour or so of walking, I stopped in to (hopefully) pick up some beer that isn't available in Mpls. I picked up some Founder's All Day IPA, which is a delightful and delicious brew. I wish I would have brought more home with me than just 6. I also snagged a Firestone Walker Wookey Jack Black Rye PA (I think that was the name). T has been wanting to try something from Firestone, as it has been in several blogs and articles as of late. He was excited to try it and impressed.

Finally I chose a Green Flash IPA to pair with my take-away Pad Thai (from Ma&I). The beer was good and strong; the pad thai was great.

Colorado getaway, day one

Arrived at DIA around 10:30 AM Mountain time and headed immediately to Ft. Collins.

First stop - Odell Brewing
We didn't make it in time for a tour at 1, so we decided to taste a couple of the flights. The pilot and the co-pilot were mostly beers we had not tried before. I liked all but a couple (out of 13 total, I think).







Beers tasted: St. Lupulin Extra Pale (seasonal & my favorite here), Tiger's Blood IPA, Parry's Emperical Pale Ale, Stitch: Hopped Coffee Ale, Hiveranno American Wild Ale, Pond Hopper, Locale Belgium Saison, Leprechaun Flute, Mercenary, Pedal Push Pale Ale.


Second stop - New Belgium Brewing
We had NO idea that it was a 90 minute tour. It was well worth it. They explained the origins and mission of New Belgium, one of the largest craft brewers. Lots of fun stories, tastes of 5 brews, and a slide at the end made it a great tour.





Beers tasted: Pink peppercorn IPA (session), Sommersault (seasonal), Abbey, Tart Lychee (my favorite), Fat Tire, Shift

Third stop - Avery Brewing
We navigated traffic to Boulder and met up with my cousin Michael. He led the way to the Avery Taproom, which was packed full late on a Friday afternoon. We managed to find a table and enjoy a beer before heading to dinner.



Beers tasted: Avery IPA, Maharaja IPA

Fourth stop - Southern Sun
The three of us headed out for some food at this local Boulder brew pub. The food and beer were good. ....but to be honest I had enough of beer tasting by this time!

Beer tasted: FYIPA

Fifth stop - Disc golf
No more breweries! Instead we ended the day with some disc golf. I had never played before, so it was an entirely new experience. ....and I need more practice! It was fun though.



And we tried our hand at the "puzzle" before heading to the hotel and calling it a day.






Lunch: Peppercorn Jack's (?) - a dive attached to a gas station en route to Ft. Collins. Food was not memorable.

Dinner: Southern Sun. Crab cake sandwich.

Friday rocks..

I played the first round of golf of the season on Friday. Braemar, 9 holes. I played ok. Putting was ridiculously bad -- as per usual.

The quick round was followed by a trip to Steel Toe Brewery in St. Louis Park. It was a great tour - lots of beer to taste and took home 2 growlers of Size 7 IPA.