Loaded up the truck this past week and drove to Fort Collins, Colorado with Court to visit her sister and to see the sights and drink the craft beers that Colorado has to offer.  Below is how it went down:

SUNDAY

• Left Cleveland early, made it well over half way by nightfall.  With a 2 hour time gain, we shacked up at a Travelodge somewhere in Nebraska.

MONDAY

• Finished the drive through the Pawnee National Grassland (skipped Cheyenne) on the drive from Nebraska to Fort Collins.
• Checked in at the Hilton on E. Harmony, room #113.
• Visited with Erin on the CSU campus, met Shadow, and then headed to Stuft for lunch.
• Did some shopping at Happy Lucky’s Teahouse and a couple bookstores.
  • Replenished my stock with the latest two Boneshakers.
• Finished the night drinking some craft brews at Coopersmith’s Pub and sipping New Belgium at The Sports Exchange.
  • Courtney claims there was a Taco Bell visit.

TUESDAY

• An absolutely amazing breakfast at Lucile’s.
• Drove out to the beautiful Front Range and hiked to the falls in Horsetooth Mountain.
• Shower and drive to the great city of Boulder.
• Stopped in Longmont at Left Hand Brewing (yes, their public site is a Blogspot site.)
• Super tasty Mexican lunch at Illegal Petes.
• Shopping in Boulder at American Apparel, Patagonia, Into the Wild, others, multiple bookstores and coffee shops.
  • Boulder is an awesome place to visit (and it seems, to live).  Very cool atmosphere.  The touristy places are covered with street performers, folk singers, and transients.
• Swung by the Google Office in Boulder.
• Drove to Avery Brewing, sipped some White Rascal.
• Drove to Oskar Blues in Lyons – one of the coolest parts of the trip.  Not only were there great brews, good food, Tron and Donkey Kong machines; but there was a 30+ string player bluegrass jam going on upstairs.
  • All local, free admission.  This was Colorado.
• Drove back late to Fort Collins, next to a pretty mountain sunset.

WEDNESDAY

• Awoke early and drove to the scenic Roosevelt National Forest.
  • Was a beautiful morning, 8,000 ft above sea level, cool and comforting.
• Rode my first horse ever at Sombrero Ranch.  Was pleasant, did about an hour up through the mountains.
• Lunch at Mad Greens.  Tasty!
• Did the tour at New Belgium!  Sampled great beers, learned a little, bought some swag, loved all the cool New Belgium bikes.
• Shopping at Wagz and Jax, others.
• Local simple pizza from Pulcinellas.

THURSDAY

• Quiet Morning.
• Checked out the Colorado State campus and bookstore.
• Drove to Denver.
• Shopping, walking around.  Chatted with a guy from Westlake.
• Had some of the best sushi ever at Sushi Sasa.  A friend’s brother manages here and we got the hook up!
• Headed to Coors Field and watched the Rockies put a hurtin’ on the Giants.

FRIDAY

• Literally drove 22 hours back to Cleveland.
• We stopped to get gas somewhere near Gary, IN.  I tried to check in on FourSquare and found that Micheal Jackson’s childhood was some 2,000 feet away.  We went there.  It was both scary and sad.
• Was pulled over in Indiana at 4am, got a warning (a true miracle, considering my speeding history.)

THOUGHTS

Colorado is a great state, with much to offer.  The cities we visited (mainly Fort Collins) were modern, clean and friendly.  The climate is much hotter than that of NE Ohio, but with less humidity so it’s far more pleasant.

There are countless bike shops and the streets are crowded with bikers and bike racks.  The town has a liberal sense of feel, plenty of progressive book stores, coffee shops, stores, and more – surrounding CSU.  Much of Boulder has free city wide WiFi.  The concentration of craft breweries has to be some of the best in the country.  The region is also scattered with promising businesses including AMD, Intel,  and Google to name a few.  The altitude difference didn’t bother me too much – but I could definatly tell in certain instances.

VIDEO

Some clips I shot:

PICTURES

See all at: http://picasaweb.google.com/shawnmariani/ColoradoVacation#

Trucked up to Michigan on Friday to watch Greensky Bluegrass during the first night of their annual Beer Garden Opening at Bell’s Brewery.

Full picture gallery here.

Things to do in Kalamazoo

• Bike to Bell’s Brewery and Eccentric Café, and General Store
• Watch Greensky Bluegrass open the beer garden
• Eat at Rugger’s Up & Under
• Sweet Water’s Donut Mill
• The Strutt Cafe
• Check out the Donk Fest at BP
• Bike the WMU campus Ring Road
• Kzoo Greek Fest and Art Fest and Parade
• Drink Bell’s Oracle Double IPA on tap

Things not to do in Kalamazoo

• Bring up that you like Oberon and are from Cleveland while at Rugger’s Up & Under
• Drink and ride fixed-gear
• Ride bikes on sidewalk ($150 fine)
• Browse the Mercedes dealership at 2am
• Ride dirty

From Kalamazoo Trip

From Kalamazoo Trip

From Kalamazoo Trip

From Kalamazoo Trip

From Kalamazoo Trip

We spent the past weekend in D.C., a terrific city.  I have been there a number of times (biking, protests, marches, inaugurations) but this was a low key trip done in part to get out of Cleveland for a bit, eat some great food, ride bikes, and see Hot Chip and The xx in concert at the 9:30 Club.

FRIDAY

I won’t go into too much detail, but seeing a city by bike is the ultimate way to go.  I’ve rode D.C. before, and much like Chicago, biking allows you and your travelling accomplices to get around fast, free and without strenuous/slow paced walking (dodging everybody else.)  Courtney and I departed Cleveland Thursday night (in typical fashion) spending the night somewhere near Breezewood; everyone’s favorite truck stop community.  Awoke early Friday to finish the last 2 hours of the drive and check into the brand new Marriott Hotel on Capitol Hill (great hotel and great rates!, perfect part of town, close to the Green Line.)  They let us check our stuff in – we aired up our tires and hit the road.

Biked 17 miles on Friday, stopping to see all the sites (Courtney’s first time!) and walking both the Natural History Smithsonian and the newly renovated American History Smithsonian.  We had lunch at the (recommended) Good Stuff Eatery, on Capitol Hill.  I had the Obama Burger.

FRIDAY NIGHT

We relaxed a bit before taking the Red Line to Dupont Circle for a late dinner at Nora’s.  I can’t say enough good things about this place; its the country’s first organic restaurant, great food and wine with a lovely setting in an old carriage house.  A bit pricey, the crowd was light but interesting, talking political work and of their boss, Tucker Carlson (hilarious, I know.)  Court and I had the 2007 Bourgogne Passetoutgrain pinot and a full 3-course, delicious.  We hung out at Kramerbooks in Dupont on the way home, the nation’s second coolest bookstore – being open 24hrs is an added bonus.

SATURDAY

Woke up and had a relaxing day shopping around Georgetown, hitting up a bunch of shops (liked Patagonia, Levi’s, Chingching Cha Tea, and Georgetown Tobacco.)  Had a great Italian brunch at Filomena Ristorante.  Headed back to The Mall to hit two more Smithsonians, Aviation and American Indian.

SATURDAY NIGHT

We headed to the Howard University campus for the show, stopping at a ghetto-ass store to scarf down some steak sandwiches (we somehow forgot to eat dinner.)  Food was cheap, but made better by a homeless guy talking about Funkadelic.  The concert was incredible.  Broadcast live on NPR national for the Saturday concert, The xx played a short and spot-on set.  Hot Chip came out and sounded great, played a good set with a lot of energy.

The 9:30 is a great place to watch a show – however it was (I feel) the loudest show I have ever been to.  Honestly, parts of it were painful – either I’m getting old, or things (decibels) are louder in our Nation’s Capitol.  The club is perfect beyond that; good beer selection, wasn’t too packed – they even tweeted the exact time each band was to go on – made planning easy.  Chatted with some great people, all gov’t professionals; The Red Cross, FTC, Wind Energy Cos.

CONCLUSION

People who know me know I love Cleveland dearly.  I’ve traveled these Midwestern-escape destinations (DC, CHI, NYC, Vegas) repeatedly, well into the double digits, only to find a humble return to my beloved Cleveland, tired, and immediately finding comfort in the dreary, desolate, brick-faced city I live and work in.

I love it here.  But the constant vibe in Cleveland is everyone is supposed to work to make it better – an uphill battle, something we’re always fighting for, a hope for the better, all soon-to-come, changes happening, casinos, clean technology hubs, transportation corridors, rock and roll hall of fames and their ceremonies held elsewhere.  It make’s it fun, I guess, knowing that we’re always down and out and it’s up to us to make it better (how?).  I like the grittiness of that, but I find it to be wearing out.

None of this is a shot at Cleveland, it’s just more and more I ask myself what it’s like in other places where people just live, love where they live, feel safe, and have to invest minimal, if any, effort to make their city a real city.  I’m not giving up.   I’m ready to do what it takes to make CLE better, but I know I’m not the first to have that idea.  This endless and blind hope has been in motion for  along time.  Let’s see what tomorrow brings.

FULL PHOTO GALLERY OF THIS TRIP.

Come June, Clevelanders will be able to grab a pint at a new brewery on 25th St. just North of The West Side Market.  After 5 years, Andy Tveekrem will be leaving Maryland’s Dogfish Head as the Brewmaster and will be joining the owner of Cleveland gems The Bier Market and Bar Cento to create a new brewery in one of Cleveland’s finest bar districts.

Looking forward to some more quality, Cleveland-brewed IPAs!

Read the full article here.

Getting excited for Halloween in a few weeks. This is from last year:

Chalk this up with the other play-by-play road trip posts I’ve wrote.  Not sure what they’re worth, short of my own personal record and the blind hope that someday, like Jack Kerouac, I will be discovered and my writings published as a pioneering American author — fat chance.

THURSDAY

Finished work late and came home to hurry up a load of laundry and start packing.  Picked up Courtney around 8pm, and were headed West on I-80 to an unknown Midwest destination for the night, hopefully closer to Chicago than Cleveland.  We had two nights lined up at The Congress Hotel, a historic hotel on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue, so this was an attempt to lessen the drive Friday morning so we could have more time in the city.  Pulled in to the “Travel Inn” around 12:30 craving some shuteye.  The lobby was dark and I had to ring a bell to wake up what seemed to be the hotel manager / resident who charged $49 for a night.  A true steal, and the bed even came with a cherry stem left behind by a previous traveler – how weird/creepy is that?

FRIDAY

Woke up early, checked out, and hit the road with the benefit of a 1 hour time difference awaiting us in Chicago.  Checked-in to the Congress around 2pm, I guess, changed, and hit the road on our bikes in mostly gray skies and cold rain.  First, we checked out The Buckingham Fountain (been to CHI 4 times and never saw this before).  We rode to Grant Park, and Shedd Aquarium taking some great pictures along the way.  We were hungry for lunch, so we biked to the original Pizzeria Uno (since 1943).  Every time I’m in Chicago, I usually get Gino’s Pizza East – so decided to change it up here, turns out for the better.  Enjoyed a local 312 seasonal brew (Harvest-something) here, also.

After lunch, went and checked out the Abraham Lincoln Bookshop which required us to be buzzed in and to store our bookbags in the closet.  This place was absolutely awesome, basically a small shop FILLED with books on Lincoln (there are a lot more than you think) dating back to the 19th century.  Real leather bound books, showing their age, behind locked cases.  Also here were other Abe items, including a wanted poster for his assassin priced at $45,000 (the reward on the poster was $50,000).  The place was quiet and empty, short of two older researchers/author types with a stack of Abe books – they were pretty deep.

Left here and rode to Kozy’s Cyclery where I needed to buy a bike a bike helmet in fear of getting hit by a Chicago motorist.  Checked out some other shopping, only buying a scarf to keep warm while biking the windy city.  We heard the grim news of Chicago loosing the bid for the 2016 Olympics but this didn’t silence the bright advertising campaign that still draped the city’s billboards, bus stops, and El stations.

Unwound and warmed up at one of the many Starbucks.  While paging through a print copy of The Onion, I was alarmed to read that the one and only David Cross was in town the following day, signing his new book at the N Clark St. Borders – we cleared some plans for Saturday in hope of meeting the legend himself.  Friday night we went to Borders to buy Cross’ new book and reserved our spot by receiving two wristbands to the event.  The cab from our hotel to Wrigleyville was a steep $16 one way — we would ride The El for the rest of the weekend @ 2.25/trip.

We headed North from Wrigleyville to Green Mill Cocktail Lounge.  I can’t begin to describe how incredible this place was.  We decided to go here after reading it was one of Al Capone’s favorite hangouts.  We were greeted at the door by a strange-rude-biker-type-doorman who took a $12 cover and gave instructions to silence our cell phones and remain as quiet as possible.  The bar was dark with curved leather booths and a gypsy-style jazz band, Alfonso Ponticelli and Swing Gitan, played AMAZING music as everyone watched quietly erupting in applause at each song break – just like the old days.  Swing Gitan had an accordion, violinist, 2 acoustics guitars, and an upright bass.  They were absolutely incredible.  Drank a Stella here, and confirmed the Green Mill to be the coolest place to see one of  the coolest bands in my live music spectator history.

Headed back to the hotel, exhausted and happy.

SATURDAY

We rode the El to Wrigleyville in the morning, looking for some food before the David Cross book signing.  Checked out some shops (lots of headshops on Clark St.) and sipped some green tea before making our way to Borders.  Hung out with some strangers from Cleveland and Shaker, killing time.  Cross showed up, read a section from his book, confirmed the Arrested Development movie, and took some questions.  We were second in line for the signing and headed back to the hotel afterwards for some chilltime.

We walked to the original Billy Goat Tavern (the one made famous by John Belushi in the 70s) for dinner.  Had some burgers, and watched some football before grabbing the Red Line North to Metro for the sold out Fever Ray concert.

The Northside concert hall was packed with every hipster in Chicago, probably tipped off by Chicago’s own Pitchfork Media’s rave review of Fever Ray’s NYC show earlier in the week.  I’m a huge fan of The Knife and was ecstatic to finally see 50% of The Knife (Karin Dreijer Andersson) perform.  The show was loud and epic – plenty of bass, lasers, and so much smoke the band members appeared mostly as silhouettes.  There was an awesome tribal-pagan-ritual theme, facepaint, cool costumes, and great drums.  Plenty more to talk about here, but clearly I am incapable of accruatly describing such events.

SUNDAY

We woke up super early (also fighting the hour-loss time change) and began our trek back to Ohio, making Dan & Emily’s babyshower in perfect timing; celebrated, mingled, and watched the Browns almost win but continue their shitty season to 0-4.  Good to be back in the CLE.

Next weekend, The Cleveland Festival of Art and Technology and The CUDC (Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative) will be opening up the lower level of the Detroit-Superior Bridge for a night long party.  The city of Cleveland used to operate streetcars on this lower level, but operations ceased in 1954.  The bridge spans from Ohio City to The Warehouse District – should make for a great time; there will be food, beer and wine!  Also, solo performers and buskers will line the platform with main acts to headline each end.

See you there!

• The Bridge Project
• Cleveland Urban Design – The Bridge Project Charrette
• List of performers

What a fantastic weekend in Tremont!  On Saturday, spent a few hours in Lincoln Park for the Inaugural Tremont Ale Fest.  Great turn out, great food and great beer!  We scored promotional tickets for $15 a piece (thanks Edison’s).  Sampled a number of great brews – both local and national (Magic Hat, Ohio Brewing Company from Akron, Indigo, Delirium, Sierra Nevada, and a few more).  It was a beautiful day and a decent turnout.  I hope this festival only grows in the coming years.

Today was the 7th Annual Taste of Tremont.  The streets were packed with people all day (and it’s still going on).  We made it to the fest twice and sampled a number of great dishes from Fat Cats, Lolita, and Grumpy’s.  I met Mayor Jackson and got to watch  Michael Symon’s Corner dedication ceremony.  It was a big day for the area and Cleveland’s Iron Chef.

Full Gallery: http://picasaweb.google.com/shawnmariani/TasteOfTremontMichaelSymonDedication#