Ft. Collins

Austin and I left Denver on Thursday and went through Boulder to visit my friend from grad school. She and her husband just had an adorable baby girl so we got to meet her and then the four grown ups went out for Dim Sum. It was incredibly good and Austin and I thought we might not be hungry again for days.

Our next stop was the Celestial Seasonings tea factory. The tour was interesting and an adventure in aromas; the Mint Room was awesome. All the mint is stored in a separate, sealed room for obvious reasons. The door went up and we walked in to the most intense mint experience that made our eyes water and our throats cool. Some people stepped out quickly but Austin and I enjoyed the sensation. I partook in the tasting after and we looked around at the crazy tea pots, art, and quotes that decorated the gift shop and lobby areas.

After our tour, we took the scenic route to Ft. Collins, winding through the mountains in our gutless rental car. The scenery was incredible, just stunning. It was raining and misty so we didn't take many pictures and really, they never do justice to the scale and effect of the real thing.

On Friday, we were off to tour some breweries. Austin was disappointed to find out that his favorite books out several weeks in advance but we checked out the immense, super-corporate Anheiser-Busch plant. My favorite part was actually the fantastic landscaping; there were flowers blooming everywhere. After a quick lunch, we headed to a great local brewery, Odells. The facility was gorgeous and built to be as green as possible. The framed pictures of the beer labels were arty and interesting. Austin enjoyed several flights and I found a few beers I liked among the samples. The tour was great, with Real People making the beer, music cranked (Billy Idol's "White Wedding" at one point), laughing while working hard. It was such a great experience, in fact, that the LundeBus (bus-o-relatives) is headed there today.

The wedding will be this evening so we're all enjoying some sight-seeing or down time and then looking forward to the best part of the trip!

PS I'll post some pics later.