Arriving in Chicago

I got to Chicago at about 4:00 pm and took the CTA (this is their public transportation). My buddy Sean grabbed me at the Belmont Station and then took me to his place.

Sean and I met in Kindergarten. In first grade an event occurred that set the base for a friendship that would last to this day. I fell in love with his cousin. I don’t remember the exact events but I do know that in my first grade head I felt feelings for this 2^nd grade woman that I had never felt. I outwardly responded like any first grader in love would… I explained to Sean that I hated his cousin and she was the ugliest person I had ever seeing in my life. After a series of insults thrown at his cousin Sean understood exactly what I meant. He ran over to his cousin during recess and informed her that I was in love with her and wanted to marry her.

So here I stand in Chicago visiting my friend Sean. Him and his wife Chayada bought a nice place in the Lakeview/Rosco village area.

When I first got to town Sean had a class. He dropped me at his place and I took a run around town and read at his place.

This is my sleeping quarters. This bed is insanely comfortable

Riding the Silver Bullet

On Saturday morning Quinley and I headed to the Coors Brewing Company. This is about 20 minutes away from downtown Denver in a small town named Golden. The town is real relaxed. There is about a total of 19,000 people in the town. In the town is the largest cobblestone building in all of the United States.

The Coors Brewing Tour starts on a bus that takes you through the town. You then end at the Brewery where we were able to partake in a self directed tour. Everything is free. They even give you three free taste sample of different beers.

I was shocked to discover the amount of detail that is taken to develop a Coors Beer. The creator of Coors was Adolf Coor (might have an “s” on the end). He started the company when he was 26 years old. Before any Coors is put on the market it has to pass the test of 200 independent taste testers. This Brewery is the largest Brewery in the United States.

We basically walked around and read about some of the history. At the end of the tour we had a few beers and relaxed.

Though I have never been a huge fan of Coors this experience definitely changed that for me. Though it doesn’t taste any different to me, I now have a much better understanding of its history which consequentially makes me like it more.

Going Out in Denver

On Friday night Quinley invited over some of his friends from the Denver area. We played some games, had some beers and then went out on the town.

The nightlife in downtown Denver is fun and easy going. The bars are large and spacious. We went to multiple bars with multiple stories.
We started the night at Quinley’s place. There were people from Denver, the bay area, Alaska, Seattle, and Mendocino County (me). The thing that stuck out the most to me is that everyone there simply wanted to have a good time. Everybody was friendly and welcome to conversation. We all just kicked back and had a good time.

After a series of bars and partaking in a variety of activities that tend to occur at bar’s we decided to make our way home. This consisted of me identifying and analyzing every single food vendor on the way back home. After much analysis and consultation I opted to get the burrito from the lady on the corner. This choice had nothing to do with “great taste” but instead my hunger finally peaked and I needed to take the next closest item in front of me. This happened to be the nice lady with the premade $3 burritos that she kept in a cooler (ironically to keep heated). I gave her $3 and she gave me a burrito. I walked away happy with my purchase… that is until I got back to Quinley’s place and smelled the pizza that had been ordered.

One burrito and 2 giant slices of pizza later I concluded that I maybe should not have ate so much.

Heading to Denver for the Weekend

This is me at the BART at 4:20 am in the morning.

I woke up at 3:50 am so I could make it to the Bart Station to get to the 4:30 am train. I had a 6 am flight that seemed like a good idea when I booked it. After a flight from Oakland to Salt Lake City, a one hour layover and then onto Denver I finally arrived at 11:00 am. My old college buddy, Kevin Quinley grabbed from me from the airport.

First thing we did when we got to town was head to 16th street and grabbed a burger and a beer at a Brewery. Denver is filled with Breweries everywhere you look.

I only stayed near the downtown area for the entirety of my trip so I can only speak about that. The vibe of this area of the city was surprisingly laid back. Of course, my natural comparison in my head is to cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York so it makes sense that I would perceive much of the world’s cities as “laid back”.

This is Rockies Stadium. It is about 150 Yards from Quinley's Apartment.

Quinley and I have the type of relationship where the common formalities no longer exist. Everytime we see each other it doesn’t matter if we spoke 4 days ago or 4 months ago, the conversation flows just as naturally.

During this trip I had the opportunity to experience Denver’s nightlife, the Coor’s Brewing company, see a haunted house, make some new friends, and catch up with an old one.

The Bottle Shop- Taking Advantage of the creation of sliced bread!

Today I went to the Bottle Shop. This is a very well known sandwich joint in Ukiah, California. Let me start here with a little story. As I was ordering my sandwich a man walked in. He worked his way through identifying his own personal struggle verbally. I don’t think he was talking to anyone specifically. I think he was just putting it out there in hopes that someone in the room would hear him and get him a sandwich. This is the type of situation that can eventually become very awkward. If the man continues to verbalize his problem and no one steps up… Well, that’s up to the imagination what may happen. But before things could turn awkward one of the ladies behind the counter said “I’ll get you a sandwich”. This single act represents the character of “The Bottle Shop”. This is a great place with great employees and extremely well made sandwiches.

I got a Roast beef sandwich with Jack cheese, Lettuce, pickle and tomato on a Sourdough crunchy roll. On the side I got a bag of Jalapeno Kettle Potato Chips. The cost out the door was around $7. Bottomline: My sandwich was awesome! The ratio of the portions on the sandwich were nothing short of perfect. There was the perfect amount of lettuce, pickles, tomato, and mustard. The chips were an outstanding compliment to the meal.

The service was professional and handled with integrity. The individuals behind the counter take their time with each sandwich. While I watched them I felt like my sandwich was in good hands.

In short, The Bottle Shop is flat out really good. I have ate here many times in my past and have always had an excellent experience. There is a comfortable seating area inside and outside. It is peaceful enough to read a book but alive enough to people watch. The bottom line: Eat Here!

Mendocino: On The Coast of Somewhere Beautiful

Today I went with my buddy to the Mendocino Coast. When we entered the town we immediately decided to head toward the coast. I can’t get myself to call this coastline a “beach”. When I think of beaches I think of hot weather, families on the coast, swim gear, and beach sports. The atmosphere here is very different. There were very few people on the beach. Those that were wore sweatshirts and long pants (except for Zach and I). There were no beach sports. People don’t go to a beach like this to play around.

It is a mixture of peaceful and slightly scary. I think the fear deals with the overwhelming power that the ocean presents. The ocean constantly thrusts against the coastline and rocks with immense power. When I looked at the ocean I could see nothing living inside of it. This intensified the fear of the ocean. It is a visual statement of “all who enter no longer exist”. Though my brain knows this is not the truth my eyes and ears tell me otherwise.

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This is the type of coast that is constantly inviting one to sit upon it’s rocks and just watch. At the same time, I have moments where the immense power of the ocean brings me a desire to “flight”. As quickly as the instinctive “flight” response comes it is gone when I realize I am on land.

In the background you can see the town of  Mendocino

I enjoyed walking along the coast and just trying to feel the power of the world that was in front of me. There is something special about this place that my words are unable to express. It reminds me of a line by Kenny Chesney when he says “on the coast of somewhere beautiful”. This is what this place feels like… I’m not exactly sure where I am but I know I’m “on the coast of somewhere beautiful”.

Montgomery Woods: Lord of The Rings?

Today my friend Zach and I went to Montgomery Woods. I recently got a new camera and wanted to head somewhere that could capture some good pictures. Using Orr Springs road we came from Ukiah. As we exited Ukiah and slowly entered the mountains there was that feeling of “I’m not in Ukiah anymore…”

After being there I cannot imagine any location more suited for great pictures.

The trees in this location are massive. In some ways I felt like I was at “The Land of the Dinosaurs”. While I was walking I was floored by the massive size of a bed of Clovers… Never in my life have I ever been “floored” by clovers. But these bad boys were huge. In fact, if it weren’t for my background in martial arts I would have feared for my own safety…

As we walked through Montgomery woods Zach and I were constantly saying “woah!” “look at that” and “woah”. One of the most exhilarating things to do was to just look up. The trees are so tall that in many cases they nearly block out the entire sun. Some light shines thru.

The environment felt like I was inside a Lord of The Rings movie. Eventually we left the woods with no sightings of hobbits… Though the next time I’m there I expect to see two (not one!) hobbits!