edpaffjr.comI just posted more pictures from our big drive on kimandedjr.com. Be sure to check those out. It’s been a crazy week for us as we adjust into a new routine and we juggle trying to close on both our old house in Denver and our new house in Cincinnati. We are really looking forward to a weekend to unwind with family and friends.
Archive for April, 2011
While I haven’t had a chance to sample much Cincinnati cuisine since moving back, my wife and I did enjoy a couple of good meals while on the road between Denver and Cincy. Our last night of travel took us to Terre Haute, Indiana where we had bad luck at one restaurant choice and really good luck at another.
Our first choice for dinner was a place called Sonka Irish Pub after reading some reviews and seeing that it was regarded as having an excellent beer selection. Unfortunately the entire pub is a smoking establishment, which we quickly decided would not be appropriate for our three-month old.
We loaded back into the car and headed over to M. Moggers Restaurant and Pub. This should have been our first choice since it was much more restaurant like and didn’t allow smoking throughout. Plus they too had a very good selection of beers. My wife had a sampler of five different beers while I opted to enjoy a Double Dragonfly from Upland Brewing followed up with a Two Hearted Ale from Bell’s.
Traditional Supreme Pizza
For dinner my wife ordered the buffalo chicken sandwich with fries while I decided to go with the traditional supreme pizza with Authentic Italian spicy tomato sauce topped with pepperoni, sausage, onion, bell peppers, mushrooms and mozzarella. The pizza was very good though a bit on the small side though it was only $9. And the buffalo chicken tasty and definitely on the spicier side as far as the sauce goes. After just sampling a couple of items on their list I can see how this would be the #4 ranked restaurant in Terre Haute.
Kim wasn’t looking forward to moving from her corner office in Denver complete with views of the mountains into a cube in the new Great American Tower but I think it has worked out okay for her.
She sent this photo to me on Monday after texting, “I take it back. My cute rocks! I can see inside the ballpark!!” Though likely not as good as the view from the 41st floor, her 21st view sure beats what I can see out of my new office building.
Yes, that is the Eiffel Tower way out in the background but not the one in Paris. My new office is in Mason, Ohio about a mile and a half from Kings Island. I guess I don’t have much room to complain though, since I am able to work from home around half of the time, which is really hard to beat.
Hello from Cincinnati! We arrived Sunday in the early afternoon and had a nice day filled with family and friends for the remainder of the day. We left Denver on Thursday evening and drove the 1,200 miles over the course of the next few days. Our first night was spent in Hays, Kansas. We didn’t get there until late in the evening and our stay was limited to our hotel room and a brief breakfast in the hotel.
Friday we arrived in Kansas City, Missouri in the middle of the afternoon. We met up with our friend Doni and her parents at one of my old favorites, the 75th Street Brewery. After a nice lunch we checked into our hotel and then later met up with Doni and more of our friends at the Brooksider for a beer. The noise level inside quickly got to Trey, so we moved down the street to our friend Susan’s house for some carry out Waldo Pizza and a couple of Boulevard beers.
Saturday was our longest day on the road as we covered the seven hours or so between Kansas City and Terre Haute, Indiana. We only stopped a couple of times along the way so it was still a pretty easy drive. We wanted to get as far as we could on this day so we didn’t have a long way to drive on Easter Sunday to get to Cincinnati. We had a nice dinner out in Terre Haute at M. Moggers and even managed to spend some time at the pool hotel, which Trey really enjoyed.
It has already been so nice to have our family around as Kim is transitioning back to full-time work. The days have already had more rain than I think we had in Denver in four years, but it is worth it to see Trey smiling more and more each day.
I managed to spend eight days on the slopes this past season, even with Trey’s birth and all the surrounding events. Â That doesn’t compare with the 15+ days I’ve been able to have on the slopes each of the past four years but we have had a lot going on. Â Even though the quantity was low this season, I feel that the quality was actually really high. Â Breckenridge just broke the record for the most total snowfall in a season, and I think the other resorts we visit have had similar conditions.
Here is a list of my days for the season:
- Keystone – 3 days
- Breckenridge – 2 days
- Vail – 2 days
- Arapahoe Basin – 1 day
- Beaver Creek – 0 days
Obviously next season may be even lower since I won’t be living in Colorado, but I hope that we can visit some resorts that I’ve yet to ride.
Sunday was our official going away party that some friends of ours put together for us at Wash Park. The weather was a little cloudy but it never rained, though it has been a little rainier than usual recently. Mostly it was just a windy day with on and off sunshine. We were able to bring Trey to meet many of our friends for the first time, and overall he was pretty well-behaved. One thing we haven’t been able to figure out is how to get him to nap even with so much activity going on. That caused him to get a little fussy for a bit, but eventually he did fall asleep for a couple of hours. It was great seeing so many people come to send us off with one last party. We had plenty of food and lots of Denver Pale Ale on tap. As I posted on my Facebook and Twitter after the party, “Thank you Denver for being such a cool city and opening my eyes to the world. I will miss you but will visit often.”
The big purchases for us just keep going. We bought a new car on Saturday, a quartz brown 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander SE AWC with the Premium Package added:
- FUSE Hands-free Link System™ with USB connection for MP3/IPOD®
- Bluetooth® hands free calling system
- Power Glass Sunroof
- Leatherette dash and front door trim double stitched accents
- 710-Watt (max) Rockford-Fosgate Punch® premium sound system
- SIRIUS® Satellite Radio
So far we couldn’t be happier with our choice. We were down to either this car or a Subaru Outback. The biggest reason we went with the Outlander is due to the amazing warranty. Other advantages were the optional third row seats which allow for seven passengers, a slightly larger cargo area, and 0.9% financing. I’ve already added our Thule rack to the top and plan to get some bike racks so we can bring our bikes back to Cincinnati with us.
Kim put some more pictures of Trey on our family website.  Some of these are nearly a month old and it’s amazing for me to see just how much he continues to change with each passing moment.  These days he prefers to be sitting or standing up (with help) rather than lying around.  If he is laying down he needs to be either actively entertained or sleeping.  He is increasingly vocal and seems to expand his “vocabulary” every couple of days.  It’s hard to believe that he is already over three months old.  I have a feeling the rest of his first year of life is really going to fly by.
One week from today will be my last day as a Denver resident. It will be a sad day for me as I have really grown to love this city. But at the same time I am very happy and excited for the next chapter of my life. I hope that I have some free time to enjoy the fine things the city has to offer before leaving, but I fear that we have so much left to do before we can pack the car and be on our way. This next week is surely going to be very busy and don’t be surprised if my blogging takes a slight hit. I’ll try to update each day but I don’t have much to write about other than our move as it is completely taking control of all of my free time.
