winter [sports]?

pyeongchang wasn't the only place to see incredible athletes compete at the top of their game this past month.  little known fact i discovered recently, the town of camden, maine hosts the annul us national toboggan championships!  upon discovering this, i knew this event needed to be seen.

a broken clutch saturday morning meant my wife and i would have to check out the second day of the toboggan championships.  although we missed all the "fun" on saturday which i heard is filled with costumes and parades, sunday was the actual competitions, which was still entertaining.  driving up to camden we discovered a wonderfully quaint little town right on the coast, with the ski mountain just a few miles away. being from kansas, as well as "relatively" new to maine, venturing to a snow covered ski slope still has an awe inspiring feel to it. walking past the ski lodge and seeing the low hanging clouds hiding the top of the mountains only added to the feeling.  we found the crowd next to the chute and enjoyed several hours of toboggan racing.  i'm not sure i learned much about this sport, other than the fact that to go faster, the riders basically lie down on the sled.  this may help reduce wind drag, but it basically meant that all i saw was an odd kama-sutra-esque mass of arms, legs and stocking caps flying by; but isn't it that sense of togetherness and closeness of a team that brings home the gold.

it may not be the "exact" same thing as watching bobsleds race by during the olympics, but for two people trying to make the most of the winter months of maine, it was a wonderful way to enjoy a winter-y weekend.

rocky mountain [sick]

boulder is an absolutely beautiful city...to be sick in.


the end of october found me and my girlfriend traveling to boulder for a quick three day vacation, a city neither one of us had been to.  we drove all day, listening to podcasts and albums until we ended up at our airbnb.  a wonderful little guest room a few miles outside of town, close enough to enjoy the vibrancy of downtown, but secluded enough to feel like you were camping.

ten minutes into our stroll down pearl street we knew we loved this city. amazing food, quaint little shops and friendly people!  we spent the whole day downtown enjoying coffee, food, wine and various appetizers, all the while enjoying the perfect fall weather.  i absolutely loved the pedestrian and bike friendly downtown with everyone so active, and the restaurants were a perfect fit for my girlfriend who enjoys eating gluten free and healthy.

however friday night took a turn for the worse.  i had a fever, chills and other various flu-like symptoms.  saturday morning came and i was in terrible condition.  not improving much, my girlfriend drove me to an urgent care.  after filling out forms, waiting, getting checked out, waiting, getting tested and more waiting, it turned out i did not have the flu, the diagnosis rather was food poisoning!

how could you do this to me boulder!  i was in love with the food fare you put before me. your farm to table attitude had me in hipster heaven! now this? was my body unable to handle a lack of gluten? was the food too fresh for me? what could have done this?  had it been the fresh red trout with castelvetrano olives at salt? maybe it was the curried cauliflower and carrots at the kitchen? please don't tell me it was the cedar plank salmon at riff's!  the car ride back to our place had us trying to figure out what food had done me in. the caveat to this meal mystery was the fact my girlfriend an i had shared every meal since arriving in boulder. so what could it be?  in fact, the only thing she hadn't tried of mine was the gas station breakfast sandwich i had eaten on the drive....

as soon as i thought those words, it all made sense. i had suddenly remembered the sandwich had been oddly cold...even for a gas station sandwich.  looking up food poisoning on my phone, it turns out eggs are one of the biggest culprits.

the day wasn't entirely wasted however, as we had an amazing view, and both of us had the chance to simply lay around and be lazy, a rarity in our lives.  by the next day i was feeling much better! just in time to meet up with some friends for brunch and prepare for the 7 hour drive back.

boulder is an absolutely wonderful city and i can't wait to visit it again. walking it's streets you can't help but think this is the way all cities should be; pedestrian friendly, bike friendly, pet friendly, everything friendly with a walkable downtown with local shops with amazing food.  i would recommend anyone taking a trip out there. although....i'd skip the gas station breakfast sandwich.

hotel boulder ado

the kitchen

corner bar at hotel boulder ado

urgent care

sick in bed...but with a view

the cup expresso cafe