Florida Hiatus

The past week has been insanely busy for us. We experienced our first tire blow out with the camper on our way to Grand Junction, CO. It was a little stressful being on the side of the road but things went smoothly and we continued on cautiously.

We did a lot of running around once we did get to Grand Junction. Brian's work conference was this past week so we prepared for that by shopping and getting the camper squared away. Grand Junction is about 4 hours from Denver but we didn't want to pull the camper through the Rockies back and forth so we left it there and took just the truck to Denver.

The warm weather in Florida was warmly welcomed. Brian's first conference went very well. We ran into some old maritime class mates and met many new people as well. Brian's day consisted of workshops, lectures and group activities, while mine included sleeping in, eating three meals a day I didn't cook and swimming in the ocean. The conference was held at the Sand Key Resort in Clearwater. Every night dinner was held under a tent on the beach, free drinks included. Once the outdoor open bar closed at 9, most ventured in to the hotel bar for another. It was busy and a lot of travel but it was a successful trip and we had fun.

It was late when we landed in Denver, so we stayed in cheap hotel for the night close to the airport. On our way back to the camper in the morning, we had to make a stop in Golden, CO to visit the Coors Brewery. Golden was a cool little town, lots of shops, restaurants and history. The Coors tour was free, you walked around the facility with a remote reader that guided you through. At the end, they let you sample 3 brews of your choice. Now that Miller and Coors are now joined as MillerCoors, there is quite a variety to select from. We will have to say though that Coors Banquet is our new favorite beer.

We are regrouping for another day in Grand Junction. We have tires to replace and laundry to wash. We have spent the better half of April in Colorado and it has been amazing but we are both ready to move on to a new state. We have a couple more stops in mind including Great Basin National Park in Nevada and Las Vegas while we make our way to San Diego, the final destination for this leg of the trip.

Coors

Next Stop: Great Basin National Park, NV