Brewed Journey

The Cruise

The election didn't go the way that I was hoping but did go the way that I expected. Our fragile democracy continues on--only because the big bully got his way and won. The changes that are coming will hurt many of the people who voted for the president-elect, but it will take time for that recognition to kick in. Laughter is my medicine; watching the Daily Show's commentary on YouTube has helped me to keep moving on.

The cruise was a great success. My mother loved every part of it, and we enjoyed being able to share that time with her.

Sunrise

Mom and the monkeys

Piranha pedicure in Costa Maya

Cozumel port

Roatan,Honduras wildlife refuge

Bicycle Shuttle, Cozumel port

Harvest Caye

We are back to a Wisconsin gray November. We've already completed some projects to get the house ready to sell in the spring. We also have started sorting through what we will be taking to Colorado after we move. We won't do any serious home searching until after our current one is sold.

See you After the Election

My mother, who is 85, has never been on a cruise. Dad wasn't really into that kind of vacation. We've been on just one cruise, and it was okay. We took the kids. My favorite part was walking circles on the outer deck. Fresh air and water for as far as you could see. My least favorite part was the ports. There just isn't enough time spent ashore to get a sense of place.

So when she asked us to go on a week cruise over election day, we said sure. She didn't care where--just so long as it wasn't here. We didn't sign up for the Internet package, so it'll be a good chance for us all to unplug for a week that promises to be otherwise stressful. Hope things work out while we're gone.

Autumn at Parfrey's Glen

Wisconsin gets limited days of glorious weather days, but we had one this past week during which we took full advantage. First, there was a ferry ride across the Wisconsin River to get to our destination.

Even though it was a weekday, the local kids had no school on Friday, so the small parking lot was full of families who had the same idea. Fortunately, one car was leaving and left us a spot. We were quickly on the trail.

While we still have peak color at home, many of the leaves have already fallen at Parfrey’s Glen, which has its one special microclimate, where supporting plants and animals are usually found only in northern Wisconsin.

The trail follows a small stream. Storms have wiped out much of the original boardwalk, so the last half if the trail requires a bit of rock hopping through the stream.

Eventually, the sandstone cliffs close into a narrow ravine.

At the end, there’s a small waterfall and pool.

After returning to the truck, we continued our date night with pizza and beer at Tumbled Rocks Brewery in Baraboo. While the beer and food were good, the pour was a short one and in a 12 ounce glass. Shrinkification does not encourage repeat business!

Finally, we followed the former president's recommendation for early voting. Unfortunately, for him, he did not benefit from our early vote. There's a wolf at America's door of democracy.

It encourages me that some Republicans are taking notice, but will it be enough?

Back Home. Where will our next home be?

With our mission complete to check out the top four choices for relocating next year, we drove home from Santa Fe without wasting any time, leaving early Sunday morning and pulling into our driveway on Monday evening.

Home, sweet home

I've mowed the lawn, picked up the junk mail, and roasted coffee for the week. Did we reach any conclusions after five weeks of boots-on-the-ground research? Kinda, sorta. I confirmed for myself that I'm ready to move from Wisconsin after living here for the last 30-plus years. Honestly, I could live in any of the four cities that we visited, but Julia and I are in agreement on the top two.

Not making the final list are Grand Junction and Santa Fe. We couldn't find as much bang for the buck as we expected in Grand Junction as it relates to housing. Also, Julia felt that it was too isolated from a major airport and too small in general. Santa Fe was just too expensive for us, although we loved many things about it as a destination. As they say, it's a great place to visit, but we wouldn't want to live there. We will be back.

In the final analysis of pros and cons, Fort Collins comes out on top, but Tucson hasn't been completely eliminated. Fort Collins has a great beer scene, outdoor-loving people, dog friendly spaces, good housing market for us to downsize, mountains and trails, some folks we already know, decent pickleball opportunities, lots of sunshine, mild winters, and a major airport within an hour.

We really liked Tucson also, and we can afford a lot more house in Tucson for the same money. But the heat factor just can't be eliminated. I think I could get used to the summers and that they would be preferable at this point in my life to any winter. But Julia doesn't feel that way, and it's going to have to be a mutual decision. I know that I can be happy in Fort Collins, and if Julia is willing to downsize, it will work out just fine. At this point, I think she is mulling over the downsizing part, so our decision isn't yet set in stone.

In the short term, we have a couple of quick trips planned next month. We are joining up with my mother for her first cruise. Later, we will drive to Kentucky for Thanksgiving with Julia's brother Scott for a big family Thanksgiving at Julia's sister's place in Lexington.

In the meantime, I rescued this summer's refrigerated sourdough culture and will start baking bread again in the morning. Today, we had our first wood stove fire of the year.

Living Large

In full vacation mode, we have been doing the tourist thing for the last few days. We experienced the art scene in true brewedjourney fashion. While Julia bought a ticket to see the Georgia O’Keefe museum, I found an “art bar,” a place around the corner where people painted pottery while sipping brews from Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery.

My old Milwaukee Brewers hat was looking pretty ratty, so I bought a new one promoting Tumbleroot—about the same cost as Julia’s museum ticket. I had been to that museum during an earlier trip to Santa Fe.

That night we dined at Tomasito’s, a Santa Fe Restaurant specializing in New Mexican cuisine. I had the Wednesday night special, which was a chile relleno inside a flour tortilla also stuffed with refried beans, chorizo and slathered with red chile sauce.

Julia had the blue corn enchiladas with green chile, refried beans and Spanish rice.

At 4:45 a.m. on Thursday, we were on the road to Albuquerque to see the balloon festival. We weren’t interested in battling the traffic or crowds at the festival grounds so we opted for another viewing point and arrived just as the “dawn patrol” took flight.

At 7 am , the sun was starting to rise and Steel Bender Brewyard was open for business.

Just one

On the way home, we drove along the Turquoise Highway and checked out Madrid.

We arrived back in Santa Fe in time to check out the Tai Modern museum. Julia loved the bamboo and rattan pieces. I got caught up in a couple of interesting pieces by Tony Fitzpatrick, who used the written word in his pieces.

This morning we took Callie on a walk up Canyon Road, It was too early for galleries to be open, but we enjoyed some sculpture gardens and historic buildings along the way.

Later, we played pickleball at Fort Marcy. The regulars were very friendly and accommodating, so we played and socialized for several hours. All of this excitement has me worn out. But as you might imagine, Julia has other plans for me with another restaurant tonight.

Santa Fe

Santa Fe pickleball courts. Fort Marcy

Usually, we spend several days checking real estate listings and open houses. After one day of that here, there is good news. We are done with that job. We absolutely can’t afford to live here, so we are entering full vacation mode.