Hike today started 2 blocks from our hotel. We took the Ajax across town to the Ute trail. Ute is a hard trail. Straight up via switchbacks to a view of the town. Then we found another hour hike up takes us to a restaurant. Turns out that the locals can do the whole hike in about 2 hours. Took Lisa and me about 3.5 hours. Well at least me. Lisa gave up about 200ft from the top and got a ride by an Aspen Mt Ski worker. It was worth the hike though. Beautiful view of the mountain tops. Pretty nice restaurant at the Sundeck and they had the Aspen Lonely Pine Bluegrass Band playing really good music. Took the gondola down. It was about a 15 minute trip but really smooth. It was amazing that we made it to the top. Hit the New York Pizza shop on the way back for a slice of pizza and watched part of the Euro Cup GER vs ESP final. Pretty exciting game.
Had dinner at Cantina based on Hannah's suggestion. Her viola teacher took the whole studio (all of his students) there for one of their first nights in Aspen. It was good food and very quick service. We sat outside at a table that was right next to the bar. Well they had mexican music going on in the bar and a brass quintet was playing on the sidewalk while I was eyeing the CWS vs Cubs game.
Later that night Lisa and I walked back downtown and heard a better brass quintet. Great tuba player.
Cabin/Cottage alcohol:
Nice white wine Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Reserva Casablanca Valley Chile $12.99 in Aspen
Found this at Casbah in Pittsburgh: Menage a Trois from Folie a Deux 2006 for $12.99 in Aspen
Got a six pack of Breckenridge Avalanche Amber Ale
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Aspen - June 28, 2008
Lisa liked the ranger's idea of going to the Maroon Bells at sunrise. We didn't quick make it but we started a little after 6AM. It was nice and chilly with the sun lighting up about half of the mountain. Almost hit a coyote in the road on the way up.
We did the scenic loop and then headed up to Crater Lake. Coming down we appreciated our lack of sleep as it was not very crowded going up early in the day. Headed home around 10:30AM to have lunch with Hannah at Brunelleschi's (Portabella Salad and Roasted Vegetable Calzone)
Lisa went to observe Hannah's Alexander Technique class and I stayed in our cottage/cabin to get this blog up to date. Lisa is heading over to pick me up and we are going to the 4PM chamber concert at the Harris Theater.
We did the scenic loop and then headed up to Crater Lake. Coming down we appreciated our lack of sleep as it was not very crowded going up early in the day. Headed home around 10:30AM to have lunch with Hannah at Brunelleschi's (Portabella Salad and Roasted Vegetable Calzone)
Lisa went to observe Hannah's Alexander Technique class and I stayed in our cottage/cabin to get this blog up to date. Lisa is heading over to pick me up and we are going to the 4PM chamber concert at the Harris Theater.
Aspen - June 27, 2008
Well our favorite conductor Marin Alsop led an open rehearsal. We walked to the tent through the 'beautiful people' historic neighborhood. Great victorian homes that are rebuilt in the 21st century opulent style. Beautiful gardens in most every home.
Learned about the Christopher Rouse Friandises, Prokofiev's 2nd Violin Concerto and Brahm's 3rd. We enjoyed it much more than the evening concert where we sat on the lawn and had our wine and cheese. The orchestra seemed to play much better in the morning.
In between we hit Hunter's Creek trail again and made it to the top. Great views of Mt Aspen. On the way back we stopped at the Aspen Brewery for a sampler of the root beer, summer wheat, IPA, and Brown ale. All very tasty.
After the concert we took Hannah to Social. She says the cafeteria food is bad so Lisa is making sure she gets her share of top notch Aspen cuisine. Actually it was very nice: Had the Salmon Beniets, Snapper Fish Tacos, Endame Beans with spicy sauce, and risotto with american caviar.
Took Hannah back to her dorm and had a quick look at the stars. It is nice to get out of the city once in a while....
Learned about the Christopher Rouse Friandises, Prokofiev's 2nd Violin Concerto and Brahm's 3rd. We enjoyed it much more than the evening concert where we sat on the lawn and had our wine and cheese. The orchestra seemed to play much better in the morning.
In between we hit Hunter's Creek trail again and made it to the top. Great views of Mt Aspen. On the way back we stopped at the Aspen Brewery for a sampler of the root beer, summer wheat, IPA, and Brown ale. All very tasty.
After the concert we took Hannah to Social. She says the cafeteria food is bad so Lisa is making sure she gets her share of top notch Aspen cuisine. Actually it was very nice: Had the Salmon Beniets, Snapper Fish Tacos, Endame Beans with spicy sauce, and risotto with american caviar.
Took Hannah back to her dorm and had a quick look at the stars. It is nice to get out of the city once in a while....
Aspen - June 26, 2008
OK we slept in the cabin/cottage with the windows open and it got COLD!!! Because of the altitude both Lisa and I woke up every hour or so but we made it through the night.
Hit the Hickory House (see previous post) for breakfast (voted the best breakfast in Aspen). Shared a 3 egg vegetable omlette and neither of us went hungry. Walked a block to try to cross the street and found the White Mountains National Forest Ranger station. Talked to a ranger (well actually she talked to us) about different hikes to do while in Aspen.
Started following her directions and we got to see some of the 'beautiful people' live but basically there are bike trails, pedestrian only streets, and pathways so you don't need a car. The problem is most people are using a car so Main Street is really, really busy. We started up Hunter's Creek Trail and realized that we wouldn't get to see Hannah for lunch if we tried for the top. We turn around and on the way to meet Hannah, we found the Aspen Brewery (see previous post). It wasn't quite noon so it wasn't quite open but it we put it on the list for the next day. Had lunch with Hannah at Booksellers and Bistro. The book store is very fancy and thorough and the lunch was even fancier. Lisa had a fancy salad with blueberries and candied ginger while Hannah had the BBQ vegeburger and I had soup.
Took Hannah up to her rehearsal with David Zinnman at the Aspen Music School. The oboe player didn't show up so they were delayed playing through Mozart's Jupiter Symphony until they found a clarinet player to play the part in C. Listened to the first movement and then we hit the grocery store for a picnic dinner. Plan was to listen to the orchestra concert on the lawn and have wine and cheese but the Forest Ranger suggested going to Snowmass for the Free Summer Concerts. Drew Emmett formerly of the Leftover Salmon was playing and it was suppose to be great. Also, Hannah's friend from Oberlin is working as an intern at the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies and he wanted to take us on a nature hike that left from the exact same Snowmass parking lot.
Hike was very informative and I learned:
- Aspens are genetically identical
- Why it was snowing in Aspen in the summer
- What Corn Lilies look like
We made the hike in less than 2 hours and got to the concert site but they wouldn't let us bring the wine. They insisted that we buy it inside!!! We had the picnic and listened to most of the first half. Turns out that Lisa was getting a splitting headache from the altitude so we left to go back to our cabin/cottage.
I left Lisa to rest and walked to the Music Tent and heard the last half of the Nutcracker.
We both slept much better....
Hit the Hickory House (see previous post) for breakfast (voted the best breakfast in Aspen). Shared a 3 egg vegetable omlette and neither of us went hungry. Walked a block to try to cross the street and found the White Mountains National Forest Ranger station. Talked to a ranger (well actually she talked to us) about different hikes to do while in Aspen.
Started following her directions and we got to see some of the 'beautiful people' live but basically there are bike trails, pedestrian only streets, and pathways so you don't need a car. The problem is most people are using a car so Main Street is really, really busy. We started up Hunter's Creek Trail and realized that we wouldn't get to see Hannah for lunch if we tried for the top. We turn around and on the way to meet Hannah, we found the Aspen Brewery (see previous post). It wasn't quite noon so it wasn't quite open but it we put it on the list for the next day. Had lunch with Hannah at Booksellers and Bistro. The book store is very fancy and thorough and the lunch was even fancier. Lisa had a fancy salad with blueberries and candied ginger while Hannah had the BBQ vegeburger and I had soup.
Took Hannah up to her rehearsal with David Zinnman at the Aspen Music School. The oboe player didn't show up so they were delayed playing through Mozart's Jupiter Symphony until they found a clarinet player to play the part in C. Listened to the first movement and then we hit the grocery store for a picnic dinner. Plan was to listen to the orchestra concert on the lawn and have wine and cheese but the Forest Ranger suggested going to Snowmass for the Free Summer Concerts. Drew Emmett formerly of the Leftover Salmon was playing and it was suppose to be great. Also, Hannah's friend from Oberlin is working as an intern at the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies and he wanted to take us on a nature hike that left from the exact same Snowmass parking lot.
Hike was very informative and I learned:
- Aspens are genetically identical
- Why it was snowing in Aspen in the summer
- What Corn Lilies look like
We made the hike in less than 2 hours and got to the concert site but they wouldn't let us bring the wine. They insisted that we buy it inside!!! We had the picnic and listened to most of the first half. Turns out that Lisa was getting a splitting headache from the altitude so we left to go back to our cabin/cottage.
I left Lisa to rest and walked to the Music Tent and heard the last half of the Nutcracker.
We both slept much better....
Aspen - June 25, 2008
Turns out that Hannah is playing a concert at 6PM this evening. Lisa and I would like to see it but because we didn't want to fly through Philly our flight doesn't get in until 2:30PM, Denver time. We then need to drive a reported 4 hours to Aspen. So I started looking at flying standby through Philly and it looked good up until 16 hours before the flight left. All the seats between Philadelphia and Denver were gobbled up at the last minute. This airline cut backs and high cost of flying is a pain...
Well we almost made it to Denver on time but because of some weather we ended up about 30 minutes late. We caught the bus to get the rental car and then spent a few minutes deliberating. My membership allows me to pick any car in the executive aisle but they end up throwing the SUVs which they can't rent there. Our choice was between a Hummer, Sequoia, and a GMC Acadia. The Acadia looked the smallest...
Got on the road and we ended up slowing down a few minutes for Denver rush hour traffic and then Lisa wanted a quick sandwich and then there was construction but surprise, surprise we made it to Aspen in time for the last piece on the program, Benjamin Britton's Young People's Orchestra. It was great seeing here play on the big stage.
We checked into our cottage/cabin in downtown Aspen and then hit the local pub, Bently's, since the regular restaurants were extremely expensive. A few words about L'Auberge D'Aspen. It had one of the lowest prices on the internet for a room this time of year. Turns out that they are single room cabins/cottages with a small shower and even smaller kitchenette. You pull your car right next to the cabin and walk in. They are right downtown in the middle of a residential section along main street. The location is perfect for us as it is about 6 blocks from the business district, 6 blocks from the Aspen Music Festival tent,2 blocks from the Hickory House, 10 blocks from Hunter Creek's trail, and 8 blocks from the Aspen Brewery, etc...
Well we almost made it to Denver on time but because of some weather we ended up about 30 minutes late. We caught the bus to get the rental car and then spent a few minutes deliberating. My membership allows me to pick any car in the executive aisle but they end up throwing the SUVs which they can't rent there. Our choice was between a Hummer, Sequoia, and a GMC Acadia. The Acadia looked the smallest...
Got on the road and we ended up slowing down a few minutes for Denver rush hour traffic and then Lisa wanted a quick sandwich and then there was construction but surprise, surprise we made it to Aspen in time for the last piece on the program, Benjamin Britton's Young People's Orchestra. It was great seeing here play on the big stage.
We checked into our cottage/cabin in downtown Aspen and then hit the local pub, Bently's, since the regular restaurants were extremely expensive. A few words about L'Auberge D'Aspen. It had one of the lowest prices on the internet for a room this time of year. Turns out that they are single room cabins/cottages with a small shower and even smaller kitchenette. You pull your car right next to the cabin and walk in. They are right downtown in the middle of a residential section along main street. The location is perfect for us as it is about 6 blocks from the business district, 6 blocks from the Aspen Music Festival tent,2 blocks from the Hickory House, 10 blocks from Hunter Creek's trail, and 8 blocks from the Aspen Brewery, etc...
Friday, June 27, 2008
Week of June 9th
Ok so I am in a lot of trouble. It is Lisa's birthday on Monday and our 26th anniversary on Friday and I have to travel to work in Anaheim. On top of that my cousin is having a Bat Mitzvah for her last daughter and I am taking my mother out with me to attend.
June 9th:
My mother and I take the 6:15PM flight to LAX. It is the only direct flight which makes it much easier for my mother to fly. My brother works in Orange county but lives in San Diego. I leave our mother with him and I try to find a bar with a co-worker who also flew out for another project. Unfortuately the plane was late and by the time we head to his hotel area we can't find a place to drink. The good thing is that I get a convertable, Sebring Hardtop. Pretty cool mechanism to lower the top. I drive to Anaheim with the top down. Boy is it cold!!!
June 10th:
First day of work doesn't go late so I hit the sports bar with 2 guys from Boston. The Celtics and Lakers are battling it out. Luckily they are a quiet fans and we just watch the hardcore Laker fans cheer and boo. It is also the only chance to see then Angels (playing the Rays). I walk over from my hotel and get there in the 4th inning. The first inning LAA scored 4 runs so the rest of the game was mostly unexciting. Walkig home I see a few of the Disney fireworks.
June 11th:
Second day we get out even earlier. Only one guy wants to get drink so we hit the local brewery, J. T. Schmit
June 12th:
Drive to Poway to pick up my mother
June 13th:
Fly from LAX to SFO. Take a walk, hit some golf balls, great family dinner at the ship in the bay
June 14th:
Good Bat Mitzvah, fly home
June 15th:
Bach Beethoven and Brunch
June 9th:
My mother and I take the 6:15PM flight to LAX. It is the only direct flight which makes it much easier for my mother to fly. My brother works in Orange county but lives in San Diego. I leave our mother with him and I try to find a bar with a co-worker who also flew out for another project. Unfortuately the plane was late and by the time we head to his hotel area we can't find a place to drink. The good thing is that I get a convertable, Sebring Hardtop. Pretty cool mechanism to lower the top. I drive to Anaheim with the top down. Boy is it cold!!!
June 10th:
First day of work doesn't go late so I hit the sports bar with 2 guys from Boston. The Celtics and Lakers are battling it out. Luckily they are a quiet fans and we just watch the hardcore Laker fans cheer and boo. It is also the only chance to see then Angels (playing the Rays). I walk over from my hotel and get there in the 4th inning. The first inning LAA scored 4 runs so the rest of the game was mostly unexciting. Walkig home I see a few of the Disney fireworks.
June 11th:
Second day we get out even earlier. Only one guy wants to get drink so we hit the local brewery, J. T. Schmit
June 12th:
Drive to Poway to pick up my mother
June 13th:
Fly from LAX to SFO. Take a walk, hit some golf balls, great family dinner at the ship in the bay
June 14th:
Good Bat Mitzvah, fly home
June 15th:
Bach Beethoven and Brunch
Thursday, June 26, 2008
June 7, 2008
Lisa is turning 50 on Monday so we decided to have a party at our house before she turns 50.
Lisa helped plan most of the party
Menu
- Catered plate of berries
- Catered plate of roasted vegetables
- Everyone was invited to bring their favorite appetizer. Some of what we got
- Fancy cheeses
- Artichoke dips
- Humus
- Bought a plate of Theresa's Bakery Biscotti
- A cheese cake for the kids
- Lisa made a no sugar carrot cake that was quite good
Drinks
- From Russia: Baltica Number 6 Porter
- From Czech: Pilsner Urquell
- From California: ??? Wine
- From Australia: ??? Wine
- From Scotland: Glenmorangie Origicnal Cask
- From Scotland: Laphroig 10 year
- From Scotland: Ski...???
- From Scotland:???
Harry's Surprises:
- A few klezmer tuns played by Deane Root, Doris Dyen, Dan Leger and yours truly
- An press interview of Lisa with questions posed by party goers. I prepared the questions based on the recent primary interviews. This was not as successful as I would have liked.
Lisa helped plan most of the party
Menu
- Catered plate of berries
- Catered plate of roasted vegetables
- Everyone was invited to bring their favorite appetizer. Some of what we got
- Fancy cheeses
- Artichoke dips
- Humus
- Bought a plate of Theresa's Bakery Biscotti
- A cheese cake for the kids
- Lisa made a no sugar carrot cake that was quite good
Drinks
- From Russia: Baltica Number 6 Porter
- From Czech: Pilsner Urquell
- From California: ??? Wine
- From Australia: ??? Wine
- From Scotland: Glenmorangie Origicnal Cask
- From Scotland: Laphroig 10 year
- From Scotland: Ski...???
- From Scotland:???
Harry's Surprises:
- A few klezmer tuns played by Deane Root, Doris Dyen, Dan Leger and yours truly
- An press interview of Lisa with questions posed by party goers. I prepared the questions based on the recent primary interviews. This was not as successful as I would have liked.
June 2, 2008
My birthday and Lisa's is next Monday. We took Howard and Sam to Casbah for a fancy meal. They got the steak and Lisa and I got 2 different kinds of lamb. I got a flight of red wines and really enjoyed the Menage a Trois from Folie a Deux. It was good to spend some grownup time with the boys.
My bike from previous posts is what I consider as my birthday present for the next few years...
My bike from previous posts is what I consider as my birthday present for the next few years...
Most of May 2008
Yeah, I haven't kept up my blog too well. Getting back into a schedule after a week's vacation is tough!!!
OK here is what I remember...
- Several weekends on the soccer field helping out our inhouse referees
- An orchestra pop's concert that was OK but the pizza and beer at Vincents was much better.
- A nice bike ride on memorial day to see Sam march in the Lincoln Place parade along with other sites of Pittsburgh. I am really getting to like my new bike...
- Last week of May in Boston. I hung out with some people from work so we went to nicer restaurants. The Spinners were starting their season next week so I didn't get to see a baseball game in Lowell.
OK here is what I remember...
- Several weekends on the soccer field helping out our inhouse referees
- An orchestra pop's concert that was OK but the pizza and beer at Vincents was much better.
- A nice bike ride on memorial day to see Sam march in the Lincoln Place parade along with other sites of Pittsburgh. I am really getting to like my new bike...
- Last week of May in Boston. I hung out with some people from work so we went to nicer restaurants. The Spinners were starting their season next week so I didn't get to see a baseball game in Lowell.
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