This week was a great week for the Tauer/Ritchie family. We welcomed a new son/brother/grandson/cousin/nephew/and great-grandson. I think I covered them all. On Wednesday morning Bentley Orlin Ritchie was born. He weighed in at 7'6 oz and was 20 inches long. He has a full head of dark hair and in my opinion from the pictures I saw, he looked just like his dad. Everything went according to plan and he came home from the hospital on Saturday. We are so looking forward to seeing him on Friday July 1st. Nicole and I are going to spend our 4th of July with the Ritchie's in Detroit Lakes.
On the Ward side, my half brother Eric and his wife welcomed their 2nd daughter on Tuesday and they named her Merrit Grace so we had 2 unique names in the family this week. She weighed over 8 lbs.
Besides this, our week was just status quo. The weather was kind of lousy, rainy most of the week and most of the day Saturday.
We had our monthly Couples League on Friday and the attendance wasn't the best, just 8 couples. The Wards' placed 2nd which isn't our best, but we were paired up with a new couple who was there for the 1st time. We got on great with them and might even play some golf with them outside the league. We enjoyed dinner after and hope to see some people come over to Troy Burne as we don't have to feed you Panino's now. The food is pretty solid.
On Saturday, Nicole had to work for a few hours. When she got home we played golf and just took it easy for the evening. Nicole is playing the Gold tees at Troy Burne now, which are the senior men's tees. She has graduated from the Women's tees.
On Sunday we made breakfast and planted some new shrubs and then I had to play in a golf tournament. It didn't go so well for me, shot an 86 which is quite bad for me. My handicap is 4.7 so should be in the 70's. It was tough and windy today, but still no reason for an 86.
Nicole is playing in a golf tournament tomorrow for work with her boss Jonathan so I'm sure she'll impress him around the golf course and carry the group like she usually does. It will be a scramble and they are playing at Edinburgh. It is for the Abbott Hospital which is one of the hospitals they do some work with. It's a good golf course.
I have a seminar on Thursday night in Iowa as we kick off the 1st of 5 summer seminars, and then Friday we are cutting out of work early and heading to Detroit Lakes to see our new nephew, and of course our beautiful niece Hattie. Looking forward to it.
The Wards
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Update
Good morning. We have had a lot of new things going on since my last post, sorry for the long absence. I'll just highlight some of the last 15 days in no particular order
-Grandma Connie (mom's mom) had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. She begins her radiation this week. This surgery took place on May 27th. We continue to keep her in our prayers.
-We ran in the Get Your Rear In Gear 5k on Sunday May 22nd: We do this each year to honor/remember our dad who passed away from Colon Cancer. We had a good turnout for racers/walkers this year with 19 participants. We ran/walked in the rain but it was pretty warm. Thanks to all for participating
-I did a TV interview with Fox Business on Wednesday May 18th. I talked about ethanol and it went ok. I wasn't thrilled with it, but I didn't freeze up either and the questions were not pre-planned, it was all live and "on the spot" which is tough to do.
-We had our first Couple's League last Friday evening and it was cancelled due to rain. We had 15 couples dine together at the new restaurant at Troy Burne.
Memorial Day Weekend was a lot of fun. We played golf around the rain showers and BBQ'd also around the rain showers. Overall it was very relaxing, Nicole was on call at the hospital but only got called in on Saturday so she had Sunday and Monday off which was nice.
-Grandma Connie (mom's mom) had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. She begins her radiation this week. This surgery took place on May 27th. We continue to keep her in our prayers.
-We ran in the Get Your Rear In Gear 5k on Sunday May 22nd: We do this each year to honor/remember our dad who passed away from Colon Cancer. We had a good turnout for racers/walkers this year with 19 participants. We ran/walked in the rain but it was pretty warm. Thanks to all for participating
-I did a TV interview with Fox Business on Wednesday May 18th. I talked about ethanol and it went ok. I wasn't thrilled with it, but I didn't freeze up either and the questions were not pre-planned, it was all live and "on the spot" which is tough to do.
-We had our first Couple's League last Friday evening and it was cancelled due to rain. We had 15 couples dine together at the new restaurant at Troy Burne.
Memorial Day Weekend was a lot of fun. We played golf around the rain showers and BBQ'd also around the rain showers. Overall it was very relaxing, Nicole was on call at the hospital but only got called in on Saturday so she had Sunday and Monday off which was nice.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Weekend Update
Friday night we got together for dinner with a bunch of couples from the neighborhood at the new Troy Burne Restaurant. They haven't ordered any wine yet for the club so they let us bring our own bottles free of corkage fee. The new cook/chef there cooked up NY Strip steaks, walleye, crabcakes, and chicken breast with a cream sauce. The food was very good and we are very excited for the new menu to be released. This was just sort of a tasting and welcome to the homeowners. We had a great time with about 20 of us joining in on the fun.
On Saturday, Nicole was on call so when she gets up she calls the hospital to see if there are any orders. There were not, so that gives her the day off to do whatever. The weather was cold/rainy so no golf. We cleaned up the house and then went to St. Paul. We were having friends over for dinner and we were doing surf/turf so we went to Coastal Seafoods in St. Paul for the Tuna. We get our steaks in Stillwater at a place called Hegberg's, which is a little butcher shop in the back of a gas station, it's hilarious, but great prices and we have had great luck there so far with their steaks. We checked out some shops on Grand and spent a good part of the afternoon there. Our friends coming over for dinner were Tim and Cathy Renken and their son Samuel. Samuel is 15 months old and he was such a good boy. He ate steak with us and strawberries, but mostly he just wanted to play and run around. He was very active, but not too destructive.
We had 2 good bottles of wine, a Chardonnay from Trefethen and a Pinot Noir from Merryvale, both were excellent. The food was just ok, I would say my grilling performance was a B-. Tim wanted his steak Medium Rare so instead of my normal 5 minutes/side that I do to get them medium I went 4 minutes/side and they were more rare than Medium Rare. Nicole had to put hers back on for a while and I just ate mine. Tim said it was perfect though so at least he was happy. The tuna doesn't stay warm long when you sear it for 1 1/2 minutes/side which is about perfect, but you need to eat it pretty quick. Nicole had made a great salad and roasted potatoes which were very good. Samuel got tired around 8:30 so the Renkens' headed home. A very different Saturday night having a 15 month old setting the schedule. Nicole and I just relaxed the rest of the evening.
On Sunday we cooked breakfast on the grill with eggs and hashbrowns. We got a new grill a couple weeks ago so we use it pretty much every night. Nicole again checked with the hospital but there was only 1 order and it was an insurance she is not licensed to see so her partner will see that client tomorrow. So, she had today off too which was nice. I played in a golf tournament at 1:00 p.m. and it was SO WINDY! I didn't play great, but not too bad either, but not good enough to win any money. Bummer.
Grilling a full chicken on the grill tonight and having mojito's tonight. The weather looks very nice this week to hope to play golf everyday. We need the practice. Enjoy the sunshine this week.
On Saturday, Nicole was on call so when she gets up she calls the hospital to see if there are any orders. There were not, so that gives her the day off to do whatever. The weather was cold/rainy so no golf. We cleaned up the house and then went to St. Paul. We were having friends over for dinner and we were doing surf/turf so we went to Coastal Seafoods in St. Paul for the Tuna. We get our steaks in Stillwater at a place called Hegberg's, which is a little butcher shop in the back of a gas station, it's hilarious, but great prices and we have had great luck there so far with their steaks. We checked out some shops on Grand and spent a good part of the afternoon there. Our friends coming over for dinner were Tim and Cathy Renken and their son Samuel. Samuel is 15 months old and he was such a good boy. He ate steak with us and strawberries, but mostly he just wanted to play and run around. He was very active, but not too destructive.
We had 2 good bottles of wine, a Chardonnay from Trefethen and a Pinot Noir from Merryvale, both were excellent. The food was just ok, I would say my grilling performance was a B-. Tim wanted his steak Medium Rare so instead of my normal 5 minutes/side that I do to get them medium I went 4 minutes/side and they were more rare than Medium Rare. Nicole had to put hers back on for a while and I just ate mine. Tim said it was perfect though so at least he was happy. The tuna doesn't stay warm long when you sear it for 1 1/2 minutes/side which is about perfect, but you need to eat it pretty quick. Nicole had made a great salad and roasted potatoes which were very good. Samuel got tired around 8:30 so the Renkens' headed home. A very different Saturday night having a 15 month old setting the schedule. Nicole and I just relaxed the rest of the evening.
On Sunday we cooked breakfast on the grill with eggs and hashbrowns. We got a new grill a couple weeks ago so we use it pretty much every night. Nicole again checked with the hospital but there was only 1 order and it was an insurance she is not licensed to see so her partner will see that client tomorrow. So, she had today off too which was nice. I played in a golf tournament at 1:00 p.m. and it was SO WINDY! I didn't play great, but not too bad either, but not good enough to win any money. Bummer.
Grilling a full chicken on the grill tonight and having mojito's tonight. The weather looks very nice this week to hope to play golf everyday. We need the practice. Enjoy the sunshine this week.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Happy Mother's Day
This weekend was full of events and it went way too fast again.
Friday night we worked and once in a while when Nicole picks me up from work she stops at Key's Cafe to get her favorite cookie of all time, the Monster cookie. They were particularly good that day so that makes our commute home a little easier. We were excited to get home on Friday as we were babysitting Hudson Wilson. Jeb and Kaylan as part of their Christmas gift were given a "night out" free from the Ward's. They dropped him off at about 6:00 p.m., they grabbed a nice bottle of wine out of the cellar and headed to Il Gatto (Italian restaurant) in Uptown. We had the little guy for about 4 hours and we had a blast with him. We took him over to the golf club as it was a beautiful night and we wanted to test the water having a 10-month old on the golf cart out on the course. Nicole didn't play but Hudson had fun riding on the cart and looking at everything going on. He is very funny, but loves to be held so he needs to break that habit a little in my opinion. We played 7 holes with Brent and Courtney Snyder and then had dinner at the club. Hudson, like all babies was the center of attention. Jay and Sue Glasnapp (other friends of ours) who have their first grandchild coming this summer were excited to see Hudson as well. I actually think Sue would have taken our babysitting duties if we would have let her. She's excited to be a grandma. Hudson fell asleep a little after 8:00 p.m. and Nicole and I just relaxed at home until Jeb and Kaylan got home from their dinner. It was a lot of fun.
Saturday we got up and got our usual Starbucks and ate breakfast at home. I was caddying for Brent that day in a tournament in Minneapolis and Nicole had plans in the evening with the girls. The tournament was at the Minneapolis Golf Club (a presitgious private club) and I was excited to see the course and to carry the bag for my man Brent. I love to watch him play and enjoy being involved in the decisions that he makes on the golf course. My analytical mind is always turning and it is so interesting to me to see/hear what he is thinking about different situations on the golf course. He is an amazing player and just a lot of fun to watch. The putter was cold on Saturday or our reads were wrong, one or the other. Brent shot level par (72) which moved him up the leaderboard, but that round could have been something special, like 65 special, maybe better. We had so many birdie looks it was scary how good he hit the driver and the irons. At the pro level it all comes down to putting though and that day they weren't falling. I was so impressed with Brent's ability to forget the previous hole and move forward. He kept saying, "just have to keep giving myself chances" and eventually they will fall. They didn't that day, but his summer looks good. He has a big tournament coming up in June to qualify for the PGA Championship held later this summer in Atlanta, GA. Fingers crossed!
Saturday night was a "Jason alone" night, which is kind of weird for me, but sometimes it is ok to just do your own thing and relax. Nicole went out with some friends to Sugarland which was at the Target Center. They went to Rock Bottom Brewery to eat, which had a 2.5 hour wait, they went upstairs to Palomino only to find out that it was closed for good, and then they went to a new place called the American Bar. She said the concert was so much fun and they had a great time. They had great seats right on the floor.
After my round of caddying for Brent, I stopped and picked up a good steak for the grill. When I got home I played 9 holes of golf and then home to grill and hang out on the deck. It was fun and relaxing, but not nearly as fun as it would have been with Nicole there. (no kidding).
Sunday we headed to Rosemount for my niece Chandler's confirmation. She had to speak in front of the church and she did a great job. She just winged it, wrote nothing down and she was funny. She is just like her dad, good in front of a crowd. After church we went to my sister Shelly's for brunch. We missed mom on Mother's Day as she was with her mother in Mapleton. We talked on the phone and she knows we love her. Happy Mother's Day to both our moms, Maryann and Michelle!
Friday night we worked and once in a while when Nicole picks me up from work she stops at Key's Cafe to get her favorite cookie of all time, the Monster cookie. They were particularly good that day so that makes our commute home a little easier. We were excited to get home on Friday as we were babysitting Hudson Wilson. Jeb and Kaylan as part of their Christmas gift were given a "night out" free from the Ward's. They dropped him off at about 6:00 p.m., they grabbed a nice bottle of wine out of the cellar and headed to Il Gatto (Italian restaurant) in Uptown. We had the little guy for about 4 hours and we had a blast with him. We took him over to the golf club as it was a beautiful night and we wanted to test the water having a 10-month old on the golf cart out on the course. Nicole didn't play but Hudson had fun riding on the cart and looking at everything going on. He is very funny, but loves to be held so he needs to break that habit a little in my opinion. We played 7 holes with Brent and Courtney Snyder and then had dinner at the club. Hudson, like all babies was the center of attention. Jay and Sue Glasnapp (other friends of ours) who have their first grandchild coming this summer were excited to see Hudson as well. I actually think Sue would have taken our babysitting duties if we would have let her. She's excited to be a grandma. Hudson fell asleep a little after 8:00 p.m. and Nicole and I just relaxed at home until Jeb and Kaylan got home from their dinner. It was a lot of fun.
Saturday we got up and got our usual Starbucks and ate breakfast at home. I was caddying for Brent that day in a tournament in Minneapolis and Nicole had plans in the evening with the girls. The tournament was at the Minneapolis Golf Club (a presitgious private club) and I was excited to see the course and to carry the bag for my man Brent. I love to watch him play and enjoy being involved in the decisions that he makes on the golf course. My analytical mind is always turning and it is so interesting to me to see/hear what he is thinking about different situations on the golf course. He is an amazing player and just a lot of fun to watch. The putter was cold on Saturday or our reads were wrong, one or the other. Brent shot level par (72) which moved him up the leaderboard, but that round could have been something special, like 65 special, maybe better. We had so many birdie looks it was scary how good he hit the driver and the irons. At the pro level it all comes down to putting though and that day they weren't falling. I was so impressed with Brent's ability to forget the previous hole and move forward. He kept saying, "just have to keep giving myself chances" and eventually they will fall. They didn't that day, but his summer looks good. He has a big tournament coming up in June to qualify for the PGA Championship held later this summer in Atlanta, GA. Fingers crossed!
Saturday night was a "Jason alone" night, which is kind of weird for me, but sometimes it is ok to just do your own thing and relax. Nicole went out with some friends to Sugarland which was at the Target Center. They went to Rock Bottom Brewery to eat, which had a 2.5 hour wait, they went upstairs to Palomino only to find out that it was closed for good, and then they went to a new place called the American Bar. She said the concert was so much fun and they had a great time. They had great seats right on the floor.
After my round of caddying for Brent, I stopped and picked up a good steak for the grill. When I got home I played 9 holes of golf and then home to grill and hang out on the deck. It was fun and relaxing, but not nearly as fun as it would have been with Nicole there. (no kidding).
Sunday we headed to Rosemount for my niece Chandler's confirmation. She had to speak in front of the church and she did a great job. She just winged it, wrote nothing down and she was funny. She is just like her dad, good in front of a crowd. After church we went to my sister Shelly's for brunch. We missed mom on Mother's Day as she was with her mother in Mapleton. We talked on the phone and she knows we love her. Happy Mother's Day to both our moms, Maryann and Michelle!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Cold Weather, Go Away!
We spent another lousy weather weekend at home in Hudson. Luckily we had dinner parties both Friday and Saturday night that passed the time beautifully.
Friday night we went to Andy and Sue Knott's home in Chanhassen, MN. It was a wine showdown between a top notch Pinot Noir from Oregon and a Burgundy from France. These are both the same grape (varietal) and we did a blind tasting. It was a unanimous victory for the good ol' USA Pinot Noir from Domain Droughin. On the menu was ribeye steaks from Andy's family farm in Tracy, MN and Tuna steaks. The food, wine, and company were great. In attendance were the hosts Andy and Sue (their 1 year old Maria), Brandon Marshall (my coworker) and his Canadian gal Kim (she had a neat accent), and of course Nicole and I. Before we went to Andy and Sue's we stopped by my brother Andy's who had a house-warming party. We weren't able to stay long but we got to see my mom who was there helping prepare food and clean (what a good mother) and my brothers Ryan and Chad. It was a fun time all evening.
On Saturday we had no plans until 5:30 p.m. We left for Rosemount, MN a little early and stopped by Pottery Barn in St. Paul. Then onto Greg Picker's House in Rosemount. Greg was having a dinner party for the docs that work at Nicole's practice (not her practice) but for the docs who work at Natalis. We had a lot of fun with great food and wine and good discussion about the future of the practice. There are some smart people that work there and it was fun to be a fly on the wall in their conversations about how everything works. It was fun to see Nicole in her element talking about things she does everyday, that sometimes she doesn't normally bore me with, but it was interesting. It is a fun group of young motivated practicioners.
Sunday was a completely wasted day. Cold/windy and no fun at all. We had a tee time in the morning that we couldn't possibly keep due to 35 degrees and windy. We grilled brats for lunch and made pizza for dinner. Nicole cleaned the house (out of boredom) because I thought it was clean already and we watched some golf and some movies. Ugh! Please bring the sun and warm weather soon! It is May 2nd and I have only golfed 1 time and Nicole has not played yet.
Friday night we went to Andy and Sue Knott's home in Chanhassen, MN. It was a wine showdown between a top notch Pinot Noir from Oregon and a Burgundy from France. These are both the same grape (varietal) and we did a blind tasting. It was a unanimous victory for the good ol' USA Pinot Noir from Domain Droughin. On the menu was ribeye steaks from Andy's family farm in Tracy, MN and Tuna steaks. The food, wine, and company were great. In attendance were the hosts Andy and Sue (their 1 year old Maria), Brandon Marshall (my coworker) and his Canadian gal Kim (she had a neat accent), and of course Nicole and I. Before we went to Andy and Sue's we stopped by my brother Andy's who had a house-warming party. We weren't able to stay long but we got to see my mom who was there helping prepare food and clean (what a good mother) and my brothers Ryan and Chad. It was a fun time all evening.
On Saturday we had no plans until 5:30 p.m. We left for Rosemount, MN a little early and stopped by Pottery Barn in St. Paul. Then onto Greg Picker's House in Rosemount. Greg was having a dinner party for the docs that work at Nicole's practice (not her practice) but for the docs who work at Natalis. We had a lot of fun with great food and wine and good discussion about the future of the practice. There are some smart people that work there and it was fun to be a fly on the wall in their conversations about how everything works. It was fun to see Nicole in her element talking about things she does everyday, that sometimes she doesn't normally bore me with, but it was interesting. It is a fun group of young motivated practicioners.
Sunday was a completely wasted day. Cold/windy and no fun at all. We had a tee time in the morning that we couldn't possibly keep due to 35 degrees and windy. We grilled brats for lunch and made pizza for dinner. Nicole cleaned the house (out of boredom) because I thought it was clean already and we watched some golf and some movies. Ugh! Please bring the sun and warm weather soon! It is May 2nd and I have only golfed 1 time and Nicole has not played yet.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Easter Weekend
Our Easter Weekend is flying by. So far the weather has been lousy with rain/cold on Friday and Saturday morning and then the rest of Saturday turned into just cloudy and cold, but at least dry.
I had the day off on Friday and Nicole had to work so we made maintenance appointments for both vehicles. It was the 1st oil change for the truck and that was for 8:00 a.m. and then 8:30 for the car. Nicole and I met at the Land Rover dealer at 7:45, dropped the truck off and then I drove her back to the office for her first appointment. I then went back to the Saab dealer and sat and waited for that to finish. While there I got a call from the Land Rover place about a tire sensor. We had a tire sensor (which I guess is on every tire), never had that before and the light came on when Nicole was driving on Thursday. So I figured while getting the oil changed they would check it out. Well, I guess it was broke so they needed to replace it and it is covered by warranty so warranty says when you replace one you replace all 4. So, they needed to keep the vehicle over the weekend. Well, Nicole told them (I was too scared) that she needed the truck for the weekend so they gave us a loaner. I figured it would be some old car that they just give you to knock around in, but NO, it was a 2011 Land Rover LR4. Neither of us had ever driven one, we have seen them at the car show and sat in them, but to drive one is pretty nice. I would never buy one, especially not new, but it has a lot of bells and whistles that our truck does not have. It has a heated steering wheel, you would never think you would need that, but I turned it on yesterday and it was pretty nice. It gets about as bad of gas mileage as our truck does, high teens, nothing more. It is white which we don't like, but overall a heck of a loaner to use for free for 3 days.
Friday night we went to dinner in Stillwater and went to an Irish place called Charlies. We had fish and chips (last Friday for Lent) and drank Guinness (I did) and they had an Irish band that was pretty good. We went to bed early.
Today went way too fast. We got up and Nicole started cleaning. I helped a little, but when she is going you just get out of her way (she's like the Tazmanian Devil). I went and got her coffee at Starbucks which only keeps her going 100 mph. I tinkered around in the garage for a while and acted like I was busy or at least helping (which I really wasn't). I took some crap to Goodwill and took the propane tank to get refilled. I brought the planters out of the garage and moved them to the front step so I actually did a little work today. I wanted to golf today, but who can get excited about anything outside with this weather. It is a little depressing I have to admit.
At about 2:00 we headed to St. Paul, a quick stop at Caffe Latte for some dessert for Easter Sunday and then to my brother Chad's to celebrate Easter with my side of the family. Food was great, company was great and we had a great time.
Now we are home and waiting for George and Michelle to arrive. We are going to church early tomorrow and then home to grill and watch the Twins. Hopefully we hit 60 degrees and sunshine like the forecast says.
Happy Easter to everyone.
I had the day off on Friday and Nicole had to work so we made maintenance appointments for both vehicles. It was the 1st oil change for the truck and that was for 8:00 a.m. and then 8:30 for the car. Nicole and I met at the Land Rover dealer at 7:45, dropped the truck off and then I drove her back to the office for her first appointment. I then went back to the Saab dealer and sat and waited for that to finish. While there I got a call from the Land Rover place about a tire sensor. We had a tire sensor (which I guess is on every tire), never had that before and the light came on when Nicole was driving on Thursday. So I figured while getting the oil changed they would check it out. Well, I guess it was broke so they needed to replace it and it is covered by warranty so warranty says when you replace one you replace all 4. So, they needed to keep the vehicle over the weekend. Well, Nicole told them (I was too scared) that she needed the truck for the weekend so they gave us a loaner. I figured it would be some old car that they just give you to knock around in, but NO, it was a 2011 Land Rover LR4. Neither of us had ever driven one, we have seen them at the car show and sat in them, but to drive one is pretty nice. I would never buy one, especially not new, but it has a lot of bells and whistles that our truck does not have. It has a heated steering wheel, you would never think you would need that, but I turned it on yesterday and it was pretty nice. It gets about as bad of gas mileage as our truck does, high teens, nothing more. It is white which we don't like, but overall a heck of a loaner to use for free for 3 days.
Friday night we went to dinner in Stillwater and went to an Irish place called Charlies. We had fish and chips (last Friday for Lent) and drank Guinness (I did) and they had an Irish band that was pretty good. We went to bed early.
Today went way too fast. We got up and Nicole started cleaning. I helped a little, but when she is going you just get out of her way (she's like the Tazmanian Devil). I went and got her coffee at Starbucks which only keeps her going 100 mph. I tinkered around in the garage for a while and acted like I was busy or at least helping (which I really wasn't). I took some crap to Goodwill and took the propane tank to get refilled. I brought the planters out of the garage and moved them to the front step so I actually did a little work today. I wanted to golf today, but who can get excited about anything outside with this weather. It is a little depressing I have to admit.
At about 2:00 we headed to St. Paul, a quick stop at Caffe Latte for some dessert for Easter Sunday and then to my brother Chad's to celebrate Easter with my side of the family. Food was great, company was great and we had a great time.
Now we are home and waiting for George and Michelle to arrive. We are going to church early tomorrow and then home to grill and watch the Twins. Hopefully we hit 60 degrees and sunshine like the forecast says.
Happy Easter to everyone.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Birthday Weekend
It was a great weekend (besides the 4 inches of snow that we got on Friday night). We went to Manny's for drinks after work on Friday (we cut out of work at 3:00 p.m.). We went to Room and Board to get some new outdoor furniture for Nicole's birthday and then dinner at Muffaletta's, which is one of our favorite restaurants. We had such a great meal there on Valentines Day that Nicole picked it again for her birthday. Their menu changes often so you never know exactly what you are going to get and it wasn't quite as good as Valentines, but we still had a great meal. We were home and in bed pretty early as we usually are on Friday's (just can't go very late on Friday's after working). We got up on Saturday and cleaned around the house and then we headed to St. Paul. Nicole had some clothes to return at JCrew so we went to Grand. We then went to lunch at Cafe Latte, still just love that place from our college days. That used to be a great spot for a date in college and we still love going there. We had a champagne lunch along with some great food. We came home and took a little afternoon rest because we knew we had a late night ahead of us.
Our neighborhood friends (the gang) as we call it had a big night planned. It was the River Falls Youth Hockey Association Fundraiser and it is held at a golf club in River Falls. It is dinner, silent auction, and a band. Our friends Brian and Shelly Thompson have 3 boys and 2 of them are old enough to play hockey and I'm sure their youngest son will soon start playing as well. We had a limo pick everyone in the neighborhood up so we didn't have to worry about drinking and driving. It was Brian and Shelly Thompson (Shelly is the on the board for the hockey association) and she is also on the fundraising committee. They have raised $30,000 so far for the hockey program and last night they were able to raise around $8,000. The Gagnes' (Brian and Dina), The Quinn's (Matt and Lindsay), the Nelson's (Scott and Jeri), the Wilson's (Jeb and Kaylan), and then of course the Ward's. It was good to see everyone again after a long winter. It was good to get the Wilson's out as they don't get out much with the new baby (he's 8 months old already) but has definitely slowed their social agenda. I think it is safe to say we "let er rip" last night, especially the guys, but it looked liked the girls were having their share of fun.
I wanted one of the silent auction items and kept bidding on it all night, but it went for more than I was willing to spend. It was 4 hours of fishing on the St. Croix with a guide and it was for 2 people so I was thinking for George. Well, the guys knew I wanted to get it for George and they kept pushing the price up because they knew I wanted it so I would go $75, then one of the guys would push it and I would go up and they would push it and this kept going on an on until I decided I could get it cheaper just hiring a guide and taking 4 people out so I let this other guy have it. I definitely want to try this so George if you are reading, hold me to this.
We had a great night with our friends and it was a fun event.
Sunday we got a new grill which we were really in need of. Our old one had seen better days so we got a new Weber and it is very nice. We went to Lowe's in Stillwater to pick it up this morning and then this afternoon we hosted the Troy Burne Annual Easter Egg Hunt. We had over 40 kids show up and Nicole and I stuffed 700 eggs with candy. Nicole and a high school volunteer hid the eggs in the park at Troy Burne and the adults had cookies/brownies and coffee from Starbucks. It was a great way to kick off the spring and get everyone together (not everyone), but a good turnout. The weather cooperated today with sunshine, it was cool, but not too bad. We are tired tonight, using the new grill for some hamburgers and then going to take it easy.
Looking forward to seeing everyone a week from today at Easter.
Our neighborhood friends (the gang) as we call it had a big night planned. It was the River Falls Youth Hockey Association Fundraiser and it is held at a golf club in River Falls. It is dinner, silent auction, and a band. Our friends Brian and Shelly Thompson have 3 boys and 2 of them are old enough to play hockey and I'm sure their youngest son will soon start playing as well. We had a limo pick everyone in the neighborhood up so we didn't have to worry about drinking and driving. It was Brian and Shelly Thompson (Shelly is the on the board for the hockey association) and she is also on the fundraising committee. They have raised $30,000 so far for the hockey program and last night they were able to raise around $8,000. The Gagnes' (Brian and Dina), The Quinn's (Matt and Lindsay), the Nelson's (Scott and Jeri), the Wilson's (Jeb and Kaylan), and then of course the Ward's. It was good to see everyone again after a long winter. It was good to get the Wilson's out as they don't get out much with the new baby (he's 8 months old already) but has definitely slowed their social agenda. I think it is safe to say we "let er rip" last night, especially the guys, but it looked liked the girls were having their share of fun.
I wanted one of the silent auction items and kept bidding on it all night, but it went for more than I was willing to spend. It was 4 hours of fishing on the St. Croix with a guide and it was for 2 people so I was thinking for George. Well, the guys knew I wanted to get it for George and they kept pushing the price up because they knew I wanted it so I would go $75, then one of the guys would push it and I would go up and they would push it and this kept going on an on until I decided I could get it cheaper just hiring a guide and taking 4 people out so I let this other guy have it. I definitely want to try this so George if you are reading, hold me to this.
We had a great night with our friends and it was a fun event.
Sunday we got a new grill which we were really in need of. Our old one had seen better days so we got a new Weber and it is very nice. We went to Lowe's in Stillwater to pick it up this morning and then this afternoon we hosted the Troy Burne Annual Easter Egg Hunt. We had over 40 kids show up and Nicole and I stuffed 700 eggs with candy. Nicole and a high school volunteer hid the eggs in the park at Troy Burne and the adults had cookies/brownies and coffee from Starbucks. It was a great way to kick off the spring and get everyone together (not everyone), but a good turnout. The weather cooperated today with sunshine, it was cool, but not too bad. We are tired tonight, using the new grill for some hamburgers and then going to take it easy.
Looking forward to seeing everyone a week from today at Easter.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Happy Birthday To My Favorite Gal
April 15th, 1979 was a great day for me. This was the day my wife was born and I was lucky enough to find her 15 years later. We have been together 17 years which is over half of our lives and I am thankful for every day (some days I don't show it), but I truly am thankful.
She is taking the afternoon off and we are going out for dinner tonight. We are going to a big party on Saturday night with a bunch of our neighbors so it should be a fun weekend.
Happy Birthday Nicole, I love ya!
She is taking the afternoon off and we are going out for dinner tonight. We are going to a big party on Saturday night with a bunch of our neighbors so it should be a fun weekend.
Happy Birthday Nicole, I love ya!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Weekend Update
Nicole and I had a packed weekend that turned out to be a lot of fun. Friday night we celebrated our niece and goddaughter's 12th birthday. Miss Carlyn is growing up so fast. We went to a Japanese steakhouse (her choice) in Apple Valley. We ate sushi because it was Friday, but it was fun to watch the the Hibachi guy spin all the steak/shrimp on the grill in front of us. It was Ryan, Kari, my brother Andrew, Carlyn, Ethan, mom, Nicole and I. We went to Ryan's after for birthday cake and it was a great evening.
On Saturday Nicole and I ran in Goldy's Run which is a 5k run. We started at TCF Bank Stadium and ran through campus and finished at the 50-yard line with everyone crossing the finish line on the big scoreboard. It was a lot of fun running through campus and it is a great race. We started running in this race a few years ago and this year the money is going to the new Amplatz Hospital on campus, so it is a great cause. There were at least 3,000 runners and a lot of fun to be part of. I started the race out listening to Bob Dylan's song "Positively Fourth Street" a song he wrote while he attended the University of Minnesota living in Dinkytown. I thought it was a fitting start to the race. From there I pushed hard to finish the race as I just started running again early last week. Nicole was able to catch me near the end and went on to pass me and finish about 1 minute ahead of me. I ran out of gas at the end. We both finished in less than 10 minute miles (which by most runner's standards is pretty slow), but we are always happy to come in around or under that 30 minute mark. We are gearing up for the big race that our family runs at the end of May called Get Your Rear in Gear. It was 2 years ago on Friday April 8th that Hap passed away from Colon Cancer and we always want to run this race to remember him. We hope to add to our list of racers this year and we are getting a match of funds raised by Thrivent Financial, a great company that my brother Andrew works for.
Saturday afternoon we went to get some outside lawn furniture at Room and Board. Lunch at Loring Kitchen and Bar and then home to spend the evening with friends.
We went to Scott and Jeri Nelson's house to watch the Master's and then to dinner at Pier 500. It was fun to get back out with our friends again after hibernating all winter long.
Sunday we just took it easy and watched golf. It was a great weekend.
On Saturday Nicole and I ran in Goldy's Run which is a 5k run. We started at TCF Bank Stadium and ran through campus and finished at the 50-yard line with everyone crossing the finish line on the big scoreboard. It was a lot of fun running through campus and it is a great race. We started running in this race a few years ago and this year the money is going to the new Amplatz Hospital on campus, so it is a great cause. There were at least 3,000 runners and a lot of fun to be part of. I started the race out listening to Bob Dylan's song "Positively Fourth Street" a song he wrote while he attended the University of Minnesota living in Dinkytown. I thought it was a fitting start to the race. From there I pushed hard to finish the race as I just started running again early last week. Nicole was able to catch me near the end and went on to pass me and finish about 1 minute ahead of me. I ran out of gas at the end. We both finished in less than 10 minute miles (which by most runner's standards is pretty slow), but we are always happy to come in around or under that 30 minute mark. We are gearing up for the big race that our family runs at the end of May called Get Your Rear in Gear. It was 2 years ago on Friday April 8th that Hap passed away from Colon Cancer and we always want to run this race to remember him. We hope to add to our list of racers this year and we are getting a match of funds raised by Thrivent Financial, a great company that my brother Andrew works for.
Saturday afternoon we went to get some outside lawn furniture at Room and Board. Lunch at Loring Kitchen and Bar and then home to spend the evening with friends.
We went to Scott and Jeri Nelson's house to watch the Master's and then to dinner at Pier 500. It was fun to get back out with our friends again after hibernating all winter long.
Sunday we just took it easy and watched golf. It was a great weekend.
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| Nicole after Goldy's Run (a little gloating smile for beating me) |
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| Jason after the race (sporting AGR Letters) |
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| Nicole and Hattie at the Giggle Factory |
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Weekend Update
We had a great day on Saturday. Nicole didn't have any orders at the hospital so she came along to my brother Ryan's for Demolition Day. She only stuck around for a little while though (she didn't want to get her hands dirty). So she went to a nearby Starbuck's to study while the demolition commenced. We had a lot of great help with Ryan, Kari, Andrew, my mother, Carlyn and Ethan and of course the contractor Jeff Bullerman. Jeff did the initial framework and sheetrocking in our basement when we finished 2 bedrooms and the bathroom. He along with Kari's dad Chuck have been doing the re-model on Ryan and Kari's house. It is certainly coming along. The upstairs has been completed for the most part with a new kitchen with hardwood floors and island. Now, the guts have been removed from the basement so that project can begin. He had one of those big construction dumpsters in his driveway when we arrived and by the end of the day (really didn't take that long, 3.5 hours or so) that dumpster was full. We knocked down 2 walls and a ceiling in the basement and took every piece of sheetrock and stud completely out. Now, the next step which will be constructing new walls in different places to open the basement up so a bar, gameroom, bedroom and bathroom can be completed. It is going to be very nice when it is done. Now, it's up to Jeff to finish the rest.
Nicole and I headed home around 3:30 in the afternoon. We drank some wine and watched some college basketball. Talk about some great games. For dinner we went to "The Nova" which is a neat little bar/wine shop in Hudson. After dinner we came home to watch the Badgers take on K-State. On the inside I was cheering for K-State but my bracket told me I had to cheer for the Badgers (shame on me).
Sunday is a day of relaxation and basketball. Nicole did have one order at the hospital today so she went in for a few hours. She is home now and we are thinking about what to do this afternoon.
Nicole and I headed home around 3:30 in the afternoon. We drank some wine and watched some college basketball. Talk about some great games. For dinner we went to "The Nova" which is a neat little bar/wine shop in Hudson. After dinner we came home to watch the Badgers take on K-State. On the inside I was cheering for K-State but my bracket told me I had to cheer for the Badgers (shame on me).
Sunday is a day of relaxation and basketball. Nicole did have one order at the hospital today so she went in for a few hours. She is home now and we are thinking about what to do this afternoon.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Demolition Day
This week has gone by quickly. The markets have been very volatile with the crisis in Japan hitting a lot of the markets we trade. Sharply lower and now back to sharply higher. Missed a ton of opportunity, but didn't do anything too dumb.
Tomorrow I am heading to my brother Ryan's for some basement demolition. He is finishing his basement and the process begins tomorrow with the "wrecking crew" (Andrew and I) coming to start knocking down walls. Andy has purchased a Minneapolis condo and will be moving out next week as he has been living with Ryan since last August. Ryan now has the green light to begin his basement construction.
Nicole is on call this weekend so she will likely be heading to the hospital in the morning while I get my SLEDGE HAMMER on. This might just be the market stress reliever I need.
Last night for St. Patrick's Day Nicole and I went to Jeb and Kaylan's to see our little friend Hudson. Jeb and I hashed out the Men's Golf season as he and I have taken on the role of co-commissioners again this year. We are gluttons for punishment. It looks to be another good golf season at Troy Burne. Troy Burne recently hired the Food/Beverage manager from Hazeltine to handle our new restaurant. We are hearing new grills put in as the Panino ovens come out. There are plans for a new bar and a patio overlooking the pond/lake on hole number 10, which we have always envisioned. We'll see what happens this year, but we know for sure the restaurant has a new focus this year and we are certainly looking forward to that.
Have a great weekend.
Tomorrow I am heading to my brother Ryan's for some basement demolition. He is finishing his basement and the process begins tomorrow with the "wrecking crew" (Andrew and I) coming to start knocking down walls. Andy has purchased a Minneapolis condo and will be moving out next week as he has been living with Ryan since last August. Ryan now has the green light to begin his basement construction.
Nicole is on call this weekend so she will likely be heading to the hospital in the morning while I get my SLEDGE HAMMER on. This might just be the market stress reliever I need.
Last night for St. Patrick's Day Nicole and I went to Jeb and Kaylan's to see our little friend Hudson. Jeb and I hashed out the Men's Golf season as he and I have taken on the role of co-commissioners again this year. We are gluttons for punishment. It looks to be another good golf season at Troy Burne. Troy Burne recently hired the Food/Beverage manager from Hazeltine to handle our new restaurant. We are hearing new grills put in as the Panino ovens come out. There are plans for a new bar and a patio overlooking the pond/lake on hole number 10, which we have always envisioned. We'll see what happens this year, but we know for sure the restaurant has a new focus this year and we are certainly looking forward to that.
Have a great weekend.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Chicago
We had an "Exchange of Ideas" conference to attend this weekend in Chicago. One of our trading partners RJ O'Brien put the conference on. In attendance besides Nicole and I was my boss Mark and his wife Karen and two long-time customers of ours Doug and Dan Schmitz from Currie, MN.
Friday night we had a 1-hr session on why we are the luckiest generation living in the best country in the world. It was pretty good. After that your standard cocktail reception followed by dinner at Japonais. Nicole had to take everyone to her new favorite restaurant. She has now been there 3 times since December (spoiled girl). The food did not disappoint and everyone loved the place.
Saturday we had a full day of meetings for the guys. Nicole spent the day roaming the city taking photographs and studying. Dinner Saturday night was at the Mid-America Club located ozn the 80th floor of the Aon Center. It was an impressive place. The food was Irish fare for St Patrick's Day and the view was very cool.
After dinner we checked out a wine bar that Mark and Karen had been to before when they were in Chicago for the marathon (their daughter ran it) this past October. The bar was called, Swine, Wine, and Cheese. I had bread pudding and beer so you can see what I thought of the menu.
This morning (Sunday) we walked around the city for a few hours taking more pictures and had breakfast at a great spot called the Grand Luxe Cafe. Then we caught the train to the airport and we are back home. It feels good to be writing this at nearly 7:00 p.m. and have it be still light outside. Spring is just around the corner.
Have a great week everyone.
Friday night we had a 1-hr session on why we are the luckiest generation living in the best country in the world. It was pretty good. After that your standard cocktail reception followed by dinner at Japonais. Nicole had to take everyone to her new favorite restaurant. She has now been there 3 times since December (spoiled girl). The food did not disappoint and everyone loved the place.
Saturday we had a full day of meetings for the guys. Nicole spent the day roaming the city taking photographs and studying. Dinner Saturday night was at the Mid-America Club located ozn the 80th floor of the Aon Center. It was an impressive place. The food was Irish fare for St Patrick's Day and the view was very cool.
After dinner we checked out a wine bar that Mark and Karen had been to before when they were in Chicago for the marathon (their daughter ran it) this past October. The bar was called, Swine, Wine, and Cheese. I had bread pudding and beer so you can see what I thought of the menu.
This morning (Sunday) we walked around the city for a few hours taking more pictures and had breakfast at a great spot called the Grand Luxe Cafe. Then we caught the train to the airport and we are back home. It feels good to be writing this at nearly 7:00 p.m. and have it be still light outside. Spring is just around the corner.
Have a great week everyone.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Aspen Trip
Nicole and I headed to Aspen/Snowmass on Friday. We left work a little early, after Nicole's group therapy that she does every Friday. I ducked out about 40 minutes before the close of the markets, but nothing too serious. Our flight was delayed out of Minneapolis for over 1 hour because of de-icing. We had dinner reservations in Aspen at 7:30 with one of my biggest/best clients and a prospect that he brought along. Once we got to Denver, we still had to catch a small plane to Aspen (about 25 minute flight). We sprinted off the flight from Mpls to the gate only to find that the plane to Aspen was delayed an hour. I asked the guy at the counter what was wrong and he said, and I quote, "The plane is broken!"
We arrived at the Aspen airport at 6:50 p.m. and we had a shuttle waiting to take us to our hotel. We tipped the guy to check us in, drop our bags off and give us a ride into Aspen for our 7:30 dinner. We arrived at 7:40 so not too bad.
We had a great dinner and evening with Steve Rooney and his wife Karen, and hopefully some new friends who live in Hudson, Mike and Tina. They both went to the U, just a few years before us (1989). Steve has been a client of mine for almost 10 years, I want to say 2002 or so. He and his wife spend 2-3 weeks in Aspen every year and they invited us out to have dinner with them. We had never been to Aspen so we took him up on the offer, especially since February has been so busy with all these seminars and everything. We deserved a little getaway, and it was a great weekend.
On Saturday we had breakfast and hit the slopes for as many runs as we could fit into a day. We covered nearly the whole mountain (no black diamonds for Nicole and I). They had 8 fresh inches of snow on Thursday night so the snow on Saturday was still very good, and it was about 35 degrees. We skiied with our interior jackets and it was very comfortable. I didn't even need goggles, just sunglasses, perfect weather. For Apres Ski (french for after skiing) we hit Sneaky's Tavern and had a blast. My wife drank Moscow Mule's (look it up) and I drank Colorado Beer, always good. I drank Ranger IPA which is a hoppy beer from Fort Collin's New Belgium Brewery, always great beer from this brewery.
Dinner after a little nap and a shower was at The Viceroy (http://www.viceroyhotelsandresorts.com/), a brand new swanky hotel which was right up our alley. We love comtemporary and this place was exactly that. They had a fireplace in the lounge just like the one in our basement, only about 4 times longer. We sipped on cocktails and wine for about 2 hours before dinner. Now, here is where it got good. We were seated for dinner at 9:30 p.m. We ordered a half bottle of a great red wine, Faust and looked over the menu. It was VERY EXPENSIVE, like more expensive than Manny's in Minneapolis, and that is ridiculous. So, I set a record for the most expensive hamburger ever consumed (at least for me). This reminded me of a trip I took in high school with church to Atlanta, GA. I was 15 or 16 yrs old and we had a cheeseburger for $6.00 and that was very expensive back then. Then I went to college and burgers were $8 or $9 and that was even more expensive. Then after college I found Ike's in downtown Mpls which has great burgers and they are $14 or $15, getting ridiculous now. So, this burger was $29. Cheapest thing on the menu. It was amazing, but seriously, $29 for a hamburger, give a brother a break.
Sunday we ate breakfast (free buffet at the hotel was pretty good). We hit the slopes hard again, snow was a little worse, but still pretty good. We quit a little early so we could spend some time in Aspen. We stayed in the Snowmass Village, which is 10 miles away. We hadn't been there since dinner on Friday night so we wanted to see it during the day. We hit the Gondola at Aspen (Ajax Mt) and it was very different terrain than Snowmass. Snowmass is very similar to Vail, very mild terrain, but very good, and very family friendly. Very different than Jackson Hole, which I thought was very difficult terrain, not much for Nicole to ski on. She always felt uncomfortable and beyond her ability on many hills in Jackson (very steep), while Snowmass has over 50% of its terrain for level 2 skiers (right up our alley). 12% is for advanced skiers and we didn't even get to those hills. Aspen was very similar to Jackson, very steep. We saw Buttermilk Mt (home of the X Games) on the way to Aspen, and there is another mountain called The Highlands. Your lift pass is good at any of the 4 mountains. If we were there more than 2 days we would try the other 3, but we took 2 days to cover all of Snowmass, it was huge.
Aspen is ritzy, tons of restaurants and shops, very cool. We grabbed Apres Ski here as well. We enjoyed about an hour or so talking to Ron Bill, this was the guys' name. He was alone skiing and didn't have a place to sit so he asked if he could join us. We obliged and he talked our ears off for over an hour. He was interesting and told us all about skiing in Europe, particularly Austria. He was from England but spent a lot of time in New York and 16 days every year skiing in Aspen. He was at least 70 yrs old and was planning on skiing everyday.
After we left Ron we went to the Hyatt Grand Aspen to their wine bar called The Grape Bar. Nicole picked a nice bottle of wine(Duckhorn) and we sat on a couch by the fireplace. Dinner was next at Ellina, a trendy italian place. Admittedly we ordered another bottle of wine (Vietti Nebbiolo) and shared a great dinner. We werent driving so our last day in Aspen was a wine drinking relaxing day.
Monday morning we were up early and off to the airport. Great trip.
We arrived at the Aspen airport at 6:50 p.m. and we had a shuttle waiting to take us to our hotel. We tipped the guy to check us in, drop our bags off and give us a ride into Aspen for our 7:30 dinner. We arrived at 7:40 so not too bad.
We had a great dinner and evening with Steve Rooney and his wife Karen, and hopefully some new friends who live in Hudson, Mike and Tina. They both went to the U, just a few years before us (1989). Steve has been a client of mine for almost 10 years, I want to say 2002 or so. He and his wife spend 2-3 weeks in Aspen every year and they invited us out to have dinner with them. We had never been to Aspen so we took him up on the offer, especially since February has been so busy with all these seminars and everything. We deserved a little getaway, and it was a great weekend.
On Saturday we had breakfast and hit the slopes for as many runs as we could fit into a day. We covered nearly the whole mountain (no black diamonds for Nicole and I). They had 8 fresh inches of snow on Thursday night so the snow on Saturday was still very good, and it was about 35 degrees. We skiied with our interior jackets and it was very comfortable. I didn't even need goggles, just sunglasses, perfect weather. For Apres Ski (french for after skiing) we hit Sneaky's Tavern and had a blast. My wife drank Moscow Mule's (look it up) and I drank Colorado Beer, always good. I drank Ranger IPA which is a hoppy beer from Fort Collin's New Belgium Brewery, always great beer from this brewery.
Dinner after a little nap and a shower was at The Viceroy (http://www.viceroyhotelsandresorts.com/), a brand new swanky hotel which was right up our alley. We love comtemporary and this place was exactly that. They had a fireplace in the lounge just like the one in our basement, only about 4 times longer. We sipped on cocktails and wine for about 2 hours before dinner. Now, here is where it got good. We were seated for dinner at 9:30 p.m. We ordered a half bottle of a great red wine, Faust and looked over the menu. It was VERY EXPENSIVE, like more expensive than Manny's in Minneapolis, and that is ridiculous. So, I set a record for the most expensive hamburger ever consumed (at least for me). This reminded me of a trip I took in high school with church to Atlanta, GA. I was 15 or 16 yrs old and we had a cheeseburger for $6.00 and that was very expensive back then. Then I went to college and burgers were $8 or $9 and that was even more expensive. Then after college I found Ike's in downtown Mpls which has great burgers and they are $14 or $15, getting ridiculous now. So, this burger was $29. Cheapest thing on the menu. It was amazing, but seriously, $29 for a hamburger, give a brother a break.
Sunday we ate breakfast (free buffet at the hotel was pretty good). We hit the slopes hard again, snow was a little worse, but still pretty good. We quit a little early so we could spend some time in Aspen. We stayed in the Snowmass Village, which is 10 miles away. We hadn't been there since dinner on Friday night so we wanted to see it during the day. We hit the Gondola at Aspen (Ajax Mt) and it was very different terrain than Snowmass. Snowmass is very similar to Vail, very mild terrain, but very good, and very family friendly. Very different than Jackson Hole, which I thought was very difficult terrain, not much for Nicole to ski on. She always felt uncomfortable and beyond her ability on many hills in Jackson (very steep), while Snowmass has over 50% of its terrain for level 2 skiers (right up our alley). 12% is for advanced skiers and we didn't even get to those hills. Aspen was very similar to Jackson, very steep. We saw Buttermilk Mt (home of the X Games) on the way to Aspen, and there is another mountain called The Highlands. Your lift pass is good at any of the 4 mountains. If we were there more than 2 days we would try the other 3, but we took 2 days to cover all of Snowmass, it was huge.
Aspen is ritzy, tons of restaurants and shops, very cool. We grabbed Apres Ski here as well. We enjoyed about an hour or so talking to Ron Bill, this was the guys' name. He was alone skiing and didn't have a place to sit so he asked if he could join us. We obliged and he talked our ears off for over an hour. He was interesting and told us all about skiing in Europe, particularly Austria. He was from England but spent a lot of time in New York and 16 days every year skiing in Aspen. He was at least 70 yrs old and was planning on skiing everyday.
After we left Ron we went to the Hyatt Grand Aspen to their wine bar called The Grape Bar. Nicole picked a nice bottle of wine(Duckhorn) and we sat on a couch by the fireplace. Dinner was next at Ellina, a trendy italian place. Admittedly we ordered another bottle of wine (Vietti Nebbiolo) and shared a great dinner. We werent driving so our last day in Aspen was a wine drinking relaxing day.
Monday morning we were up early and off to the airport. Great trip.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Ski Trip
I feel like this week went pretty fast. Jason and I took advantage of "Restaurant Week" in Minneapolis and tried the 'tasting menus' at two different places. On Tuesday evening, we went to Cafe Lurcat which is in Loring Park--Food was wonderful. Last evening we were joined by Mark and Karen Schultz at Amore Victoria in Uptown. Again, a very good Italian meal. Jason is off to Mankato this evening for the last of the long stretch of seminars that he and his team have been doing. I can't wait for tomorrow to come because he tends to get a bit "unlike himself" and rather irritable at the end of them.
We are both looking forward to about 12:30 tomorrow afternoon when we leave for Aspen, CO. We are going to be there until Monday. While we are there we are going to ski on Saturday and Sunday at Snowmass Village and may be Aspen as well. We are meeting one of his already clients and a prospective client on Friday evening for dinner. His client has a timeshare in Snowmass Village (basically Snowmass is just a few miles from Aspen) and he invited Jason to come to Aspen/Snowmass and he would introduce Jason to a new potential client. Funny thing is, the potential client lives in Hudson, WI, but what the heck---we will go to CO to meet him. We are looking forward to skiing out west again and hear that they have been getting snow all week. The weather looks pretty good while we are there with snow forcasted and temps around 40 degrees---great skiing weather! We are looking forward to seeing the area as well and trying some new restaurants. I will post some pictures throughout the weekend.
Hope all of our readers are doing well.
We are both looking forward to about 12:30 tomorrow afternoon when we leave for Aspen, CO. We are going to be there until Monday. While we are there we are going to ski on Saturday and Sunday at Snowmass Village and may be Aspen as well. We are meeting one of his already clients and a prospective client on Friday evening for dinner. His client has a timeshare in Snowmass Village (basically Snowmass is just a few miles from Aspen) and he invited Jason to come to Aspen/Snowmass and he would introduce Jason to a new potential client. Funny thing is, the potential client lives in Hudson, WI, but what the heck---we will go to CO to meet him. We are looking forward to skiing out west again and hear that they have been getting snow all week. The weather looks pretty good while we are there with snow forcasted and temps around 40 degrees---great skiing weather! We are looking forward to seeing the area as well and trying some new restaurants. I will post some pictures throughout the weekend.
Hope all of our readers are doing well.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Low-Key Weekend
After a great birthday week Nicole and I kept it pretty low key this weekend. Thanks to everyone for their birthday wishes this week. After turning 33 on Thursday I am still feeling young and still very motivated to do a lot of things in my life. (it's amazing how fast years go by).
On my birthday we worked like any normal Thursday. I went out of drinks after work (Hotel Ivy) with one of my coworkers (we cut out a little early) and Nicole was still working. After that Nicole and I went to dinner at a small restaurant in S. Minneapolis called Cafe Levain. It is a French restaurant and the food was excellent. I would highly recommend it and I would recommend it quickly because I am afraid they are going to go out of business. On a Thursday night from 6-8 p.m. we were the only diners there. We had the entire restaurant to ourselves with a well-known chef and 3-4 waitstaff. Nicole joked with our waittress that she rented out the whole restaurant for my birthday. We enjoyed great food and dessert and a very nice bottle of wine. It was our first bottle of Caymus, a wonderful Cabernet from Napa Valley (Rutherford to be exact). Well worth the hype.
Nicole got me some golf attire for my birthday, she wants me to look more like Rickie Fowler minus the good looks and good golf game. I am thinking about growing my hair backout circa 1998.
We gave up our Gopher hockey tickets for Friday night so we could relax at home and watch the game. It was a great weekend for the seniors as the Gophers swept Michigan Tech. They continue to improve their position and hope to see them do well in the WCHA playoffs that are coming up, and hope to make the NCAA tourney.
On my birthday we worked like any normal Thursday. I went out of drinks after work (Hotel Ivy) with one of my coworkers (we cut out a little early) and Nicole was still working. After that Nicole and I went to dinner at a small restaurant in S. Minneapolis called Cafe Levain. It is a French restaurant and the food was excellent. I would highly recommend it and I would recommend it quickly because I am afraid they are going to go out of business. On a Thursday night from 6-8 p.m. we were the only diners there. We had the entire restaurant to ourselves with a well-known chef and 3-4 waitstaff. Nicole joked with our waittress that she rented out the whole restaurant for my birthday. We enjoyed great food and dessert and a very nice bottle of wine. It was our first bottle of Caymus, a wonderful Cabernet from Napa Valley (Rutherford to be exact). Well worth the hype.
Nicole got me some golf attire for my birthday, she wants me to look more like Rickie Fowler minus the good looks and good golf game. I am thinking about growing my hair backout circa 1998.
We gave up our Gopher hockey tickets for Friday night so we could relax at home and watch the game. It was a great weekend for the seniors as the Gophers swept Michigan Tech. They continue to improve their position and hope to see them do well in the WCHA playoffs that are coming up, and hope to make the NCAA tourney.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Another Winter Storm
Nicole and I went to Chicago for the weekend to look at a different vehicle. We found one we liked on Saturday and made the purchase. We flew to Chicago on Friday and stayed on the Gold Coast, an area just off Michigan on the north side. Our friends Chris and Gina Windslade live near this area in Lincoln Park and Nicole stayed with them in December when I went to Palm Springs with the guys.
We didn't intrude on them this weekend, but we checked out a lot of shops and restaurants and wine bars over the 2 nights.
On Friday we got settled into our hotel around 9:45 p.m. We headed out for dinner at Joes Stone Crab and Steakhouse. This place came highly recommended and it was very good. Nicole had the great idea of sharing a big steak rather than each trying to conquer our own and we then enjoyed the sides and dessert, and of course some good cocktails.
Saturday was a quick breakfast and then off to Howard Orloff's dealership. We enjoyed our experience with the salesman, whom we had communicated with for a few weeks before making the trek. The business manager was another story, we asked about an extended warranty for the vehicle, which I always think is a good idea, but he was a loser. First he was very sick and shouldn't have been at work in the first place, his nose was running all over the place and he could barely speak and he kept wanting to shake our hands (who does that)! We were both grossed out and wanted out of there. I am still considering the extended warranty, but couldn't get out of Larry's office fast enough.
Saturday night was a marathon. We started out by having a great burger at The Luxbar which is on Rush St, just off Michigan. It was great. From there we hit up some shops (Nicole's favorites). I'm just a husband that walks along and find a comfortable chair with my coffee and messes around on my cell phone while she shops. I don't get into it, in fact, she gets most of my clothes because I don't have much style. She got that gift. After shopping we took a little nap and then headed out for the night. We went to Eno (which is a great wine bar) that we went to many years ago with Ryan and Emily. In fact, there are some pictures of the 4 of us in their stairwell (my highpoint in life) taken at Eno. They have great cheeses and of course HUNDREDS of different wines. We love trying new wines and this place always has exactly that. From there, we headed to dinner at Japonais which is a place Nicole loved when she went there in December with Gina and the girls. She absolutely raved about it and wanted to take me there. We had the same server she had when she was there and he said he remembered her (lie in my opinion). Not that she isn't memorable (she is, trust me), but how could he remember one girl when he sees that many people since December. I think he was working on his tip. It was a very cool place, food was great, I should say sushi was great, we had some Japanese ribs that were just ok, but why would you order ribs at a Japanese place (they looked good at the time), but I thought of that after I ate them. Stick to the fish when you go to a sushi place, get your meat elsewhere. Atmosphere was great and we had a lot of fun.
Sunday was an early rise and on the road for a 9 hour trek through a pretty good snowstorm. It rained for the first 3 hours and the next 6 were very slow/treacherous. We counted 34 cars in the ditch and thankfully this time we were not involved in a crash in a snowstorm with our new vehicle.
I have the day off today (President's Day) and I drove Nicole to work so I am sitting at Starbucks' on Grand. I am meeting Nicole for lunch so just relaxing today.
Enjoy the day and be safe on the roads. St. Paul reported 17 inches, but I'm thinking Hudson got less than 10 inches.
We didn't intrude on them this weekend, but we checked out a lot of shops and restaurants and wine bars over the 2 nights.
On Friday we got settled into our hotel around 9:45 p.m. We headed out for dinner at Joes Stone Crab and Steakhouse. This place came highly recommended and it was very good. Nicole had the great idea of sharing a big steak rather than each trying to conquer our own and we then enjoyed the sides and dessert, and of course some good cocktails.
Saturday was a quick breakfast and then off to Howard Orloff's dealership. We enjoyed our experience with the salesman, whom we had communicated with for a few weeks before making the trek. The business manager was another story, we asked about an extended warranty for the vehicle, which I always think is a good idea, but he was a loser. First he was very sick and shouldn't have been at work in the first place, his nose was running all over the place and he could barely speak and he kept wanting to shake our hands (who does that)! We were both grossed out and wanted out of there. I am still considering the extended warranty, but couldn't get out of Larry's office fast enough.
Saturday night was a marathon. We started out by having a great burger at The Luxbar which is on Rush St, just off Michigan. It was great. From there we hit up some shops (Nicole's favorites). I'm just a husband that walks along and find a comfortable chair with my coffee and messes around on my cell phone while she shops. I don't get into it, in fact, she gets most of my clothes because I don't have much style. She got that gift. After shopping we took a little nap and then headed out for the night. We went to Eno (which is a great wine bar) that we went to many years ago with Ryan and Emily. In fact, there are some pictures of the 4 of us in their stairwell (my highpoint in life) taken at Eno. They have great cheeses and of course HUNDREDS of different wines. We love trying new wines and this place always has exactly that. From there, we headed to dinner at Japonais which is a place Nicole loved when she went there in December with Gina and the girls. She absolutely raved about it and wanted to take me there. We had the same server she had when she was there and he said he remembered her (lie in my opinion). Not that she isn't memorable (she is, trust me), but how could he remember one girl when he sees that many people since December. I think he was working on his tip. It was a very cool place, food was great, I should say sushi was great, we had some Japanese ribs that were just ok, but why would you order ribs at a Japanese place (they looked good at the time), but I thought of that after I ate them. Stick to the fish when you go to a sushi place, get your meat elsewhere. Atmosphere was great and we had a lot of fun.
Sunday was an early rise and on the road for a 9 hour trek through a pretty good snowstorm. It rained for the first 3 hours and the next 6 were very slow/treacherous. We counted 34 cars in the ditch and thankfully this time we were not involved in a crash in a snowstorm with our new vehicle.
I have the day off today (President's Day) and I drove Nicole to work so I am sitting at Starbucks' on Grand. I am meeting Nicole for lunch so just relaxing today.
Enjoy the day and be safe on the roads. St. Paul reported 17 inches, but I'm thinking Hudson got less than 10 inches.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Beautiful Winter Day in Minnesota
We finally broke the cold this weekend and what a day it was. We got up early today and had to take care of a few things. Nicole got a haircut and I had a Troy Village Homeowner's Meeting. After both were done we headed WEST to Wayzata. We went to check out the Chilly Open, which is a golf tournament they have on Lake Minnetonka. We had never been to this and wanted to check it out to see if it was something we would participate in next year. By the time we had heard abou it this year it was filled up. So, basically they blaze fairways on the lake and line them with evergreens and make 2 different 18 hole courses. What we really learned is that it is a BIG PARTY on the lake. There is a 19th hole which is a big tent with a live band and a chili cookoff. Area restaurants give free chili and you vote on the best one. They don't sell alcohol so everyone brings their own. We noticed lots of people pulling a sled with either a kid in it or cases of beer, or both. It was very fun out there (the weather helped because it was warm and sunny) and I think it is something we will try to do next year.
After watching some of the golf we ate lunch at Sunsets in downtown Wayzata on the lake and then we stopped at Anthropologie (Nicole's favorite store) in Edina on our way home.
Now we are watching the Gophers beat the Pioneers of Denver (up 3-0 after 1st period). We went to the game last night and watched them lose a great/close game 2-1. My buddy Brent Snyder went to DU so I was talking some trash to him abou the Gophers taking down his 4th ranked team, but they just couldn't get it done last night. A split this weekend would be great!
Also wanted to let you all know that my cousin Kristin (Will) Pierson had her first baby this past week and we have another boy in the Will family. They named him Will Gregory Pierson. Congrats Mike and Kristin.
Get out and enjoy the weather everyone!!
After watching some of the golf we ate lunch at Sunsets in downtown Wayzata on the lake and then we stopped at Anthropologie (Nicole's favorite store) in Edina on our way home.
Now we are watching the Gophers beat the Pioneers of Denver (up 3-0 after 1st period). We went to the game last night and watched them lose a great/close game 2-1. My buddy Brent Snyder went to DU so I was talking some trash to him abou the Gophers taking down his 4th ranked team, but they just couldn't get it done last night. A split this weekend would be great!
Also wanted to let you all know that my cousin Kristin (Will) Pierson had her first baby this past week and we have another boy in the Will family. They named him Will Gregory Pierson. Congrats Mike and Kristin.
Get out and enjoy the weather everyone!!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Truck Update 2
Well, I said I would post some pictures when we got the truck back last week, but we never got the truck back last week. State Farm made a last minute decision to total the vehicle (damage = 70% of vehicles' value). They said our vehicle was close enough to the line that they would give us the choice of whether we would get the vehicle back or take a check for the Kelly Blue Book value. We decided to take the check and never look back. We did get to see the vehicle one last time to get our personal belongings. It looked brand new after 2 months of parts/labor so hopefully it finds a good home and holds up for the new owner. Talk about close, we were within 2% of getting the vehicle back. Unfortunately for State Farm their original assessment of the vehicles' damage was WRONG and the cost inflated on them as the vehicle was being fixed as they continued to find more parts that needed fixing. I'm sure we'll pay the piper in the form of higher insurance rates, but what can we do I guess.
So, we are car shopping again. No fun! We hate the haggle and negotiation of buying cars and our favorite place to buy (Morries' in Golden Valley) doesn't have any Land Rover's so we are out looking. My dad always hated the "wheel and the deal" of people trying to beat him down on prices too, he would have loved the way some dealers are doing business now in the metro, no hassle pricing.
So, that is the update on the truck.
Stay warm and congrats to my cousin Megan and her husband Vinh on the birth of their new son Gavin. Welcome to the family! We are awaiting the birth of my cousin Kristin's baby anyday now too.
So, we are car shopping again. No fun! We hate the haggle and negotiation of buying cars and our favorite place to buy (Morries' in Golden Valley) doesn't have any Land Rover's so we are out looking. My dad always hated the "wheel and the deal" of people trying to beat him down on prices too, he would have loved the way some dealers are doing business now in the metro, no hassle pricing.
So, that is the update on the truck.
Stay warm and congrats to my cousin Megan and her husband Vinh on the birth of their new son Gavin. Welcome to the family! We are awaiting the birth of my cousin Kristin's baby anyday now too.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Truck Update
Between rental cars and rides to work with one car we are looking forward to getting our truck back this week. It is official this past week, the truck has been in the shop getting fixed LONGER than we have owned it. Our accident was November 24th so it has been over 2 months. The only thing we hope for is it is in good shape when we get it back. Otherwise we are considering trading it in for a different one, but we'll give it a chance and drive it for a little while.
We'll get some pictures posted of it this week if we ACTUALLY get it back.
We'll get some pictures posted of it this week if we ACTUALLY get it back.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Our First Cruise
This past week, (Jan 15th - 22nd) Nicole and I went on our first cruise. Our cruise was to the Western Caribbean, with 3 ports of call. Our 1st stop was Cozumel, Mexico. Our 2nd stop was Grand Cayman, and our 3rd stop was Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
The trip was a Christmas gift for mom from all the kids. It was mom's first trip out of the country. There were 11 of us in total and we had a great time.
On the cruise were Nicole and I, Ryan and Kari, their two kids Carlyn (11) and Ethan (8), Chad and Vid, Aunt Jeannie, and Andrew. The weather was perfect, we had nice and warm weather, but when it was warm there was a nice breeze coming off the ocean. We spent the week eating (of course), sight-seeing, sunning ourselves, drinking tropical drinks (lots of them) and just enjoying time with the family.
At Cozumel we shopped at the many shops they had downtown. We then spent a beautiful day at the beach. Beautiful sand and ocean in Mexico.
In Grand Cayman we spent the day at the beach as well. We snorkeled, which was great as they had a natural reef right off the shore, so we didn't have to take a boat out into the ocean to see some very nice fish. We enjoyed a great lunch on the beach and even had a massage on the beach, it was a true relaxation day, our favorite stop of the trip by far. Grand Cayman reminded us of Maui, which is still our favorite place in the world (that we have been). Our last stop in Jamaica was also very nice. We thought Jamaica was very lush and green with lots of trees and almost rainforest. We walked up the Dunn's River Falls, something like 800 feet high and you can walk all the way to the top. It's not too steep, more of a gradual climb and it was a lot of fun. The people of Jamaica are mostly very nice, but there are some very aggressive street vendors that take away from the experience, but at the end of the day they are trying to make a living, they are just more aggressive than the folks in Mexico.
As I write this we are sitting in the basement watching Gopher BB with temps outside of -14 degrees. Very different than our last 7 days looking at the ocean each night with temps in the 80's each day.
It was a great trip, but as always, we are glad to be home!
The trip was a Christmas gift for mom from all the kids. It was mom's first trip out of the country. There were 11 of us in total and we had a great time.
On the cruise were Nicole and I, Ryan and Kari, their two kids Carlyn (11) and Ethan (8), Chad and Vid, Aunt Jeannie, and Andrew. The weather was perfect, we had nice and warm weather, but when it was warm there was a nice breeze coming off the ocean. We spent the week eating (of course), sight-seeing, sunning ourselves, drinking tropical drinks (lots of them) and just enjoying time with the family.
At Cozumel we shopped at the many shops they had downtown. We then spent a beautiful day at the beach. Beautiful sand and ocean in Mexico.
In Grand Cayman we spent the day at the beach as well. We snorkeled, which was great as they had a natural reef right off the shore, so we didn't have to take a boat out into the ocean to see some very nice fish. We enjoyed a great lunch on the beach and even had a massage on the beach, it was a true relaxation day, our favorite stop of the trip by far. Grand Cayman reminded us of Maui, which is still our favorite place in the world (that we have been). Our last stop in Jamaica was also very nice. We thought Jamaica was very lush and green with lots of trees and almost rainforest. We walked up the Dunn's River Falls, something like 800 feet high and you can walk all the way to the top. It's not too steep, more of a gradual climb and it was a lot of fun. The people of Jamaica are mostly very nice, but there are some very aggressive street vendors that take away from the experience, but at the end of the day they are trying to make a living, they are just more aggressive than the folks in Mexico.
As I write this we are sitting in the basement watching Gopher BB with temps outside of -14 degrees. Very different than our last 7 days looking at the ocean each night with temps in the 80's each day.
It was a great trip, but as always, we are glad to be home!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Back To Work
It was back to work for The Wards this week after a great vacation. We were very tired to start the week with a 2 hour time change 5:00 a.m came early on Tuesday. We just relaxed in the evenings trying to catch up a little. Nicole was busy this week and as I write this she is at the hospital working. This is her on call weekend and it has been a busy week at the hospital. We talked about taking a weekend trip in February to either Palm Springs golfing or to Tahoe skiing but when she got back to work and looked at her schedule she was booked through February. This was great news and we will just look at March.
Today, Saturday Nicole has a few patients to see and then we are going to look at condos with my brother Andrew. We have 4 scheduled today. This was Andys first week of work as an Associate Programmer rather than Intern or as I like to tell him "fancy title for computer nerd". I think it is pretty clear that I am very proud of him. We are also excited about the condo prospects it's just hard to pick one. He wants to steal one from this cheap market and we know it is important to buy it cheap enough because resale won't be great for a while.
Last night we went out for dinner in Stillwater with our best friends The Snyders. We went to Phil Taras Hydeaway which is a very cool place. We had never been there before but it is a staple for locals from Stillwater. We stopped by and put our name on the list and it was 35 minutes so we went to Brents parents for a glass of wine. His parents are just great people and so interesting to talk to. They have a beautiful home in Stillwater less than a mile from the restaurant. For dinner we had cheese curds for an appetizer (hey, we live in Wisconsin) and the Snyders and Nicole had steak and I had walleye. Food and dessert were great. It was great to catch up with them. They are heading to Vail this weekend for 4 days of skiing. Brent hasn't skiied in 9 years since he was in college at The University of Denver back when he was an extreme skier. He has a broken tailbone to prove it. Andy just got back from Vail and said the snow was excellent.
Have a great weekend!
Today, Saturday Nicole has a few patients to see and then we are going to look at condos with my brother Andrew. We have 4 scheduled today. This was Andys first week of work as an Associate Programmer rather than Intern or as I like to tell him "fancy title for computer nerd". I think it is pretty clear that I am very proud of him. We are also excited about the condo prospects it's just hard to pick one. He wants to steal one from this cheap market and we know it is important to buy it cheap enough because resale won't be great for a while.
Last night we went out for dinner in Stillwater with our best friends The Snyders. We went to Phil Taras Hydeaway which is a very cool place. We had never been there before but it is a staple for locals from Stillwater. We stopped by and put our name on the list and it was 35 minutes so we went to Brents parents for a glass of wine. His parents are just great people and so interesting to talk to. They have a beautiful home in Stillwater less than a mile from the restaurant. For dinner we had cheese curds for an appetizer (hey, we live in Wisconsin) and the Snyders and Nicole had steak and I had walleye. Food and dessert were great. It was great to catch up with them. They are heading to Vail this weekend for 4 days of skiing. Brent hasn't skiied in 9 years since he was in college at The University of Denver back when he was an extreme skier. He has a broken tailbone to prove it. Andy just got back from Vail and said the snow was excellent.
Have a great weekend!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Last Day In Napa
Our last day in Napa was Sunday. We started the morning out with a skype with Emily and Hattie. We always love catching up with her and she is talking more and more. We had a reserved tasting at Stags' Leap Winery at 10am. We were joined by two other couples that were visiting the area. It was an amazing place. You can see the house behind us. We were able to try 5 great wines and take a tour of the property in the rain. Stags' Leap Winery is "hidden" away and there are no real signs to get to it. They are only allowed 80 visitors a week. Below is the drive lined with Walnut trees. The picture by the fireplace is inside the house/winery. Everything in the home is restored to its original, so lots of history and antiques.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Day 2 and 3: Napa
On Friday we started our wine tours late. I worked through the close of trade which was noon at home, so 10:00 a.m. here. We grabbed lunch at the Oxbow Marketplace, which is a public market they have here in Napa. After that we had a reservation at Trefethen Vineyards. We are members at Trefethen and we got to try 4 of their wines for free. We joined Trefethen when we were there last year and we have loved their wines ever since. We had a great taster full of knowledge about the property and the wines. The best part about the tastings is not just the wine, it is learning more about the history of Napa and how that particular vineyard fits into that history. There are a lot of great "success" stories and many of the vineyards are family businesses passed on from generation to generation.
After Trefethen we made our way to Etude, which was very nice, a brand new tasting room. The wines were just ok, we had a few good Pinot Noir's, but nothing really memorable. After Etude we made our way to Artesa, which is a beautiful site, but it was closed for the holidays.
We had dinner reservations at 5:15 p.m. on New Year's Eve (Blue Hair Reservation). We sat next to an old couple and the guy was on oxygen and he was GRUMPY as hell. He didn't like the table they were seated at, he didn't like his steak, and he didn't like his wife. :) It was kinda sad, and he was very rude to the waitstaff. We planned an early dinner so we could catch some of the New Year's Parties that were going on around Napa, but what we found out was that all the parties were sold out and we procrastinated too long to participate in any of them. So we enjoyed a great dinner, I had Ribeye, Nicole had Sole stuffed with crab. She had a great bottle of wine (she didn't drink it all, we took the rest home) and I had some cocktails to celebrate the New Year. After dinner we got some cheeses from the Oxbow Marketplace and we had a couple bottles of wine from our winery visits the past few days. We kept it pretty low key to ring in 2011. Our room is a suite so we have a couch and table with a flat screen in one area and then the king bed with another flat screen in another area so we just relaxed and watched the New Year ring in around the world.
On Saturday we didn't have any vineyard appointments so we slept in and then went to breakfast. We went to The Carneros Inn for breakfast, a place called Boon Fly Cafe. The food was very good and we enjoyed a nice breakfast. We had the whole day free today (Saturday) so we decided to drive around the Napa Valley. The towns that make up the Napa Valley from South to North are as follows:
San Francisco is about 57 miles south of Napa, CA. From Napa, you take Hwy 29 to the North and you go through Yountville, then Oakville, then Rutherford (home of Rubicon Estates), then St. Helena, and finally Calistoga. All along this Hwy are wineries, too many to count and too many to see in a month's time. Then, on the same parallel there is a road called Silverado Trail that has more wineries on it running the same distance South to North as Hwy 29. So, today we drove north up the Silverado Trail and saw all new wineries. The structures at these wineries are just beautiful. Some are brand new state of the art buildings and some are century old Chateau's, all interesting architecture. When we were driving on this Silverado Trail it felt like we were driving through rural France or rural Italy on a rainy day. We stopped for latte's and pastries and had a great day. Tonight we are dining at one of Napa's finest restaurants called Mustards. In a lot of pictures between the vines you will see yellow amongst the grass. This is mustard seeds that are planted and they are beautiful. There is also a world famous restaurant in the Napa Valley called The French Laundry. It is located in Yountville and the chef is Thomas Keller. You won't even believe some of things about this restaurant.
1. You need a reservation 6 months in advance (the only other way to get in is to call that day and hope for a cancellation)
2. Each day they create a new 9-course tasting menu
3. Lunch is $250 for 2-people
4. Dinner will cost over $500
5. WE ARE NOT EATING THERE!!
Napa Valley is home of some of the best restaurants in the US and the French Laundry is lauded as one of the best in the world. Maybe someday when Nicole's school loans are paid back!
As I write this we are sitting in front of the fireplace in the lobby bar enjoying a bottle of wine from Rubicon. Nicole is searching away on her Ipad (can't get that out of her hands when we are in the room or at home). We want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! We wish you all the happiness and success of 2010 and we love you!
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