|
|
February 6-8
February 9 February 10-11 February 12 February 13 February 14-16 February 17-20 February 21 February 22 February 23-25 |
Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008
I woke with a raw throat (sinus drainage). There was a light coat of snow on the ground this morning and the wind was blowing. We ate breakfast with both the Longmont and Denver Sunday papers at IHOP. We had our usuals... Then back to the room to finish the papers. I didn't feel very good - headache, mostly (still sinus related). Tylenol helped. After talking with the general manager here at the hotel, we had a late lunch at Deli Zone, a sub shop. We split a chicken, mozzarella, and marinara sauce sub. It was pretty good! Then we drove around Longmont, Loveland, and Ft. Collins before having dinner at the Black Eyed Peas. Yum! Loveland wasn't what I remembered. The downtown area I was associating with Loveland was actually Longmont! So much for an infallible memory... I think we'll scratch Loveland from our tentative list of places to retire to... We went back to motel for more research and to relax a little before crashing for the night. Monday, Feb. 18, 2008 We slept in some. After breakfast at the hotel, we loaded one of the suitcases with dirty clothes and headed for the laundromat. What an exciting morning.... Then back to the hotel to put everything away. Once that was settled, we headed over towards Greeley to check it out. We stopped first at the Chamber of Commerce. We had a nice chat with the lady there. On her recommendation, we walked over to the Island Grill for lunch. It was okay. Greeley is flat and its main income is agricultural. I think we've just scratched it from the list of potential retirement locations, too. We took 85 back into Denver, then down I-25 to Castle Rock. I noticed the terrain there as we came into town - nice rolling hills with trees!!! We drove around town for a while, through some of the subdivisions, and finally found the Chamber of Commerce. The lady there just pointed us at their brochures and disappeared. Quite a different reception from the Greeley reception.... However, I think we'll do some more research into this area. It looks promising. It was getting dark, so we headed for REI. My sister, Jenny, called as we were approaching town. We had a nice chat. Carl and I wandered REI for a while and bought a couple of things. Nothing to write home about. Then back to the motel to drop off the stuff we had gathered during the day. We had planned on going to the Left Hand Brewery for dinner based on an ad in the phone book, but they only have a tasting room.... We wound up at the Pumphouse Brewery and Restaurant instead. Good beer. Okay fish and chips. Then back to hotel to crash. Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008 The woman servicing the breakfast area this morning had a hacking cough and wasn't wearing gloves or a mask - it really put me off my feed..... After breakfast, we did a bit more research on the internet, then headed north. First stop was the Ft. Collins Chamber of Commerce for more reading material, then lunch, again asking the person at the Chamber of Commerce for a nearby recommendation. We missed her first recommendation - walked right past it - and went to her second (the Austin Grill). It was very disappointing. Too pretentious. We split a buffalo salad. Ft. Collins is definitely a younger town. Lots of college students, for example. We noticed several bicycles going by while we ate. And a nursing mother at the next table over.... Then we dropped in on two apartment complexes in south Ft. Collins. The first was very nice. The second was an income restricted one (we didn't know that) and we make too much money to stay there.... Then we drove back to Longmont, again stopping first at the Chamber of Commerce, then two apartment complexes. The first was income restricted and the second had both income restricted and regular apartments. Both are now crossed off our lists. Then back to the motel to relax a little, catch up on email, and catch up this journal. We wound up watching a silly movie (Epic Movie) then scooting down to Sweet Tomatoes for another dinner there. We crashed early..... Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008 We almost overslept breakfast (they break it down at 9 am)..... We did more internet research in the morning, then off to a realtor's office in Longmont. They handle rental houses. They had a list of the ones that were currently available, so, map in hand, we drove by about five of them, then back to the Loaf and Ladle (next to the realtor's office) for lunch (yum!!!), then next door to the realtor's for the key to one of the houses. It's in pretty bad shape - it needs some basic repairs to even be livable..... The other one we wanted to visit is currently occupied. We could make an appointment to see it, but passed. Carl filled the gas tank and we headed south. Our next stop was Environs, a rental community in Westminister. Very nice places there. They have two townhouse floorplans that really interest us. We'll definitely keep this one in mind as a good location when we move. Westminister is a nice community and it's central to most of the places to work, when we go looking for our "retirement careers". Then we took off for the southwest part of Denver, going out through the passes at US 285 as far as Conifer, then over the secondary roads to Evergreen (pretty, but pretty remote), then back on I-70. We encountered some rush hour traffic coming through town, but nothing like Atlanta.... Dinner was at the Pumphouse in Longmont again. Delicious Drunk Sirloin for Carl and a yummy salmon encrusted with pecans and a yummy sauce for me. Then back to the hotel to surf the internet again a little before bed. |