DENVER, CO

July 31, 2014 / Lindsey&Steven / Leave a comment

Heading down out of the mountains toward Denver was a much easier drive than the way up, and the bus handled it just fine. We had a good laugh at the creative signs along the highway warning truckers about the steep downhill grade. Parking in Denver for a night was going to be an issue for us, as I hadn’t come up with any good options yet, so I decided to make a post on a BMW car forum that I am fairly active on asking if anyone had parking available. We got an immediate response from several great guys offering driveways and curbsides all over the Denver area. Roland was the first to offer us a spot along the curb on a dead end street next to his house in Golden, and it worked out perfectly. Roland and his family were so nice; they loved the bus and welcomed us into their home.

Once we got the bus settled and extension cords ran to the house we set of on an adventure through Golden and then down to Denver. Golden was a really neat little down, with a historic downtown area and a nice park next to Clear Creek, the river that runs through town and into the Coors factory. We had a great time walking along the creek and enjoying the beautiful weather. Since we were in Golden we had to go check out the Coors factory, even though Coors beer is a sin to us! Unfortunately (fortunately) we got there too late and they were closed for tours, but we did get to see the outside of their massive factory. It was interesting from a history standpoint.

Waving goodbye to Golden we set off down the highway into Denver, we had better breweries to visit! Stopping at Great Divide first we really enjoyed their lively tasting room, and their delicious beer. We had learned about Great Divide while living in Florida, since our local beer store had several of their offerings available. I got to try their Belgian Wit seasonal; it was another great Wit style beer to add to the list. Next we went around the corner to Breckenridge Brewery, a larger restaurant and brewery that carried a variety of great beer from around town as well as their own selection.

When we first set off for Denver I thought we might just check out a couple places and then head back out to Roland’s place for the night. Little did I know that we were actually out for an all night brew tour of Denver! Everywhere we went, there seemed to be another great spot just down the street or around the corner. We visited River North Brewing and Renegade, both excellent companies. Lindsey really enjoyed the Poblano Amber Ale at Renegade; it had quite the smoky-spicy undertone. We finally finished the night at a taproom and restaurant next to Roland’s where we met up with his sister and her friend. Needless to say, I might have fallen asleep during dinner.

After our wild night out in Denver we enjoyed some breakfast at Roland’s and were able to take advantage of the shower, it is so nice to be in a bathroom that isn’t at a campground, where you don’t feel the need to wear sandals into the shower. Our goal for the morning was to go back into Denver and check out the specialty product of Glaze, called a baum cake. It’s a very interesting old European style of baking with a Japanese twist. It is a place Lindsey read about while we lived in Florida, and we added it to the list of things to see while we traveled the country.

Roland’s mom, sister, and her friend had caught wind of our plans to visit the bakery and asked to join, we said of course! The more the merrier. We all loaded up in Big Red, their old Suburban, and headed off to find some cake for breakfast. They have a really nice store and seating area, and offer several delicious confections. We had a lot of fun watching the head baker use the incredible oven to make these large tube shaped cakes, one layer at a time.

After loading up on sweets for the road, it was time to head out of Denver and toward Fort Collins, so we all said our goodbyes and took pictures by the bus. It was so nice to make new friends and have an excellent place to stay while we visited the city; I hope Roland makes it out to Portland sometime soon so we can visit again.

HOLLAND, MI

July 22, 2014 / Lindsey&Steven / 1 Comment

We stayed 8 days Michigan, and when we weren’t exploring the UP, we had the pleasure of camping out at our friend Allison’s house on the edge of town. Our stay with Allison and her family was a great time that felt like a vacation from our vacation. It was a lot more than just a place to park; they really took care of us and made us feel at home. It was great to catch up with a good friend, and her parents, Keith and Pat, went out of their way to make our stay comfortable. Our time in Holland and the surrounding area also involved much fine food and drink, as you might expect!

But first, a little bit about the town of Holland. Holland is in the southwest region of the state, and sits along Lake Michigan. As the name suggests, it’s a Dutch town and proud of it. Windmills are prevalent, as are tulips when the season is right. Unfortunately we missed Tulip Time, which is a celebration of Dutch culture that takes place every May. If you are looking for skyscrapers, you’ll have to drive 20 minutes east to Grand Rapids. But there is a nice view from the 6^th floor of the Seminary Library, where Allison works, as it’s the highest point in town. The dunes on the lakeshore can be seen out to the west. The surrounding area is mostly farmland and small towns.

We visited two breweries with Allison downtown, the most popular being New Holland Brewing, which is very big and has a full restaurant. The other, Our Brewery, is still new but seems to do well for itself. A third brewing company, Big Lake Brewing, is in a different part of town that isn’t as quaint but their beer holds its own. Our Brewery caught my attention with their unusual selection. Our flight consisted of a Burnt Caramel Quad, Ginger Beard (perfect for Steven!), Careless Whisper IPA, Chocolate Vienna Lager, Vanilla Milk Stout, and a Curry(!) Cider. While slightly skeptical (there were a lot of creative options to choose from), we were very pleasantly surprised. Especially by the Chocolate Lager, which had the depth of a stout.

Our taster was followed up with dinner down the street at New Holland Brewing. They make excellent beer and food and have something for everyone. They have a selection of beers called the Hatter Series, which includes many beer styles, all with a different mad hatter on the bottle. Steven is partial to the White Hatter, the white Belgian style wit bier. Besides the hatters are many other fine options, as well as their own distilled spirits, but it’s hard to leave room for that when there are such nice beers to be had. We made good use of the patio seating while we were there.

One day while Allison and Keith were at work, Pat took Steven and I on a little field trip. She took us in her car to see the Saugatuck Dunes on Lake Michigan. You have to walk a little ways through the forest to get to the beach, so we had a nice mini hike out there. Afterwards we got a driving tour of a couple little tourist towns and a stop for lunch at Saugatuck Brewing. What makes Saugatuck really unique is that they offer brewing workshops where you can come and learn to make your own batch of beer, leave it there for a week or so to ferment, and come back when it’s time to be bottled and taken home.

We drove through some scenic country until we came to Virtue Cider in Fennville. They are a relatively new company brewing many kinds of craft cider with almost all local apples. The owner is the former owner of Goose Island Beer Company in Chicago, so he brings quite a bit of brewing experience to the cidery. We got a chance to taste everything they have bottled currently, and our favorite was The Mitten, a bourbon barrel aged cider. It has sparked some inspiration in us for future homebrew ambitions. One of the guys there saw Steven taking photos of the place and offered to show us the “cellar” where they hold all the fermenting tanks. It was pretty cool to see! The building is mostly underground to keep everything at an optimal temperature.

We washed that all down with some good old-fashioned fresh pressed apple juice at Crane’s Pie Pantry on the way home. Pat took us the back way on the return trip so we got to do some more sightseeing. I loved seeing all the old farmhouses and little cottages, to the point of Steven’s chagrin I think. It sure felt special to be chauffeured around for a day.

Tuesday found us relaxing at the house and working on the blog until evening came around and we all went out to Big Lake Brewing. We sampled some beers there and ordered a pizza from next door. They had a lot of darker beers, which was a change of pace from all the summer beers we’ve been drinking. After dinner, we headed down to the Holland State Park on Lake Michigan to catch the sunset. There’s a beach there, with a lighthouse and a pier. We had a funny experience as we walked out onto the concrete pier and found ourselves in the midst of a surprise proposal. The term “surprise” is relative I guess because it was pretty obvious what was going on. It was a very young couple and it was pretty cheesy, but it was fun to see her family trying to hide out of sight while she walked past us and of course said yes with a million eyes burning into the back of her head. Awkward! Even though it was a cloudy sky, the sunset cast a beautiful pastel light on everything and once again, Michigan proved to us how wonderful it’s summers are.

On Wednesday, Steven, Keith, Pat and I took a trip to the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners. It was a huge place with several large barns full of classic cars, motorcycles, and even some campers! We also found a double decker bus, and immediately saw the possibilities for a conversion. That would be a fun project for a little house. There were so many cars and things to see, it was an impressive collection. I think Steven and Keith each took hundreds of pictures. Allison had to work, but she didn’t mind missing the museum so much. She was more interested in our next stop, Bell’s Brewing in Kalamazoo.

Steven and I were introduced to Bell’s when we moved to Florida, as we learned about all kinds of craft beer west of the Mississippi that doesn’t make it out to the Northwest. We were looking forward to trying some more of their beer with lunch, and were really blown away. We had a flight of six samples, and loved each of them. They have a really wide range of offerings, everything from their flagship summer wheat beer to a couple Belgian styles, a sour, darker high gravity beers, and IPA’s, to name just a few. When we finished lunch we stopped in at their store for some goodies. It’s pretty neat that they sell home brewing equipment there too.

But the fun didn’t stop in Kalamazoo! Keith had something planned for us that evening, a little thing he likes to call a Bike and Brew. We went back to the house to pick up Allison and load up our bikes, and we set off for Grand Rapids. Our destinations were Founders Brewing and Hopcat. There was a nice paved bike path from a park into the city, so the 8 miles in didn’t feel bad. Founders is becoming an expansive brewery, I’ll be curious to see if we find it back home. They are known for their extremely drinkable All Day IPA and the Breakfast Stout. After a quick taste there we continued on a couple blocks to Hopcat. Hopcat is a cool hangout with lots of taps and a couple of their own brews. We all had burgers and the aptly named and very addictive “crack fries”. As we finished up, we couldn’t help but notice the sun dipping lower and lower, and we still had another 8 miles to get back to the car. So with no excuses to lag behind, we kept up the pace on the way back. I may have taken the liberty of exercising my vocal cords as well as my legs, just to keep myself going. Sorry, guys… We had a great time, and Steven and I have decided to try to make biking to breweries a habit. It feels good to work for your beer a little bit.

We enjoyed one more day at the house on Thursday getting the bus cleaned and reorganized, ready to get back on the road. Allison took us downtown one more time that evening, and then we had a delicious meal of homemade pizza. Michigan was such a great time, and we are so grateful for everything the Van Liere’s provided. It feels like I gained an extra set of parents over the week. I’d love to go back and experience another summer camping trip on those incredible lakes. We were sad to leave it behind us, but it was time to trade out sand dunes for mountains out West. Michigan, we’ll miss you! Until next time.

BURLINGTON, VT

July 10, 2014July 14, 2014 / Lindsey&Steven / 3 Comments

We spent the night in Bangor camped in the parking lot of a Restaurant called Season’s; Lindsey and I had met the owner of the place while we were visiting Allagash Brewery back in Portland. He invited us to park there for the night, and we didn’t turn him down. After watching the great fireworks show on the river we ran through the rain back to the bus, where we listened to the rain come down on the metal roof all night.

The morning light woke us up early, and we drove on through the rain with our sights on Burlington. Crossing in New Hampshire again we were really enjoying the beautiful scenery and winding roads. It didn’t take long to cross the narrow part of New Hampshire and enter Vermont. Driving toward Burlington we saw signs for Cabot Creamery, we couldn’t pass that up! Cabot makes some of the best Cheddar, besides Tillamook of course. We had a nice time looking around their factory and sampling many different cheeses. We couldn’t leave without buying a little block of some delicious aged Alpine Cheddar. We also tried to visit a maple sugarhouse, but they were not open for business that day.

Continuing on we drove through many small farm towns, each with their own interesting buildings and character.We finally reached our destination, Sam Mazza’s Farm Market, just outside Burlington. The staff pointed out an area around back by the cornfield and apple orchard for us to park and we set up camp for the night. Sam Mazza’s was an awesome market, full of fresh produce, jam, honey, and fresh baked bread. After getting setup for the night and having a quick dinner we jumped on the motorcycle and headed down the road into downtown. Since it was Saturday evening there was a lot going on, live music at several places, and lots of people out enjoying the night. We wandered up and down Church Street looking at all the nice restaurants, and listening to some music. Eventually we found our way to the Vermont Pub and Brewery, which we had heard was excellent. The place was packed full of loud college kids, we waited around for a while at couple different areas but didn’t have luck getting the attention of the staff, so we decided to head down the street to another brewery that sounded more promising. We found Zero Gravity Brewing inside a restaurant called Flatbread, and immediately had a seat at the bar. Their beer selection was great, and we enjoyed sampling a few different offerings. We even tried a Gruit there, which is an interesting medieval style ale brewed without hops. My favorite was the Conehead Wheat IPA, a delicious hazy golden IPA with a great balance of hops and citrus flavors. Not the typical mega-hop NW style IPA!

Zak, the Scottish Highlander

Heading back out to the bus we enjoyed a peaceful night, as only being parked on a farm can bring. The next morning Lindsey really wanted some fresh berries so we walked across the road to the U-Pick area and got a nice big quart of juicy strawberries. After we picked up a couple more items from the farm store we set off on the bike again. Back in Burlington we enjoyed exploring the city in the daytime, but were sad that quite a few places seemed to be closed on Sunday. Walking down to the ferry dock we were greeted with an amazing view out across Lake Champlain. It was such a beautiful sight, and a perfect sunny morning to be out. We sat on a bench in the park and basked in the sun while we watched sailboats cruise in and out of the harbor. After a while we walked back up the hill into town and found Citizen Cider, a craft cider house serving up some great flavor combinations we had never tried before. We enjoyed a sample flight there in the fun tasting room. By then it was well past lunchtime for us, and our stomachs rumbled. We headed back out to the farm and loaded up the motorcycle. Sitting in the grass next to the bus enjoying a sandwich in the sun was a great way to end our Vermont visit.

On our way out of town we stopped by Magic Hat Brewing, one of the biggest names in Vermont. We learned about Magic Hat while living in Florida, and wanted to see it in person. We parked the bus in the back and walked into the “Artifactory” where we entered a bizarre carnival-like zone of merchandise. As we looked around at all the cheesy branded items we were disappointed. This was a far cry from the craft breweries we were used to, where there is a lot more emphasis on the beer and brewing process. It was nice of them to offer free samples to guests, but after having so many outstanding beers in the last few weeks we were a little jaded. At least we can say we have seen it in person!

Lindsey and I were sad that we didn’t have a few more days to spend camping and exploring Vermont, since there is so much to see and do there. Every bend in the road reveals a new hiking trail or campsite by a gorgeous river. Our goodbye was bittersweet; sad to leave but excited to keep working our way toward Michigan, where our good friend Allison and her family awaited us. As we cruised across the bridge into New York state Lindsey and I vowed to each other to return to the NE sometime soon and spend some more time exploring this beautiful part of our country.

CARRBORO, NC

June 18, 2014June 20, 2014 / Lindsey&Steven / 2 Comments

Through a random BBQ lunch, we learned that our landlord’s fiance’s parents live in Carrboro (next to Chapel Hill) and love entertaining guests. Lucky for us, they were willing to put us up for a night and let us park the bus in the neighborhood. I’ll just say they have “guest quarters” (a small apartment that would rival many fine hotel rooms) that they built next to the house and that it was very gracious of them to offer their place to us. I could have spent a lot of time there, alas, we only had one night. We did greatly enjoy visiting the Weaver Street Market, which, for you North-Westerners, is a mirror image of New Seasons, except a co-op. We enjoyed a healthy dinner there and took the chance to restock our provisions for the next couple days. Basically, I was rejoicing to find a place like that, and it furthered the idea that North Carolina is the east coast version of Oregon. Because it really is.

Obviously, we had to check out the local brewery. It’s called Steel String, and they had some great choices. We especially liked their wheat beers. We shared a flight before we walked the block and a half back to our home for the night.

Our hosts were so generous, they sent us off with a sack lunch. THEY MADE US LUNCH. Can’t emphasize enough how wonderful they are. And Carrboro is a very charming little college town, if you are ever in the area. There are also some restaurants that sounded great, but we weren’t around long enough to enjoy them. We were there long enough to enjoy the free town wifi and some local brew. Just our style.

ASHEVILLE, NC

June 18, 2014June 20, 2014 / Lindsey&Steven / Leave a comment

We’d been looking forward to a stop in Asheville since we started planning this trip. Everyone we talked to had nothing but praises for the city, and we knew it would be a bit like home. The drive in from Tennessee was incredible, as we wound our way slowly up the Smoky Mountains and the air got cooler and cooler. We rolled into a small town just up the road, where we parked outside a friend’s hobby car shop. He was very generous in letting us stay there and hook up to electricity, and he even welded us a makeshift exhaust turndown to keep soot off our motorcycle. Steven had fun talking shop and checking out his current projects.

The next morning, we geared up and hopped on the bike for our excursion into Asheville. We knew we were running on fumes from the last trip, but thought we could make it to the gas station down the road. Of course, we ran out of fuel a couple of miles away. We coasted for a while, but pretty soon we were pushing it along the side of the road. Fortunately for us, a friendly local (as it seems there are many) offered a ride to the station. Steven jumped in his truck and was back in a few minutes with a can of fuel. As I waited, I took in the scenery and was also asked by another local if I needed anything. This experience only further prompted our love of the area. After topping our tank it was a smooth ride into town.

Coincidentally, there was a festival going on that weekend, right on the hillside next to us. It’s called the Firefly Gathering, and it was a weekend-long camp out with a very full and varied schedule of workshops and classes, all having to do with living off the Earth/primitive skills/sustainable living. It was funny when we arrived to see the event organizers staring at our bus, sure that we were there for the event. And we definitely looked the part! We were approached several times that weekend, with concern for our event registration and our “illegal” parking spot. We assured them we were allowed to park there by the shop tenant and also “We’re not part of the group, what is it all about?”. But everyone was very friendly and invited us to join in on the fun, which we would have been interested in had we more time to spend in the area. The class on solar energy wouldn’t have hurt our dry camping ambitions.

Asheville is similar to Portland, Oregon as everyone has told us. It’s just a lot smaller, sort of like the equivalent of the Alberta Arts District and Mississippi Ave. Lots of art, beer, food, and community spirit. The icing on the cake is it’s beautiful location in the mountains. We enjoyed wandering around town, found delicious lunch at a place called Farm Burger (shocking choice for us, I know), and took some time to sample the local craft beer scene. The variety of beer was great, everything from belgian styles to “West coast style” IPAs to sours and wild ales. There is something for everyone in Asheville. We were fortunate to be there on the day of Burial Beer’s one year anniversary, so we picked up a 750mL of their special release Aged Saison to savor at another time.

A locavore’s haven

Downstairs at Wicked Weed

Wicked Weed Brewing Co.

The basement at Thirsty Monk

Double D’s Coffee Bus

Wild Ale flight at Burial

We loved the beer, but I couldn’t leave Asheville without trying their chocolate, either. I discovered French Broad Chocolate Lounge via Joy the Baker, and was eager to try it. My hot chocolate, infused with rose water, cardamom and chopped pistaschios, certainly did not disappoint.

We were a little sad to leave this place, and I think even more sad to leave the fresh mountain air. It was a good reminder of what’s near to our hearts.

MOUNT DORA, FL

May 30, 2014June 19, 2014 / Lindsey&Steven / Leave a comment

It’s hard to believe we’ve spent a whole year in Mount Dora. (That’s about 45 min NW of Orlando, in case you were wondering). We have really come to love this little town, so full of life and it’s own culture. There’s usually something happening on the weekend, whether it’s a craft fair, music festival, farmer’s market or charity fundraiser. That’s not to mention the nightly live music at just about every bar and restaurant, the monthly food truck bizarre, and the sea planes taking off from the lake all winter. It’s a boutique town, full of mom and pop shops, including a store catering specifically to your dog. The winter months do fill the town with snow birds, but even in the summer the locals keep it interesting; and every evening greets a beautiful sunset over Lake Dora.

Lake Dora

5th Avenue, night before the annual Arts & Crafts Festival

Wandering the Arts Festival. Not unusually, downtown streets were closed off and open to pedestrians only.

Enjoying a Maggie’s wine tasting

Our favorite place in Mount Dora is Maggie’s Attic, a wine bar/bottle shop, and our local beer oasis. We immediately felt at home there, and not just because of the craft beer. The friendly staff was quick to remember us and make us feel welcome, and soon enough we had become regulars. Maggie’s is obviously a great place to imbibe, but besides that it is a community hub. The people we’ve met there and the experiences we’ve shared at Maggie’s events will be remembered for a lifetime. We’ve had the pleasure of sharing the company of people such as the former mayor of Mount Dora, the couple who raises hunting dogs for charity, local home brewers and the ex-soldier retelling his encounters in Europe. It’s a special place.