Thanks to John Denver, this is still a song lyric-linked title. Let’s keep it going baby!!

So it’s been a bit – it’s time to catch you up. First of all, my last post was about cooking. I promised to update you on the status of the pork roast I planned to make. Except, I never ended up making it. <sad trombone noise> That said, I did make a recipe from the D&D cookbook for several friends last weekend. Dwarven Miner’s Pie (yes, yes, it’s basically Shepard’s Pie) was made. The difference for this recipe was that the meat was venison versus beef or lamb. We made a proper hill dwarf pie! And it was delicious. It was much enjoyed by dinner guests and our next door neighbor. Thanks to our daycare family for the meat!

That was Saturday, but starting Sunday this last week was spent huffing and puffing and dying a little at 6,200+ feet in Colorado Springs and the surrounding area. It’s amazing how taking 20 steps in that altitude feels like a 100 at my normal home sea level!

First: The Conference. You may recall from a previous post my utter sense of dread over this trip. So – the travel; that which I dreaded the most. Baltimore to Chicago was full, but I managed to sit next to someone who was not an A-hole, so it all worked out. Then I got lucky and had an open seat next to me from Chicago to Colorado Springs. Bonus. So for all my stress in advance, it all worked out and there was nothing to need to stress about.

Then the conference itself. It’s been quite a few years (thanks COVID), and there are multiple new speakers with content I’ve never seen, so I was nervous having to “run” a table of people through these 4 days. But I ended up having the BEST TABLE I’VE EVER HAD. Seriously, these people were on point! I felt confident and accomplished and happy, because they made that easy to do. It’s like my ninth time, but the best I’ve ever had!

And the place, The Broadmore in Colorado Springs……… Holy. Moly. Batman.

I’ve gotten to travel some amazing places. Conferences. International work travel. Personal stays in Castles… It’s all equaled some amazing memories. But of all the places I have stayed, this might be the most POSH of all of them. The grounds were impeccable. The rooms were over the top. The service was unrivaled. There is not much more I can say other than to say if you can afford it (good luck!), you should splurge and spend a few days here. Skip the steakhouse, but definitely check out the Golden Bee and the Italian restaurant!!

So after the conclusion of the conference it was time for Dave and Eli to fly in for spending a few days with Dave’s family in town. We had a great time. We discovered a new board / card game called Steampunk Rally that we all really enjoyed, including Eli who can be difficult to please with non-video games.

Per Eli’s request we decided to go up Pikes Peak. It’s been like 8 years since the last time we went up, so he didn’t remember it. Our original plan was to take the cog railroad up. However, we accidentally bought tickets for the wrong day… herp derp. We thought that was the end of our plans, but on a whim decided that – you can drive it, so why shouldn’t we try and drive it? It was definitely a scary drive, but simultaneously beautiful. We made it up and back with no problems, and got some beautiful photos while up on the top.

Eli did have some breathing issues as we were leaving the summit, but those resolved quickly and he still said he had fun and would do it again.

The flights home seemed long, but were uneventful. We got home super late (almost midnight), and, as much fun and fulfillment as the week was, were super glad to be home. So now it’s time to settle back into real life.

The moral of the story: I should stress less about things because everything worked out great in the end. Will I stress less? Of course not. But even with stress, a really successful, fulfilling, fun, exciting, and perfect time can be had.

❤️