Beerfest

Day 1 - 10/10

Chris and I were able to get off work a little early. We were packed and on the road by 6:30 with the north side of Nashville as a target for the first night. We made Joelton, TN around 9:30 and stayed at the Days Inn.

Day 2 - 10/11

It was a typical blue-collar motel...no frills, but a bed to sleep in. Not sure which continent the "Continental breakfast" was imported from...
The video camera is giving us fits, something not right with the viewfinder and the LCD screen, so not sure if its the lense or what...going to get it checked out in Denver...can stills take some still though.
If we can get 12 hours in today, we'll be within 3-4 hours of Denver on Friday, we can board the dogs a day early and not worry about them in the Hotel. They bark at anything that walks by the door...

Stopped in Hays, KS. A little bigger than Joelton, definitely better accomodations at the Holiday Inn, complete with free wireless! Got some steaks from Whiskey Creek and some beer/wine from the local store. We've crossed the Fat Tire demarcation at least...yummy stuff. Also tried a Boulevard Stout, from Kansas. It was decent, if it wasn't ice cold, it may have tatsed a little better.

Day 3 - 10/12

Short drive today, arrived in Denver around lunch and headed to the kennel to drop off the dogs. They love the kennel....not...but the owner was a really nice guy, they seem to be in good hands. 32 dogs and barely a bark to be heard, so the atmosphere seemed really calm.

Then to check into the Loews Hotel, took a few minutes, they seemed to have misplaced our reservation, but got us in. After a quick change and unpack, we headed out to meet Jay and his buddies downtown at the Rocky Mountain Diner. Had some good lunch and a Great Divide DPA, tasty. Next stop was the Adam's Mark where Jay is staying for a minute then off to the Falling Rock. Great beer house, tons of good brews on tap and it was the place where all the beer folk headed before the festival. had a Strong IPA, Hercules IPA, and a Double Bastard '05. All great beers. Also lucked into a guy selling 2 tickets to the festival for face value...woot.  Just before leaving, some guy was walking around pouring shots of some local whiskey, a 2 year old single malt. The distillery was right down the road...maybe we'll check it out tomorrow. They get their malt from the Flying Dog Brewery which is just next door also.