A Year of Change

We made it to Denver on time but then of course, our flight to Cabo was delayed. Finally around 1pm we landed in Baja Mexico. You walk out of the airport and there are bars in the parking lot, ha. Our driver was there in about ten minutes and off to the JW Marriott we went. Upon arrival, we joined a line of 25 spine surgeons and spouses waiting to register for their room. It didn’t take too long and our room is great. The whole resort is great!

While I was waiting in line, Lori went down to the conference registration and picked up our badges. Then we walked around the resort and went down to see and hear, the waves crashing on the beach. There’s just something about the ocean that makes you feel alive and helpless at the same time. Next, we decided let’s get into our swim suits and go back to the pool. After an hour or so there, we showered and headed to a reception for all the attendees. There must be as many reps from surgical companies that make hardware like implants and other stuff, as doctors, trying to get doctors to use their stuff in clinical trials and surgery. We met up with Dr. Braxton and Molly (his wife) and they insisted we join them and a few people for dinner.

At 5:50 off we went to this farm to table place that was only ten minutes or so away. If you didn’t know better, you’d think you were being abducted or going to some bad drug deal in a movie. It was down this dirt road past sketchy buildings and broken down concrete homes that people live in. You finally turn into a gate that is an oasis in the middle of the hills. Our driver had to check in as we pulled in. It was a huge complex with live music, shops, gardens and tables everywhere outside serving fresh food.

With us were two guys from Denver, Jim and Troy, who were from a spine implant company out of Louisville by Boulder. Then, Dr. B, Molly, Lori and I and a nice young doctor who was from Rush Medical Center in Chicago. He and Dr. B talked about cases all through dinner and he asked Dr. B to look at a specific case today, that he was struggling with. Watching all the surgeons from around the World (I met the head of Cedar Sinai from LA) respect Dr. B, tells you he is really that great. He’s like a rock star here and when anyone asks him if he can do this or that, he says, “you have to ask Lori”. Several times he introduced Lori as his boss, ha.

We made it back from dinner, without being abducted, by 9:30. We slept great and are off to, you guessed it, the gym. Dr. B presents at 10:50 this morning. Then we’ll hit the pool for some more sun and waves. The ocean is under a Black Flag warning meaning don’t go in the water as the rip tides will suck you out if the huge waves don’t kill you first!

Oh, during dinner, Molly, who was across from me, suddenly tapped me on my chest and pointed to her throat as she was choking! I jumped up and was going to Heimlich her but her throat cleared. Dr. B was in the bathroom and she laughed and said, “oh my God, I’m choking and I asked the only non-doctor at the table to save me”! I was up and ready, but all was good!

Beautiful here, the humidity, warm weather, clear skies (no smoke like back home) and best of all to me, the endless sound of the waves crashing on the beach, are great.

Time to get moving, have a great day. More tomorrow.

Here we go. 4:40am now and we’re up and moving. I’m hoping to get some rest and recoup over the next 72 hours. Been a long time since we’ve had any sort of vacation. We need to be headed out in 50 minutes or so.

Yesterday was a blur. Lori was going to be home at 2 but that turned into 5:30. I had a crappy day at work with some drama but fixed it all. I’d like to just stop working all together but it’ll be at least another year.

Time to get moving, more tomorrow from Baja, God Bless.

My Garmin watch that Ty had me get says today I need to take a break as my body battery is around 50%. This means no gym or training today, but a day of needed rest. After working out yesterday and then finishing putting mulch around the yard, I’m down with a day off.

Lori is on a Zoom meeting in the living room right now. Dr. B is on his way to Cabo today so I think Lori is just going in for a couple hours. Instead of driving to the airport in Denver tomorrow, I used 50,000 miles and $20 for us to fly in and out of Eagle. This saves $185 in parking, going through security and of course 5 to 6 hours of driving. Much easier and less stressful.

Looks like rain and hail in Denver but nice up here. This weekend it’ll be a hot one. Should be fun in Cabo. Lori has three, 8 minute presentations to attend that Dr. Braxton is giving. On Friday at 5, she has an hour meeting with her research team and then she and I will go to dinner at 6:30. Other than that. It’ll be lots of fun and sun. Today we need to load up on food for Ty to eat while we’re gone. Lori makes a bunch of stuff and puts it in the fridge for him. Our flight from Eagle to Denver leaves at 7am tomorrow morning.

Time to go so I can water the hanging baskets out front. The house looks great. I’ll take a picture today. Hope you all are well. God Bless.

Fun day yesterday. Lori and I went to Home Depot, two Ace Hardware stores, and the grocery store before cooking and cleaning for Marty and Mel to come over.

Lori, the amazing chef that she is, made meatloaf (2 of them!) salad, Mexican Street Corn wood fired over a flame, mashed potato’s, and smash burgers. The burgers were unbelievable and took literally 3 minutes on our new Blackstone griddle. Go buy one today! You can thank me later. They’re not expensive and work like a restaurant grill. Unlike our BBQ, there are no flare ups as no grease falls onto any flame. This thing is truly amazing and is my new favorite outdoor cooking appliance.

Ty’s off today and working out with Stacey, one of my trainers. Lori has a full day at work and I have some calls. Its cooler and nice up here, which is just fine with us.

Every tv ad is anti Trump. I don’t know why the Dems think this is such a winning message. Must be because it’s only the primary. I’m sure they’ll go to the middle in the general election. Just like a politician to pander to whoever is voting. People should take note of that!

Time to head to the gym. Have a great day and God Bless. In about 50 hours we’ll be on our plane to Cabo!

Ty’s off to to work and Lori’s outside spreading the 20th bag of mulch we bought yesterday to put around the trees. We managed, or should I say she, did most of it yesterday. My job was to get the bags out of the truck and place them by each tree. I bought a little four wheel wagon that’s really cool. It’s hard plastic and was $150 bucks, but worth every penny. It’s called the Gorilla and I love it.

It’s a little smokey here today so there must be a fire somewhere. Marty and Melanie are coming over around 3 this afternoon. We’ll probably go to the gym and do some more stuff around the house before then.

We’re headed to Cabo Wednesday. We have some great reservations for dinner as they mostly serve fresh fish and authentic Mexican food. I’ve never been and it’s been 30 years or more since Lori was there.

Jag is studying away for his test that he’ll take in a couple of weeks. Then he’ll be able to trade in the markets. Ty has been talking with Auntie Kristin who is helping him with his pending move to California. Looks like it’s finally happening sometime soon. Casting calls these days are pretty much done exclusively online. I told Lori yesterday, watch, the kid will be the next George Clooney.

Great day to celebrate. One of the best things I’ve done in my life, if not the best, is to be a dad to my two boys. Having a kid is easy but raising them to be people that actually make the World a better place, is a whole other thing. Not sure how we did it, but we somehow succeeded. Both boys, as we all know, are good men that are kind souls who care about other people before themselves. I’m a lucky man.

Time to get moving. Hope everyone has a great day and Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there and to the uncles and other men that influences the lives of those younger than them. Lord knows there’s a lot of kids running around, misguided, who didn’t have the benefit of a dad while growing up. You see it on the news every single day. Every kid deserves a dad growing up and there would be a lot less problems if they all had one. I think you get what I mean. Enough said. Again, enjoy the day and thanks and cheers to all the dads out there, even those that are no longer with us.

God Bless.

This morning at 9, we’re having two new screen doors installed. Harley ran through one a couple months ago and the other was damaged by wind. It’s been two months since they ordered them as our doors are wider than standard doors. They cost $3400! Unbelievable right? Insurance paid $2500.

I ate a couple enchilada’s last night with a few of Lori’s cottage cheese and lemon pancakes which are protein packed and really good. I’m off my fast until next month when I’ll do it for another day or two just to stay healthy.

Marty and Mel made it home last night around 7:30. They did the entire drive in one day leaving from Montana at 5:30 in the morning. They’re coming over tomorrow. While in Montana, he bought a Blackstone Griddle and kept telling me how great it was. Coincidently, Ace Hardware sent me an email with a big sale on griddles and grills for Father’s Day, so around 11am, off I went to see Peter, the manager at Ace, who walked me through how to use it and helped me load one into the back of my truck. Nate, our neighbor, helped me lift it out of the truck when I got home. I seasoned it up while watching the soccer game and it’s all ready to go! Lori rolled her eyes when she got home from work as now we have a grill, a smoker and a griddle, ha. It’s super cool and wasn’t expensive, about $500 with all the extras. Now I can cook smash burgers or breakfast or whatever and it’ll be like I’m camping, ha.

We need to head to the gym so we’re back by 9 for Eduardo who is coming to install the new screen doors. Ty is working again today and tomorrow and already has 50 hours in this week. He’s powering out to save money to move to California. We’re getting him some intros to hotels in Santa Barbara for a job. Kristin is helping out too. He’s wanting to get into acting and Kristin said most casting calls, since covid, are now online! Look for Ty in the movies soon, ha.

That’s it, time to get moving, have a great June 20th. We won the soccer game yesterday, whoo hoo. Best we’ve done I think ever in the World Cup. God Bless.

US plays Australia in Seattle today at 1 this afternoon. We’re not big soccer guys but we did win last week and not much else in sports is going on these days, so we’ll have it on. Go USA!

Democrats probably won’t be watching as about half of them hate America, nice. Not sure why they just don’t leave. If I hated the country where I lived, I’d move. When you really think about it, it all comes down to good verses evil. Good will win out in the end, I promise.

Ty’s working as usual. Lori has to go into the office today and I have calls this morning. It’s a little cooler up here. I’m almost back to my fighting weight of about 202 pounds. I told Robi about my current 5 day program and of course, she laughed saying this is the best one yet. No matter what you do, everyone needs to fast now and then. It doesn’t have to be a long time either. Even skipping one day of all food and calories does wonders for your body, just one day! I’ll stop now as we’re all too old to be told what to do as when we get this age, we don’t listen very well, ha.

Wish we’d get some rain. Hope we don’t have any bad fires as it’s really dry. My friends that own a store in Cody Wyoming that make custom leather tooled belts and stuff, are in Aspen for Aspen Food and Wine, doing an in store pop-up at Kemo Sabe, the cowboy shop that sells hats and boots to tourists. Hailey (Trajan’s wife) sent me a picture of a white alligator purse that Ernie, who made our belt buckles, did the hardware for, that sold yesterday morning when they opened for $26,000! Unbelievable. We were talking about how quick it’d sell. Hailey said it was gone by noon, and then said, “man, I love this town”, ha. Lot of money for a purse, right.

Marty and Mel will hit the road for home from Montana today and be home tomorrow. They might come over Sunday for Father’s Day as we’re both without any of our kids. I think Ty is working. I get to start eating again tomorrow so good timing.

That’s it, time to get moving. Have a good Friday and God Bless.

Must have been in the 90’s up here yesterday. I was out of Denver by noon and didn’t really notice it, but it was 82 degrees at 8 o’clock in the morning as I made it into town. The highlight of the day was hanging out with Brook in Elizabeth at his shop, Powder River Hat Company. He came in early and opened the shop to take care of me. His dad was a Denver Bronco in the early 60’s. We have a lot in common but he’s a dozen or so years younger than me. He reworked four of Lori’s and my hats and measured me up in case I want him to build me one. He’s seeing what pelts he can get. Next up, down in Parker, I stopped by to see Jim who is my favorite bootmaker. Both Brook and Jim are part of the Cowboy Trades Association, which is a group of traditional artists from saddle makers to bootmakers, hatmakers and more that make things in the old the way, the way they did 150 years ago. I met these guys as the silversmith who made my favorite buckle I bought 4 years ago, and who made Lori’s Christmas present last year, (a sweet ladies buckle), is part of the group. Jim started working on my boots last October 14th and they should be done hopefully in a few months. I stopped in to say hi and he showed me my lasts, which are the handmade models of my two feet and had me confirm again the leather colors I chose last year. Super excited. I posted this link before but check it out again. It should open up to a two-minute video to tell you about these guys. Really talented men and really good guys. Jim and Brook are now good friends more than they are someone who makes something for you. Us old guys need to stick together.

COWBOY TRADES ASSOCIATION – SUPPORTING TRADITIONAL COWBOY ARTIST AND ORGANIZATIONS.

Jim, my bootmaker, is the guy in the glasses, Brook is the guy working on hats in the video and Ernie, who made our buckles, is in the brown shirt at the end. I try to support these guys in any way possible as without them, the old ways and a part of American history will vanish.

I’m holding off on a new car, at least for today. Even with the massive discount, I just love my truck too much. I should buy the Mercedes and keep the truck, but I don’t want any debt.

I have calls this morning from 10 until 1 and Lori is working out with Stacey at 9:30. We’ll probably go to our gym first and then she can go workout again. Ty works at 7.

A week from now we’ll be in Cabo. It’ll be nice to be by the ocean and have fresh seafood daily. It’ll be a quick trip as we arrive at noon Wednesday and fly home around noon on Saturday.

It’s almost 6am now and time to get moving. Hope everyone is doing well. Take care, be safe and God Bless.

Today I have a couple stops at one of my custom cowboy hatmakers and then a stop at the bootmakers. First up is a little work in Denver. I should head back up the hill around noon at the latest if I’m lucky.

Ty went to a concert last night with Maddie, his old girlfriend. Apparently, she quit drinking, but they’re just friends, hmmm.

Marty is having fun working on the house in Montana. They head home Friday. I worked out super hard yesterday with heavy weights. I’m sure I’ll be sore by tomorrow, if not earlier.

Hitting the road by 6am this morning so time to go. Have a great Hump Day, GB.

We made it to Denver after stopping for rock scaling on Vail Pass. Lori had her checkup and I had my stitches out. We made it home around 4. Harley had a bone in the morning and somehow brought it inside, which of course, resulted in ants! We managed to get rid of them and as of this morning, we haven’t seen any more.

A month or so ago I was looking at some new cars as I’ve been trying to get a diesel Suburban. I was also looking at the Mercedes GLS 450’s which are luxurious cruisers around the same price. Last night, one of my dealers, after some emails back and forth, offered me $16,000 off! This is a huge discount on a current model year car. I’m trying to decide what to do. Trade my truck, keep my truck and get the Mercedes, or just stand pat with my truck. It sure would be nice to have a comfortable cruiser like the GLS. Ben has one he bought around six months ago and loves it. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Ty is working again today. Chef Bob fell off the wagon at work yesterday and got drunk and the paramedics had to come as he passed out. He’s been in rehab three times. So sad. Molly, the other owner, is flying back early from Wisconsin. Luckily Ty was there and has been working every day as he’s one of the only ones that can really run the place.

Nice up here and hot in Denver. Hotter tomorrow. Time to go, have a great day, take care and God Bless.