Indulgence

I’m pretty much over traveling.  Chuck’s definitely over traveling.  But of course, while he was flying somewhere over the eastern seaboard two Fridays ago, finally on his way home from New Jersey and me thoroughly looking forward to his return, my presence was ‘requested’ in the Colorado Springs office first thing Monday morning.  Figures.  I tried my damnedest to get out of it, but I was shot down.  Defeated, I blubbered to Chuck later that afternoon that I would be away from him for yet another week, and he proposed a brilliant idea.  He went with me!  After all, we do work for the same company.  He knew his boss was going to need him back in Colorado soon anyway, so he requested to bump the trip up so we could travel together.  We put in a lot of long work hours last week, but we put in quite a few fun hours, too.  Considering we were making a nice per diem between the two of us and we didn’t have to spend a dime on groceries or gas for the week, we decided to indulge every last cent on great food, great drinks, and great company… our own.
 

• Sunday night:  Flew in to Colorado Springs.  Wanted desperately to get a beer, but nothing was open.  Ended up eating at the Blackeye Pea, the only restaurant near our hotel, and settling for a Fat Tire and a PBR.  Yuck.
   
• Monday:  Ate at Mollica’s, a great little Italian market and deli, for lunch. After work, invited a coworker and friend, Christie, out for a round a drinks.  Of course, a round turned into several at Trinity Brewing, a new little joint that has opened up just down the street from our office.  The beer was better than average (although, in my opinion, not as good as what Chuck and I brew at home), and the food was quite delicious.  Check their menu. That’s right.  They serve a cone of bacon.
   
• Tuesday:  Lunch for two at AI Sushi near the office.  After work, we headed downtown to another restaurant and brewery, Phantom Canyon.  The beer was fantastic, but the food mediocre.  We decided to cap the night off at my absolute favorite former haunt, 15C, a great little cigar and martini bar.  They don’t have an actual website, they don’t advertise, and there are no signs or placards letting you know you’re at the right place.  There aren’t even any windows in the building.  It’s located in a dark alley, and you only know they’re open when the blue light outside the door is illuminated.  I’ve never been a cigar smoker, but that night might have forever changed me.  As I puffed on my Drew Estates’ Natural Dirt cigar, I realized that I could pick out the flavors just as I could in a well-aged glass of red.  I must have put down ten Strawberry Fields martinis that night.  Chuck sipped on a couple of glasses of Johnnie Walker Blue Label scotch.
   
• Wednesday:  I was strapped for time on my lunch break, so we ate a cheap lunch at Subway.  For dinner, I wanted Chuck to experience my favorite downtown Colorado Springs restaurant, MacKenzie’s Chop House.  I dined there several times when I lived in the area, and my brother and I almost always stop in when we’re both in town.  Now let me ask you this.  What do you do when the waitress tells you it’s ‘Wine Lovers Wednesday,’ and all bottles of Cabernet are half off?  Well, you order the most expensive one on the menu, of course!  After doing a little quick research on his handy, dandy iPhone, Chuck ordered a $250 bottle of 2006 Continuum, and I swear, it was one of the best wines I’ve had in years.  And the best part was that we only paid $125!  We both paired it with a medium rare filet, but Chuck opted for Kobe beef.  It matched beautifully.  We rarely order desert, but who could pass up a slice of carrot cheesecake — carrot cake and cheesecake batter mixed together then baked.  Paired with a couple of glasses of Eiswein, it was absolutely decadent.  After dinner, we returned to 15C for cigars, scotch, and wine, a lovely ending to the night.
   
• Thursday:  We chose to have a cheap lunch after the splurge from the night before.  After work, we again headed downtown, this time for pizza and beer at Old Chicago.  Yeah, it’s a chain, but they have great pizza, a huge beer selection worthy of a pub in downtown Austin, and they don’t have a location in Texas.  Since we had to get up early the next morning to pack and check out of our hotel, we called it an early night, opting for TV and ice cream in bed.

We headed home Friday evening after working most of the day in the office.  We spent most of the weekend vegging out with pizza and video games, all to start back to the routine on Monday morning.  It was a long week, and we spent a lot of money.  But after not seeing much of each other for the past couple of months and considering how good of a time we had, it was totally worth it.

And of course, I already have another trip on the books, but I don’t think I’ll be complaining about this one.  The company is likely sending me to Hawaii for a week at the end of May.  Ah, sometimes I just love my job.

Cheers!
Felina