Before the Storm

Old Town is never boring, and because Fort Collins is seriously amazing, there is always something going on in Old Town.  We went downtown to check it out.

Of course that meant we had to ride the giant fish.

Rose thinks this is her fish.  If another child approaches it, she will give that poor kid a pretty serious glare.

And hug the giant bear.

Oh hi new piano.  We haven't met you before.  Why yes, we will play you for a moment.

That night in Old Town there was a free concert, and the band was playing great classics from bands like the Beatles.  It was great fun.

The best thing I saw all night was a homeless man dancing to the music.  He grinned widely, showing the crowd his rotten teeth.  He moved to the beat clutching his walker, and a woman from the crowd even danced with him for a song.  Ahh, the power of music.  It's a great thing.

I cannot even express how much I love this.

While I was enjoying the dancing crowd, my family was eating yummy nummy ice cream.

Suddenly our peaceful ice cream eating music listening evening turned into a lightening bolt thunderstorm frenzy of mass proportions.  We tried to wait it out, because it never rains for more than two minutes along the Front Range, but the storm never stopped and we had to bolt for the car.

It ended up being a pretty big storm that brought hail and flooding and downed tree branches.  Never a dull moment...

Special Delivery

Back to Colorado...

The Budweiser Clydesdale horses are coming!

Fort Collins is lucky enough to be the permanent home for the west coast Clydesdale team, and when they are not traveling, they are here at their home ready for local activities.  One evening they made a few deliveries to some businesses in Old Town, and we went to watch them trot by.

And of course I saw something purdy down an alley and insisted Dale stand by it for a picture.

Meeting Friends in Old Town

We had a fabulous afternoon one May with the Palte girls.  We met for lunch, shopped 'til we dropped at Clothes Pony, and then rode the giant fish and hugged the giant bear.  Good times.

Emily gave the bear a giant hug.

And of course on our way back to the car that afternoon, we encountered a fabulous alley with a fabulous piano.

We must always play.

Out and About

Old Town Fort Collins is full of little surprises, and all you have to do to find the fun stuff is look around a little bit and be adventurous.

The Waffle Lab is seriously awesome.  Seriously.  Finding it is part of the adventure, as it moves around town just a little bit, but once you have located this fun black truck, your belly will thank you.

Find truck.  Eat waffles.  Be happy.

Rose could tell you where to find the waffle truck, but then she'd have to kill you.

Three words:  Chicken and waffles.  Yep.  The chicken was good, the waffle was superb, and the sausage gravy made me drool.  In fact, I'm drooling right now just thinking about it.

Definitely not good for you in any way.  Do not be fooled by the tiny green thingy.

After eating at the Waffle Lab it seems perfectly logical to ride a giant fish...

And then take some back streets downtown that lead you to mysterious colorful doorways.  Finding doorways we love is quickly becoming a Mommy-Dale hobby.  Dale loves to help me find the fun stuff, and I love to photograph it.  We're a great team.

And don't forget what is lurking down dark alleys.

Old Town Ice Cream

When we visit Daddy in Fort Collins we have to take advantage of every moment and cram in as much fun as we can.  Enter ice cream.  One rainy evening we decided to introduce the kids to our good friends Ben and Jerry.  It was a giant success.

Dale and Rose were so happy after eating ice cream that they splashed in puddles and gave each other hugs.