TommyKnocker Brewery-Colorado

It was drizzly and chilly as we made our way down Mt. Evans.  By the time we entered the main town of Idaho Springs, Colorado, we were in the mood for some comfort food.

 Since it didn’t seem possible to visit Colorado without hitting at least one brewery, we decided to grab a bite at TommyKnocker Brewery.

Once through the door, you definitely can’t mistake the fact that you are eating at a brewery.

The Drinks

I appreciate breweries that brew their own soda. It gives the non-beer drinkers and kids something they can experience. TommyKnocker brews a variety of sodas. Since we are at least semi-connoisseurs of homemade root beer, we started off with two tall mugs. 

It was some tasty craft root beer. 

Shannon, who makes a variety of comical faces whenever hops touches his lips, left the beer drinking up to me. He does find stouts tolerable, so we asked if we could switch out one of the beers in the Mid-Flight with the Oatmeal Stout.

I am a huge fan of the flight, as I always love having the chance to taste a couple of different things at one time. I’m excited that the flight concept is going beyond drinks now and is being carried over to include items such as ice cream and French fries.

My Mid-Flight included the Thundrabeary, Mountain City Amber and the Jack Whacker Wheat.  Shannon did end up liking the Oatmeal Stout. All the beers were very good, but my favorite was the Amber. 

Food

As I said at the beginning, we were craving comfort food. TommyKnocker delivered. 

We started out with an order of garlic fries. 

They tasted great. They had just the right amount of garlic so that it wasn’t overpowering. You could still taste the fluffy, crispy French fry goodness. We probably could have just made a meal of the fries and been happy.

I went simple and got the grilled cheese with tomato-artichoke soup. I’m pretty sure it was the thickest grilled cheese I have ever seen delivered to a table. 

As hoped, it created the perfect cozy feeling in my belly.

Shannon went with the elk burger, and experienced a similar cozy, comfort.

 I tend to plan out most of our eating ahead of time, but we ended up going to TommyKnocker Brewery on the fly. It had a fun, relaxed atmosphere, great food, and tasty beer. It’s worth a visit if you are enjoying some of the fantastic nature in the Idaho Springs area.

  

We Eat A Lot of Ice Cream-Colorado Edition

There were a lot of ice cream places to choose from in Colorado and not a lot of time. I wish we could have tried them all, but we did manage to fit in three in four days, so a worthy attempt.

Em's Ice Cream

Em's Ice Cream is a small batch, organic, ice cream cart. They have one regular location and a few on the move carts in the Denver area. We found a cart at the Red Rocks Amphitheater where they were dishing up scoops during the Steely Dan concert. 

I got a scoop of Coffee, and Shannon got a scoop of the Burnt Brown Sugar.

I tend to be partial to ice cream with a beach view, but I have to admit that this ice cream view was pretty spectacular. 

Em's ice cream was amazingly smooth and creamy. Both flavors were vibrant. It was my #1 as far as ice cream taste goes. It was also Shannon's #1, but also a tie with a flavor from another ice cream place...more on that later. 

Glacier Homemade Ice Cream and Gelato

Glacier is located in Boulder, Colorado. 

I chose to go here based on a recommendation from the travel podcast and fellow ice cream enthusiast, Extra Pack of Peanuts. 

They had a TON of flavors. They just went on, and on, and on, and many of them sounded so yummy. 

Making final decisions took quite some time. I ended up going with the Jamaican Coconut and the Funky Donkey, because, peanut butter. Shannon got the Key Lime Pie and Cinnamon. 

The ice cream at Glacier was also very creamy. It was my second favorite and Shannon's third. 

Little Man Ice Cream

We both agree that Little Man Ice Cream in Denver is the coolest ice cream place we've been to thus far. 

It's a popular place, so you have to be willing to wait in line. It's worth the wait. 

Even though there was a mass of fellow ice cream eaters, there was plenty of seating. 

It's not just a place to grab a scoop. It's a place to enjoy. You can relax, hang out, and have a long chat with friends. 

There was a slide for the kids,

and live music. 

Oh, and of course, there's ice cream. 

They had really fun flavors. I got the Honey Almond and the Fluffernutter. 

Shannon got the Creme Frache and the Strawberry Peppercorn Balsamic. 

He still talks about the Strawberry Peppercorn Balsamic. It was fantastic. 

My ice cream was good, but it ended up being the 3rd on my list. I think that this is probably because after trying the Strawberry Peppercorn Balsamic, I had flavor envy. My flavors just didn't pop as much. 

I fell in love with this ice cream place. If you go to Denver, I highly recommend visiting Little Man Ice Cream. 

It may be a bit unfair to rank this time around because all of the ice cream was very good. Well done Colorado, you've got a great ice cream scene going on. 

Denver-Biscuits and Books

We knew we needed to pack ourselves full of energy for our active day ahead, so we stopped to grab some breakfast at The Denver Biscuit Company. 

The Denver Biscuit Company is hip, but not in a pretentious way. More in a, wow, I am so in love this place, way. 

It's the cool spot that beckons you to call your friends and ask them to meet you for breakfast/brunch. 

I greatly appreciated the self-serve coffee area. You grab a mug.

Fill it up. Put in your fixins', and head back to your table. 

You can head on over and fill up your mug as much as you want. No waiting for a busy server to come over for a refill. It was a damn fine cup of coffee. I wish more restaurants would adopt a self-serve coffee station. 

We agonized over the menu. There were so many tempting choices.

I tackled my choice with the effort that many devote to large life choices, like choosing a college, or a house. I first narrowed things down to a sandwich. I spent time breaking down the individual elements of each sandwich, then ranked said ingredients from the one I wanted to most stuff in my face, to the least. Sausage Gravy was number one on the list. The housemade pickles ranked second. In the end, I chose The Franklin, and ordered a side of housemade pickles. 

Shannon also ordered The Franklin, which included buttermilk fried chicken, bacon, and cheese, smothered in sausage gravy, sandwiched inside of a biscuit. I know, it's not a health food. It's like food sky diving, don't think, just go for it. 

After our sandwiches arrived, we sort of just basked in their enormity for a minute.

At this point, I could spout off a bunch of eating descriptions, but I'm not sure they would do The Franklin justice. Trust me it was amazing. 

We weren't having an eating contest, but if we were, Shannon was the winner. 

I did not fare as well, but I did find enough belly space to eat every last bite of the perfectly spiced, perfectly fried, buttermilk chicken (I know that's bacon left on my plate, I'm really sorry, I promise I tried my best).

After getting properly caffeinated, and filling up on the ultimate comfort food, we stopped by Denver’s famous Tattered Cover Bookstore.

The inside of the bookstore was inspiring. It was a sea of dark wood shelves and books. 

There were places here and there where you could cozy up with a good read if you so desired. 

The windows were absolutely gorgeous. Interesting lights dangled from the ceiling, and the staircases were beautifully constructed.

And if I didn’t already love the store enough, I became convinced that it had been designed just for me. When I entered the lower level, I found that the Young Adult and Travel sections were right next to each other. 

Speaking of the travel section, it was super exciting to find a book written by one of the members of the South Jersey Writers’ Group , Peter N. Milligan, on Tatter Cover’s shelves. 

Spoiler alert, this book will make my favorite reads of 2016 list. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Even if you have no inclinations to run with the bulls, if you like travel, or food, you will like Bulls Before Breakfast.  

I felt like I couldn’t leave the store without getting something, but I certainly didn’t need another book to read, so since my little cat notebook that I’ve carried around to record my meals and other travel details is almost full, I got a new notebook.

I could have spent hours in The Tattered Cover Bookstore, but alas, we had more things in Denver to see. 

My High Altitude Simulation Test Experience

When I looked up information on having a High Altitude Simulation Test (HAST) completed, the information was vague, brief, and clinical. I couldn't find anything about what the experience of having the test done would be like. I thought I'd post my experience for anyone who might be looking for a little more than the clinical explanation.

When I met with my pulmonary hypertension specialist, one of the first questions asked was when did I first experience symptoms. Of course I couldn't tell that story without it being revealed that I travel quite a bit. Because I fly in airplanes several times a year, my specialist thought it would be a good idea for me to have a HAST completed. The test would mimic conditions in an airplane and would evaluate my oxygen saturation levels to see if I needed to bring supplemental oxygen with me when I fly. 

I arrived at Penn's Perelman Center for advanced medicine bright and early. This is my second visit to the center. It feels a little like visiting a fancy hotel. There are staff everywhere offering to help you, directing you where to go, there is even someone who coordinates the elevators. It makes you feel kind of special. 

I reported to Pulmonary Diagnostic Services and was greeted by Michael, who would be administering and evaluating my test. 

Michael was awesome! He was extremely friendly and very funny. I sat down on something that was halfway between an examination table and a chair. It was kind of like an examination throne.  

After getting some basic information, Michael explained in detail, step by step, exactly what the test would entail. I then had to sign a consent that said I wouldn't hold anyone responsible if I passed out or had a heart attack during the testing. 

The set up process took some time. I had sensors put in place to hook me up to an EKG machine. Another sensor was then placed on my forehead, and then my forehead was wrapped in a headband. The forehead sensor measured my oxygen saturation. I was informed that the forehead sensor is more accurate than using a finger clip. I was cool with that because the finger clip always makes me fidgety. I looked quite the sight. 

Next, Michael inflated a giant bag with a mixture that included only 15% oxygen.

The final step was for Michael to put nose clips on my nose, and for me to put the breathing register, that was connected via hose to the bag, into my mouth. 

The timer was then set for 20 minutes. 

For the first 15 minutes, I just had to sit and breath normally. Michael was great. He was talkative so I got to hear about his daughter wanting to attend college in Japan, he talked about the plane ride to Disney World, and a whole array of subjects. He kept what could have been a very boring and slightly awkward 20 minutes, interesting. At specific intervals, Michael would record my oxygen levels, my heart rate, and print out my EKG readings. Actually he said he was printing out more than the usual EKG readings because it had been a while since he had seen such beautiful heart rhythms. They were so perfect, I was clearly created in a lab by the government. Yes, that was my backstory. I must have escaped and I no longer have any memory of my time in the lab, but soon, according to Michael, I will discover that I can move things with my brain. Did I mention how great Michael was?  

After 15 minutes, I had to get up and walk. Some people are fine when just sitting, but when they get up and say, walk to the bathroom in the airplane, that's when they have troubles. This would explain why Betty in the Sky with a Suitcase (podcast) always has stories of people passing out on the plane. 

Michael started out walking with me, and then he broke out some entertaining dance moves. After walking for 5 minutes, the test was complete. It ended up being easy. Probably the worst part was that there's a growing saliva issue as the test progresses, and by the time you dislodge the breathing piece from your mouth, well it's sorta gross. 

Two things that could have happened during the test that didn't happen for me-  

- If they had trouble getting good readings, they would have to check my blood gas levels. Michael stated this is always avoided if at all possible, because getting your blood gas level checked is an unpleasant experience. 

- If my oxygen levels dipped under a certain number during the test, Micheal would have hooked up an additional tube into my breathing register. He would then start to pump in oxygen increasing the amount until my levels were at a safe range. This would have determined how much oxygen I needed on the plane. 

Fortunately neither of these events were necessary during my testing. 

Micheal unhooked me from everything. I joked about keeping the headband so that I could cosplay Eleven from Stranger Things. Michael happened to be watching Stranger Things so we geeked out together about the show. 

The good news, my oxygen levels never fell below the mid-80s, so at least for now, I don't need oxygen when I fly. Yay! 

Due to the nature of pulmonary hypertension, I'll probably have to repeat the test at some point in the future, but as long as Michael is there, I don't mind.

Because I'm a child at heart, and firmly believe that one should always be rewarded when having to endure medical tests, we stopped by Federal donuts.

Guess what they have? A churro donut! We ended up getting three donuts. I got the churro donut, Shannon got the blueberry pancake, and we split a tres leches. 

They were all really good. The churro donut however, was magical.