Hi Everyone,
I hope you're all well. I was having trouble logging in, so I'm using Briana's account. I know, I know... if I posted here more often, I probably wouldn't forget my login information. Whenever I visit, though, I do really enjoy what everyone writes. I'm so impressed by all the things people are doing.
I'm writing to you from sunny, mountainous Colorado. A place where Montanans would probably feel at home, since it shares much of the Mountain West weather and topography that graces Montana, and it also has a bit of that Old West feel. But I think I'm more of an urbanite than some of my Montana family, because there are certain characteristics of the Boulder region that I really thrive on, like the vibrant food culture, academic scene, political activism, music scene, proximity of the resources of a major city (not the least of which is cheap and easy flights in and out of Denver Airport), and general craziness. (Not that Montana is devoid of all these qualities.)
So, you've probably heard me complaining about the gray/rain and lack of sun in Portland, where I've been for close to 15 years. I won't defile the sanctity of this blog with negativity. I love a lot about this city, it's just time for a change. Briana's more attached to PDX than I am, but, bless her heart, she's now fully on board with our move to Colorado.
Boulder is right up against the eastern edge of the Rockies, with the especially rocky Flatirons towering over the city. You can't help noticing them pretty much anytime you're outside. Further in the distance are the snow-capped peaks of some of the taller mountains. Our first day here, we just walked around in the downtown area, where there are ALWAYS street performers. That day, there were a bunch of musicians who had managed to drag an upright piano out into the walking mall and they played great tunes while Sabina played on some marble animals. About every block is a different performer ... people doing magic, acrobatics, riding unicycles, dancing... It's a big part of why Boulder feels so alive to me.
Next day we drove about 15 minutes to Eldorado Springs, a bit more up in the mountains, where there's a big outdoor pool right below the rocky cliffs. Sabina is learning to swim. Kinda.
On the 4th, we took Sabina to a kids' parade. Then met up with some friends and went to the mountain town of Nederland (about a half hour from Boulder) at about 8500 feet. Watched the fireworks over a lake after picnicking on the grassy shore. Sabina covered her ears the whole time, but said it was her favorite part of the trip.
Then we went up to part of Rocky Mtn National Park outside Estes Park, another cute mountain town. Took a short hike around a lake and got thunderstormed on, but it was absolutely beautiful. I realized after leaving that I left an iced tea bottle on the ground & felt guilty about it. It's so pristine there. That evening we returned to Boulder for their great Farmers' Market, where there was not only a ton of amazing food, but lots of fun things for kids to do. A group of older kids were breakdancing and invited the toddlers to join them. Some of the tots were pretty good. Later that night was a big dance party with a funky band called Phunkifino. I didn't get the name at first. Think about it for a minute. There were tons of kids and hula hoops.
While we don't feel quite the same draw to Denver, it's about 40 minutes from Boulder and we spent a little time there checking out the aquarium and strolling around. Sabina loved the aquarium, especially an exhibit about flash flooding which took place in a room built to look something like Moab, with canyons of red rock. Then there were flashes of lighting and the sound of thunder, followed by the drumming of heavy rain. Next, a huge amount of water rushed suddenly into the canyon (restrained mostly by a plexiglass divider) and sprayed everyone standing there. After watching the mermaid show (poor mermaids, being forced to live in a small tank, separated from their father, Poseidon), Sabina got her picture taken with two of them.
I grew up about a quarter mile from a beach and always thought I was one of those people whose soul couldn't bear to be away from the ocean, but now I think I'm more of a mountain and woods kind of person. Still, I was concerned at first that Boulder wouldn't have any natural bodies of water around to swim in. But we found a bunch of places to get wet. The most beach-like was Boulder Reservoir, a decent sized lake which has a sandy shore on one side and pretty warm water. For the first time in my life, I felt inspired to buy a big floating trampoline and take it out there with an Arnold Palmer on a sunny day.
Back in Portland, I'm now swept up in the turmoil of having multiple businesses, including our newly launched Imbue Pain Patch. After more than a decade of using topical herbs on patients for pain, it occurred to me to do something entrepreneurial about it. Back in early Fall 2010, Briana dropped a table on her foot - I think probably had a compression fracture - foot swelled up massively and she was in great pain, I stuck an herbal patch on there, and by the next morning it was like it had never happened. Thus began months of formulating, designing packaging, reading volumes of arcane legal documents, jumping through a million FDA hoops, blah blah blah... and finally, we have a product in our hands. So, check it out - www.imbuebody.com - and tell everyone you know. It's a great way to start a conversation on an airplane: "Say, would you like to hear what my nephew-in-law stuck on my niece's foot? It's the darndest thing..."
We won't be able to make it to the family picnic this year because we have a wedding to go to, but I'll miss seeing you all. Have a wonderful summer.
Love,
Peter
This is us at the beach.
I'm getting a spa treatment. By who? Oh! By MAMA!!
