FLIP + CHING

Phantom Canyon Brewing

Posted on July 12, 2021 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.

We tried to hit as many breweries as we could while we were in Colorado so on Sunday night we went to check out Phantom Canyon Brewing in downtown Colorado Springs. I didn’t get any outside pictures because it was rainy that day so all I have is this one pic of inside the restaurant.

I did get some pictures of our food, though.

Brian got the beer cheese soup because he likes to get it anywhere that it’s offered. Plus, he wanted to compare it to the a similar soup at Cerberus. I think the verdict is that the Cerberus version is better.

He also got pretzels and cheese which is what he likes to order when he’s not that hungry. I got the fish and chips.

I don’t remember what drink Brian got but I’m pretty sure it was a porter. He was in a bit of a porter kick while we were in Colorado.

We had some leftovers which I wanted to give to a homeless person. However, Colorado is one of those places where you can’t just give food to someone who looks homeless because they could be a hipster.

Anyway, we ended up driving back to Monument Valley Park and putting our leftovers on top of one of the trash cans. We had seen some homeless people digging through a specific one at the park so we put our bag of leftovers there, just on the outside lip of the trash can so they wouldn’t have to dig all the way down in it to find food.

This ended up being our final dinner in Colorado. We thought we were going to stay one more night and leave on Tuesday morning but my singles event ended up finishing early and the hotel allowed us to check out after 2 PM without penalty. Brian and I hurried to pack up and check out before they changed their mind because it saved us $200 to leave a day early.

Anyway, that’s pretty much it for this trip. I’m pretty sure we will be back soon. Colorado is a fun place to visit. Until then, GNG.

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Pretty Picklers Podcast

Posted on July 10, 2021 by Ching under Hobbies.

A few months ago I had a phone chat with my friend Kerry Shannon, founder of the Pretty Picklers, which we recorded for her Pretty Picklers podcast. That episode finally aired. You can check it out here.

I met Kerry when I played in the APP Delray Beach Open tournament earlier this year. I didn’t have a partner and so I reached out to her. She replied and we immediately clicked. We are alike in so many ways. I’m so glad we met.

I really didn’t know much about the Pretty Picklers before I met Kerry. I think it’s so awesome that she started this group. Not only are they having fun playing pickleball but these ladies are also making a difference in the community.

Kerry also continues to come up with new ideas and new partnerships and I absolutely love that she started a podcast this year. It’s so cool. She’s had some really amazing people as guests and I am completely honored to have been part of it.

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Manitou Cliff Dwellings

Posted on July 9, 2021 by Ching under Travel.

The Manitou Cliff Dwellings Museum is another neat tourist attraction that we went to check out while we were in Colorado a couple of weeks ago.

Here are some pictures from our tour.

This place was really neat. I am glad we went to check it out.

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Garden of the Gods

Posted on July 8, 2021 by Ching under Travel.

Brian and I really wanted to check out Garden of the Gods because he hadn’t been there since he was a child and I hadn’t been there since the early 90s when my family first moved to the US. The weather made it a little tricky though because of the rainy weather forecast. We made it to the Garden of the Gods Trading Post just as the rain started to really come down.

We decided to wait it out by having lunch at the Trading Post. We were sure that the rain would eventually stop and the weather had pretty much been like that all weekend. It was start and stop throughout the day but it was really coming down hard right at that moment.

We shared chicken tenders and frieds, which were just so-so, and I got Brian a big truffle for dessert. For myself, I got a double scoop ice cream in a chocolate dipped waffle cone. I got one scoop of French silk ice cream and a scoop of cappuccino ice cream – something for me and something for Brian because I was sure he would want to share my ice cream with me.

Brian enjoyed his milk overload truffle.

I thoroughly enjoyed my ice cream. The best part of the ice cream was my chocolate-dipped waffle cone which actually had chocolate coating all over the inside. Sometimes on these dipped waffle cones the chocolate is only at the top part. This one had chocolate all over the inside. It was so good!

We ventured out once it stopped raining. I was amazed at how many people were out despite the weather.

We just went to the popular sights so maybe that’s why there were so many people around. We didn’t bring any hiking shoes, and Brian isn’t much of a hiker, and I really didn’t want to go hiking if the ground was wet so there was no hiking in the cards for us this trip.

We just went out and took some selfies. That’s pretty much the extend of our Garden of the Gods adventure. I’m sure there will be other tournaments in the area and we will be more prepared when we return. We will have to set aside time for hiking. Brian won’t be thrilled but I will make him go hiking with me next time.

Until then. GNG.

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Miramont Castle Museum in Manitou Springs

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Ching under Travel.

Here are some pictures from our visit to the Miramont Castle Museum in Manitou Springs. The weather forecast called for rain for most of the day so we were looking for things to do indoors. We settled on visiting Miramont Castle in nearby Manitou Springs because it looked interesting.

Here’s a great view of the mountains from the parking lot.

The parking lot in the back is elevated so you have to walk down some steps to reach the castle’s front entrance. Here’s a photo I took in the tiered garden out back as we were walking down to the entrance.

It’s very peaceful and quiet back there and they have a nice sitting area. I’m not seated all the way because the chair (and pretty much everything) was still wet from the rain. I just sat on the edge of one of the chairs for a quick photo.