Mmmm, Irish ale and chicken liver patté!!

Don't knock it 'til you try it! This week's adventure in Lone Tree/Castle Rock was dinner at a local Irish Pub. The atmosphere is really great and the place has a unique little history about some Irishman cousins that bought the place and then returned to Ireland to purchase all the stuff to go in it - from ancient Catholic monasteries that were closing. The artwork was great and the wooden pulpits on the walls and the giant light fixtures made it really unique. Since I was there, I figured that I'd step out of the comfort zone and try something new and appropriate so I chose the Cottage Pie, which was like steamed/stewed meet and mash potatoes and cheese. It seems simple but it did have a very unique flavor and with the beef broth and vegetables, it was almost a soup or light stew consistency. It was very filling and delicious. Prior to the Cottage Pie, however, I also tried the Chicken Liver Patté appetizer. It was surprisingly good! Take the yummy toasted bread with a dot of goat cheese, a dab of liver stuff and top it with the apricot marinated onion and it makes for a very yummy treat! Sticking with the newness theme, I also tried the Smithwick's Irish Ale! Sooo good. It definitely gives the Total Disorder Porter a run for its title of my restaurant favorite.

Anywho, another day of interesting finds ahead of me tomorrow. Blog topics gallore in these neck of the woods.

Cheers!

Hot sub sandwiches, neo-nazis, and a cemetery stroll at dusk!

About a month ago I started my summer internship for the Women Marines Association in Lone Tree, Colorado. I've been marching along to the beat of my own drummer in creating donor forms, accession forms, databases, speadsheets, shelf layouts, box labels, etc.. Considering it's only been a month and I only work a few days a week, the project is starting to take shape and a real process is starting to develop. I find myself adding massive amounts of things to the "must read" list and thinking research topics that I would like to pursue in my own time (hmm, what is that again??). While I've been incredibly busy, the summer has still been very enjoyable. Catching up with old friends and making new ones have made all the tasks that come with 3 jobs a lot less daunting.

Last night, my supervisor Nancy Wilt and I went to a gas station in Larksburg, Colorado for dinner. Don't knock it until you try it! Best hot sub sandwich I've had since... well, ever maybe! We dined out on the mini front porch and watched the waves of Renaissance Fair die-hards stock up on middle-evil Marlboros, hotdogs, potato chips, and twinkies!! After eating, we took a short drive past the historic house owned by neo-Nazis and disguised as a Co-Masonic Lodge! No lie.

From there we went down a county road out into old horse ranch and homestead country that was so beautiful and green because of Plum Creek that runs through the area. Not too far along, we took another mini detour into the Bear Something cemetery! Through the narrow gated entrance and down a pebble road set the quaintest little church in a courtyard. With lined paths just wide enough to fit a car down (they were probably meant for a horse drawn coffin) and heavy tree coverage, the graves looked very peaceful. Supposedly there are some old Texas Rangers buried there but we didn't get out to peruse the stones in this cemetery. We did get out a few miles down the road the original Castle Rock cemetery though! People that had arrived in the early 1880s were pretty common. There were lots of Civil War Union soldiers and World War I veterans buried there. Also, there were two men that had died in combat in Vietnam. I took a picture of the cemetery's mini veteran's park. It was very beautiful to see at dusk. If you look closely you can see the mountain sunset reflected on the granite.