Susan Solo – Photographer | Traveler | Adventurer

Tag: USA

The Battle of the Breweries: New Belgium vs. Budweiser

Fun fact: Colorado has more breweries per capita than any other state. So in honor of my recent visit to Fort Collins, I thought I’d post some photos from previous trips on which we toured two of the local breweries – New Belgium and Budweiser. My post title might be a bit dramatic since I don’t know that these breweries are necessarily battling each other, but for the purposes of this post (just for fun) I’m pitting them up against each other.

First, our tour of New Belgium Brewing right in Fort Collins. I only have a few iPhone photos from the tour because I wasn’t even sure photography would be allowed (it is). The tours are free, but you do need to reserve ahead of time to guarantee a spot, so go online and sign up for a spot on their calendar before you stop by the brewery. Also, go thirsty and maybe even bring a designated driver because the tour includes lots of generously sized samples! We spent about 90 minutes with a fun guide who gave us the history of New Belgium and an overview of their culture, philosophies, and brewing processes. Spoiler alert: this is a company that likes to have fun, and there’s a swirly slide towards the end of the tour. I don’t have a picture of it since I was too busy sliding. We finished up in the tasting room where you can have a seat and continue to sample four more beers (and chocolates).

Next up is our tour of the Budweiser Brewery, which is also in Fort Collins. They offer a self-guided tour, Beer School, and/or a Beermaster Tour. The two latter options required reservations and a fee, so we just decided to pop by and do the free self-guided tour. If you’re a huge fan of Budweiser beer, the other options do look like more fun. (Chris and I went to Anheuser-Busch’s Beer School at Busch Gardens when they still offered it and it was informative and entertaining.) The complimentary tour is pretty basic – we walked through a series of hallways with interesting photo and video displays about Budweiser’s history and brewing process. We were also able to see the cellars through windowed walls. This tour is less interactive, but not a bad option if you are short on time. At the end of the tour, samples are offered in the Hospitality Room. We breezed through the tour in about 30 minutes to get to the samples and then to the real reason I wanted to visit Budweiser – to see the Clydesdales West Coast Team who were in town and on-site that day!

So what’s the verdict? If you’re a fan of craft beers and want an interactive/hosted tour with the most samples for your time, I’d suggest New Belgium. If you’re short on time or want to do a spontaneous tour without reservations, I’d recommend the complimentary tour at Budweiser Brewery. Check their website ahead of time if you’re also wanting to see the Clydesdales. If you’re like us and have time for both, you can check them each out (and/or several other breweries nearby) and make your own comparison – I’d love to hear which one is your favorite. Happy touring!

August 4, 2014
Visiting Family in Fort Collins

Hello again, East Coast! I just returned from a long weekend in Colorado to visit my family in Fort Collins (sadly, Chris had to stay home and work). I enjoyed plenty of quality time with my parents and siblings, and also had the opportunity to see two really good friends – one who recently moved to Denver, and one who was visiting all the way from Taiwan! In addition to family time, I ate way too much food, caught up on some sleep, and watched a couple of good movies. It was a relaxing trip, which is just what I needed. I brought my camera with the intention of taking lots of fun photos, but the weather was fairly uncooperative most of the time. It was rainy and overcast, which is super odd for Colorado this time of year.

I did take few photos in my parents’ yard one morning when I spotted a cute pair of humming birds. I brought the wrong lens for the job, but here are a couple of photos I managed to grab. Hummingbirds are quite the challenge to photograph!

We drove up to Estes Park one afternoon and had planned to visit Rocky Mountain National Park, but the weather decided to be rainy and blah. I’ve been to the park a few times, but never with my good camera and a proper wide-angle lens, so I was hoping to practice some landscape photography. Instead, I was able to take some nature photos when we happened upon a few elk wandering around Estes Park! We just spotted them grazing roadside. I didn’t get out of the car for the photos due to the rain, but I didn’t have to – they let us pull up close enough to reach out and touch them. (Just to clarify, I did not touch them.)

When it finally stopped raining on the way back, we pulled over so I could take a quick photo of the Big Thompson River. The scenery driving to and from the park is beautiful, so if you have the opportunity to go it’s definitely worth the drive, even on a hazy day.

Chris and I will head back to Colorado in the winter as per usual, so hopefully the weather will cooperate for some ski adventures!

July 30, 2014
Photo Friday – Jupiter

From my extensive collection of un-blogged photos (I hope to get caught up sometime soon!), here’s a July 2007 image of Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse as seen from the boat when Chris and I went deep-sea fishing in Florida. I totally caught a fish, too. (And then returned him back to the sea.) The photos of me fishing are incredibly unflattering – I had no idea I’d have to sport a weird giant belt to support the fishing rod. But I promise to post them eventually. I have to prove how big the fish was, right?

July 25, 2014
USS Arizona Memorial

When I recently scanned some photos from a 2003 trip to Oahu, I couldn’t find any prints from my visit to the USS Arizona Memorial. I was pretty sure I took photos, but they weren’t in with the other prints. Later I realized I took the images on black-and-white 35mm film (Ilford Delta 400) and developed the roll myself, so the negatives were in with my other old darkroom work. I scanned a few of the negatives so I could see what I shot – easier than looking at the contact sheet thumbnails. While I had fun learning how to develop film, I wasn’t awesome at it, so a lot of the negatives are grainier than they should be. Or maybe we’ll just call that a purposeful creative decision. Yes, that’s it!

If you’re on Oahu, it’s certainly worth a visit to the memorial. I rented a car while on the island so that I could explore while Chris was working during the day. The drive to Pearl Harbor was easy, and only about 30 minutes from Waikiki beach where we were staying. I went during the middle of the week in the morning without a reservation, and I don’t remember having to wait for admission, so depending on the day/time of your visit you might be able to do a walk-in without advance tickets. We watched a documentary film before heading over to the memorial site via boat, which was a beautiful opportunity for photos. My visit took around 1.5 hours, and I remember being most impressed by the manner in which other visitors conducted themselves – everyone was appropriately solemn and respectful. It’s a place of great honor, so I was glad to see it being treated as such.

Morning seemed like a decent time to beat the crowds and get good lighting for photos. I wish I had shot at least a few color images, but I only brought one camera loaded with b&w film. Maybe the mood of the b&w is fitting anyway. Here are a few of those scans.

July 16, 2014
Photo Friday – Carlsbad Caverns

Obviously this isn’t a photo I took, but I discovered it in my photo files and thought it would make a fun post. I’m three years old here, sitting inside Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. I’d love to say this is where it all started, where I found my sense of adventure and was taken by a case of wanderlust, but I honestly don’t remember. There were plenty of trips before this one and so many after. My parents can tell you exactly when I fell in love with adrenaline rushes and thrills (at an amusement park when I was two – I cried in anticipation of a log ride, but then couldn’t get enough of it), but I don’t think there was a big moment where I realized how much I love to travel, so perhaps it was there all along! I hope it’s something I’m able to enjoy for a long time.

Also? Was my big head made for bangs or what? I’m not sure I can get away with that look now, but it seemed to work well for me in 1980.

July 11, 2014