Hi Gram,
I just finished a weekend with friends that blew my mind. I built new memories, reconnected with friends that I’ve met in person, saw friends that I had previously only seen online, learned a lot, felt a warmth in my soul and in my heart of having multiple buckets filled at once. I laughed, told stories, stretched my muscles, got my heart rate up, and enjoyed delicious meals.

Friday night, after a fun hike with Alex and Barb, we returned to Amberly’s house where friends had already started to gather in the back yard. Amberly and John have a good yard for gatherings, with a picnic table tucked under a shade in one corner, a trampoline for the kids to play on and tire themselves out, a lawn for everyone to gather and mingle, and a patio with lights overhead and chairs for us to lounge and relax. The whole group seemed to breathe between introducing ourselves to new friends and chatting with old friends, groups shrinking and growing as everyone made their rounds and mingled. Before long, the snack table was superseded by an announcement that a catered dinner of barbecue and fixins had arrived. We lined up and dug in, wishing my stomach was twice the size so I could enjoy more of the flavors and textures provided.

A little rain passed through, pushing everyone inside for a bit, but it quickly passed and soon we all joined the few brave souls who preferred water on the shoulders over the noise of the crowd. The evening wound down as people started to dissipate, and everyone pitched in to clean up a little so John and Amberly wouldn’t have as much to do in the morning. I was grateful – and that’s probably too small a word, so add a dozen or so “very’s” before it – that I had dibs on the guest room. After some minimal cleanup, some friends sorted out the couches, air mattresses and foam pads in the living and family rooms and we all settled in for the night. I’ve found that my brain doesn’t do well if I don’t get a good night’s rest and give it time to reset and recover. I appreciate the other guests who gave me this necessary space.

The house gradually came alive the next morning as we each woke and sought out our coffee and tea. Amberly and Scott were kind enough to make a delicious egg fritatta and english muffins for everyone to start their day. After breakfast, I took my bike and met everyone at the St Vrain Cidery for yoga and cider. We packed the room with a sea of yoga mats from which the instructor led us through a practice starting with gentle stretches and breathing, challenging us to go just a little bit deeper with our breath, and building to some slightly more challenging poses. He did a great job of keeping the whole class moving as one, with detailed descriptions and demonstrations, personal interactions with students, and reminders to keep breathing. Once he wrapped up the workout, we took our time returning to the here and now, rolling up our mats and clearing the space.

The bartender announced that everyone who had participated would get a complimentary 4 oz pour from their extensive menu. The group swelled in size a little as the people who weren’t interested in yoga joined us for the cider. Many of us bought larger pours or flights. This way, we could sample more of the interesting flavors as we sat around and socialized in the outside patio while the staff reset the inside with their usual tables and chairs.

As we finished up our ciders, a group organically formed to go grab some lunch. I happily tagged along, enthralled with the energy and conversations happening around me. We walked along like a row of ducklings, obeying traffic signals and making way for passing pedestrians and cyclists, until we arrived at The Roost. We were too big for just one table, so we split into two groups, then my group found our way to a booth. I don’t remember what I had, but I remember that it was delicious and I had a hard time getting through it between stories and laughter. We finished up and all wandered back to the cidery, where we went our separate ways and I rode my bike back to the house.

Back at the house, a group of us decided to go for a walk on the St Vrain’s parkway nearby to burn off some of that lunch and fill some time before the evening’s activities. I love staying places where there’s a path or trail to get away from traffic and into nature. I’d walked and biked this trail a few times, but discovered new bits through everyone else’s eyes. Barb was kind enough to take my picture with a frog statue that I’d seen a bunch and made me smile.

We just did a short back and forth before it started raining a little and we all decided to get back and freshen up so we didn’t rush ourselves to get to MMM HQ.

My friends Carl, Mindy and Pete have a co-working space on Main street in Longmont called MMM HQ, short for Mister Money Mustache Headquarters. Pete has been writing a blog for years about intentional living, frugality, and financial independence. He advocates for community and friends, bike riding instead of cars, and doing projects yourself instead of hiring everything out. In that vein, he and some friends bought, renovated, and opened a space in downtown Longmont for people to gather and share.

By the time I got there on Saturday, the party was in full swing. Amberly had invited people from the local FI community in addition to the FinTalks Weekend attendees, so there was a good crowd of new and familiar faces. We mingled and chatted while we had snacks and ate some Chipotle catered food (and I honestly ate too much). After everyone was satiated with food and conversation, we moved out to the back patio to hear some people give short presentations about FI and FI-adjacent topics, such as “Investing vs Speculating”, “A simple trick to get the lowest price when buying a car”, “How to increase your W2 income”, “How to spend responsibly”, and more. The clouds tried to give us some rain, but held off for the most part and everyone had a great time. We all pitched in to put away the chairs and tidy up a little, then I headed back to the house for some much needed slumber.

Sunday, we roused ourselves gradually as the house slowly came alive. I had a little breakfast then rode my bike back to MMM HQ for coffee, tea, and casual conversation. The crowd was a little smaller than the day before, but the conversation was just as lively. My friend Barb and I talked about rental properties and how to invest in the current market. I offered my opinion that there are plenty of good investments in any national market, you just have to find the right local market. We went through some examples of houses in a small town in the Midwest, and I think she got excited about the prospect of expanding her real estate empire. As many of my friends know, I could go on about rental properties and my stories for hours, but luckily a friend interrupted and invited us to join them for a hike. I ran back to the house with my bike, grabbed the car, and met everyone back at HQ. We loaded up a couple of cars and headed to a trailhead at Rabbit Mountain.

When we got to the trailhead, a volunteer was there with a pelt and information about badgers, their habitat, how they live, and how they interact with the local ecosystem. Of course, being nerds, one of our friends asked if she could have some hair samples to look at under a microscope. The volunteer told us that the pelts naturally shed a little in their handling, and helped her to carefully extract a couple of hairs in the name of science. The volunteer was elated to help someone interested in science, our friend was gleeful to have acquired these new samples, and the rest of us were lifted by their excitement. We said our goodbyes to our ranger friend, got some advice on which trail to follow, and set off on our hike. The sun was beating down, so we chose a path that would lead to a little bit of shade and we were all armed with sun screen, hats, and water bottles. It was a good hike with plenty of gorgeous scenery, plenty of rises and falls and, of course, lively conversation.

Tired and sweating, we looped back to the cars and planned our next steps. A few people headed off to the airport while the rest of us headed back to town to grab some lunch. It was a comedy of trying to figure out where to eat. We narrowed it down to everyone liking Thai or Americana, then one by one someone in the car would find a Thai place, we’d all get excited, then find out that it was closed. This happened a couple times, a combination of incorrect or inaccurate information on Google maps and optimism on our parts. Having exhausted the possible Thai restaurants in the area, we all agreed to head back to The Roost for some good Americana food. We laughed and talked our way through lunch, and even got a visit from our friend Alex at the end.

After lunch, we headed back to the house where a group of other friends were already enjoying the back yard. Over the next couple of hours, we all shuffled to find a seat in the shade until someone had a great idea to hang a tarp over the cables supporting the light strings. We all rallied with ideas on how to get the tarp over the cables at the far end, where it was lower, then use a broom to push it up the cables towards the house, secure the ends with some zip ties, and secure the side from flapping with some chairs and bungee cords. It was a real team effort of ingenuity that allowed us all to keep cool and carry on our lackadaisical afternoon conversation.

As the evening approached, there was talk of heading to Lefthand Brewing, the local brewery for a change of pace and beverage. We split into two groups to walk over there, a short distance away through a park and down a pathway. Knowing that the pathway was closed in that direction, our groups took different approaches. The first group headed off and found a break in the temporary fence just off the path. The second group, led by me, decided to take the posted detour along another path. I regret to inform you that the other group had a better idea. While my route allowed us to stay on pavement and path, it also took us well past the brewery, causing us to circle back. It wasn’t the most efficient route, but when you’re with friends the time and extra distance pass quickly.

We arrived to find a large grass area with games and tables for families and friends to lounge next to an outdoor bar. We each ordered our drinks as we tried to find our friends from the other group, certain that they’d beat us there. After some confusion, both insisting that we were in “the outdoor garden area”, we realized that the brewery had two outdoor areas, with the actual brewery building in between and no path without going back out to the street. We exited and walked over to the other area to find them, then all decided that with trivia night going on there, returned to the larger and more relaxed garden. There was a little shuffle and chugging before we could all walk from there back to the other area without carrying our drinks out to the street. That clearly would have been a violation of local ordinances, and we are all law abiding citizens. We all grabbed another drink before last call, then sat and enjoyed the absolutely beautiful weather as the sun set. On our return, we chose to follow the lead of the first group and found our way back to the house much more quickly. We all said our goodbyes, helped clean up a little, then our gracious hosts and fellow guests found our way to slumber.