Verboten

Day twenty in my “Leaving Loveland” challenge.

Is this really the first microbrewery I’ve posted in this series? Well I’ve got some work to do to get ’em all in before we leave!

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We walked to Verboten this afternoon while the kids were at school. Happy hour over “Quaffee” – a coffee quad, “Belgian style Quad with an infusion of locally roasted coffee. Collaboration with SnowBank Brewing of Fort Collins.” This was a big beer, 10% ABV. Glad we were walking!

I’ve got some poignant memories of Verboten, which just moved to downtown Loveland from its former location in an industrial park about a year ago, and has quickly become a favorite spot. Sitting out on the patio with our Wisconsonian friend James when he came to visit; one very low moment for me crying into my “Music Maker” beer this past February, feeling depressed and homesick and purposeless (I wasn’t alone, I don’t drink alone – I was with Nathan); and then a few weeks later drinking a beer whose name I forgot with Nathan, after we decided to move to St. Paul, and talking about the future and our ideas for our new life back in Minnesota.

My favorite regular beer here is “Killer Boots.” “Angry Banjo” is very good too. In fact I haven’t had anything I didn’t like here!

Footnote: that cut under my lip is from an unfortunate music stand adjustment-turned-attack at my church’s Good Friday service. It looks a lot better in this photo than it did that night!

Benson Sculpture Garden

Day eighteen in my “Leaving Loveland” challenge.

Just north of Lake Loveland is the Benson Sculpture Garden. Each summer sculptors from all over the world gather here for Sculpture in the Park, “America’s largest outdoor juried sculpture show and sale.”

The show has been going on for 34 years, and each year proceeds from the show are used to add more sculptures to the park. So there’s a lot to see here!

And like a lot of locals, I drive past this place all the time and have only actually explored it a few times while I’ve lived here. So today between dropping off a thrift store donation and getting an oil change, I stopped and took a few photos. These particular sculptures are all within a few steps of each other.

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The Conversation (marble, by Madeline Wiener) is also a bench, like those old-fashioned loveseats, where two people sit like the people in the sculpture are sitting. You can just sit in their laps and have your own conversation!

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Cultural Pedestrians (cast concrete & steel, Sue Quinlan).

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The proportions on this one are so fun. Nothing unusual with the camera, I just stood in front of it to take this photo. Here’s its title and sculptor information on its nameplate, by that fantastic right foot:

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And seen from the back:

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My kids love this interactive sculpture. You can stand there on that stone and join the circle holding hands.

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It’s called Circle of Peace, bronze, by Gary Price.

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And here’s another bench where you can join the sculpture, They Are Waiting, bronze, by Nnamdi Okonkwo. I love the weight of these waiting figures. I think they’ve been waiting a long time, and they remain steadfast and present in their heavy wait.

 

 

Brick Art on Fourth Street

Day fifteen of my “Leaving Loveland” challenge.

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The year we bought our current house on this block just off of Loveland’s bustling Fourth Street, this cool painting appeared on this brick wall. I don’t know anything about it but I like it. That pink awning belongs to B Sweet Cupcakes – and when we first moved here Luthien was a frequent customer, often treating her little brother as well.

Here’s a closeup of the artist’s signature:

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