Storytelling With Photos

For You     I Was A Flame      Love Is A Losing Game        Five Story Fire As You Came     Love Is A Losing Game     One   I Wish I Never Played    Oh    What A Mess We Made     And Now     The Final Frame      Love Is A Losing Game 

Amy Winehouse 2006 

VEGAS:

The Dude & I ventured out on our annual migration to Vegas for opening weekend of March Madness. And Yes , It Was Truly Epic !!!! What happens in Vegas is talked about all year long. 

We missed the Chinese New Year Decor but the tea cups were worthy of a proper field trip. Definitely interested in them Dragons but Oh Well. Tea Cups It Was 

That's Right , Big Bets Baby Cakes. Most of my bets went out as $5 and returned as $9.80 in cold hard cash. Rowdy 

But I laid down the law and dropped an Andrew Jackson on this three game parlay. I believed in these teams ability to cover the spread , believed in "wasting" a 20 spot for sure, and throughly enjoyed the nervousness while watching this scenario play itself out. Cha Ching 

Then , the real golden ticket was purchased. This bet below was a $5 original bet , carried over , placed on new bets the next day , which then gambling $52.85 of house money = Boom Shakalaka Boom !!   

Somehow we were able to read the menu board and just know. Again , most of our bets were $5 throughout the weekend. But a few choice moments in time proved to be stellar picks. 

Animal Times Here !! The Kitty Kitty above took to me but not so much. The owners were pleased how the cat would hang out in the same room with us as she normally cowers under the bed. Below is a grizzly bear inside of a casino and I went ahead and shot it as a Cartoon BLK & White. 

With the above photo , why it is a snap shot of a stand out bet. Under one of these columns was the tourney games and the OVER/UNDER possibilities. All the games combined scores predicted by Vegas was 145 or 147 or 141 but one game GONZAGA was posted at 129. So I felt compelled to drop $5 on the OVER. Zags score 100+ points that game and the combined over under was like 175. That is an example of what I mean by just knowing. YES  

We felt like rock stars!! This was the first trip in decades that we both cleaned house. We have had ups and downs in the past for sure. I win but The Dude chokes. The Dude makes bank and I ate the bed. But we couldn't recall the last time that we scored all ( Wed - Sunday ) five days. Overall, I guess I am still down in Vegas from over the past 25 years of only betting on March Madness. But this trip , just couldn't lose. For me personally without sounding like a know-it-all or bragging like a dickhead, I only lost two of my bets. 2!!! All of those $5 bets throughout opening March Madness Week and lost 2??? And able to hit on all my Parlay bets felt tremendously satisfying. Phuc YES 

It wasn't the 1,095 miles / 1763kms but it was what happened inside of those 1000+ mi/km. On top of all this info , I was able to once again stand victorious with my filled out tournament bracket this year. Back 2 Back Wins 

Yup, we worked in daily rounds of disc golf under ideal conditions. Yup , we navigated our way down to the Sphere for the first time. Yup , we traveled CO to NV with three coolers full of prepared meals , a smorgasbord of snackie snack snacks , and choice offerings for our host family. Yup , our backpack was always topped off before adventuring out. Yup , we covered a lot of ground. Yup , we never ran into a single issue. Yup , Nailed It 

I love this picture above!! And even though St Patties Day wasn't coinciding with March Madness this year , we still brought a few outfits with accessories. Come On , Its Vegas Baby 

BAND NEWS:

Yes, we finally decided on a band name. The official band name with emails and all is Big Swig Colorado. We are officially a trio and we are smiling from ear to ear.  Big Swig 

We have 15 originals and 83 covers in our current repertoire. The originals are super corky and fun to play. I have been labeling our shows as Smooth Classic Rock. Three Dog Night - Never Been To Spain , Simple Minds - Don't You Forget About Me , Tom Petty - Breakdown , Collective Soul - December , and other highly recognizable deep cuts. We now successfully play three separate mash ups and they sound fabulous all blended into each other. The Mash Up that I really enjoy playing is Poison's Every Rose Has Its Thrown & Neil Young's Helpless. It's A Beauty 

Our upcoming brewery show and this gig at the Carboy are super exciting. At least for me anyway. Here is our soft setlist for CARBOY. I say soft because we change out songs via vibes , attendees , or feedback in general. Easy way for controlling the mood or speeding up the tempo. You Know , Whatever 

Below is a photo by Nate's wife. We were celebrating our one year anniversary together and the wife made us a very thoughtful cake. This trip around the sun was a blur. A blur in a good way.  So Cool 

This poster below is a story in itself. We were hanging our own posters and our friend from that six degrees of separation theory asked us to play a set break for him that Saturday. So Big Swig landed on his poster as Special Guest. We played about seven or so songs for his set break and our tunes were well received I tell ya. 

Then , the highlight , we were featured during the Silver Sneakers Beacon Fest. I personally stereotyped the old folks and figured they wanted Lawrence Welk and/or soft jazz tunes. NOPE. Those folks in their 70's and 80's loved the Almond Bros , Lynyrd Skynyrd , & Tom Petty tracks. So many of those old ladies sang the words karaoke style and giggled their way back into their youth. Best Show Ever 

BIKE NIGHT:

Yes, Bike Night started up again the weekend before St Patties Day. Nothing like socializing , sharing brews , and all while marauding around town on bikes. It has become my dangling carrot at the end of the week. I Can Do It , I Can Do It , FRIDAY 

This Pine Tree Has Its Own Story 

Last Friday , the theme , Tropical Star Wars for the Saturday May The 4th Be With You. Just About 150 folks on bikes showed up and almost have of them were in character. All night as someone would ask me how I was, I always responded with ,"Just fine as long as the sand people aren't around." 

I made cheesy Star Wars references all night long. Told folks that I was working in the trash compactor all morning and jumping galaxies this weekend at light speed and other random Star Wars hoots for the shock factor. 

We dressed as Tropical Tourist and I zip tied my original 1970's action figures to our handlebars. The folks that actually saw them , couldn't believe that these were original Star Wars toys. They Were Floored 

GOALS:

1. Play To The Best Of My Abilities On Saturday
2. Call My Mother Sunday 
3. Transfer Plant Seedlings 
4. Make The Last Payment 
5. Dance Like Nobody Is Watching 

Anyway , thanx for checking in and for enjoying my photos from March and April of 2024. Will hopefully share artistically captured photos with ya all soon. So in summary - still working a lot , still playing a wide verity of music , and still riding bikes as often as I can. 

Stay Beautiful ,

Cheers