Lyons Classic Pinball, Colorado

Seeing four pinball machines at Oskar Blues was already a treat. Well, just around the corner was this little piece of heaven called Lyons Classic Pinball.

I walked around in a gleeful daze.
36 games of pinball.
3 rooms chock full.
In the last few years, I have hopelessly watched as pinball has been quietly disappearing from establishments all over.
So this chance find was momentous.

We ended up chatting up the knowledgeable and hospitable owner for a while even though he politely passed over my offer to effusively hug him in gratitude for having such a place. There is no doubt this is a labor of love. I wish him all the best and I can't wait for our next trip out to friendly Colorado.

A quiet moment of prayer and giving thanks

"The Audacity of Hops"

One of my favorite bars is now The Oskar Blues Restaurant and Brewery in Lyons, Colorado. They call themselves "The Little Brewery That Cans." These fun folks were the first microbrewery to can their beers since 2002. Besides being very practical to take along outdoors, cans are actually better for beer than bottles since they block out all harmful sunlight. Cans are also easier and more efficient to recycle and to ship that bottles. And you can crush them on your forehead if you choose to do so.

Their colorful brewpub is a treasure of a place, full of character and liveliness. When we visited there was a top notch Honky-Tonk band downstairs tearing it up with upright bass, pedal steel guitar and harmonica. The food was outstanding. I had the superb Blackened Redfish Washday on a bed of rice and beans.

But most importantly they had a full arcade room, with not 1, 2, 3 but FOUR pinball machines. When I profusely thanked the hostess for the uncanny perfectness of the place she told me all their pinball machines were actually supplied from a shop right next door....

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While most of us were at work, someone stayed home sick and made this impressive origami out of 30 different pieces. It took more than 3 hours apparently!