# The Colorado Meetup (and a report from behind the scenes)

## By Mr. Money Mustache

## Sun, 31 Aug 2014 20:26:51 +0000

After almost two months on the road, the Mustache family is really glad to be back in Colorado where we belong. Our extended absence (and the corresponding lack of updates to this blog) has fueled speculation among people with a bit too much time on their hands.

“He used to post way more often, but recently there have only been a few articles a month” … “Has Triple M run out of ideas?” … “Maybe he sold the blog!”

As is usually the case with speculations, these are all wrong. The list of partially written articles is longer than ever (I see 164 of them, or roughly a 3-year supply in the queue). I’m more charged up than ever about this job, the blog is reaching more people than ever with about 6 million pageviews last month, and I’m selling off the rental house and other distractions so I can devote more time to this fun stuff as well as writing The Book.

But I’ve also been trying my best to uphold the promise I made to myself before starting all of this: Real Life always comes before Internet Life, and family and real life friends come before Internet ones. So let’s start with an event where those of us in the immediate area of Longmont, Colorado can get together for real:

The Colorado Meeting of Mustachians
Saturday, September 6th, from 3PM – 9PM
At a public park right here in the historic district of central Longmont.

I’d like to invite the locals out to come hang out. I’ll gather a few BBQs for cooking and provide an acre or two of beautiful grass and trees for gathering.

You can bring along your family, friends, kids, food and drink, folding chairs and frisbees, and maybe even a slackline or two. Beer and wine are permitted as long as they are in inconspicuous non-glass containers.

Because of the size of past events and our town’s limits on public-park events, we’re setting it up on an RSVP basis using the EventBrite link below. There are 100 ‘tickets’ (which are free of course), and once you sign up your spot will be reserved. Then we’ll email you the final location on the day before the event.

Update: This event is sold out! In a single day on a holiday weekend. Nice work, fellow Coloradans – see you on Saturday.

(and my apologies to anyone who wanted to come but didn’t see the note in time. It just raises the bar for next time – we apparently have enough people around here to get a real venue .. and imagine what else we could accomplish with such a group!)

http://www.eventbrite.com/e/mmm-longmont-meetup-tickets-12779741551

Come out, bring your best ideas and even optional business cards, as I find the Mustachians are a like-minded, fun, and entrepreneurial crowd.

Bike transportation is highly encouraged, and we’re just a few minutes walk/ride from the central transit station at Roosevelt Park with direct buses to Boulder and Denver.

To finish up this weekend edition, here is a report on the the rest of the Real Life events that have been getting in the way of responsible blogging.

San Francisco (May 2014)

To celebrate the end of the school year and the arrival of summer, we hopped on Amtrak’s California Zephyr sleeper train and headed West, just to experience long-distance train travel for the first time. It was a very nice peek into the past and a great adventure. While the train was quite slow and the dining car’s food selection was uninspired, the beautiful views from the observation car made up for it. And the novelty of turning in after a good night of conversation and wine, then being gently rocked to sleep while the train travels through the night was one of my favorite parts.

Bay Area Mustachians, enjoying sunset at Heron’s Head Park

Once in California, I had the chance to meet with quite a few interesting people including one of the officials who plans out San Francisco’s bike network. His department must be doing a great job, as there were cyclists of all ages everywhere, and I was able to bike comfortably even in the densest parts of the city. San Francisco is truly moving toward Badass Utopia status.

I also hosted a gathering of Mustachians at the beautiful Heron’s Head park, which was amusingly enhanced by the arrival of a WSJ MarketWatch camera crew who did a few interviews to find out what we are all about.

The North Coast and Redwood Forest

At this point we rented a small car and headed North for a peaceful week of hiking and exploring the forests and coastlines of Northern California. The experiences and beaches were incredible, especially the harrowing cliff climb from our seaside VRBO rental down to the secret beach. Another highlight was a glorious Antimustachian indulgence at the Petaluma Whole Foods. We blew $30 on prepared luxury foods from the buffet and ate it in the meticulously crafted flagstone patio, overlooking manicured subtropical gardens and a parking lot packed with high-end hybrid and elecric cars and some of our country’s liberal elite ultraconsumers. Just for a moment, I envied their pleasant and convenient lifestyle.

Portland, Oregon

A moment from Three Blog Night

After the family leg of the vacation, I parted ways from the wife and boy and took a short flight to Portland. Upon arrival I had the pleasure of meeting with a group of local readers for dinner, and spending the night on a couch in a basement apartment. The next day I walked across the precarious Sellwood bridge, stopped in at J.D. Roth’s apartment, wrote an article, then borrowed a bike in order to do a full tour of the city.

In the evening we hosted the Three Blog Night meetup and then went to dinner with Ryan Carson, the founder of a glorious online learning company called Treehouse.

Camp Mustache

The next day, J.D. and I carpooled North to Tacoma, Washington with Joe (RetireBy40) for the incredible honor of attending an event entirely organized by readers of this blog.

J.D. hosts a discussion called “Crazy Rich People Talk”

There were about 50 of us, and we shared beautiful lakeside views at the foot of Mount Rainier, food, friendships, and some excellent learning sessions on topics like real estate investing, bikes, home brewing, and advanced credit card hacking.

Moving to a New House (June)

Upon return and recovery from this blast of travel, we were suddenly faced with the emergency task of moving out of our old house, preparing it for sale, and then listing it on the open market. The incredible volume of stuff we had accumulated triggered the article called Recovering from the Pat Rack Years

Summer in Canada (July)

Members of MMM Extended Family demonstrate our version of motorboats.

This was the usual mixture of family, friends, and Carpentourism. This year’s projects were a new roof on my Mom’s house as well as a new kitchen, plus assorted things at a scenic cottage owned by the inlaws.

9 Days in Ecuador (August)

Just to push the limits on this ridiculous travel bonanza, I had to head straight from Ottawa, Canada to Quito, Ecuador in order to get to the Chautauqua event on time. A thunderstorm in Houston added an unexpected night’s stay in that city, but the magic of smartphone hotel reservations and some free credits I had amassed for UberX transportation ensured it was a pleasant break.

The Ecuador trip itself was spectacular and packed with lifetime memories.

And now, back to real life (right now)

I am so glad to be home, it is ridiculous. The boy has gone back to conventional school for the first semester (an update on the Homeschooling experiment is forthcoming), which gives me 6 peaceful hours each weekday to finish more of the house, meet with friends, write to YOU, and live a proper retired life.

We’re just getting started around here, so I hope you’ll stick around for the journey.

Love,
Mr. Money Mustache