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Good morning Traveler,
Flying down the Kansas highway with cruise control set at 83 MPH*, windows down, wind blowing, 100 degrees, singing…
Take me home country road to the place I belong..
Can you finish the lyrics? Most likely yes.
John Denver was just one of the many artists we listened to on the cross country road trip to take my daughter, Allison, (and her car) out to Colorado this weekend.
(* the speed limit in Kansas is 75!)
We left on Sunday at 5:35a, and made it to my parents for dinner. Side benefits of long road trips are stopping by to see friends and family en route. We had breakfast with my sister in law and nephew and we were on the road again (just can’t wait to get on the road again - Willie Nelson - another song we listened to).
Our playlist included John Mellencamp, Taylor Swift, Tracy Chapman, Bryan Adams, Noah Kahan, Ed Sheeran, Dave Matthews, Queen, U2 - it was a mix of new and old. And so many podcasts - TED Radio Hour, How I Built This, Masters of Scale, the Hidden Brain.
I take some epic adventures, but I also appreciate driving 32 hours in a Subaru with my daughter, stopping at local coffee shops (Shimoji was a good one), singing as loud as we can to our favorite songs, sleeping in roadside hotels (well those I can't say I really appreciate).
I know these are not moments that will be repeated much in my life, so I cherish that I had this opportunity to spend so much time with her. Although she did generously put up with me working some of the time.
Luckily she’ll be near Crested Butte, one of my favorite little mountain towns in CO, and whose claim to fame is the birthplace of mountain biking, so I plan to return to visit her as soon as I can.
Since we made such good time, we did a detour and stopped in Breckenridge and Leadville. We had lunch at Downstairs at Eric's in Breckenridge, which is a great choice for families with kids - when they are done with the meal, connected is a game room with retro games like Pac Man and skee ball. The waiter highly recommended the Baked Buffalo Wings and we loved them! They also had delicious salads, pizza with prosciutto, caramelized onions, blue cheese and arugula (my choice) and a Gigantor pizza that is 2 feet in diameter (we did not order this).
Allison was particularly excited about Leadville because there is a famous store here. I first heard about Melanzana from her a few months ago. If you have sporty, outdoorsy teens or college kids you may have heard of it. It's unlike any other brand I know of. You can only buy items in the store. And for that you need an appointment. And you can only buy two items per appointment. Currently the next available appointment is in January! Allison has an appointment in November, which she made in May.
It might sound gimmicky, but the process was born of a need to manage their demand. In their one storefront they design, cut, sew and sell everything. When you are in there you see people sewing, the racks of merchandise they've just finished and the designated racks of clothing that you can purchase from only if you have an appointment.
But... there is a way around this... if you have one of their items already, bring it in, they will give you credit for the trade in and you can pick out something else. Without an appointment. That's what Allison did yesterday.
Talk about creating demand.
It's a unique business model and it works for them.
If you are looking for a holiday or birthday gift for one of your kids, consider surprising them with a Melanzana hoodie or fleece. But you'll need to also get yourself to Leadville, which may entail a broader Colorado trip. I'm happy to help with that ;)
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