A Great Idea Hiking in the Rain

After the holidays were over & it was 2017, I started going on hikes nearly every Monday.  My friend, Johnny, had given me a book with hundreds of hikes in San Diego county & there was always somewhere new to explore.

Sundays were always social watching football with friends, but Monday became more of a reset: time to reflect & recalibrate my life & our business.  And there are few better ways to clear your head than taking a nice relaxing walk, especially in the southern California back country.

One particular Monday, the weather was rainy & crappy so I decided to try a hike close by, within the city limits.  I had to get fitted for a tux to stand up in my buddy, Borch's wedding soon, so I squeezed in that errand on the way to Lopez Canyon.

There was a lot to think about that week.  

We'd had three meetings with the owners of Belching Beaver, but now the ball was in their court.  I showed them all of my kitchen sketches, researched & ballparked what our equipment & buildout costs would potentially be.  I was also putting together a business plan to try to obtain a loan.

There was also still the nagging issue of not being able to set-up at breweries after July 1.  Intergalactic Brewing was also concerned for their livelihood & emailed the county about the new ordinance.  They asked if there would be any type of grace period before they would inflict fines upon food vendors & the tasting rooms.  We were still waiting to hear back.

With all of that going on, I tried to think about something more positive like Borsch's wedding back home in March.  Kate wasn't going, we were trying to save money for this possible kitchen & I'd only be gone three days.  Besides, we had a couples trip coming up in April with her best friends from college in Topsail Island, North Carolina.  So, she was more excited about that anyway.

I kept walking on, with my hood up, getting sprinkled by drops underneath a canopy of trees in the canyon when I had flashbolt of an idea.

What if I proposed to Kate in North Carolina, on the beach, with all of her girlfriends there?  

Ah-ha...yes! 

I'd have to ask her dad first.  I had his business card- I could email him!  

I'd have to save up for a ring.  When I went back to Illinois in March I would take a bunch of cash with me- I could use that.

I flipped open my phone & looked at the calendar- April 27 was a Thursday, our second day in Topsail.  That was Mad Munch's fourth anniversary!  Oh, yeah!

I started walking much faster.  Now, I was on to something.