Regular Joe's Guide

First visit: Jan 2026 (Garden of the Gods) It was time for another meet with Dr. Boom, as our collective record businesses have been intersecting of late. Not too far from his homestead is Voodoo Brewing, one of the very few brewpubs here that is not from Colorado. I personally try to only support our locals, as they need all the help they can get, but the timing and the location suggested we should go here for lunch. I first became familiar with the Voodoo brand while in Baltimore, trying one of their beers at RJG favorite Max's Taphouse. This was when I had an office there from late 2016 through 2019. I also saw them in Pittsburgh during that same timeframe, which is where they are based. When they opened here, I thought it was quite curious. We certainly do not have a shortage of breweries or brewpubs here in Colorado Springs. I thought they were just branching out to a western location, and creating a new distribution center. I didn't realize they were a brewpub chain, not ...

First visit: Jan 2026 After all these years, the RJG's have never once stepped foot into Limon other than maybe to load up on gas. It was high time to change that. And what better way than to have an old fashioned Colorado styled Mexican breakfast. Welcome back home! On this quiet and pleasant Monday morning, we stopped into Lichia's, which appears to be somewhat new to Limon's downtown area. Their original location is in Kiowa, also in eastern Colorado. We were greeted by the owner, a very friendly man who took our order. A few minutes later out came that most beautiful spicy green chile smothered breakfast burrito. What you don't see in the picture is the homemade sausage (not chorizo) that was buried in the wrap with the eggs. So delicious. Mrs. RJG had the excellent Huevos Rancheros that you see. It's under debate if we want to add Lichia's to the RJG Rotation. It's not really that far from Colorado Springs. And odds are good we'll pass through again...

Latest visit: Jan 2026 First visit: Jun 2009 Leaving Wichita, we now enter into very familiar territory. Driving north on I-135 to Salina, followed by I-70 into Limon. We've done this journey many times, especially since we had the Denver townhome between 2009 and 2012. As with Highland Super Submarine, Gella's was a destination spot. It's also one of those I-can't-believe-I-haven't-documented-this-yet places. We've been here a few times over the years, though it's now been 12 years since our last visit. It was always crowded, and it appears they've expanded to the building next door. It was a slow Sunday night, despite the NFL playoffs, which was fine with us. There's a saying out there, and my parents were one to repeat it, that states "You can never go back". That means an experience you had in the past cannot be replicated and always ends up in disappointment. I've long maintained that was a bunch of bunk. If there's ever been a...

Latest visit: Jan 2026 (E. Harry) First visit: Nov 1991 More tolls through Oklahoma and Kansas and we arrive in Wichita on this fine Sunday morning. There's no way we're going to Kansas without indulging in some locally made crispy tacos. I've waxed nostalgic about these plenty in the pages of the RJG, so I won't do that again. Taco Shop had missed my retrospective back in 2023 primarily because we didn't go to Wichita. They're a local chain, that currently has 5 stores. I first went here with Mr. Music when we did a record buying trip through the area. Which ties nicely to this vacation, as it has the same premise. Sort of anyway. We'd been two other times as well, as noted at the bottom of this post. For a Sunday in the old part of Wichita, Taco Shop packed a nice crowd. Our game plan was to have three tacos here and three at another taco place after doing some thrifting. My original wish was to go to Taco Rio, probably my favorite of them all, but they...

First visit: Jan 2026 (Woodland Hills) Crossing over the river, we arrive in Oklahoma, and then it's time to pay the tolls. All these years later, and Oklahoma is still bilking travelers with their ripoff toll roads. Most of them down to one lane for their eternal repairs. I remember these roads from the 70s traveling with Dad. Expensive too. I'm not looking forward to my "license tag" bill, especially after Hertz puts their surcharge on it. Oh well. Eventually we arrive in Tulsa, another city I have a lot of familiarity with due to Dad's business travels. I also conducted some business here back in 2003-04. By some quirk, Mrs. RJG has never been, even though we had traveled to Oklahoma quite a bit when living in DFW. Too far northeast. We piddled and thrifted around Tulsa in the late afternoon and then it was time for din-din. We hadn't gone to a brewpub yet, so let's visit one closest to our hotel. We were in a nice suburban area, so it's no surprise...

First visit: Jan 2026 We continued our westward journey through Arkansas, via a couple of very poor towns, where the thrifting proved excellent. By lunch time, we were in the Fort Smith area. I haven't been here since 1980! And yes, it was with my dad on business. We once again dived in for barbecue, though this time we managed to find an independent. The first thing you'll notice walking in is it's a very Christian oriented place (note tag line). Fine with us as we're of the faith, but pagans may want to look elsewhere. And they get the clever name effect with JC. Hey don't scoff, The Green Mile did the same thing. This is a full service restaurant and we were seated promptly.  It's a spacious restaurant with lots of natural light.  I saw bologna on the menu, a meat you almost never see. And I still didn't because they were out of it. Darnit! So I went back to the cheeseburger. Oh my gosh, best one on the trip! Note the knife stab. That was how it was serve...