Matt RaibleMatt Raible is a Web Developer and Java Champion. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

The Angular Mini-Book The Angular Mini-Book is a guide to getting started with Angular. You'll learn how to develop a bare-bones application, test it, and deploy it. Then you'll move on to adding Bootstrap, Angular Material, continuous integration, and authentication.

Spring Boot is a popular framework for building REST APIs. You'll learn how to integrate Angular with Spring Boot and use security best practices like HTTPS and a content security policy.

For book updates, follow @angular_book on Twitter.

The JHipster Mini-Book The JHipster Mini-Book is a guide to getting started with hip technologies today: Angular, Bootstrap, and Spring Boot. All of these frameworks are wrapped up in an easy-to-use project called JHipster.

This book shows you how to build an app with JHipster, and guides you through the plethora of tools, techniques and options you can use. Furthermore, it explains the UI and API building blocks so you understand the underpinnings of your great application.

For book updates, follow @jhipster-book on Twitter.

10+ YEARS


Over 10 years ago, I wrote my first blog post. Since then, I've authored books, had kids, traveled the world, found Trish and blogged about it all.

The Scenic Way to Santa Fe

After having a successful run at ski season with our VW Syncro, Trish and I figured we'd see how it performed in the summer. We took it 4x4ing in Moab, rafting in Dinosaur National Monument and camping for Father's Day Weekend. It was a trusty steed for our kids, dogs, skis and raft. Earlier this month, we planned a week-long road trip to Santa Fe to see one of my old college roommates. Because of the holiday weekend, it turned into a 10-day road trip. We left Denver in style on the morning of the 4th.

Happy 4th from our Red, White and Blues!

The motorcycle on the back didn't seem to slow us down much. We drove from Denver to Winter Park, taking the long way over Squaw Pass to avoid traffic.

The Scenic Route over Squaw Pass Colorado High Country

When we arrived at our Ski Shack, the engine was making a loud knocking sound. We dismissed it as a random occurrence. When I drove to the gas station 45 minutes later, the knocking was loud enough that heads turned when I drove past. After fueling up, I started the van and began driving back to our condo. The engine sputtered, the tires screeched and then the engine died. I pulled to the side, conveniently still in the gas station's parking lot. The engine would no longer turn over.

Below is the email I sent to Mike at Rocky Mountain Westy while walking back to our condo.

Happy Fourth of July! Our van's engine gave up the ghost today. There was a loud knocking, then it felt like is slammed on the back brakes, a screech of the tires and it died. Now it won't even turn over. Sounds like it's seized to me.

This happened in Fraser today. I have AAA so could probably get it towed to you.

Can you help us find and install a new engine? I'd like something with similar HP. Would you recommend a 1.8T, a 3.0 liter or something else?

It was the best breakdown I've ever had. I was able to walk home (one mile) and it didn't even rain on me. From there, we continued to celebrate the 4th and refactor our road-trip plans. With the Syncro, we were planning on camping at The Great Sand Dunes, Pagosa Springs and Mesa Verde. We decided we'd drive our new sedan instead (recently gifted from Trish's Dad). I took the train to Denver, drove it up on July 5th and we departed Winter Park on Sunday, July 6.

It's a beautiful day for a train ride! On Day 3 of our road trip, we shipped the Syncro off to Fort Collins for repairs. Thanks to Don and AAA, especially Don, who'll likely endure horrendous traffic on I-70. Introducing Max, our new trusty steed, gifted from Trish's Dad a few weeks ago. The road trip must go on!

Instead of camping in beautiful campgrounds, we changed our plans to stay at B&Bs. In the meantime, Mike replied and said he thought he'd be able to install an H6 3.0 by the end of the month. He recommended it as a good replacement for our SVX engine, particularly because it was more reliable and likely to endure more miles. We agreed to the repairs and had AAA tow it to his shop in Fort Collins.

Our first destination was The Broadmoor. We took the back way through Breckenridge and skipped the holiday traffic. We arrived around 5pm and were warmly welcomed, dogs and all. We celebrated our one-year anniversary early with excellent Italian food, golf on the West course and a fun pub crawl on Monday night.

Let me count the ways I love my husband! The Broadmoor Reflection

Broadmoor Pools Sunset

The Broadmoor was named the #1 Golf Resort in North America by Golf magazine readers. We certainly enjoyed the course, but it's also the first time Trish and I declined beers from the cart lady. Our games were so bad, we weren't in the mood to celebrate anything.

Golf at The Broadmoor

That afternoon, we took our dogs to the excellent Bear Creek Dog Park and sampled some beers at nearby breweries. Our favorite was the Golden Bee and their real yards of Guinness.

Love this bark park! Real yards of beer! Yards at the Golden Bee

On Tuesday afternoon, we left Colorado Springs for Pagosa Springs. There, we enjoyed a country B&B, soaked in the hot springs and had a great hike to Fourmile Falls.

View from Pagosa B&B

Beautiful Dinner View Hiking to Falls Creek Waterfall Falls Creek Waterfall

We left on Wednesday afternoon and drove to Taos, New Mexico. We had the best chilli relleno in the world, watched a bluegrass jam, visited Taos Mesa Brewing and hiked to Williams Lake.

La Cueva Cafe: Best Mexican Food Around! 1000 year old buildings Found good beer at The Bavarian Restaurant Hiking to Williams Lake Williams Lake Happy Hikers

Williams Lake New Mexico

Best Beer in Taos

Taos Sunset Fence

On Friday, we left Taos and drove to Santa Fe, our ultimate destination. While arriving, I checked my email and was pleased to see an email from the folks working on my '66 Bus. While flipping through the pictures referenced in the email, I realized there were several videos. I did my best to get us off the road and into a place where I could watch the videos on a proper screen. You can imagine my glee as I watched my bus drive under its own power for the first time.

My "achievement unlocked!" moment was soon complimented by an excellent margarita and tasty New Mexican food. Wow! Those New Mexicans know the right level for the "default" hot sauce. Spicy and delicious!

We spent the weekend with our friends Chris, Mary and Luna and had a great time. The Santa Fe summer weather was beautiful - in the mid-70s most of the time, with nice breezes and sunshine. Trish, Chris, Sagan, Jake and I took a hike on Saturday and thoroughly enjoyed their national forest. On Sunday, we marveled at the art on display at Santa Fe's 11th Annual International Folk Art Market.

Old Friends Santa Fe's International Folk Art Market The Alonsos

More photos on Flickr →

The rest of the time, we hung out in their backyard. Trish played her banjo, we watched the firepit crackle and Dino (their new puppy) kept us entertained with his antics. It was one of the most relaxing weekends I've had in quite some time. Thanks to Chris, Mary and Luna - you guys are awesome and we can't wait to visit again!

Posted in General at Jul 27 2014, 11:56:52 AM MDT 2 Comments
Comments:

Sorry to hear about the engine failure - but you made a very nice recovery. Those engines have a bad reputation - and now you can take care of that.

Broadmoor is great - brings back memories.

Good luck with the bus.

Posted by Grego on August 06, 2014 at 02:44 PM MDT #

Hi there---I'd like to use your photo of Taos Mesa Brewing on a poster I am making for a band out of Colorado...they are playing at TMB in October. Is this okay with you? Do you want a photo credit? Please reply as soon as possible. Thanks! Dawn Duncan 970.980.6399 [email protected]

Posted by Dawn Duncan on September 22, 2014 at 10:39 PM MDT #

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