[phoebe]

At the end of March, we're going to be visiting the Fort Collins area of Colorado and would love suggestions for things to see and do. Of course, we'd like some restaurant recommendations , but we'd also love to hear from people who can point us in other interesting directions as well.
This is going to be another one of our "Do we want to move here" trips. So we'll be going into markets (are there farmers' markets close by?), bookstores, talking to locals and picking up those free real estate guides.

Any and all suggestions are welcome! REALLY welcome!!!

[Mezzaluna]

I've never been there, but I'm sure they know what tomato plants look like. Seriously, friends lived nearby and did say they liked the area!

[jenni belle]

Fort Collins is a decent town. I live a little over 100 miles south of there, but have visited many times. The one thing I'll say about Fort Collins is that it is a college town. It is home to Colorado State University. So, being said, it's a party town.

Going in March, you're not going to find any farmer's markets as it is a wee bit early. Look for them a little later...they'll be there. Fort Collins is definetly scenic and if you like the outdoors, you will love it. Actually, that's most all of Colorado. We are a very active, outdoor state. When you get here, you'll see why.

As for eating, when in Ft. Collins, I always go to C.B. & Potts.http://www.cbpotts.com/ It's a fun brewery and sports bar. I've never been elsewhere to be honest. I just always have so much fun there that we never make it anywhere new!

As for things to do, the possibilities are endless. Tell me a little more about things you like to do, and then I can make suggestions.

[phoebe]

Mezz--Where did your friends live? We found some houses in Livermore (about 30 minutes North of Fort Collins) that looked ideal (on-line ).
Jenni Belle--Since we're looking for places to move to (a bit of early retirement), this is less of a vacation trip and more a what-would-it-be-like-to-live-here trip. This is a weird kind of thing because what you can tell in a short time is VERY limited. How do you explain the "feel" of a place?
On the more objective side, we're looking for mountains nearby (ideally, we'd like to live IN them or near enough for a view of them), an acre or two of land, four seasons (or just a lot less summer ) and to live near to a town that offers some culture. College towns usually have decent bookstores, movies, art, and even touring theatre/dance companies. Too much of a "party town" would turn us off, but some is fine.

We've mostly been looking around Oregon and Washington (Bellingham, WA is still in the running; Olympia, WA is not), but Fort Collins was listed in a "best places to retire" article, so we're looking into it.

[Mezzaluna]

Emily, I'm not exactly sure; they moved about five years ago. It was a second residence for them. I'll see if I can find out.