A Bruins win in game 7 the night before helped aid a good night’s sleep and I was ready the next morning for a trip Southeast to Milton, DE — home of the Dogfish Head Brewery.

This being my second trip in three months, not much was new for me at the Brewery.  A friend had me look into availability of their recently released Hellhound (they call them occasional rarities), but distribution (even there) is extremely limited).

I sampled some Hellhound as well as some Black and Blue (brewed with blueberries and blackberries).  Both were very good, and very different from each other.  Hellhound, flavor through its bitterness profile, while the Black and Blue barked out sweetness that stated “….bring me to a patio, on a warm day….and lament when my capsule is empty!”.

I picked up a couple of bottles and made my way out to Rehobeth Beach, DE — home of their brewpub, where most of their beers are available on tap, not something you can say for beer joints around Massachusetts.

At the Brew Pub, I bellied up and ordered a Hellhound on draft, while perusing their menu.  This menu is a little more straightforward than the exotic goodness I have seen at the Victory BrewPub in Downington, PA, but many pleasing choices, nonetheless.

I opted for the indulgence burger, which is described on the menu as “piled high with one of our beer battered onion rings, melted cheddar, and bacon crumbles”, and then they add “consider yourself challenged!”.  Ha!  Lay it on me!!

Burger was decent, my choice of rosemary focaccia bread may have contributed to a bit of a dry finish to the burger.

Onion rings were very good, for a non-hand-dipped variety.  They were very large and tasty.

Accompanying this nice burger was my current Dogfish favorite, Burton Baton.  A beer to savor, a beer to swish around your mouth so that no part of the mouth is left out of the fun.  This party in your mouth is always over too soon!

This lunch rates as a “very good”, but, let’s face it, PB & J, served with these beers may warrant mention in Bon Appetit magazine.

After a day of beer, food and driving, it felt good to relax with the O’Brien family in the Federal Hill area of Baltimore.  Their friend Terry joined us for a sampling of Clown Shoes beer I had shuttled down from Massachusetts.

First up was Brown Angel Double Brown Ale — a little lighter than I expected, but an easy drinking beer that all three tasters enjoyed!

We chased away the Brown Sugar with a taste of Eagle Claw Fist, an Imperial Amber Ale.  Given my affinity for Amber Ales, I was excited to finally try this.  It was very good, with all three tasters approving of it.  I can’t claim that I wanted a second, but if someone served this to me, I’d instantly think that person was a “good shit”…. 

Lastly, for this brief pregame tasting was the beer everyone WANTS to love, mostly because of the cool name — Tramp Stamp, which is a Belgian India Pale Ale.  While Terry and I enjoyed it, Brendan pooh-pooh’d this choice and could not even finish his beer.

Off to the “Yard” to see the Red Sox take on “Buck” Showalter’s Orioles.

Nice Sox win, which they all are, but avoiding a sweep to the O’s was an essential thing for this early season.

In fact, it called for some celebrating with the local birds…

And who knew there were so many Oriole Birds over the years??  On a mural on our way out, I had to snap a photo of all the local birds.  Somewhere in that list, are the Orioles of old, the ones who don’t finish near the bottom of the AL East.

Well, a good night comes to an end — the last night of age 42 — I know, I know…I don’t look a day over…..(insert a low prime number here)…

In Baltimore for another birthday — this has to make 4 or 5 of these (coincidentally I turned 29 each time) …. should I just move here?

Ok, ok, enough of the daydreaming….so how best to spend a day doing many of the things you enjoy?  How about starting off with a crazy good breakfast place, with great food and excellent service?

Of course, this leads me to my favorite breakfast place of all time – Miss Shirley’s.  I always enjoy the food at Miss Shirley’s, and while it will never be considered  “cheap eats”, I always feel like I got my money’s worth.

One thing I try to do here is to get something different each time.  This is very tough to do once I recall the items I have had in the past (Breakfast Trio of Sliders, Pumpkin Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast are two that come to mind).  Today, the choice between savory breakfast and sweet breakfast was easy when I spotted something called Cinnamon Danish Pancakes on their unbelievable menu.  I hope the photos below relay the delicious discs as I experienced them.

My first thoughts were — “Wow, are you kidding me?”…”These look to good to eat” – But, yes, I somehow found a way to dive in.

As I knifed my way through, I somehow felt like I was desecrating a work of art…but, yes, I got over that guilt as well, to start doing the whole fork-to-mouth routine!  In the words of some…”Yes, They’re Real and They’re Spectacular“!

My only hesitancy during this orgy of flavor was whether I do my regular bath of butter over the top and around the edges of my pancakes.  I seriously worried if the butter would somehow hide one of the ingredients in this symphony!  Well, butter was added and I think it made for a good marriage.

Yeh, I got coffee and a side of bacon (yawn, so what) but these only served as a nice compliment when I took my snout out of this melange of cinnamon, butter, sugar and, of course, LOVE!  Yeh, I said it — I could taste the love.

Happy Birthday to me, Miss Shirley, you always make me feel like I am treating myself right!

In this second beer sojourn in a couple of months, I decided to take more time at places that may have only been cameos the first time around.

One such place, was Victory Brewing in Downington, PA.

Last time around, I only imbibed with one of their beers, a Golden Monkey, and moved on to other places for chow.  This time, I promised myself, try the food, relax, try a couple more of their beers to see what else they had to offer.  I was well rewarded for this plan.

I was greeted warmly from the bartender and offered a beer menu and a food menu — can you say “yes, please” and “yes, please”?

I usually try to order a beer that I haven’t had before and I followed that plan and jumped on a Hop Wallop!

Wallop my taste buds, it did, as my mouth became overjoyed at the transition from Starbucks coffee to Hop Wallop.  I was pleased with my choice off of the  craft beer menu, one that had some wonderful options.  Check out their main beer menu here – what would you have ordered?

I narrowed the food choices down to two sandwiches (The Prime and the Dietrich) and an entree (I never saw a Reuben Meatloaf on a menu before, so it made it to the final cut…..my version of American Idol).

In the end, my weakness for a Reuben overwhelmed the other choices and I went with the Dietrich.  (much of my spare time is spent searching  the countryside for the best reuben….if life was a series of lobster rolls, reuben sandwiches and chicken salad sandwiches….I could consider giving up steak…but I digress).

This reuben was top-notch!

A delicious home-made pastrami, served with fingerling potato fries, both of which made me long for having this place in my neighborhood.  The serving was more than enough!  In fact, I  couldn’t even finish the whole plate…. even if that meant, just leaving a few pickles.

Wanting to try one more beverage before I left, I tried the summer seasonal, a Whirlwind Witbier.  This beer was ok, but I think after a hop wallop, many of the lighter beers mind as well have been a bottle of poland springs water.

It was time to get back on the road, down to Baltimore, to settle in to watch the Bruins in game 7 against the Canadiens.  My Baltimore buddy Brendan O’Brien and I watched a the action from a couple of bars in Canton.

First up, was Loonies, but the small TV screen size challenged our eyesight, reminding us too much how much older we are (well, for Brendan anyways).  These old men needed large screens, damn it!!!  Luckily, a few spots up the street, we found great TV’s and good beer at an old dancing haunt of ours (I vaguely remember a dancing trance of Shakira music, which certainly convinced me that night that ~Hips Don’t Lie~), the Claddagh.  A Bruins win and a few Raging Bitches (the beer, not the locals) were a good way to end this day.

I recently decided to use one of my Groupons and headed to Davis Square Somerville to check in on Redbones.

Davis Square is chock full of great shopping and dining nuggets and Redbones is certainly one of the landmarks of this hip area.

Seated as we walked in, one can’t help but notice that this place is more about the substance and less on the style — don’t let the close tables and bare bones comfort fool you, the people here from the kitchen to the wait staff clearly love what they do and they do their best to make this foray into southern BBQ a truly enjoyable experience.

I had waffled all day between pork ribs and beef ribs….the last time I did this, I took the indecisive route and went with the BBQ Belt, which is  “A taste of the South, featuring Memphis, Texas & Arkansas Ribs & Sliced Brisket. Served w/ beans, cole slaw & sauce”.  Now…I KNOW I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I have been trying to make more definitive choices in life…and why not make one here?

Pork ribs…beef ribs…?  Pork ribs…Beef ribs…?  Fully leaning towards pork ribs…I had made my decision…and when the server asked what I was going to have…I told him proudly….”Brisket!”….Damn those delicious ribs!  Brisket!!!!

So — this poor guy says “small or large?”.

Do I look like someone who orders small things?  Coffee…beer…button down oxfords…I am a guy that usually takes the biggest size of anything.  So, large dinner plate of brisket.

My dining partner went with the Buffalo Shrimp…., so I was out of luck if I had hopes of trying some of their pork.

We had also decided to try some fried pickles and fried jalapenos, served with a side of ranch dressing/sauce.

These fried nuggets of love were good, with a nice batter coating the outside.  The jalapenos gave some spice to the palate, but were tame on the Scoville meter.

The micro brew list here has gained its own, separate, distinguished reputation.  It is well deserved!  They had quite a sampling of items not seen at most restaurants.  I went with a Pretty Things Jack d’Or, which was very tasty, lighter than expected.  I’d like to try another one sometime, perhaps with a few degrees chillier to make my full assessment.  In an effort not to overpower my food, I backed off the deeper, fuller varieties and went with a lighter standby, Allagash White for a second pint.  Nice, clean, consistent Maine brew.

I sampled the Buffalo Shrimp which was very tasty.  The coating had a light crunch to it, which was so welcomed!  Some buffalo shrimp have a coating that is like a wet fried paste, but this version seemed to give it a full, fried coat, and the buffalo sauce did not break down the crunchy batter!  These were very good — but on to the BBQ, I mean, this IS a BBQ joint after all!

My serving was huge — I guess I did order large — but this was one massive grouping of delicious, tender, love… This “sliced, slowly smoked, tender brisket” was as great as one would hope!  I also used their “hot” sauce on the side, which was very tasty, but again, not very hot — I think they could increase the heat on the sauce.

The brisket left no reservations about my choice to skip the ribs.  It was accompanies with plump, hot baked beans which were better than most.  The cole slaw was fresh and plentiful, but lacked a little mayo in my mind.  Yes — this could be my Hellman’s addiction talking -

I left full of food and full of appreciation for the food, beverages and service at Redbones –

I’ll be back — just don’t make me choose between the pork or the beef….

On a recent Sunday, I travelled into Boston over near the Boston University campus to scout out the Sunset Cantina.  I had been here briefly for a margarita a few years ago and I wanted to try this cantina, knowing how great their sister restaurant, the Sunset Grill and Tap is.  It also helps that I have a Groupon to use sometime in the next few months.

I was there in time for a brunch, but I thought I would just do a quicker hitter — a couple (few?) beers and a small bite was more what I needed on this day.

First up, I ordered a Racer 5 IPA and a menu (which meant a lunch menu, a beer menu and a specials/brunch menu).

At this point, there was a minute when I saw some Mahi Mahi tacos on the menu, and was tempted to switch it up, but when the bartender told me they were not available until dinner, it made my mind up for me….today was going to be a burger and beer place — will do some Mexican here the next time.

It took me some time to make up my mind, so it was time for a second beer — which was going to be a Stone Arrogant Bastard (approriately named, huh?….I can hear you…).  Beers were very cold and the service was prompt.  The bartender was very helpful in telling me what was good, what beer seems to be getting some buzz and what was “just tapped”.

I chose to go with the Sante Fe version of their regular beef burger.  This adds slices of fresh avacado, chipotle pepper sauce and pepperjack cheese, all served with pickles and a choice of fries, onion rings….and (white noise)…I mean it’s always going to be onion rings or fries, right?  (disclaimer — ok, maybe cole slaw with some summery fried fish)

The burger was tasty and firm.  Now, I say firm, because I thought it was unusually firm.  It was not overcooked, but I think the cook may have sat on the patties to make them so firm.  So, the nit-picker in me prefers a burger that isn’t so hockey-puck firm.  The burger had a nice beef taste.  And while we are talking firm….the avacado was a little firm as well.  The chipotle sauce was more of a pepper tasting sauce, rather than a smokey chipotle.  The pepperjack was semi mild with this burger.  The onion rings appeared to be those pre-cut variety which can be tasty (and these were!), but I sit here as a fan of obivously homemade onion rings.  If these were homemade, I was fooled.  As far as cookie cutter onion rings go — these were very good.

Third and final beer for the day was Anderson Valley Imperial Amber — which came from a “fresh” keg.  The beer tasted like it lacked a little bit of the CO2, which left me, and the beer, a little flat.

In summary, service was very good, menus are great and varied, food was decent and the beers were almost perfect.  This time around they get a 4.5 out of five “Bucks”.  But, I’ll be back….soon.

Recently, my friends Chuck S. and Anne S. planned a nice weekend for themselves in Portland to take in some scenery, dining, shopping….and uh, oh…some beer joints.

This last item on their itinerary caused some wheels to start turning….notably, Mr. Third Wheel — that would be me (I can play third wheel, fifth wheel and can even maybe max out as a seventh wheel, with the best of them!) — was now entertaining the idea of joining them.

Chuck seemed to think it would be a great idea to have this beer novice in tow as he and Anne made their way through Portland Maine.

I hemmed, I hawed….for a couple weeks really.

I finally decided I had to be a part of some beer research in the greater Portland area.  I kept my decision to myself, opting to join Chuck and Anne midway through their Saturday.  I figured giving them much of the first day to travel without a third wheel was the least I could do. 

I started my day by opting to check out Portsmouth New Hampshire on my way up the coast.  I have been here a handful of times, but never with checking out some beer as a major reason.  I walked through the streets, upset with the nice weather and my bad timing, which created a long line at some places that I would have checked out (Portsmouth Brewery, Gaslight Co.).

I opted for Ri Ra, an Irish place right at the juncture of many of the streets in the center.  Very nice place, roomy, but kind of lacking a warmth you might get from a cozier spot.

First decision?  A man needs to have a beverage while perusing a lunch menu – right?  I examined the beers on tap, which, in general, seemed to be a little “safe”, not venturing too far from mainstream selections.

For my first beer, I decided to check out the Switchback Ale (from Vermont), which was nice, but nothing to beg for a second pint.  It was cold, and it was served promptly, so no real complaint with the Switchback…I just would decide to move on.

Time to check out the menu.

I dialed in on the sandwiches.  Trying to expand my horizons a bit, I passed over what I would normally get and I jumped on the Guinness Short Rib Melt.

It was served with nice thin onion rings, a side of horseradish sauce and the skinniest pickle I have ever seen!  Hey, it IS an Irish place, maybe small/skinny pickles are the norm…

The sauce was very mild, which may be fine for some, but I looked forward to the sharpness a horseradish can provide.  The short rib chunks were decent, on the tender side, but the flavor didn’t sing much.  The size of the sandwich was my only major complaint — it is served on something resembling a “slider” bun.

I would give the onion rings a thumbs up, beer selection thumb sideways and the sandwich a thumbs down after thinking long and hard about it.  In general, like the pickle, this stop was a little too skinny on taste for me.

During my trip to Ri Ra, I “checked in” on Facebook.  No sooner had I put the cell phone down that my friend Sally responded to the post that her and her husband Digger were right down the street and would buy me a beer if I happened to find them.  So, off to the bottom floor bar at the Gaslight I went.  Enjoyed a black and blue (Guinness and Blueberry beer) with them and chatted up all things Woburn, York Maine and Yeungling.  Lots of laughs in a quick visit with them!  Hope to have a beer again with them sometime — but off I went — directing the truck north up the coast.

Next stop was a quick side trip to pick up something I would likely need sometime around midnight.  Thinking a (quite a) few beers will be in my future, I imagine a bite of some yummy bread might be a good midnight snack.  This required a stop at When Pigs Fly Bread Company in Kittery Maine.  This regular spot provides me a real problem — making a decision.  I usually choose a savory bread and a sweet choice as well.  This enables one to have bread for a meal followed by the oh-so-loved dessert known as …more bread.

I grabbed a loaf of sicilian green olive and hot cherry pepper and a loaf of banana cashew turtle.  Because I had planned ahead, I packed all the essentials….clothes, toiletries and of course, a stick of butter.  The stick of butter now had it’s pairing for sometime around midnight in Portland Maine.

Back on the road, I zipped to a beer bar recommended by a guy I follow on Twitter – Brian — you can follow him at @SeacoastBevLab !  His first recommendation was the Dancing Bear — so I did set the GPS for the Dancing Bear and made my way to a parking spot near the bar.  It was at this juncture that I received a text from Chuck and Anne (who still did not know if I remained back in Woburn or decided to join them).  “Will be at the Dancing Bear in three minutes” was the message — which I found kind of creepy — were they tailing me?  Was I being punked, Maine-craft-beer style?  It actually turned out to be a coincidence -

So, the secret was out — Mr. Third Wheel was in da house!  Well, in da Bar!

Chuck and Anne joined me a few minutes after I bellied up to the bar.

Now, the only issue with these places that have +50 bars on tap is making a decision.  Hey!  I used to have trouble at the 99 deciding between Blue Moon and Killian’s…..wow….the OLD Beer Days….

The resolution these places offer is give you an opportunity to order a flight of beers — a sample, served on a beer paddle.  That was the route I took, ordering some ambers, some IPA’s and a brown ale.

I found the Sebago Runabout, North Coast Red Seal and Rogue Yellow Snow to be average, kind of allowing my taste buds to sleepwalk through the first few samples.  What’s the tip people always give you…Don’t eat yellow snow?  Yeh – I wouldn’t drink it either! 

It turned out that the last two choices were good ones as they served as a good way to wake up the taste buds.  The Jockamo IPA and Turbodog Brown Ale both made the beer flight worth it!  I also loved that I ended on a high, tasty note.  Food?  Wasn’t gonna bother mentioning, I mean, you are here for the beer right?  Well, let me ask you this – does the following item look like something out of a kitchen or possibly something found at the bottom of a swimming pool?

Yeh — I thought so — I don’t even remember what the sauce was.  But I tried to dress this baby up!  This WAS a boneless finger, jerk style.  Well, I look at it this way…I was wrong to leave the beer only diet.  It was a sign…”drink more beer”

After the trip to the Bear, I went to check in at my hotel while the lovebirds (Chuck and Anne) went to a light dinner down near their hotel.

My hotel was the Eastland Park Hotel – not a bad place at all  — running about $60 on priceline (included the fees and taxes).  People online claimed the bathroom was small — and it was — but if that is the biggest complaint, I think the place has served as a decent place to rest your head…and of course, your butter.

While waiting to resume my third wheel duties, I ventured out to Gritty McDuff’s Portland Brew Pub.  They have their own brews and I decided to sample a few while waiting for my partners in crime.

I spent an hour or more at Gritty’s – I decided to try three different brews.

I chose a Red Claws first — a nice, mild amber ale — this provided no surprises to my palate.  Batting second, a “Pub Style”, which is described as a Pale Ale with a nice hop finish — it was nice, but again, a little lighter on the hops than what I have been enjoying of late.  Last up at Grittys was an “21″ IPA — which was very tasty — I could get used to the “21″ —

Grittys is worth a visit — no idea what the food is like here.  Beer WAS food for this portion of the trip.

Met up with Chuck and Anne and we went to what was going to be the last place scheduled on this trip — a beer nirvana of sorts — a place that both Chuck and I had been recommended to visit.  The place is Novare Res Bier Cafe — a place, we found, as dark and comforting as the stouts we were about to let splash down our throats!

When coming to places like this, you think to yourself, why do I drink average beer?  Why do I settle?  Be Picky!  Demand the best of your beer, and the rest of your life will fall in place (ok, ok, I am overdoing it here, but I’m leaving that in!).

Lots of choices at this place, on draught (draft?) and in the bottle.  Lots of hard to find beer here.

First off for me was a Beer Geek Breakfast Stout – from Germany – very tasty!  This was a great experiment because I don’t usually get too excited about stouts, but I decided to try this after I sampled a taste provided by the bartender.  He couldn’t have been more attentive and helpful with the beer offerings.

I decided the night had to start coming to a close, which meant I had to start thinking about leaving — but such good beer here!  Ok Ok – one more I decided, and offered a taste of Marshall Wharf’s Russian Imperial Stout — I was sold — I KNEW this would be my beer dessert, of sorts.  Rich, Dark and Tasty!

I savored the last of the beer and possibly the last of the night with Chuck and Anne – a few more sips and I would be on my way back uptown to my hotel.

I finished this tasty one and decided this dark, great chapter had to come to a close.  Cheers to Novare Res Bief Cafe!!!

Off I went, making my way along Commercial Street, passing many places that could have put an exclamation mark on the night — But I was good — I was responsible….

Until — I saw Three Dollar Dewey’s — a place recommended to me by my friend Sally and her husband Digger.  I decided this was “beer karma” — a sort of excuse to have another “last one” –

I think I promised to have some sort of Cherry Bomb (Guinness and Cherry Wheat?), but decided to grab something “hoppier” to end the night – Victory Hop Devil – a recent offering in the beer tasting I had with friends.

I closed the night by walking (straight) back to the hotel, fully knowing my friends — bread and butter — were waiting for me.

I decided two small slices of olive/hot pepper with butter would do the trick –

The bread was delicious, as always, and offered my belly something that didn’t have a hoppiness component.

And so, the quick shot up the coast to Portland came to a close with a restful sleep and a uneventful ride back to Woburn in the morning.

All and all, Portland’s beer scene proved to be well worth the trip — something like this is fast becoming my “bread and butter”!

I recently convinced a six pack of friends to join me in celebrating over a dozen “delicious” brews from around the country.  By the time I had narrowed the choices for the night, we had a total of 16 craft brews “on tap” ranging from wheat beer to porter and lots of stinky, hoppy brews in between.

Some of these beers were picked up along the roadways of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware during my recent beer trip.

In devising a system that I thought would work well, I offered up the sweeter or less bitter beers first and moved up the hoppy bitterness scale before taking a step back with a delicious mellow porter.  I think this order was important with the huge hops content in the second two thirds of the samples.  Let’s face it, some of the tasters (me included) may have thought “hops” was what I exhibited playing high school back in the day.

The 16 beers that we sampled, from 8 different states, in order, were:

• Allagash White Ale (ME)
• Southampton Publick House Double White Ale (NY)
• Harpoon Catamount Maple Wheat (MA)
• Lagunitas Little Sumpin Sumpin’ Ale (CA)
• Heavy Seas Small Craft Advisory Uber Pils (MD)
• Founders Brewing Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale (MI)
• Flying Dog Raging Bitch Belgian Style IPA (MD)
• Founders Brewing Centennial IPA (MI)
• New England Brewing Sea Hag IPA (CT)
• Victory Brewing Hop Devil Ale (PA)
• Bell’s Brewery Two Hearted Ale (MI)
• Founders Brewing Red’s Rye PA (MI)
• Troegs HopBack Amber Ale (PA)
• Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale (CA)
• Troegs Nugget Nectar Imperial Amber Ale (PA)
• Founders Brewing Porter (MI)

The tasters for the night have had their names partially changed to protect them from getting a hard time from hops lovers throughout the greater Woburn region.  The tasters were:

• Buckbites (moderator and taster)
• P Dots
• S Dots
• S Cal
• D Cal
• T Fic
• E Fic

In their most sober state, E Fic and D Cal are shown gearing up for the first tastes of the evening.

Individuals were provided some information that was culled from the Internet, paired with scoring sheets I prepared.   Individual packets included:

• The Art of Tasting
• Descriptions of the Varieties of Beer to be Tasted
• Scoring sheets, which provided names of beer and free form text areas (no numerical ratings were used for this group).

Some, like S Cal, took time out of the excitement to study up on the pre-tasting information.

Beer types to be tasted were:

• Witbier (Wheat Beer)
• American Pale Ale
• American Double / Imperial Pilsner
• Scotch Ale
• Belgian Style IPA
• American IPA
• Rye Beer
• American Amber / Red Ale
• American Porter

Information on the types of beer was researched through Beer Advocate.

The chef for the night (S Dots), doubling as beer taster #3 (but chef #1), provided lots of tasty delights, with highlights being buffalo chicken dip with celery and nacho chips, roasted red potatoes with a delicious horseradish chive sour cream sauce, crab cakes with lemon dill sauce and these wonderful beef crostini with sage whipped cream.  All of these were top notch and I am not word-worthy enough to describe how delish they were!  Bravo chef!

Below are the tasting note summaries.  I have also included a subjective ranking of 1 through 5 beers – 5 being the best rating and 1 being the worst rating.

Beer #1 – Allagash White Ale -

Spicy
Lemon
Could use lemon
Not a fan of aftertaste
Fizzy
Unsure
Modest aroma
Spicy
Light & Refreshing
Dark Yellow Color
Cloudy
Summery

Beer #2 – Southampton Double White

Fruity
Not liking aftertaste
Bad smell
Light
Very clear
Light head
Slightly more bitter than Allagash
Lots of bubbles
Stinky
Fizzy

Beer #3 – Harpoon Catamount Maple Wheat

Pleasing scent
Lightish
Sweet smell
Bananas
Caramel
Alcohol-y
Light, but nice body
Good color
Don’t like it
Bitter
Dig this!
Could drink a whole one

Beer #4 – Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Sumpin Ale

Lemony
Citrus
Berry
Tart
Lousy
Berryish
Fruity
Bitter
Dry
Cherry
Hops
Didn’t like finish

Beer #5 – Heavy Seas Small Craft Advisory – Uber Pils

Fizzy
Bitter
Clovey
Smells like beer
Good, bitter though
Don’t like after taste

Beer #6 – Founders Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale

Thick
Syrup-y
Can’t drink a whole one
G-nasty
Coffee
Strong
Malty
Peppery
Smoky

Beer #7 – Flying Dog Raging Bitch Belgian Style IPA

Fruity Aroma
I comb my tongue with my teeth
Tastes like detergent
Like an IPA with a white ale finish
Hoppy
Fruity
Like It!

Beer #8 – Founders Brewing Centennial IPA

Smells fruity
Strong
Spicy
Alcohol taste
IPA Hoppy
Lemon/citrus
Fruity

Beer #9 – New England Brewing Sea Hag IPA

I Like the Lady!
Ouch!
Fruity
Less hoppy IPA
No smell
Unlike other IPA’s

Beer #10 – Victory Brewing Hop Devil Ale

Yummy
Hops
Nice label
Like it, actually
Heavy flavor
Very good
Good
Fruity
Bisquit-like

Beer #11 – Bell’s Brewery Two Hearted Ale

Lemon
Very good
Didn’t like that one
Like a meadow
Flowery
Fruity

Beer #12 – Founders Brewing Red’s Rye PA

Hops
Grapefruit
Citrusy
No different than an IPA
Hoppy

Beer #13 – Tröegs HopBack Amber Ale

Very Good ***
Yummy
Good Color
Tasty
My favorite

Beer #14 – Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale

Not crazy about finish
I like this one a lot
Tasty
I like
More Hops
Complex

Beer #15 – Tröegs Nugget Nectar

Powerful aroma
Nasty
Like Feet
Lighter than the sister
Fizzy
Hops a lot
Smells Nasty!

And just a note, I had trouble with ‘da hops a couple months back, but I am now endorsing the stinky feet of the Nugget Nectar!!

Beer #16 – Founders Brewing Porter

Coffee
Chocolate Smell
Smokey
Syrup Appearance, but not as heavy tasting
Complex
Thinner than expected
Would try again

The crowd had their ups and downs, favorites and ones for which they were not wanting a second sip.

In general, the favorites of the night in no particular order were:

• Troegs HopBack Amber Ale
• Founders Porter
• Harpoon Catamount Maple Wheat
• Heavy Seas Small Craft Advisory Uber Pils
• Bear Republic Red Rocket
• Victory Beer Hop Devil

Honorable mentions:  Which usually meant infatuation with the name and or label:

• Founders Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale
• Raging Bitch Belgian Style IPA

Pleasant surprise:

• New England Brewery Sea Hag IPA — surprise at decent flavored IPA in a can.  This was the only beer that came in a can.

The food was great — the beer was interesting and the company was long overdue —

Until the next time — Cheers!

Ok — buckbites is going local — we’ll see how this goes –

Had lunch recently at Jerry Remy’s Sports Bar and Grill — using a Groupon I had purchased months back.  As the deadline approached, I figured a Saturday lunch was as good a time as any to use the $35 I had in the Jerry Remy Bank.

We got there nice and early before any of the lunch rush and we took two seats at the bar.  We had the bar mostly to ourselves at this point.  The help were a little sleepy at the beginning, as there was no crowd to keep them moving.  There was a table watching a soccer match, a table screaming for Syracuse over Georgetown and a few stragglers like us.

The TV’s (they call them Screen Monsters) are great — I have been there at night and they are even better when no daytime glare creeps into the viewing equation.

The first thing you notice about the menu is the great variety, with some funky twists on some menu staples (a burger served on fried dough?).  Secondly, you will notice that this place is a little expensive.  The prices alone would make this restaurant a place where you would “pick your spots” when to go.  The Groupon lessened the pain of a steep bill.

Perusing the drink menu, I decided to grab a Racer IPA #5, from Bear Republic — deliciously cold, in a frosted pint glass!  Five stars!  Later, I took in the Harpoon Catamount Wheat and lastly, a Dogfish head 60 Minute IPA (a great standby!).  The only issue with the beers is the third beer came in a room temperature glass, so a stickler on beer temperature like me could at least bitch about something.

Moving onto the food menu, we decided on an appetizer of Onion Rings — I’ll eat onion rings ANYTIME, ANYPLACE….so, this was something that had to happen!  They are served in a tower, with chipotle aioli and ranch dressing.

The onion rings were tasty, with a slight oily gathering on the lower layers of rings.  Not TOO much, but enough to know the difference from the crisp, clean ones on the top and the bottom ones.

The sauces were pedestrian.  The chipotle had barely any bite.  I wanted more of the bite — this is Buck BITES after all — the more the bite, the more I am happy.  The ranch dressing was invisible to me — my rings don’t dance with the ranch…

I moved onto my entree — which was the Southie Burger.  The South Burger is a beef patty on Texas toast, with bacon, pastrami, mustard (I don’t normally have that on a burger), mayonnaise, swiss cheese (another non-favorite) and grilled onions.  Some of the chipotle aioli was on the side.

My dining partner got the chicken Caesar salad (yawn), which was reportedly decent, even if they skimped on the dressing on the side.

She chose the pomegranate margarita for her libation and enjoyed the pink yumminess.

Back to the Southie Burger….Despite the mustard and swiss cheese angles, this burger was juicy and delicious!  Even with the big texas toast, this juicy patty ended up on the plate, falling apart from it’s juicy accompaniments.

It came with a fried pickle, which was good — my first (you always remember your first).  I don’t know if I would order them as their own appetizer.  I mean, between onion rings and fried pickles, I’d never find myself in a pickle.

In conclusion — I’d say Jerry Remy’s place is definitely scored a HIT…..but I’d make arrangements for additional meal money in your next contract…..just sayin’

The beer trip HAD to come to a close, at least that is what the therapists tell me…

Woke up early for the long ride back.

Have I told you these trips have two essentials: GPS and Sirius Satellite radio?  These essentials not only make things easy, but also make sure the music is varied along the long roadways.  You forget some of the music you enjoyed at some point in your life…Midnight Oil, Clash/Big Audio Dynamite….even The Tubes!  LOL -

Ok, well, off I went to one of my favorite neighborhoods in Baltimore — Fells Point.  Great beer, good food and just a welcoming feel that makes this occasional visitor feel like I belong.  I think this is the first trip where I didn’t belly up to the bar at the Cat’s Eye — I promise to double the effort next time -

So, as a technicality, I HAD to come before hitting the highway.  I snapped a couple photos of the lonely cobblestone street and the majestic waters that nestle close to the uneven sidewalk.

While down in the area, I decided to try a place I had always wanted to try – Bonaparte Breads – a french patisserie (or boulangerie, I forget this chapter of french class…sorry Ms. Condon, forgive me, s’il vous plait).  I had never really had a good chance to visit before, as the lovely bettered croissants never seemed to be a good match for, say, a Deep Amber Ale at the Cat’s Eye or Duda’s.  Plus, when you debate crab cakes or croissant, it’s not even a fair match-up.

So, this was my shot at trying Bonaparte’s and as my luck would have it, they were just opening.  More charming in the summer, when you are welcomed by chairs and tables out front, it was nonetheless a great way to start the morning.

As you walk in, you step back in time, you step OVER the pond to Paris into a nice french theme with a great rustic feel to the place.  Ornate fixtures adorn the walls and there is plenty of seating available.

I decided to go with a mocha and almond chocolate croissant.  The mocha was lacking any deep flavor, but it was a smooth sip that at least made me feel like I was enjoying a good pairing with the croissant. 

The croissant was very good, with chocolate and almond nestled amongst the flaky layers characteristic of a Parisian croissant.  The croissant did feel a little chilled, which made me think it may have been made closer to 8 PM (the night before) than the 8 AM hour it was served.  It also could have had a tad more almost as the current level served more as a reminder that it wasn’t JUST chocolate, but really did not shine as its own flavor in this pastry.

With my taste of Paris complete, I bid adieu to Fells Point and finally headed north.

I was on the hunt for some hard to find beer (for me and for friends) and I had decided I would drag my feet a bit in Philly so I could catch the liquor store at Noon (when they opened).   Dragging my feet was accomplished by blogging at a Starbucks for an hour or so.

As the 12 o’clock hour approached, it was time to hunt down the beer.

I had been tipped off of a HUGE place in Philly — which it was — but like too many times in my life, it was Strike !, Strike 2 and Strike 3 — no success on the beer front.

Back on the road for me, with the target of Brooklyn, home of the Brooklyn Brewery.  I figured I would be remotely close, and even though I was not crazy about their beers in the past, perhaps a visit to Brooklyn would make me change my mind, and maybe my palate -

(this expletive-riddled paragraph about driving into and through New York City in my truck and traffic at the Holland Tunnel and so on….has been deleted….I figure you could do without the language and thoughts I had.  Let’s just say….Yankee fans drive cars too…..)

Landed at the Brooklyn Brewery (thanks GPS) and walked into their tasting room — which turns out to be more like a frat party with tables– Past beer tastings were among 10 people, 25 people MAX!  Brooklyn brewery made me feel that beer was not available to these people for the surrounding 5 miles.  LOTS of people (200?) in what felt and looked like a warehouse —

I decided that a two beer limit would be best for the traveling day, so I went with the Brooklyn Winter Lager and their Weisse (Figured I’d be a Brooklyn Weiss Guy).

As far as comparing them to their competition, I think both of these beers fell short.  As the average (at best) taste lingered in my mouth, the thoughts of battling all that NYC traffic to hold these two beers in my hands was starting to make me think this was a bad choice for finishing up a trip.

I finished the winter lager (it IS beer after all) but dumped half of the Weisse.  Sorry — Brooklyn Brewery did nothing to win any future business of mine.

Hit the highway and drove through sundown, starting to see the pleasant reminders that soon I would be home and enjoying the beer that eagerly awaited my return.

Unloaded the cases of beer from the trip and ended the impulsive beer trip of 2011 with a smile.

I then washed away the memory (and taste) from the Brooklyn Brewery with a Troegs HopBack Ale….and that provided the calmness that led to a solid sleep after a day on the road….

Cheers!

Woke surprisingly early for having given my body so much hops in the last 24 hours…so I showered and hit the streets of Baltimore before I have second thoughts about sleeping in.

Strolled by Camden Yards, and while “Fenway South” was empty, I could still envision a Sox win of 9-2, isn’t that usually the case.  Lucky me…as I was strolling through the emoty confines, I came along a Babe who just couldn’t take their eyes off me  -

Yeh, I can hear you groan…listen I am here all week…try the veal…

Oh…well, that is a lie too — I am leaving Sunday.

Ok, so it was cool to walk around Eutah Street where I am usually seeing thousands of people taking in a few beers and some food at Boog’s (which I find very overrated, but another story for another time).  But it is missing something…

As always, it is always a good bit of advice to watch out for batted balls.

I snapped a few photos of the empty park and even the dull green turf of Camden Yards was enough to excite a baseball fan.

Well, it was time to head down to my traditional breakfast spot…Miss Shirley’s right down past the Inner Harbor.

Love the eccentric menu at Miss Shirley’s and while their prices make you wish you were a member of the Orioles, the food is always good (to great).

I try to get something different each time, which is easy because of the plentiful options they have.  They also rotate a bit of their menu.  I snapped a picture of the menu so you could make your own choice…and pay your virtual tab.

Today, I felt like a savory start, so I opted for the Trio of Sliders (last time I had Pumpkin Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast….and talk about almost flattening all four tires on my truck…but yes, not this time).

One was bacon, eggs and sauce, another was goat cheese, roasted red peppers and colard greens and the last was pulled pork and eggs, all served on mini challah rolls.

And then, just like at McDonald’s, they played the ole “would you like fries with that”-gig, and I bit — “throw in hash browns!” says the man with a mouth bigger than his wallet…

Chow comes and it looks great –

And just in case I was missing sports from the trip, I was happy to see the hash browns came in the shape of a browned, crusty hockey puck — SCORE!!!!

All was very good…with the pulled pork being the only pedestrian one of the three.  Just kind of mild and dry.  But, hey — it helped provide a wonderful base for beer that would soon be washing down any dryness.

Time to actually hit the road for the main reason for this trip — SUDS!

Today, I take the 2 hour or so jaunt down to Delaware to visit the Dogfish Head brewery!  They have been quickly rising the charts of my favorites.  My tongue has finally imported taste buds that properly appreciate hops — so their 60 minute IPA, 90 minute IPA and Burton Baton (another IPA) have made my mouth feel like it was at a very tasty party!

Nice, easy ride down to Delaware.  Their brewery is in Milton, DE.  A town that looks like a nice quiet Hamlet, with a minimal amount of stop signs.

I loved the vibe of this place — maybe because they say they are about “off-centered stuff for off-centered people”…yes, I think I qualify –

First thing I notice is the cool signage, a bocce court out front for employees and then a “treehouse” which isn’t a tree at all.

I was a couple hours early for a tour, so I decided to visit the tasting room / gift shop.  I met two great ladies, one serving me beer (that makes her lovely right there) and another who cashed me out and asked if I could do anything to calm those crazy Red Sox fans that come to “Fenway South” in Baltimore.  I told her if you served Dogfish Head there, maybe they would have more interest in the beer than a Josh Beckett split finger….just sayin’

I got to try four varieties on tap this day –

• Namaste
• Raison D’Etre
• Indian Brown Ale
• Palo Santo Marron (they like calling this their Guinness on steroids — 12% alcohol)

All were excellent — I had not had “Raison” in many years and was not a fan — but I liked it this time…and learned that at some point, they changed the recipe.

I grabbed some garb and decided to head out for the 15 minute ride to Rehobeth Beach, DE — home of their brew pub. But, like any good traveler, I hit the bathroom before heading out…and boy am I glad I did….just for their signage on the bathroom -

Well, this was the day it had gotten cold and windy, but don’t tell that to the people down here — this beach community was MOBBED.  That included the brewpub — I spent 20 minutes just trying to slide my slim frame onto a bar stool (what?  it’s MY blog…I can say slim frame…no?)

Besides, the woman next to me eating with her mouth open (she had pumpkin bisque and a cheeseburger…I saw ALL of it — I know!!!), the place was great — being able to have delicious beer that I had only had out of a bottle was a great thing — I decided to go with the Burton Baton, which is listed as an “Occasional Rarity” on their web site — seems to fit me — it’s got 10% alcohol…so, beware of hitting the seat of your pants….

But, hey, time to up the ante – I ordered their 120 minute IPA — They like to call it their Holy Grail for Hop Heads – 18% alcohol — yup — BEWARE….your tongue will ask for more….but too much more, and “more” will sound like “muah”….

Oh — yeh – boring stuff – I got food too (yawn) — a special, dogfish tacos, apple slaw, chiptotle sour cream, side of black beans with sauteed tasso ham…  Very good black beans (not usually a fan), and the fish tacos were good, but I think the strong beer cornered the taste buds for that trip…so, the food never had a chance to shine.

Time to head back towards, Baltimore — I nice ride to reflect on delicious, FRESH beer….because, as you may know…Clayton likes it fresh….it says so….

Well, after a while of driving, it was time to feed the beer meter — I decided a stop in Annapolis would fit the bill.

I walked around the charming harbor, hobbled along the cobblestones and tried to figure out how the cadets from the Navel Academy can walk so surely over the cobblestones.

I took a look on Yelp which pointed me to the Galway Bay Irish Pub — where I sampled some Yeungling and a house IPA.

I decided to grab more food…and on a recommendation from the bartender, I got the Lamb French Dip….

Pretty simple sandwich, but rather pedestrian.  Fries were crispy, not soggy — always a plus when a moist french dip is sharing the plate’s real estate.

About four bites in, a guy ordering a beer leans in and says …”my friends and I can’t help but notice that you took a few pictures of your food….is that something you ALWAYS do?”  Well, the answer is, not really…only when I blog my trips –

He looked kind of confused…is this guy from Travel & Leisure or from the Annapolis Chess Club….but, he seemed to win the bet with his friends….as he smiled, patted me on the back and said “…that’s what I told them…I figured you were a blogger”.

Yeh….sometimes….when buckbites beckons….

Friday morning was uneventful after a good night’s sleep at the Downtown Marriott!

Maybe it is a reflection of quality beer, but surprisingly, a hangover has not barged into this trip as yet.

I started the meandering day (one with no real plan) by checking out the adjacent Reading Terminal Market — http://www.readingterminalmarket.org/ .  It’s a large place of food, produce and homemade goods!  And — to  my surprise, I did not eat anything there!  This was later diagnosed as being overwhelmed with choices.  The last place I passed before exiting was a cookie place…and I let the sweet lady talk the cookie lover in me to come over and grab some nourishment for the road.  Killer cookies — grabbed a white chocolate/macadamia nut, a chocolate chip/macadamia nut and a Almond Crunch (these were eaten later, first two killer — Almond Crunch was a dud).

What’s a few days without a couple errands?  I decided to beer shop in the Philly/King of Prussia area — stopped at 3 beer stores and collected some beer.  However, it was really a hunt for Pliny the Elder of Russian River (California), which is not available in many states.  I also looked for a Founders Stout for my friend Jim….and just like some of the baseball day, I was called out on three strikes.

Decided to hit the road and target a brewery I had mentally removed from the trip the day before — Troegs Brewery in Harrisburg PA.  They are renowned for their hoppy craft brew — especially their seasonal – Nugget Nectar!  I sprinted a Northwest a couple hours to get my does of the Nugget.

I stepped into this place — wonderful Tasting Room in this small brewery — decided to follow the route take by the women in front of me and get the “sampler” — which is 7 smaller snifters of each variety on tap – I figure they were about 5-6 ounces — not a bad deal for $7.

These brews ran the gamut from a JavaHead Stout to a Dreamweaver Wheat — My faves were the Nugget Nectar (they have a HUGE following for this beer) and the Hopback Red Ale –

It’s a nice presentation, with guides to tell you what you are drinking -

Don’t worry — took my time.  I even stopped for a 7th In ning stretch (see photo).

After grabbing a T shirt to pledge my allegiance to this hoppiness, it was back on the road — moving towards Baltimore and a small beer tasting at the home of lifelong friend, Brendan O’Brien.

Well, what is beer without a few snack?  Well, the answer is “Yummy” Beer…but, I am a sucker for snacks, so I stopped at the Utz Potato Chip Factory In Hanover, PA.  I stocked up for the beer tasting and I was on my way to battle traffic getting to Baltimore -

Got into the Marriott Hotel, near Camden Yards, about 7:00 and showered and packed the iced beverages to share.

Showed up around 8:00, good to see Brendan, who unfortunately had the flu this weekend.  Too bad his wife Judy was away this weekend.  Judy is always fun to share a Bloody Mary or other beverage with…..

We sampled some of what I brought from my favorite liquor store, Center Beverage in Stoneham and some of the ones Brendan and his friend Matt brought over.  Some of their beer, Brewer’s Art Resurrection, and Heavy Seas (multiple varieties) proved very nice.

With Brendan under the weather and me having a long day, it was time for us “old guys” to call it a night.  So, that capped a very nice beer tasting day -

Plan for the next day was to head to Delaware, to the Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton DE.

Will update when I likely get home — kind of mismanaging my time a bit….forgot that the blog takes time….

Well….I am dusting this blog off for the weekend — yes!, my weekend started on Thursday and will end Sunday or Monday….

The way I looked at it — I’ve been staring at all that snow….trudging to work and occasionally rewarding myself with some new brew to try (it’s a stage…..all us young folks go through them )

So — in typical last minute style that Clayton has become known for — I woke up Wednesday with no plans, by 8:30 AM, I considered driving for funky beer sometime this weekend….and before you know it, I had Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware on the docket —it always helps when Baltimore serves as a center of operations starting Friday night — My good friend Brendan (lifetime ERA in the 4.00 range?) will be hosting a beer tasting.  I have brought plenty of 12 ounce and 22 ounce samples for all of those who will be attending.

So…let’s just give you a rundown of yesterday –

I pulled out of Woburn just after 6:00 — and it was non-eventful ride.

The only things that come to mind is the number of dead deer by the side of the road in the small area of New York I drove through.  I mean, I was expecting some road kill in New York this year, but that roadkill wears pinstripes…  I did stop for coffee someone in New York and to my surprise, everyone working at the Panera Bread had all their own teeth and my truck went untouched in the parking lot.  This is always a good sign 

Funny billboard on the highway…. “Johnson College…97% of our graduates work in their field”…so, of course, I imagine they are a farmer’s college — who knew farmers went to college?? 

I did also get curious as I drove through PA, seeing a sign for Scranton-Wilkes Barre International Airport…. do you think this airport was a little rinky dinky thing before the success of Dunder Mifflin??? …what?  They aren’t a real company???  Let’s just say that from the highway, Scranton looked like a perfect place for The Office to take place.

Ok — so with a co-pilot on board, this trip was even easier than using just a GPS….my co-pilot can smell beer withing 375 miles (thankfully, Yeungling was just under that limit).

Thanks co-pilot!

So, Wally helped me locate the Yeungling Brewery, the oldest one in America -

And, before I even got outside, I could tell I wasn’t in Boston anymore…25 cents on a meter gets an hour!!!!  The old motel shaking beds didn’t even have that good a rate!  (Not to mention meter parking in Philly would be 25 cents for 8 minutes!).  Here’s the proof -

I had been introduced to Yeungling on one of my dozen Baltimore trips, maybe close to six or seven years ago and at the time I thought it was Baltimore’s local brew….not Pottsville, PA’s — but I have been set straight over the years — good beer!  I mean, s far as Lagers goes, this is top notch — It turns out I was in time for their 1:30 tour, so I was looking forward to it — Here is a taste (sorry, not of the beer) of the place:

You’ll find it in hard working city nestles in some of the Pennsylvania hills.  In a town called Pottsville.

Many of the workers have been here for life.  “Nobody leaves” the brewery was what we were told.  Which is kind of creepy….I mean, where are they buried???

Well, they are all local, and even some walk to work — which is kind of Laverne and Shirley like if you think about it.

We were able to examine where they brew the beer, even though brewing had finished for the day.  We then moved onto the bottling part of the operation, which was in full swing — I’d like to tell you more about it, but so much of that was a blur —

And, sadly, they are not taking applications.  In fact, they never post jobs.  The owner personally will go to some of his good employees and ask if they know a good person for a job….pretty cool, old-fashioned…

Near the end of the tour, they showed us part of the brewery that isn’t used anymore — The Cave.

They built this brewery into the side of a hill and used a cave, 50 feet under the brewery to store their beer.  Pretty cool place, stays at 50 degrees all year round — but, it no longer serves a purpose other than an interesting part of the tour.

We were then allowed two samples of our choice of the 7 varieties they had on tap that day – and I decided to try two I had never had — all about Options…. I tried the Lord Chesterfield Ale — decent, and the “Premium”, which was very good.  The tour guide said it was a local favorite and doesn’t ship far at all out of the area….maybe within an hour ride.

Beer is not sold at the brewery (to the public).  Employees can buy it and they often get beer the day it is bottled…and you though I was fresh!!!! 

They pointed me 5 blocks away to my kind of beer store — just beer, just cases!  (ok, ok, they sell soda too, I mean people get hangovers I guess…)

Well, I was off with my beer, including some cases for friends and family.  Headed toward Downingtown, PA and the home of Victory Beer.

Nestled into a business park is this great brewery and brewpub, like an oasis really!  I went in and sampled the goods…Golden Monkey Tripel I guess it was….pretty y

ummy, and a high alcohol content.  The place was nice, but I limited myself to 30 minutes or so.

It was time to actually eat some real food — man cannot eat just beer.  Did I just type that??

I had Yelped for a place — and located the Station Taproom, right in Downingtown.  The beer menu looked impressive and reviews online were very good.  I had planned on getting a lamb burger, as it had great reviews online.  But — first — beer.

I ordered an Ommegang Witte (  All those past trips to Cooperstown and now, I find out that this brewery is there as well.  Roadtrip?

Maybe….

I got the rundown on the specials, reviewed the menu and changed my plan.  I would get the wine braised short rib with bacon braised collard green egg roll, served with horseradish cream sauce.

I also decided to get one of the specials — shrimp carbonara.

Egg roll —- Awesome!  I would rate they four and a half “bucks”, only missing buck perfection because the yummy horseradish sauce, also delicious, is perhaps mis-matched here, kind of overshadowing the great egg roll.

The carbonara — Umm, I just give them a half a buck, because I don’t want them to get shut out — I mean the shrimp were large, but the dish had no life.  I salted it twice and added pepper four times.  The person at the bar next to me smirked when I went back to the pepper well for the third time.

The pasta in this bowl was mealy, and fell apart with a good stir.  The parmesan that was supposed to dress the top was lifeless with no salty bite.  This was a true Clayton error — next time, lamb burger.

It was off for the hour ride to Philly — great hotel room Downtown Marriott.  Compliments of a good rate at Priceline (again).

Showered and out on the town, just for a splash of beer.

Two blocks away at a place called Fergie’s, they were featuring Allagash Beer — from Portland Maine.  The brewer/owner was in da house and it seemed like the right thing to do -
I am a big Allagash fan and I was not disappointed in the choices I made:

• Allagash Big Little
• Allagash Grand Cru, and
• Allagash White Ale (an old fave of mine)

Pretty easy to sleep after that day……I kind of wish I was still sleeping…but I had to dust off the blog — sorry this entry suffers from run-on’s, misspellings, lack of plan….Clayton is out of practice.

Headed to Baltimore at some point today — just don’t know the plan between now and then.

….Over and Out! 

I have hit serious leisure time — no events, no historical places, just enjoying the quiet, hot days of Scottsdale -

Drove to Old Town (third time if you are keeping track) — did some shopping and actually came close to pulling the trigger on a cowboy hat — they actually carried my size in a few styles — but, I chickened out -

Some nice western goods and Indian treasures and also LOADS of your typical tourist stuff from post cards, to magnets, to T shirts and PLENTY of cactus (of cacti??).

Back to the pool for an hour or two before heading to the funkiest of Guy Fieri’s Arizona stops — Chino Bandito — this is a combo (Foodie types may call that fusion….) of Chinese and Mexican — so think General Gau in a burrito —

I decided on their newer location, in Chandler. I walk in and the lady spots me as a newbie — she tells me she is going to have me sample about 6 of their items before choosing – this was GREAT! Unheard of, almost –

Well I settled on a combo, one burrito style, one quesadilla style (you can get a simple rice bowl with your main stuff on the top). I got Jade Red Chicken in a burrito — yummy, sweet with a small hint of spice – and a Pollo Diablo in a quesadilla — this was also very good and it is the spiciest item on the menu — they warn people from Iowa that it is likely too hot for them. Frankly, I think it could have been hotter, but was still very good. These items come with Black Beans, done Cuban style (whatever THAT means — and if you are keeping track, a third culture has now hit the plate). Then, just to hit the world culinary cycle, I ordered the Jerk Chicken Fried Rice — I mean ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I think the stomach feels like you are throwing it constant changeups — but all was very good — and to top it off, every order gets a freshly baked Snickerdoodle cookie — this made the ride back to the Resort a tasty one -

This gets a 4 and a half bucks out of five.

It almost got five, just for their logo alone — look it over — and click for a closer look -

Back to the room, just hung out and watched TV — yes, I am on slowdown mode -

In the evening, I decided to catch the Red Sox at the new Sports Bar I went to the other night — Blue 32 Sports Grill –

I ordered the Grilled Mahi Tacos — and these were top notch! perfectly grilled fish, velvety avocado slices with a chipotle tarter sauce — On the side came Cilantro Lime Rice which was perfect as well — and piping hit! This was a total Home Run!

This came recommended by my favorite Blue 32 bartender, Cassandra (pronounced, “Cassondra” — hey! get it right). Another bartender from Rhode Island chatted some Pats with me for a bit – they both seem like they will help this place to be a success.

I sampled a few beers — including a nice Kilt Lifter from the Four Peaks Brewery in Tempe.

This place gets the elusive Five Bucks out of Five – (not sure what I rated it the other night, but this meal mandates the highest mark).

In fact, to celebrate the occasion — I ordered up a Blue 32 Martini — dirty martini, with blue cheese stuffed olives -

Thanks, Cassandra for taking the photo -

I left the place and decided on one more martini — do they call that a nightcap? They used to say that on Quincy — at the Village Tavern — seemed to be a good place — bartender was attentive and gave me lots of recommendations (I guess for the next trip to Scottsdale).

More restful sun and pool tomorrow -

Went back to Old Town in Scottsdale, this time to hit one of two breakfast places I found online -

I ended up choosing the place which seemed less busy (not always the best choice, I mean, places are busy for a reason…). I just felt like being able to flap my elbows at the table -

Turns out that the place I chose does breakfast, lunch, happy hour, dinner….and fancy drinks — The Daily Dose Bar & Grill – unfortunately for me, I was only here to do breakfast — I did coffee and the Chorizo Omelet, which is Locally made chorizo, jalapenos, red onion & aged cheddar finished with fresh guacamole at $9.95. It came with plenty of home fries, large slices of toast and a rosemary creme fraiche. I really didn’t know what to do with the creme fraiche and the guacamole, so I dipped everything in one or the other — everything was great!

The meats in the omelet were very tasty, not salty, as some of these chorizo cuts can be on occasion. Service was attentive, plenty of coffee…. but staring across at a bar advertising a yummy mai tai made me yearn for Happy Hour. I rated this Four Bucks -

I walked around Old Town (second time) and realized I need to come back to check out some stores — I mean, they just might have that cowboy hat in a 7 7/8?

Drove around the area — just killing an hour — nothing much but a wasted hour -

Back to the room, poolside to soak up some clouds….no sunshine on this day, or little of it.

Planned my later afternoon and decided on a Happy Hour at the closest restaurant that is not on the grounds here — the Chart House – which I gather is a small chain around the country.

I hit the Happy Hour menu — HARD –

I did the Chart House Margarita while I read over the menu — I took the suggestion of the bartender, and went off the Happy Hour menu for one item — a Beefsteak Tomato Salad — which has plump tomato slices, crumbled blue cheese, light, delicious onion rings, chucks of perfectly cooked bacon, on a bed of fresh spinach with a balsamic drizzle on the bottle – YUM! Four and a Half Bucks out of Five!

Mouth watering as I type this…

Ok – So, before hitting beer, I lean on the friendly bartender for another drink from the Happy Hour menu — “what do people like?”, “what do you make the best?”…..and she says even though she’s a beer and shot type of girl, her Cosmo is supposed to be very good — so I shaved my legs and order a Cosmo — it was, umm, underwhelming — not what I expected — and made me yearn for a Fat Tire – Below is the evidence of the transition -

I then jabber-jawwed with the bartender and a neighbor a few stools down, Denise, and we talked everything from accents, vacation, jobs, Arizona….yada yada yada —

I then dove into the Prime Rib sliders, which is carved prime rib, caramelized onions and a creamy horseradish sauce…. these were very tasty and the au jus was a very tasty compliment. Makes me realize (again) how bad the California Dip at Brandy’s in Flagstaff was….

(note: not served open face, but trying my hand at allowing you to see as much as possible)

I decided to try one of their casinos out here — their newest – Talking Stick — and when the “Stick” talked to me, it said “I’m no Vegas, I’m no Foxwoods, maybe you should leave….” — so I did, after 20 minutes and not a coin dropped in a slot — just didn’t seem to have any pool – here is the view from the parking lot, kind of a cross between a Elks Lodge, a high school campus and maybe a small dose of Foxwoods –

It seemed so-so on the busy side — but plenty of parking —

I almost parked in the spot below, because I of course didn’t see the van hidden in the parking space -

Well, I split like a banana and decided to check back at the hotel bar — it had seemed to pick up in population during the day and I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss any of the fun. But it was quiet, relatively — just Nina (bartender) and staff, me, and Bob from Acton, Massachusetts — this guy is a semi-regular on the business stay circuit — his route is Italy to Phoenix, and then when he told the bartender he lived in Boston, I bellowed, “I live in Boston” — so, the next hour or so was spent talking watching the Sox with Bob from Acton — and his son plays Lacrosse at Umass, so I chatted some Umass stuff as well. I told him I’d see him on Route 128 —

Rest of the days promise to be quiet –

Well — I have been slacking and frankly, the blog may suffer down the stretch of vacation. I just don’t have much planned for the final few days and it will be like watching bad re-runs for you folks —-

But – Wednesday AM — woke up at 4:30 AM local time to get on the road around 5(ish) on my way up to Sedona to view some breath-taking red Rock formations — I have been there a couple times previously, but only a cameo both times…

My feeling was get there early — take an early off-road tour and then decide the rest of my day (lounge in Sedona or shoot to Flagstaff for a couple hours) — well….I hear a lecture about calling ahead or planning ahead coming…I showed up at Pink Jeep Tours at about 7:30 after taking some pictures on my way into town. The earliest they could squeeze me in was 10:00 — unless I wanted to do combo tours, which would be more money and up to 4 hours….this is their version of “would you like fries with that?”, but instead it is “if you want to add the Ancient Ruins to your tour as a combo, we can get you out in 25 minutes…”. I declined, wanting my day to be flexible –

So, it was two hours of snapping a couple photos, putting my nose against the shop windows of the places not yet open and checking out the same 25 post cards that are on sale outside a few early risers who were open…..YAWN!

The only benefit is the change in weather as you head north to Sedona and later to Flagstaff — while Scottsdale hit 108 on Wednesday, Sedona peaked (not pun intended) at 90 and Flagstaff peaked at 80 degrees, cooler than beantown for the day —

Well…10:00 rolls around and me and a family of four from New York (I can’t ditch all the Yankee fans in the world if I tried) headed out on a 35 mile, 2 hour tour of “Diamondback Gulch”. Tour guide Bob was very knowledgeable and the tour was about an 8 — excellent learning experience, some good canned jokes from Bob, but I guess I wanted more formations out of my tour. I can whine pretty well when I try, huh? The off-road experience was something I recommend and I would do one again -

Before, during and after the Pink Jeep Tour, I was able to see many of the formations in the area. The camera doesn’t seem to catch ALL of the deep colors, but they still look decent — some snapshots are below:

These sights are pretty breathtaking — and they can make your heart skip a beat -

Obviously, the local city council does as well, as you can see these heart Defibrillators on the sidewalks every quarter mile or so -

As you can imagine, lots of artists have jumped in on these great views. There are artists who have rendered these in drawings, paintings and even in photography. I have jumped into this in my own abstract photo of the main road, showing the closeness of the formations to downtown life…..

I call this photo “Green Lights, Red Rocks”….I can have it silk-screened onto drink coasters if you like….I just need to contact Billy Mays for the infomercial…..WAIT! Oh, never mind.

Well, I was full of disgust for waking at 4:30 to set up all this available time, and the lack of planning ahead made the day reach a baptism under fire mode around 1:00 — Do I drive over the hills to Flagstaff for one of Guy Fieri’s restaurants or do I head back towards Phoenix/Scottsdale? I decided to do Flagstaff and drove the 28 miles to this bustling place -

I got out to pump gas and it was kind of, ahem….chilly — well, an 80 degree chilly, but I must stress that I haven’t seen a daytime temperature below 100 degrees since Logan Airport….

So, off to another one of Guy’s finds….and while they featured a great dinner item, I had to select from the lunch menu at Brandy’s Bakery and Restaurant. I even saw the chef bouncing around the restaurant who I remembered from the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives clips. Too bad I wasn’t here for dinner….

I ordered a California Dip sandwich, which was served au just (thus, a french dip)….and thank god there was au jus — I mean, this sandwich was listed as “juicy roast beef” with muenster cheese and green chilies…

There was ZERO juiciness to this roast beef! I was there at about 2:00 and I had a sad feeling that this beef MAY have been juicy during their breakfast rush…..7 HOURS AGO — I had thankfully ordered a pesto mayo for a side, which helped the sandwich along.

I get a lot of french dips — and the true test for me is….does this sandwich stand on it’s own as a roast beef sandwich? Is it already good, and just enhanced by the au jus (I feel so french!)? If not…thumbs down -

Even the chilies were a disappointment -

The fries were hot and fresh — and I learned a long time ago if you can’t say anything else nice…just stop moving your lips……but, seeing that this is a blog and it is my fingertips, I can say such great things as “unremarkable”, “hot filler”, “begging for salt and pepper”…..

This visit made me have a major realization about the show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives…..nobody ever said the food at all these places was great! They are either in a funky building, have a funky personality, have some strange items on the menu, have an unusual cooking manner…..and occasionally, the food is “off the hook”. So, my expectations have been changed for the culinary tour of Triple D restaurants (Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives = Triple D). They have been set to medium low and that way I can be pleasantly surprised.

Brandy’s gets a One Buck out of Five Bucks….my lowest rating yet in this “foodie” blog stuff….

So, off the the great roads of Arizona….weird driving down a highway and as far as you can see, no homes, no buildings….not even a Starbucks….

So, I decided I was gonna have enough time to get to Phoenix for the Diamondbacks game against the New York Mets (I can’t dodge New Yorkers, even the ones that hate the Yankees).

I parked behind Alice Cooper’s restaurant, aptly named Alice Cooperstown, which had frosty aluminum bud products for $4….again, FRIGID — like my third day in a row blessed with ice cold beer —- maybe it is a state law or something….but everyone from the Cask and Flagon to the Towanda Club can learn from these refrigerator experts!

Here is the outside patio of Alice’s place -

Funny thing about the servers inside is they all have to wear some of the Alice Cooper face paint — with the black tears down their face — I didn’t ask any to pose, but for a flavor of it, here’s a photo of Alice himself..

Imagine asking someone looking like that if I can get the ranch on the side?

I reviewed the menu and everything is pretty much named after a sports figure or a rock star…. they even have a two pound hot dog called the Big Unit (named after Randy Johnson who used to play for Arizona). One of the sides of the building makes sure you know where to get the Big Unit….

Just so you bring enough dough…..the Big Unit will set you back $18.99…..or the same price as a Fenway Frank in the bleachers at Fenway….

They actually hosted Adam Richman of Man vs. Food for the Big Unit! They actually added an Adam Richman version of the Big Unit, but I forget what it added and it isn’t on the website — here is a photo from the web of Adam and Alice….with two Big Units…

Never seen Man vs. Food — pretty entertaining — see more info here

The D’backs are a BAD team….think, Orioles without the passionate fan base…. It’s a nice place to watch a game, modern, been here a couple times before…and it is comfortable. Grabbed a cheap seat in the left field bleachers, $16. Lots of beer and food choices. I mean, when in Rome hit me in the first fifteen minutes as I decided to have a frozen strawberry margarita (hey! I was back to the 100+ temps, so I thought a foo foo drink at a game was ok). Skipped food, so no ballpark food report. For those of you counting my calories…today was a skip breakfast, skip dinner day — not the way you want to eat, but it happens from time to time….I’ll make up for it later.

One thing about what is called Chase Field that is pretty interesting is they have a swimming pool area just beyond the right field fence! You can rent out the space, but my guess is it comes pretty pricey! But, as you can see below: you could easily have a Home Run in the pool! (Note: those living in the gutter, keep your memories of a home run in the pool to yourself!).

I decided to keep dry, walked around a lot, talked to ushers about the team, the stadium, their matching outfits… my ticketed section is shown below, but I was here for only 20 minutes….long enough to be 30 feet from one of 3 Home Runs that were hit there last night -

Gassed up at Alice’s joint before heading home…some local Hefeweizen which was forgettable and a Fat Tire….after all, this is where Fat Tire and I had our first date, many years back -

Future posts will be shorter I imagine….no real plans ahead — and I will try not to bore the audience…

Ok — trying to make this concise —

Woke up – hit the road to Phoenix for one of Guy Fieri’s places — Matt’s Big Breakfast! While this is a small place — it also has a small menu….but big enough to offer a bowl of Frosted Flakes! I like their sense of humor already….

I decided on the Salami Scramble, with, of course, a side of bacon! Here is the photo…

While yesterday’s dinner at Joe’s Farm Grill felt like the place had gone Hollywood….this place was still telling customers via a chalkboard that they would be closed next week for their summer break! Love it! Have a great vacation Matt (assuming the owner is Matt)!

Breakfast was great! As in “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner”!
Coffee – good
Bacon – good
Salami Scramble — Raise the Roof!

I hit the road, but only a couple miles to the Heard Museum — this Museum is a gem — offering “…Native American artwork, pottery, books, textiles, and jewelry.”

Took a tour, and the guy giving the tour, from an Indian family, was a sophomore from a local high school — they have this program where high school students give tours — AWESOME! Major Kudos (unless I am being some sort of softee).

Lots of nice exhibits, including this clothing set for an Indian child….

Little did they know, these would be a loose blueprint for GarAnimals at Sears, circa 1982. No Toughskins were located at the Heard Museum, so the tie in with Sears appears limited.

They had a great display of how Indian art, skills and techniques influenced some modern culture. Take a peek at these hot shoes — I mean, literally —

My friend Leona would be the only person I know who could pull off THOSE shoes….

I was mostly impressed with the vast collection of Katsina dolls — I mean a few hundred. They had old ones and contemporary ones, all very impressive. A few are pictured below (pictures are taken behind glass, so there is a little glare)

Even the exotic tile they had on display was impressive, as well as some contemporary tile displays, like the one below:

I believe, if I recall correctly, that tile is from Phoenix, circa 1988, from something along the lines of the Kohler Bathroom tribe.

I took off from there, but as much as the pool was pulling me back to the room, I had to follow up on the resort bartender, Nina’s recommendation, of the Four Peaks Brewery in Tempe — so, I found the place and decided to have lunch there — the place was mobbed and I admit, I turned the flash off my camera as to not totally embarrass myself, so the photo may be a little dim –

I got one of the specials — a fried grouper sandwich with jalapeno tarter sauce and Pepper Jack Cheese, with Macaroni Salad. The Macaroni was nice, not overcooked as you often find in macaroni salad — and it had chunks of cheese and artichoke hearts — a great choice. First time having grouper – and it was very good. The spiciness of my cheese and condiments was muted enough to let the fish shine! (Did I just write that line….?). They recommended the Hefeweizen for a pairing and who am I to push a beer away?

This was a great find and this may get a repeat visit! They also have a new place in Scottsdale so maybe I should try that spot next.

Back to the hotel — killed my third book of the trip (see last post for links) — and had the pool to myself for a bit before I had to graciously share it with three young ladies. So many bikinis….so little time….

Went out for either a visit to a new Sports Pub nearby or a Casino a few miles away…..

Blue 32 Sports Grill has the coldest beer I have had all summer — maybe 33 degrees MAX — and a very attentive staff -

Well, it turns out they opened on Saturday — so, you know how that can go — you get superb stuff as they try to impress the new customers or they need a few weeks to work out the kinks…..lucky for me, they had staff from their other restaurant on the premises –

I had a few cold ones, but the feature was a Hot Texas Burger — which had Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Jalapenos, Mayo, Mustard and my good friend, Tabasco -

Nice and Spicy!

Very impressed and the cold beer, the good food, the chatty staff and …..ooops, did I mention the Red Sox on Satellite? Yes, this place will be a repeat! (Helps that it is five minutes away)

Ok, ok, so I have pretty much said I would stay poolside and read, sweat, dive in and REPEAT…for ten days….but I have gotten restless and getting a car on Monday unleashed the hounds, I guess — no I can at least poke my head out of the area a bit — so….what to do, what to do — well…from my last vacation, it sounded like from feedback (no pun intended), that people enjoyed me pretending to be a foodie and if I share all those calorie stories with enough people, maybe I won’t pack on all those calories….hey! It’s worth a shot — so, a theme, kind of developed -

In addition to some cactus, red rock formation, terrible national league baseball type things on the docket, I invited Guy Fieri of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives fame to lay the map for some of my culinary adventures….

I’ll let Guy tell you about it —

“Clayton….dude…..this will be Buckalicious!”….ok, bye Guy -

Well, I do have a roadmap, in an article entitled “Eat Your Way Across Guy Fieri’s Arizona“! While, I sincerely doubt that Guy Fieri owns Arizona, I do think I can move a few of these items off of the article and onto my calorie starved plate….

So, the culinary spin was in — Clayton was on board for this — although Clayton is looking a little more like a “Sven” if you ask me — hair, helmet like, after days in the sun and chlorine….and before Guy climbed aboard my list of things to do — I had a great California Tomato salad with grilled ahi tuna on top — with a perky (yes, I said perky) lime cilantro dressing….oh…and the best “Bah Mix, Eva”! Thanks to Nina at the bar for all the suggestions — washed it down with a local Arizona beer, much like a Magic Hat #9, but peach instead of the apricot…..and it was frigid –

Ok – So, rental car happened at 7:30 AM today and I whipped out the trusty GPS for the first leg of the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives tour — it was great to hear words like “roundabout” again!

So — off I went to a breakfast joint, Over Easy, in Phoenix. Now….I have to say — because I am following this map of sorts, am I required to get what they featured on Guy’s show? The answer I have is no, but when it is a toss up — the featured dish wins, and I don’t mean me….

Cool restaurant – cool website (once it renders, the menu is in the crossword puzzle – VERY COOL (ok, small things amuse me, ok???)

I debated between two items that were on the show, the Wolfpack and the Caramelized Banana and Pecan Brioche — I just like saying Brioche…it’s like, Chatanooga or….well, I am getting sidetracked….

So — yummy food, the Brioche was very good….syrup is a little strong on the caramel, but hey — taste buds had an orgy for a while — they’ve been quiet for a few days —…and oh — it’s breakfast, so I get a side of bacon — their pig is like the pig at home — on the TV show they say it is from Wisconsin….well, it wasn’t really worth the freight — it was good bacon….just not baconlicious —

Fresh Squeezed orange juice was great —- but at 8 ounces for $3 bucks, I’ll take the next one with Ketel One, thank you bartender!

Waitress was super nice (Melissa??) as well as the other folks who checked in on me….3 people in 15 minutes? Very attentive!

So, calorie meter has been started, GPS has been started, it is a brand new vacation -

I drove to Old Town Scottsdale

– which was supposed to bring me back to the West….West what? West Wyoming? West Woburn?

Sorry, cowboy — not much here impressed me…except maybe you!

….kind of an overrated area if you ask me….but maybe I am saying that because my pie hole wasn’t chomping down on something very caloric…?

Went through an artsy area, I mean wall to wall galleries — but being a Monday, they were all doing their color-by-numbers thing at home…or contemplating life or whatever they do when they are not selling stuff….

Took a spin by Fashion Square — me and my super duper rented Kia Optima….

Well, the first two places I motored up on has valet parking — just to shop — I am thinking there is no room for a coupon shopper like me at the Fashion Square — so I passed — guess my wardrobe will be missing that $250 dollar pocket square….

Ok, ok, I have to admit — I killed enough time so that a non-Guy sanctioned eatery was close to opening — so, I waited — and just when I thought I was going to the first person at the Sugar Bowl in Scottsdale for Monday — 3 groups swarmed the door at 11:01 (if it was even that late).

I went to the counter and sat among the pink decor

….this place would have made Liberace comfortable — but, I digress….it was old fashioned and had many old fashioned items — I ended up skipping malts and floats and I went with a Raspberry Glacier, which was Raspberry Sherbet with Sprite.

It was a nice pick me up after dragging myself around these blocks in 106 degree heat — and it was good to the last drop — don’t believe me????

At this point, I was starting to have pool withdrawals — so, back to the resort — quick change, books in hand and out to battle the sun bath — in fact, all my friends from the resort were there to greet me….they are shown below….look….um…they might be hard to see

Killed the second book of the vacation — Deal Breaker by Harlan Coben, and began a second book by him, Drop Shot — both books have the same character and they are poolside quick reads — mystery, a sports angle and nothing too lengthy of a read.

I am well on my way to a murder mystery of my own…..how can someone who had gotten out of reading so much in the last year kill more than 1 book in a vacation — I am staring at my third murder conviction and bringing on more….

Came into the room to do some work for the part time job — which I also did after dinner. It’s nice to be able to do most of that work remotely –

Guy was back — screaming at me to get my ass in gear — down to Gilbert Arizona — to a place called Joe’s Farm Grill — where, as much as possible, items on the menu come from the farm next door —

I hit the conundrum that I run into from time to time….can’t decide between onion rings (my fave) or the sweet potato fries (the rave)…..fave? or rave? Fave or Rave? FAVE OR RAVE??? Get the both of them came the devil off the left shoulder….and before the angelic side spoke up (wait! — you didn’t know I had an angelic side? keep that to yourself or I will tell people about…..well, you know who you are and you know what I’ll say….yep — this means you!) ….ok — so I went with the featured item — the Fontina Burger — which was very good — and onions rings AND sweet potato fries — both done nice, crispy — batter on onion rings was great — sweet potato fries — I can see why people like em….I guess they just don’t excite me…and they never have — so it isn’t Joe’s fault
(NO! I did not finish everything…..really!)

— washed it all down with a fresh strawberry lemonade, complete with strawberry seeds culminating it a choppy last draw of the straw — but very nice drink –

Food was good — not GREAT — but would recommend the place — however — the one thing is….the place seems a little “Hollywood” — they have flat screen TV’s showing the TV clips from Triple D — over and over — they sell Guy’s recent cookbook at the cashier….they plant the TV show items in a different ink….and everyone behind the counter looks like they had to have 6 months of training before they could work there — very clean — very “corporate” — just didn’t seem homey enough for this home-slice….

Both of Guy’s places rate pretty high — Over Easy…I’ll go with 4 out of 5 bucks — and Joe’s Farm Grill get’s 4 out 5 bucks as well. Sugar Bowl, 3 and a half bucks out of 5, it hit the spot, but nothing I couldn’t do at home.

Sorry for any typos or run-on sentences or whatever careless mistakes make their way into these posts…I write em, make sure the images work and click publish — so, my apologies in advance…

Sorry for the long blog entry — hope I didn’t bore you during your morning coffee……

Ok, ok, so I have finally gotten around to a new blog entry — can I blame the lack of entries on the sun?

113 or so on Friday, 108 yesterday, and ….let me check the forecast……10 seconds…..20 seconds — I guess right now it is 97 degrees, and headed for 110 —looks like Pool Duty for the afternoon -

So here is the quick and dirty from the last couple days….

Flights were fine — flight one was an interesting one…..now, I am the first to say, I am a big guy….when you see me coming down the aisle, you say to yourself….”not next to me….please!”…..you know who YOU are! Well….me, aforementioned “big guy” sits in the aisle seat — and yup — a woman bigger than me gets the middle seat next to her husband — hey – GUY! thanks for giving her the middle seat! The guy had to help her fasten her seat belt! It wasn’t as bad as it could have been…..I mean, when I saw that her elbows had their own dimples, I thought I was in big trouble….. and for all I know, she may be blogging about the “big guy” to her left – -

So, after flight 1 to Atlanta — I decided to start the vacation culinary engine — and just to prove to those that have read the blog before and think all I eat is ice cream, biscuits and gravy or chocolate chip pancakes… I have proof that I can eat healthy (albeit, on the run)…

Flight two had ME in the middle seat — but, the little lady to my left was about 4 foot 5 inches and maybe 90 pounds — THANK YOU Airline Gods for making my middle seat a nice one!

Arrive in Phoenix, shuttle bus to the hotel and I checked in about 1:00 local time – Hotel seems pretty nice -

Room is plenty nice, 3rd floor, with a pool view -

Made the debut by the pool for an hour or so — and it seems like I did not scare any guests away!

Hit the Happy hour for a vacation beverage or three — and tried some “Panko Crusted Onion Rings” — well, if these were Panko Crusted, then I am wishing nothing but the best for the New York Yankees! — these things made me long for those awful “Onion Things” at Burger King…..On the Buck scale, they got a half a Buck. House margaritas were ok — local beer was very cold, but I retired to the room early ….

Up early on Saturday — went for a walk (don’t tell my physical therapist or podiatrist) around the area (no car until Monday) and hit a Jamba Juice for a sweet smoothie! I was dripping wet by the time I got there — so, the smoothie did the trick (I repeated this on Sunday AM as well).

I was poolside by Noon and killed the first book of the vacation — Plum Island by Nelson Demille – decent book – good summer type read — gets about 4 Bucks on the 5 Buck scale -

After a few hours of sun and swim — I bellied up to the poolside bar –after a drink or two — I met a great family from San Antonio — John and Sebrina (with an “e”), their son Justin and their nephew, Alonso. They were on a vacation out to the west coast and back — and this was perhaps their last stop before San Antonio.

Check out my helmet hair!!! I am about 6 foot 3 in that photo — that is what happens after I swoop it back after being in the pool all day –

We shared drinks during the afternoon and when the pool bar closed…we did what most people who have been out all day would do……we went to the local supermarket, got some beverages, got pizza from a place in the plaza (thanks John and Sebrina!). Pizza was from Crust, and it gets 4 and a half Bucks — very good sauce and it may potentially get repeat business during the week.

We stayed poolside until my tank read empty — it was really great meeting them and we exchanged info so that we can keep touch in the future — and I have promised to buy them dinner if I am in San Antonio….where they welcomed me to stay with them — what a stroke of luck meeting such great people….even if John is a Colts fan…..

lol — I wasn’t gonna let that slip -

Headed to the pool….no plans for the day — car tomorrow, so I may start doing stuff off-resort –

One hint of what theme might be developing……..has anyone seen Guy Fieri anywhere? I’ll take a peek at a few places….

Made plans for this summer’s second and final vacation -

Ten days at the Scottsdale Resort and Conference Center!

Cheaper to fly to Arizona and be poolside for 10 days than getting a place for a week at the Cape or the NH or ME beaches….

Weather calls for days between 103-109…..who knew they were having a cool down?

I hope people like prunes….my hope is to become one (while wearing my sunscreen)

And hey! Did you hear that prunes had their name “officially” changed to dried plums….would I lie to you?

Well, I had stayed in Cleveland one whole day and Lebron would let me advise him on his free agency, so I hit the road.

I was tipped off that the Home from A Christmas Story was fully restored and available for tours, etc. (thanks Barbara!)— while I would be too early for their opening, I did go by for a couple of photos — there was no leg lamp viewable at 8AM

This place is tucked into a quiet neighborhood a couple miles from downtown — I guess they get strangers hopping out with a camera to take photos before hitting the road to their next destination -

Well, for me – the potential next and final destination was going to be home – — but the suggested route by Google Maps was going to bring me through Buffalo — so I decided to go that route — When I got to Buffalo, I saw what everyone always talked about, it’s really beautiful!

Ok, ok, I admit…..it was nicer that that — low 70′s — not much to look at, but I am sure Buffalo, as a city, has a great personality (isn’t that what you are supposed to say when it don’t look so great?)

So, I have seen enough Food TV to know that I had to try the Anchor Bar — the place where the buffalo wing was born -

Got there shortly after they opened (surprised??) — and bellied up to the bar (commentary on verbiage not necessary) and decided on HOT as my wing choice — they had “suicide” which I would normally have tried, but I was nervous of 7-8 more hours of driving. The Hot were nice, but I’ve had hotter — gave me suicide wing envy….only made worse by this lady and her husband who came in and she ordered her “regular” – which was “double suicide”….what a Wing Wimp she made me feel like….anyways, here’s what they looked like -

The Good: Tasty, decent hotness, served piping hot, had a little crispness, which I like in my wings
The Not So Good (yes, picky!): Celery and Blue Cheese dressing on side were room temperature

So, they were good enough that I thought I’d take some for the long ride home – you can see if the leftovers if you look closely

Eating messy food with the facial hair leaves me saying one motto: “It ain’t messy, it’s called leftovers!”

I continued on my way, some 7-8 hours home and I made it in one piece –

I unloaded the truck instead of waiting — which would be my normal schedule — after all, I need to take care of some of my souvenirs:

Hope to post a “afterthoughts of the trip” entry sometime soon — thanks for all the views and comments!

It was a great trip — thanks for sharing it with me -

Buck

Got Home Last Night!

Long road from Cleveland — will post details of the last day later after I catch up on everything in the 01801

On Day 13, I have to concentrate to figure out where I was this morning…..Cincy — yes, Cincy —

Hit the road at a decent hour and headed north to Columbus….after all Columbus discovered the New World….

Turns out….THIS Columbus had lots to offer as well.

You know how some couples experience the 7 year itch (while some people apparently have a 4-5 year itch), well, I scratched an itch today, an itch I haven’t scratched in 7 years — hitting the BEST (sorry, In and Out burger a CLOSE second) Fast Food Place in the world — Culvers Betterburgers and Frozen Custard. I think this is as close to home as they get — the day they get close, I might get into the franchise business —

See what you are missing at Culvers –

This is what this particular one looks like — I did not bring the camera inside — I think I was shaking so much from the anticipation, that the camera was likely a bad idea. To boot — is it ever a good sign when you are the FIRST customer of the day for any fast food restaurant?

I then took a spin to a small Ohio Ice Cream chain that has great ice cream! I once had it sent to me and they have funky, great flavors! I knew I’d be close, so I decided to check out their original location in Columbus’ North Market (a great building of 30+ culinary specialty shoppes).

Check out these pages below:

Jeni’s Ice Cream Website

Jeni’s Ice Cream Blog

I grabbed myself a midday dessert — and I tried their new ice cream sandwiches — they are based with macaroon cookies hugging their awesome ice cream –

The one I chose was a pistachio type macaroon (not like Mike’s Pastries version, lighter in flavor, uniform shape) with Honey Vanilla Bean ice cream. After my first bite, I paused and reached for the camera — hey, I want to share — I am a sharer at heart….

After dripping a few spots on my shirt, I moved on and talked my GPS into getting me to Cleveland -

We stopped in mid-afternoon and were able to check in to the downtown hotel — great location — walking distance to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and then a longer walk, but still a walk to the Indians game later in the day -

Any guess where my hotel room is EXACTLY located? If you have been paying attention, there is no question (please note: this question is easy enough that NO bonus points will be added to your Buck Vacation Trivia score later)

So, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was up next —-I was due to hear better notes that me singing up and down Ohio highways — all and all, I have sung more in my truck than in the shower of late…..I’m just sayin’

It is right on the edge of Lake Erie —- with the Football stadium nearby, sandwiching a Science Museum — there’s that word again….sandwich — maybe I am hungry -

So, went to the Hall and I really enjoyed it — although I did the place a disservice — I was there for a few hours, and 1 and a half of that was an AWESOME U2 in 3D movie/concert — so, lots more to peruse on a next trip — but — U2 fans should definitely find this show on DVD or even better, find it in 3D somewhere –

Moved across town to the Indians game — time for one, little, two little, ten little indians — a classic childhood rhyme — a great song for the baseball team here — the “ten” Indians covers the 9 players in the field and adds the 10th Indian being the designated hitter….so, the song was obviously written by someone in favor of the DH in baseball….

Great park, but kind of sad — place used to sell out ALL the time — now, the crowds are small, they don’t publish a regular game program, some stands are shuttered closed….just sad — and for the baseball fans in the room (well, you ARE in some kind of room reading this, no?)….even the drummer in the bleachers takes some nights to do important stuff, like bowling leagues, watching Deadliest Catch or playing World of Warcraft….you can experience the same emptiness I felt below:

So, the place in general is very nice — you can see two photos below – one from the front and one inside — you can obviously tell that I have finally grown comfy with saying “do you mind taking a photo of me…?”.

Clayton is rockin’ the modified “Zoom” look, yes?? Rockin!

Before I got settled, I grew attached to the friendly bartenders at the park….my two social animals that served my Leinie’s (Summer Shandy and Sunset Wheat) who helped me understand the park and told me all my options around the park — I decided to hang out near them in the bleachers. I told them about Clayton — and they TOO agreed that I could consider a name change —

So….I left the game after 7 innings — HEY — it’s not the Sox….stopped for a beer at the Thirsty Parrot — and made my way back to the hotel — ….where….I was reminded of my “Prison Toilet” -

First — when is the last time a decent hotel had the same flusher knob as you find in the bowels of a Mass Pike Rest Stop? Check out the silver fixtures in the back. I had serious flashbacks to high school with that…

Check this bad boy out!!!

If that wasn’t bad enough, you may not be able to tell, buy if you have to sit on this throne, your knees will be so deep into the Cottonelle on the right unless you have the body frame of Don Rickles….I mean, SERIOUSLY — how would someone have a comfortable sitting??? I guess I’ll hold anything until the New York or the Mass Pike….

Sleep time now and off for day 14 tomorrow — not sure if I will pick a spot to stay tomorrow or if I want to drive all the way from Cleveland to Woburn —

The only thing I am SURE of tomorrow is that I am Wingin’ It!

Day started early (don’t they all on the second half of this trip)? — Headed to their top breakfast place here — Pancake Pantry – famous for…..well, I will give you 3 guesses………ok! Time’s Up — I REALLY thought you get the correct answer…..Pancakes (no parting gifts)…..What? You say, you said it….or said it to yourself…I’m sorry I didn’t hear you -

Well, I opted for this place over the Waffle House that has been on my list ( a chain that is EVERYWHERE in the South) and it was a guilty pleasure — I had scouted the menu online and I knew what I wanted about 10 hours before the waitress asked me. I got the Swiss Chocolate Chip pancakes! I got a side of country bacon just to make sure I wasn’t running low on calories….don’t want to get lightheaded on my way to Louisville and Cincinnati.

Check out a PDF of their menu — let me know if I should have opted for something else — Pancake Pantry menu

Before you decide, you might want to check out a picture of my breakfast (who is this strange guy who takes pictures of all his food?).

So….Batter Up to the first power is complete -

I then took the ride to Louisville….but I somehow decided on an impromptu pit stop at the Jim Beam Distillery. This was more of a meet and greet type place with a short movie…..but unlike the Jack Daniels place (dry county), this visit was punctuated with a tasting of two bourbons, two from their “small batch collection”. We had Basil Hayden’s (aged 8 years) and Knob Creek (aged 9 years) — both cleared my sinuses to be honest — they were also pushing a relatively new product for them – Red Stag — Bourbon with cherry taste infused (or something like that)….well, I needed a souvenir and cherry flavored bourbon sounded manly enough for me….so Clayton bought a bottle.

So, not only am I doing the Smokie and the Bandit thing with lots of beer in my back seat, but I have added Cherry flavored bourbon to the mix — what a man!

While I was winding around the roads of Kentucky, I noticed a sign that said Boston 2 miles this-a-way —-well, I miss Boston, the traffic, the kind drivers, all that stuff — so I drove the couple miles with the aid of my handy GPS, and found my way to and through Boston…..Kentucky.

So, off to Louisville, for real this time -

Stopped in downtown for a visit to the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum — was a big hit! (ugh – puns galore today). They have a great looking entrance to the factory in my opinion.

Batter Up #2 – The tour took me through their working factory which was truly fascinating — watching mash bubble and have the person have you envision that being whiskey is one thing, but them taking blocks of wood and showing you live the way that becomes a major league bat is really great! Today, we were walking through the line while they were making bats for Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla, both of the Florida Marlins. I didn’t want to be a smart ass, but someone should tell them there are too many strikeouts in Uggla’s bats, they might want to find the defect.

They showed a brief movie, had some old artifacts and you could even swing some famous player bats — I took a swing with David Ortiz’s bat from a few seasons ago….no word if there is any steroid residue found in the bat handle

The day started to get away from me at this point, so I rushed up to Cincinnati and to my hotel 15 miles north of the downtown. Nice place — the hotels in the last stretch of days have been very nice and a comfort when I needed it.

Batter Up #3 – I went to the Reds-Phillies game downtown. Lots of people wearing their home town color of Red! These people were much more into it than Atlanta, but still missing that hard edge of the Northeast fan. Phillie fans added some spice to the crowd. They had a huge walk up attendance and it almost looked like they had trouble handling it — $14 got me a seat on the upper level — but I never sat in it — walked to different spots in the park, an inning here and inning there here is one view out from near first base -

– if I did sit in my seat — this is generally what my view would have looked like -

After taking in 6 innings and a Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy, I was ready to make my way back to the hotel — where I updated this thing and did some work for the part time job.

Ok – well, glad the blog got updated — heading north through Ohio, but staying in Cleveland tonight — Home tomorrow night or Friday depending on how things go -

Sorry the blog has been getting stale — computer problems yesterday — I couldn’t get anything really done -

So — I hope I don’t forget details of yesterday, and I hope this condensed version doesn’t make for poor reading….my apologies in advance -

Woke up and hit the road early — but before leaving Chattanooga, I wanted a photo of the Chattanooga Choo Choo — after all, very rich history and all — so here we go:

Ok, ok — that is NOT the Chattanooga Choo Choo….but pending a DNA test, there could be some relation…

Here is the “real” train — at sleepy 7AM local time —

I hope I didn’t wake anyone on the train…..well….not THAT train….but the “Chattanooga Choo Choo” is now an historical hotel — and there are train cars set up as hotel rooms — and you can book them like any hotel — below is my photo of the “train yard”, but I didn’t want to get too close…you never know what is going on in those trains…

Here is interesting stuff from their website –

Well, I quickly hit the road — but it would have been nice if someone told me the time zone splits Tennessee! I thought a whole state was always in the same zone, except some weird Indiana stuff….

So — I knew a segment of my ride was going to take about an hour and a half — but my trusty GPS (we are still dating) told me it would only take 24 minutes — I had it RECALCULATE! — same thing — it finally struck me that there was something going on with the time zones — so that answered that “issue”.

Drove up to Nashville – — got settled on a quiet Monday afternoon in the Music City -

My friend Mike from Woburn now lives in Nashville — I went to junior high and high school with Mike — we played baseball together as well – -he recommended Rippy’s for some BBQ lunch and I found myself heading there -

Ribs! RIBS! Meat fell right off the bone — Was a 10!!! Too bad I only ordered half a rack —

Wondered around town and decided to try a couple well-known places Mike recommended — Robert’s and Layla’s(I think those are the names) — I enjoyed some bands and a couple individuals singing in these bars and Mike met up with me for a beer -

We then decided to circle back — as Mike took me back to Broadway — and we did Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge and then a return trip to Robert’s

Robert’s at night – good music

Here’s me outside of Robert’s at night

In the in between stage, Mike went to play softball, but before that, he let me know where I could find some Fat Tire and I stocked up for the next few months —

There’s something about a many that has a backseat full of beer not sold north of North Carolina….

….I don’t have a problem…really

(blog is now about a day behind — will try and catch up to date tomorrow)

The days are now almost all going to have a major driving component, which means, I am going to feel like my ass has been kicked by the time I get settled in a place – I won’t be in any city or town for more than one night from here on out — this is the non-relaxation, sprint to Woburn -

Tentative plan is to leave Chattanooga in the AM — and stay in Nashville tomorrow night —- Cincinnati Tuesday night, Cleveland on Wednesday night….and perhaps home on Thursday night or Friday -

Today started in Savannah — waited for Starbucks to open — morning coffee got me on my way to Vidalia — a place where I hoped to get some onions and maybe dive into a yummy Vidalia breakfast — but the Vidalia was a disappointment — the town was a cross between Mayberry and Saugus — quiet side with no activity and then a major road with Burger King, Walmart, etc. — I checked Walmart for a deal on onions, but it seemed to be the ONLY thing Walmart had not had a price rollback on….

So, in parlance among friends, when we have nothing, or a zero, going on, we sometimes have an “onion”…even occasionally saying we have a “vidalia” — so, when I went to Vidalia, I came up with a big onion….

I quit Vidalia — but Vidalia owes me! I can taste it!

I did at least see where an old onion goes after it starts to go bad….you know those gnarly ones…they go here:

I moved on to travel to my cameo visit to Atlanta — nice morning ride — which was punctuated by a stop off an exit for Georgia Peaches — which I have NOT sampled yet — they look nice, kind of small….and the lady, while tempted, was not heard saying…”how do you like ‘dem peaches”?”….I would have had to say “kinda small”, and ruined her day…so I am glad we just did business and kept the chatter to a minimum.

Moved onto Atlanta — and parked for the Braves game -

I walked around the park and then walked up to the ticket window and the nice young lady said something to the effect of do you want the line for “right now” tickets (southern drawl may have been something else) or the “one dollar skyline seat line”? I thought I heard her correctly — but I asked her to repeat…she said yes, it is a $1 for the skyline tickets — and she started to say something else….but, the northerner interrupted her and said — I don’t need any more info — $1.00 is a good price for me -

So I paid my dollar, showed security what I was packing in my pockets and made my way in -

I mostly walked around, bought a Georgia Dog (Slaw, Vidalia Relish, Vidalia Onion) and a couple of cold ones…

Game wasn’t very interesting and I haven’t seen this empty a stadium in a while -

I left after 5-6 innings and took a quick ride to Buckhead (part of Atlanta) to check out some bars/restaurants, but there was road and building constructions, and the place did not look as great as advertised, so off I went — to Chattanooga — fun to say….

Nice quiant place, staying in a nice Marriott compliments of a priceline break —

Nice warm night here — took a spin down to the River front — walked amongst the major restaurants here — and selected a BBQ chain down here — Sticky Fingers — sampled their wings, with some Habanero BBQ sauce — pretty good — this was my Chatanooga Chew-Chew I guess — and the coldest beer in a week — a nice Sam Adams —

Don’t you know us northerners tend to be ice cold???

Off early in the AM to explore more of Tennessee before more of the homeward sprint later in the week…

(ten days in I should apologize for the typos….just typing out of my head)

Sorry – this southern drawl really has me checking my hearing sometimes — just now, I am used to hearing tour guides talk about bad fie-uhs instead of fires….it’s amazing how many one syllable words have two –

Ok — so tonight, I went to a minor league baseball game – the Savannah Sand Gnats — so….while the crowd was apparently chanting Go-nads! — it was actually Go Gnats! Place was nice, single A affiliate of the Mets….so, there were some New Yawk-uhs there — parking was free, general admission $7, 16 ounce Bud Aluminum bottle – $6 and a 14 ounce draft was $4 — that’s it for financials today -

The day started with a trolley tour of Savannah – which was a great way to get an overview — I never knew they had terrible fie-uhs here – burned many, many things – what wasn’t burned down by the fires, is apparently under threat of melting from the heat — ok…now, I thought the South was supposed to be hot — like, all the time — but they say we are having August weather – 95 degrees, heat index of 105 or so –

The one thing that strikes you on your first trip to Charleston, Savannah and other southern places is the Spanish Moss which hangs from trees — it is not part of these trees — it just hangs with the trees — the guides will tell you, “..it is neither Spanish, and it is not moss…” – Here’s a peek at one of about 20 photos I took of the stuff -

After the tour around town, I marched off to revisit some neighborhoods and to check out some things -

Having skipped breakfast, I did what most people do — find that famous ice cream place mentioned on the tour for lunch — a single scoop of huckleberry cheesecake ice cream fit the bill — this treat was purchased at Leopold’s Ice Cream, which has been here since 1919. It is currently owned by some Hollywood Director — so there are movie posters all over the inside wall –

The huckleberry was my choice to, again, try to go the southern route when possible — it narrowly beat out “Rum Bisque” -

Continued to walk around — took some pictures of some homes, some buildings, a cemetery and little things that struck my lens –

I went by the Lady and Sons — Paula Deen’s place, but, as advertised, lunch was banged out and you apparently need to spend the whole morning in line to eat there – ….option B — go next door and buy some Paula Deen goods — that was me!

I went to a popular spot — River Street — to check out some of their riverfront shops and bars. It is also a location where one of the famous icons of Savannah resides — The Waving Girl Statue. This woman, fell in love with a visiting sailor and when he left, she promised to look for his return every day — she supposedly waved the sheet every day — and waved a lantern every night for over 40 years!!! He never returned! They tell folks she died of a broken heart.

Soon after he left, the sailor was tracked down, he was asked about this woman who eagerly awaited his return…. and he said “…one in every port…” — ok, I made up that part —

After more walking (the feet are screaming in a southern drawl by now) — I took a ride out to Hilton Head Island (about 45 minutes or so) — and checked out the beach for a little bit — enough time to realize that some fantastic looking people make that beach their regular place — WOW!

On the way out of the Hilton Head area, I spotted a “smokehouse” for an early dinner – — now, while it was called the Smokehouse and it featured BBQ, this was more of a 99 or Fridays, so no Pit Master out back…nonetheless, the chow was very good (pulled pork sandwich and smoked wings, with a few Tires)…

After some manly chow, a few manly beers….sometime you need a manly men’s room —

Yes — I had my camera in a men’s room — Yes, I snapped this photo — Hey! Sometimes a guy needs some extra room in his urinal…..

Drove back through some heavy rain — and that’s when I pulled up to the Sand Gnats game -

Go Gnats!

I was up with the birds, which down here could be anything from the Nature Shows, let’s go with an Egret….

Ok…trying again, I was up with the Egrets….

Sorry — the truth is I was up with the people who fill their coolers from the ice machine. My room was #120, which means, the ice machine has an address of 120 and a half…. (for those of you who don’t want to read ahead, I am ALSO across from the ice machine tonight and tomorrow night). Some people are chick magnets….but it appears Clayton is just a magnet for ice machines -

Friends who have shared a beverage or two with me will not be surprised that I am found near the ice –

Well, I digress.

I took the hour or so ride down to Charleston and found the Visitor Center. The South must wake a little later as I was one of 5 people in a place the size of the Hilltop Steakhouse in Saugus…

Well. First old man travel tip….always use the facilities when arriving or leaving a Visitor’s Center.

So – I go in….and I was hit with a wall of scent –now….before you go THERE — this was early — I may have even christened my urinal for the day — the place smells like CINNAMON! I mean – STRONG — if I closed my eyes, I would have guessed I was in the Yankee Candle in Sturbridge…..I guess, if I ever was going to be sure I wasn’t in a bathroom on the Mass Pike, my nose told me the story -

Well….I settled in and decided to take the Gray Line historic tour — a 90 minute narrated ride around the Historic neighborhoods of Charleston — This was a good way to see everything and learn some local history –

(I missed one tour by 2 minutes, so I took a walking tour for about 20 minutes on my own)

I walked around — before my 10:00 tour and happened to notice what almost looked like my personal Starbuck’s — by what the jeweler is named next door -

I then continued down their version of Newbury Street — all top notch stores in old or restored buildings — and then, knowing that the new Apple I-Phone is out, I knew that there would be a HUGE line, just like the dozens or hundreds I have been seeing on the news — so…I was not surprised to see the whopping line below:

Yep – Five people….a count of 6 if you count the pooch (somewhere, there has to be an app for finding fire hydrants for that pooch, don’t ya think? “There’s an App for That”).

You will, however, notice, that this DOES warrant crowd control, as the police car parked out front tells you -

So –back in time for my tour and we breezed around town — it was an enclosed bus, so not possible to take photos during the tour -

After it finished, I decided to try and snap some photos of some homes….but parking near the biggest and best was impossible — so I found a decent neighborhood and took some photos of some medium sized homes –

And another one…

Not everything is that big — there are many “freeman cottages” which were built or given to freed slaves. These are the smallest ones around.

There are also small homes, that are supposed to be full size. Notice the one below. It is almost just as wide as that car out front….and the car is a CIVIC!!!

After the tour and snapping some photos, I headed to the Hominy Grill (website for restaurant) for a nice southern lunch — I ordered Iced Tea….”You mean sweet tea, hun?” …well, yes (says the northerner)! I then decided on southern fried chicken on a biscuit with sausage gravy — and I ordered two sides (out of about 20 on the chalkboard). I went with deep fried cheesy grits and “tomato pudding”. Everything was great! From Tea to Grits….

I talked myself into dessert — which is a little unusual — but I wanted more of the south in my mouth (easy does it!).

I asked what the Buttermilk Pie was….she said it was like a light custard…a little lemon, with fresh cream on top — “well, hun, it’s really like a Chess Pie…” — “OH!” (says, the northerner), “then I’ll take a slice!”.

Food TV – Buttermilk Pie Recipe

AllRecipes.com recipe for Chess Pie

…have no idea what chess pie is…

It was just as she said — and I was happy I ordered it -

Drove off to Kiawah Island — what a waste — who knew it was a private community at the end of the ride?? There is a public beach — but $7 for me to take a peek? See ya!

I drove by about the fourth place with “Buck” in the name today — and finally took a picture of one –

There’s a joke here, “…if you are looking for a stud, Buck is your man”…or, even worse “hey look, Buck has wood…”, but let’s try to move on…..

Hotel seems pretty nice — not near the attractions, but comfortable and clean — Courtyard Marriot — and yes! The ice machine is in the room across from me…
Tour in Savannah in the AM — and either hang among the neighborhoods or if I think I need some R & R, I may try Tybee Island (beach) –

Targeting a drive by Braves Game on Sunday, but keeping Atlanta for another trip….

Buh bye for now

As promised, had lunch at Tortuga’s Lie — vastly recommended — had fantastic Baja Fish Tacos — and picked up some of their hot sauce –

Day of driving from Outer Banks to a hotel in Georgetown, SC (between Myrtle Beach and Charleston) has me tired and maybe looking at trimming parts of my plans —

Just south of Myrtle Beach — I saw this sign — calling out to me to buy a home here –

After a planned cameo in Atlanta for a Braves game, it looks like Memphis might add a day to the trip — would Elvis really miss me anyways?

I may change my mind, but it looks like the first possible casualty of the long road — I would cut straight up to Nashville instead —

THEN — the great debate — inside passage along major roadways and major cities….or Blue Ridge Parkway (mountain route, less quick) –

We’ll see –

Hotel, sight unseen online when reserved, is semi bothersome — just not very comfortable and doesn’t seem to be in a great part of town –

Up early and out to Charleston for a southern style breakfast somewhere — then poke my head around before heading to Savannah — the southernmost part of the trip —

What a great relaxing spot — and I don’t even surf, fish, etc.!

Headed on the road shortly – after one last culinary stop here in the OBX (Outer Banks)! Tortuga’s Lie will be the spot — looks like I should have the Fish Tacos — they supposedly have some great hot sauce, which I may purchase to test against Buckin’ Caliente — the hot sauce prepared by my friend Sean, who allows me to make labels, grow peppers….and drink beer while he does most of the work in creating our hot sauces…

I may have mentioned this before, but they have lots of little crabs on the beach — Below is a still photo and then after that is a quick little video on youtube I posted of these little guys — (forgive the smudge on my lens)

See the YouTube Video of the Crab on the Move

I am still amazed at these other birds that fly up and down the coast usually swooping along close to the water –

Here is a YouTube video I posted of a flyby this morning -

So – time to close up shop on the relaxation portion of the trip — back to the road — after all, these feet were made for travellin’

South Carolina, Georgia….heads up….Clayton headed south…

Ok, ok — by now, if you have been reading along, you might know, the mornings are filled with trip to Food Lion for ice (hear me roar!) — so, after icing down the main cooler and the day cooler for the beach, I am ready for morning errand #2 — caffeine —

Today was an Ice Heath Bar Latte — pretty good for a bazillion calories — it is at a place at the end of the road – the Front Porch Cafe - place is very nice, people are very nice too — I actually hit here tonight as well, when I needed a little pick me up -

I then decided to take an hour ride out to Cape Hatteras Lighthouse/Seashore, to get to one of those beautiful beaches (not that ALL of them here seem to be that way) — I just like the ones where the wildlife are a little more involved…

So, I headed for Hatteras -

A nice hour’s jaunt out to the Lighthouse — which was MOBBED — I had contemplated climbing it — I guess it is what people do when they visit it — but too many people — so I just went to the next parking lot, a quarter mile away, and found myself on a practically empty beach — just great relaxation, within view of the Lighthouse…

Only wildlife today were pelicans — (I think they are pelicans)…

Before I left — I finally decided to see if I could have the self timer work for me — so I set it up on the back of the truck and this is how we did…

Boston Foodie, Clayton, gave into temptation and had a late lunch — the Philly Cheese steak at the Blue Moon — it was very good — about an 8 — but…..having fallen in love with the Mahi Mahi BLT, it was hard to match that! Still – a successful late lunch -

Did some driving around – to kill some of the afternoon — sun was hot today — low to mid 90′s — which is very hot for this coastal spot –

Before I came back, I decided to check something off the Outer Banks Bucket List — they have these Drive Thru Beer Stores….called Brew Thru — so, I had to fake like I needed a 6 pack and I pulled into this Beer Shack –

The young lady that helped me was very nice and handed me my 6 pack through the driver’s side window — as I was about to pull away — I saw THE BUCKET – which read “Tipping is Sexy” — so I reached for a buck — and rolled down the window and (kind of) yelled over….”Hey, I just saw that tipping is sexy” — she laughed and said thanks, taking the dollar into her hard working hands….and then, before I pulled away, she said “…You, Sir, are very sexy!” —

I laughed for about 4 blocks….

Clayton is bringing sexy back…..have you heard?

Last night – I debated skipping dinner — it was getting later and later as I enjoyed a Skinny Dip or two with the Innkeeper….hey — before you go THERE — it is a beer by New Belgium — the people who make my all time fave — Fat Tire — – it is their summer seasonal –

We probably had a couple — before I asked Kenny, the Inn keeper to take a picture of me enjoying the rocking chair at the Nags Head Beach Inn

It was soon after that photo that he reminded me that many of the kitchens of some of the good places close between 9:30 and 10:00 — and then he said — “I mean, Kevin, you’re like a Foodie…”. and he encouraged me to bail on my plan to skip dinner (or drink my dinner).

I decided to spring up the street (carefully) to the place I had checked out – the Blue Moon Beach Grill - I was the last person they sat — they were still busy — but they stop serving at 9 (ish) —

They recognized the “Boston guy” from the afternoon scouting mission and were eager to see what I would get —- I already knew what I would get — one of their favorites that they told me about in the afternoon — the Mahi Mahi BLT — which was “off the hook” (whatever that means…). They chatted me up and asked me where else I had been — and they thought I had hit all the good places, except of their favorites — Tortuga’s Lie – which may be the last OBX meal tomorrow for lunch…

The bartender, noting my dining experiences, asked me to come back sometime for their Philly Cheesesteak — which two waitresses also jumped in with their approval — so….that is a possibility — he talked briefly about how great the chef/owner is — and then he said — just wait, before you leave — try this — and he got me a half a cup of this Crab and Bleu Cheese Bisque — wow — I mean — AWESOME! I then told the guy they should make it, freeze it and ship it to folks….

I passed on dessert, as has been my practice so far — but I have been tempted by ice cream —

One place I DID not try for ice cream is a place next door — it’s an ice cream place, with that ever-popular name – “Booty Treats” — I guess it just opened….and I guess, that means, until they close, you can go there for Booty Calls…

So….the “Boston Foodie”, “Clayton”, has been enjoying the chow very much!

Drove out to Hatteras, to take in some nature and some beach time on a quiet, nature-carved beach –

Stopped at the Pea Island Wildlife Refuge for an hour — took a walk along one of the “ponds” away from the beach side — was pretty interesting and HOT — for here anyways — been over 90 — which they claim is rare here — or at least medium rare

Caught some views of turtles and some fancy, schmancy birds just hanging out, waiting for lunch no doubt –

I drove a few more miles out on Hatteras Island to find a beach spot that was less busy — but out this far, less busy means maybe 3 families instead of 5 – and yes, I am a family all by myself — I consider my cooler a close family member…etc. -

It turns out, I had plenty of company — on the beach and in the water — besides salamanders who greeted my walk to the beach, I was able to take in some crabs working their real estate on the beach — they did these holes on the beach – so they can hang out or have lil crabbies or whatever — you can see one of these guys below

After I say my tiny ass down in my beach chair and started the end of my book – A Prayer for Owen Meaney – I found myself fumbling for the camera — as a school or dolphin swam by — maybe 70 yards out — every time I tried to take a great photo – they dove under — below is the best I could do -

So – after that excitement died down, I got back into the book — and besides a few flies that challenged my day, it was tremendously relaxing — such an awesome beach and for as far as I could see was one couple 100 yards to the right and a couple families way to the left — never had such an awesome beach, so a day for the beach — and had so much room to myself —

Lastly — about 30 minutes before I left – a couple pelicans (I think) came for a visit — straight out from me — they appear HUGE — they landed in the water about 100 yards apart, but seemed to hook up within ten minutes — those Pelicans, they are something else when they put the move on…. here they are below

After pulling myself off the beach — I returned to the “neighborhood” and visited a highly recommended place – the Kill Devil Grill – for a Southern Fried Chicken Salad — which was an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10 — so much so, that I may return in the next couple days to try something else — place is great!

The afternoon continued with a beer and some World Cup (gulp) at the Red Drum, a place I went to the first night here and two blocks from my bed –

Finished up the afternoon by scouting out another recommended place called the Blue Moon Beach Grill (not sure I have that 100% correct) — chatted up the owners and staff and plan to visit tomorrow — unless the Kill Devil Grille brings me back….but then again, this is vacation, right? I can do both –

Buh bye for now…

Today began with ice errands — I was offered everything under the sun by the people running the B & B here, the Nags Head Beach Inn – but when they offer ice, I don’t have the heart to ask for pounds of the stuff for my coolers (plural) — went to the Super Market — got my ice, some beer, and my MVP shopping card — now I can get deals at Food Lion stores all over the country — I don’t see this card going on my key chain just yet –

Back to the B & B and then walked the 1.5 blocks to the beach — which was very nice — sand was wicked hot — wicked — but I had all my essentials (Equipment below), books, etc.

Spent a few hours reading and getting crispy — took a swim — water was real nice — and hey — no tar balls yet!

Back to the room — did some remote billing work for part time gig — and then I was off exploring Roanoke Island — I took a small hike through a National park (very small) and decided this could have been skipped altogether — I don’t know if they call it the Raleigh National Monument Park, or something like that — but it was a total zero — maybe if I had caught one the Ranger talks, I would know more about what was lacking — so, next door are these Elizabethan Gardens — and I am a sucker for Botanical Gardens (one of my manly qualities). Eight bucks got me into the gardens and while it was mostly shady, it appeared much was not in bloom. I think I have probably been too spoiled with the Botanical Gardens in Montreal, which are the best and a can’t miss for a Montreal trip.

All things considered, the trip to Roanoke Island was sort of a bummer (as seen below).

So, more relaxation than other days, but I am staring down the barrel of two more days of beach — but not sure the skin is going to cooperate — been trying to do 2-3 hours a day to keep from a full burn —

Ate local (Beach Road Grill) – fish and chips — fish was good, “chips” were pretty bad….but a good cole slaw saved a rating of B-

Beach in the morning….nothing else on the agenda…

Today, I left Norfolk, VA, which seem kind of quiet where I was for a little bit of time, but Granby Street looks like it has fun restaurants and bars…..

But — I was on the road early – headed to the Outer Banks, NC — for 4 nights — my first relaxation – - -

Once I got down here, I checked out the Wright Brothers National Monument — I am guessing the actual name is different from what I remember….but I caught some interesting information and a presentation from the Parks Service – this was given in a room where they explained different things using a replica below -

Most of us then went outside in the 95 degree heat to check out the spots where the Wright Brothers actually flew with that first airplane – - — you can vaguely see that the first 3 attempts were close in proximity in distance…..but off in the distance, you can see flight #4 was almost 3 times as far as any of the first three — do you think there was jealousy between the brothers…..I often thought of this…. this is the photo of the markers — may not show it well enough though….

I drove to Nags Head and saw that the largest Dunes on the East Coast were available to hike, in a State Park here — so I grabbed a water (after a warning from staff) and made my way out on the hike through the sand dunes — I never knew hiking in sand was such a difficult thing (for someone kind of out of shape)….we’ll see how the heels wake up in the AM

I drove through the area and through the greatest thunderstorm I have seen in years….everyone seemed to be driving (or not driving) with their hazards on —-

Well, after that subsided, I drove the hour out to the Lighthouse at Cape Hatteras —
beautiful sights on the way and I made my way through a few hamlets and wildlife areas — – I may go back — but for now, the lighthouse at Cape Hatteras will have to be enough of a memory — you can see the Lighthouse below.

Well, after that, I drove back to where I was staying and checked into my B & B — Ken (who I met) and Lisa (who I have not met yet) have owned the place for a while and Ken helped me with all my stuff — he was very informative —

Last I saw Ken, he was headed for one of the local restaurants — The Red Drum – two walking blocks from the B & B —

I showered and headed out to the same place -

They had 18 beers on tap – including Fat Tire from Colorado – possibly my favorite — I tried many of their taps — and then – got sucked into a Tequila shot with Ken, from the B & B —

SO – I basically had of drinks with the owner of the B & B, while his wife waited for him to come home — watched the end of the US Open Golf Tourney and then the Sox on Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN — I did this while routing Kenny in a game of pool —- which only shows how much he had drank during the evening — because I rarely win at pool…..I am no shark….

Had a couple beers by myself at a bar at the end of the street….the name escapes me….which I think, means the bar did it’s trick…. (Editor’s Note — which means, my note…Beach House Grill)

Night, night

(note: this was done Sunday, but somehow I left it in drafts — other posts down here will be about much more lazy days…)

Tonight is the second night of two in a Norfolk hotel, which ended up being nicer than the on-line comments — – is it perfect? Nope…but any wasted text here would be a 10 yard penalty for whining!

Got up early and decided to hit Virginia Beach (15 miles or so away) for a couple hours — it was really nice and it seemed to have a lot of regular people there — and there are some nice hotels in the area.

It turned out they were having some Arts Festival on the Boardwalk, so I decided to get my dose of culture and I strolled around and envied the people dropping lots of dough on some art —

After that culture, I changed to history mode and sprinted out to the Yorktown/Williamsburg/Jamestown area — they call it a historical triangle — and diehards could spend days here — I was attempting to squeeze in enough in 4-5 hours and I managed to do this by cropping Williamsburg out of the picture — So, Yorktown for a bit and then drive the 20 miles or so to Jamestown.

Watched a movie about the Battle for Yorktown and then had a guide discuss some artillery that was used by the English, French (a key ally in this battle) and the Colonists. They then did a couple oif blasts so we could hear the bang and see how much had to be done to get the canon to fire. A photo of the preparation is below and then, I tried to do a movie snippet with the camera –

See the Canon at Yorktown via this YouTube link — >> Click Here

After spending a couple hours here, I drove the 30 minutes down to Jamestown, to see where the first settlement was — and it was pretty interesting — lots of what I went to constitutes an archeological dig — you can see the many artifacts that have been unearthed and read how anthropologists weave history from little pieces they find (for instance, the number of buttons found with a skeleton may indicate what he or she was wearing and in turn that may clue them into whether the person was higher class, etc.).

Below is a snapshot of what a barracks would look like — some others were much smaller, with wood posts kept together with hardened mud –

I would definitely come back when I have more time -

Then it was an hour ride up to Richmond to catch some minor league baseball — the Richmond Flying Squirrels — and it was Sergeant Slaughter night — he signed autographs, but somehow, I took a pass….

The stadium people were overwhelmed — they had a large amount of walk up customers — between Father’s Day weekend, a 96 degree day, and of course, the chance for the Sergeant Slaughter autograph….I left after 5 innings to come back to Norfolk — the lines were huge and I just had given up managing the lines….

Except, for one snack – I got some cinnamon roasted cashews — which were yummy and of course they were necessary — I mean you have to watch out for the Flying Squirrels, they’ll grab your nuts…

Off to the Outer Banks tomorrow….relaxation for 4 days —

Well, was able to hit the road earlier than expected and traffic was light until the New York border — so, I was there at 2:20 PM and decided it was early enough to try and just wing it and head straight through the City — was a piece of cake really — more or less, little stop and go — but I hit the Joysey (pronounced Joy-Zee) line in 3 hours 35 minutes — pretty good (I think).

Zipped down the highway to Atlantic City (after pulling over to debate screwing Atlantic City and visiting my second home, Baltimore, to watch the Celts win game 7 with my friend Brendan and his family…..but, ahem, all parts of that plan went down the tubes….)

SO — Atlantic City —not sure what I expected….looks impressive from afar as you roll towards it — and I think this falls into the category of the best thing I could say about it -

Stayed at the Trump Plaza, via priceline — not bad….but room had a Zenith TV….lol, I know, I know, first impression is a strange one — I mean, a Zenith??

One other thing I did not expect was all the people with people push carts (there is probably a real name for these things) — They are everywhere — and few looked like this one below (this guy is resting, not hounding people…)

And here’s a tip — you got a bad ankle? a bad foot? a bad knee? Say….maybe even bad heels? Don’t let them see your slight limp….. flies to honey they were — I should have just hopped in one to shut em up — but I kept trying to hide the slight gait problem.

Watched the game at the Tropicana — special of the night were $5 40-ounce “quarts” — and while I have never seen the show, The Jersey Shore, I think I lived an episode or two with friends that I met — they just saw me clapping for the Celtics and wanted to hear “pahk the cah”…..

The basics — one of them brought the other one out for her birthday because her husband didn’t plan anything for her — guess this is what you do in Joysey…go to Atlantic City when you need a divergence — they helped pass the time and one of them has a story about every stranger in the bar — she made up stories about all of them — and thus, before they met “Kevin”, I was “Clayton” — they figured that was a good name for me — not sure how to take that one -

Here is a picture of Clayton and his Joysey Girls

Today, grabbed a Ferry at Cape May, New Joysey and followed that up with a leisurely ride down the coast, checking out Delaware Beaches before finally dropping onto Bethany Beach, DE for a couple hours

Then I traveled down to Ocean City, MD — but just tried to check out some of the Boardwalk — but it was mostly a cameo — snapped a photo just to show I was at a cheesey boardwalk-y place — Ocean City is nice — been there briefly before — would enjoy a few days there sometime — typical cheesey photo can be seen below…

I now sit in Virginia Beach — Starbucks, free wi-fi — headed to hotel in Norfolk — been using Priceline to save some dough — working well so far — tonight is $22 below any rate I can find for this place — just a moderate place — just hoping it is clean — and – OH – and maybe has something other than a Zenith for TV — might even root for a Sanyo

Got here via an interesting roadway – I traveled 100+ miles from Ocean City and it included a 20 mile “vehicle crossing” of the Chesapeake Bay (you can check it out here)- — it’s part bridge, part tunnel….so, they call it a vehicle crossing…..but I’d try calling it a “tridge” or “brunnel”….but that’s just me – you can call me old school….if you don’t prefer calling me Clayton

Decided to lump in some more personal time at work to try and beat the traffic through or around NYC…..Day 1, underway….

Having planned to score a place down the Cape last week was met with a broker who never got back to me…..so, I guess it was Wednesday or Thursday when I decided, how about driving down South and coming back a little inland…?

So…I have gone from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras, as in the Outer Banks, NC — !

So…while much of this is big the (large) seat of my pants, I now know I will be in the outer banks for 4 days next week – Looks like the weather genie has sprinkled some perfect weather for me – North Carolina Sunshine

So…right now, leave midday tomorrow — the Bronx Bombers are at home, so a New York rush hour may be even worse, so I might pull an End Around to get around the city…. staying in Atlantic City for night 1, catch a Ferry in Cape May Friday morning, hope to have Delaware Beach sand (or even Ocean City, MD) relaxing my Plantar Fasciitis by Noon or shortly after that –

(Over Under on me complaining about my heels is set at 6.5 times for the duration of the trip)

Ok — still working this new stuff out on the blog, but here is the deal if you want to comment/post.

To comment on posts, you need to register. You will be sent an email with a funky password. Once you log in, you will be brought to an admin screen where you can change your screen name, password, etc. –

Once you have registered and logged in, you are free to post.

HOWEVER, it requires me to approve your FIRST comment only. Once I approve your first comment, it “green lights” you for future comments.

So….everyone in the pool!

This blog was a long time coming.  For one reason or another, I have always wanted a place to dump some random thoughts, some cool photos or a joke that only makes me laugh.

Well…..the Vacation to Nowhere is now about to happen and I decided this may be the perfect time to launch a blog.  Will it be something I keep up?  Who knows…but for now, I get ready, make sure I can edit this and play around with various templates -

I hope you catch the Buzz…