Showing posts with label beer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beer. Show all posts

Road trip, friends and beer!

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Things are about the same here in Maryland - still working through our list of medical/dental/vision appointments while we visit with family and friends. Flu and pneumonia shots are now up to date and the list is shrinking. No surprises - phew!

The lab our insurance now uses moved from the same building as our doctor and down to the end of the shopping center and into the Safeway grocery store (no, not a fan and won't use that one again). The tech was great but just going into a grocery store for lab work turned me off. But then again, if we hadn't gone, we wouldn't have met this adorable couple, taking care of each other. She could barely walk and he could barely hear. At one point he turned to her, smiled and said (looking at her wedding ring set), "I love how it sparkles. I remember when I picked it out for you. I had to make payments on it." They have been married 52 years and she was tickled when I asked if I could share their photo.


Here are a couple of other photos we took on the walk around the lake after seeing our primary care physician.




We did do one thing out of the ordinary recently - we decided to take a ROAD TRIP! Very good friends of ours recently moved from Maryland to Tennessee. Stu helped them load up their trucks and they wanted us to come visit. So we did! We made it a multi-purpose trip, taking four loaded footlockers and putting them in our storage shed on our property. We also made a side trip to a local microbrew in my old hometown of Sparta, TN.

Calfkiller Brewing had been on our must visit list since we first heard about it from new friends in Ecuador - they had just been through the area and raved about it.
It all began in 2001 with two brothers, Don and Dave Sergio, who dreamed of having some sort of a business together. Coincidentally, they were also beginning an aggressive home-brewing hobby – expanding their palettes and those of their families. [read the full story]
We sampled two beers, chatted with Don (I think) and his wife, bought two coffee mugs custom made for the brewery and took home a growler full of the beer Stu really liked. Beautiful location, great beer and friendly owners. What more could you ask for?






So, if you're in the area of Sparta, TN and like good beer, we highly recommend dropping in for a taste and a visit.

Ciao for now!

A month? It can't be true...

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Curvy Road Ahead Sign clip artWell it has been a month, almost, since we last posted. A lot of things contributed to not posting - poor internet, my not feeling well, travel, motorcycle rides, family time, holidays, doctor appointments...you get the idea. LOL! So this is our catch up thread - lots of photos but even more in the links at the end of the post.

When we last left you, we were at the KOA outside Watertown, NY. We had a nice drive to our next destination in the Finger Lakes region of New York. We parked at Sned-Acres Family Campground and spent several delightful days investigating the local area. We had a site with a great view, saw a spectacular moon, visited several microbreweries and just generally enjoyed ourselves. We had great Directv reception from out site but internet was poor. They had free wifi but it tended to be a bit flaky. Yes, we would stay again but we would try one of the lower sites so we didn't have to do quite so much to level.

The Finger Lakes have long been known for their wineries but now they also are known for many distilleries and microbreweries. We loved it and stopped at several microbrews. One of our favorites was just down the road and we attended a festival on Saturday to benefit the local volunteer fire department. We left with several t-shirts, a growler full of delicious Scottish Ale and two Adirondack chairs with a turkey tail table. (see photo) Thank you Boatyard Beer Garden!

We also found a great ice cream spot not too far from our campground, Cayuga Lakes Creamery. Delicious!

Lots more photos in the link at the end of this post.

Sned-Acres Campground, Ovid, NY:

Our campsite view....


The moon....


Stu at Firehouse Distillery...


Boatyard Beer Garden and our future chair set (they ship)...


Next was another short move to Milton, PA where we stayed in an out of the way campground. We went through Watkins Glen which was packed with tourists. I did catch a shot of the Watkins Glen State Park Entrance.

Watkins Glen State Park Entrance...


Our final stop was at Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park™ at Shangri-La in Milton, PA. We had a great campsite and even managed to get a weak signal for Directv. Internet and phone were all but non-existent. Close to town and nice riding area, we enjoyed out stay, taking several evening walks around the campground.

Set on a river, those sites mostly occupied by seasonals, they also offer cabins in several sizes. Activities galore for the kids and we took to heart the warning in the printed materials to go inside your rig if you were sitting outside around 12:30. The hay wagon picked up all the kids as well as several staff members and rode around spraying everyone with water. The kids loved it!

The road in was a little hairy - one lane and full of pot holes, but we made it. Worth the drive for the setting, we would stay again. (more photos in link at end of the post)

Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park™ at Shangri-La 

Our campsite...


 

Our next move was back to Artillery Ridge in Gettysburg, PA - back where we started. The site was had last visit was taken so we ended up in the very back in a fairly new section that was perfect for us. Long pull-through with good satellite access. Finally, a good Directv signal and decent internet.

We enjoyed local riding but our best day was spent at the Eastern Museum of Auto Racing in York Springs, PA. Free but donations accepted, this was a surprise find. Very well done, supported by donations and the gift shop as well as the labors of a dedicated group of volunteers. Stu really enjoyed himself.

Once again, we found an great ice cream stop just down the road from our campground. Yeah!

Artillery Ridge Campground, Gettysburg, PA:

Our campsite...



Eastern Museum of Auto Racing, York Springs, PA:









Then it was time to move on to family in Delaware. The grandkids had already started school so we didn't see too much of them. That didn't mean there was nothing to do. Oh no, plenty to do! We were about 30 minutes out from Greenwood and our home driveway when the serpentine belt on the Freightliner went out. Repair number one on Stu's To Do list! He also went to Seaford Harley-Davidson and ordered a paint matched front fender to replace his dented one. Then there was grocery shopping, laundry and catch-up stuff. We also had great satellite for TV but abysmal internet access. One again, we were forced to use our Verizon phones as hotspot - thankful we upped our data limit for the summer.



We took one nice riding day and went out for the day. We started at Dogfish Brewery in Milton, DE and then just rode, enjoying the nice weather.

Dogfish Brewery, Milton, DE:



On Labor Day, we moved over to another family driveway where we will stay until lat in October (when we will head to Florida for the winter). We did get to see our youngest grand baby at Cracker Barrel. She is a ham!



Then we began the rounds of our annual doctor appointments. No cataract surgery for either of us yet, we are both just below the guidelines from Medicare. Maybe next year. We both had some meds added by our primary care doctor and I have the "joy" of a colonoscopy in early October to check out some issues I've been having. Yeah, joy....LOL!

I will leave you with some photos from our current cruise - we left Sunday (early) for our cruise out of Baltimore. We are cruising with good friends from the Annapolis area who are in the process of moving to Tennessee, maybe 2-3 hrs from our property. Whee!!!

The cruise is going well and our cabin was all decorated for my birthday. Sweet! All four of us had dinner in the steakhouse last night, perfect birthday dinner. Then I came back and tried to acknowledge almost 450 birthday messages on Facebook. No, I didn't make it...but I did try.

Leaving Baltimore - looking back at the Bay Bridge from our cabin:


It's my birthday!

Sunset at sea:

View of Grand Turk (Turks & Caicos) from our balcony:

Links to our photo albums at SmugMug - all campground selections also include photos from the drive there as well as day trips in the surrounding areas:
Ciao for now!

NM, TX, LA: rolling through - Trip Home

Monday, October 21, 2013

The weather has been decent if a bit on the cool side in the mornings. We left Las Cruces NM and headed to our next stop in Kerrville, TX. Beautiful country, decent hotel and a good night's sleep and it was on to Carthage, TX. On our way, after surviving a trip through Austin traffic, we had a nice lunch at the Cafe 290 in Manor, TX where Stu got to chat with some firefighters from McAllen TX. Nice guys...we arrived and left at the same time.



Here is a pic of my windshield - the tiny bugs looked like little hairs growing out when viewing from the side. Needless to say, the photo doesn't really show that. LOL!



Why Carthage? Still avoiding the worst weather - rain and coldest temps. Things held for us and we had another decent hotel and a good night's sleep before moving onward to Monroe, LA. That's when things fell apart a little bit... We were about 70 miles out of Monroe when we stopped for a break. I went to get something out of my left saddlebag....





The back bolt holding it on was completely sheared off. Stu attempted a roadside fix but we finally opted to remove it and strap it on top of the trailer until we got to the hotel. Oh, did I mention the fact that the roads in Louisiana ARE THE WORST EVER? No? Well, they are...and not just judging from this trip. LOL!







By the time we got to the hotel we agreed that if the room was nice, we were staying an extra day. It was and we did. We headed out to Logan's Roadhouse for a late lunch/early dinner.



Then we took in a movie, "Carrie". Not as good as the original but good enough to bring the story of bullying (albeit a fictional story) to a new generation. Tomorrow we head out again, taking back roads and avoiding the interstate. Weather is cooling but looks to stay dry. We can layer up but we both HATE riding in the rain. We should be home by Friday!

PS, Stu got the saddle bags bolted back on with Stage 8 bolts. That ought to hold them.

Las Cruces NM - Trip Home

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Just a quick note and a few photos. We enjoyed our stay in Las Cruces, NM so much we extended a second night (not really, we were just trying to avoid the rain in Texas). Seriously, the hotel was gorgeous! Built in the mid 1940's, it was full of the old Southwest feeling with stenciled walls, tile decorations and handmade furniture.


We took the extra day to take in a movie. Last week we saw "Rush", which we really enjoyed, so this time we tried "We're the Millers" and weren't disappointed. We were the only ones in the theater which was nice because we were both laughing out loud. When we left, my stomach hurt and I still had tears in my eyes. (NOTE: if bad language offends you, don't go!)

From there we moved across the parking lot to have some beer and a late lunch/early dinner at De La Vega's Pecan Grill and Brewery. As we pulled up we saw this interesting custom bike.


We had to try the samplers - nothing really stood out but we found a few we thought were "ok". Dinner was great, seafood taco for Stu and Mediterranean salad for me.


Oh, almost forgot...before we arrived at the hotel we stopped at Barnett's Harley-Davidson and browsed around. Nice store and I snagged a great t-shirt. This is the back...


So we continue our way easterly, dodging rain, layering up for cooler temps and still enjoying the ride!

We're still alive....honest!

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Not much new going here, just everyday life. The highlight was getting all our tax stuff together and sent off to our accountant. Phew...now we just have to wait for the bill. UGH!

We went to see the movie "Identity Thief". It was a funny movie with a feel good (almost) ending. So if you want a lot of laughs and don't get offended easily, give it a try.

Today we went for a nice motorcycle ride and ended up at the Miller's Orlando Ale House. We had eaten there once before and liked it. We repeated our beer order having discovered Rogue Dead Guy Ale...yummy!

Tomorrow the weather gets cooler and on Saturday we move to Bee's RV Resort again. Sunday we pick up our youngest granddaughter, Jesse, to Disney. WOOT!! The first couple of days will be cool, in the 60's during the day and down to upper 30's at night. By Wednesday another front will move through and then it warms back up.The last time we went to Disney it was early October and REALLY hot. This will be a nice change.

Jesse flies back home on Thursday and we'll take Friday as a day at Epcot for the two of us. ;-) Needless to say, don't expect another blog for at least a week. We'll be too busy having FUN!!