APRIL, MAY I Have Your Attention?

Just another reason to go to Scotland - 65 ABV!!! 

4/21 - I was back on the road AGAIN for work today and stopped at Father Tom's Pub in Cookeville for lunch again.  I had their awesome salad again with grilled chicken along with a pint of the solid Classic City Lager from Creature Comforts Brewing (GA).  

My pal, Toney, and I traveled to Opry Mills Theaters tonight to check out the new film, Sinners, in IMAX.  It was shot with IMAX cameras and that showed with some very nice cinematography.  The movie itself was pretty good although I did have a few issues with the storyline.  
Beforehand, we had dinner (grain bowls are back!!) at Tenn Fold Brewing where I also had a pint of their very good Trail Hopper NEIPA.   

Happy belated birthday to me!  Andor Season 2 FINALLY dropped its first three episodes today.  Season 1 has been my favorite of the Star Wars canon.  It tells the story leading up to Rogue One, the best Star Wars movie of them all.  Yeah, I said it!!!  The first two episodes were a little slow, but # 3 picked it up pretty well.  

4/24 - I was in at a nice TownPlace Suites hotel in Chattanooga tonight for work and watched the NFL Draft where the Titans had the first pick.  There were no surprises as they took the Miami QB, Cam Ward, so let's see if he's the next Steve McNair or the next Vince Young, ho-hum.  I toasted the pick and wished them good luck with a crowler can of the excellent and smooth 423-Pale Ale from Tanasi Brewing here in Chatt-town. 
Earlier, I stopped at the new (and improved) Tanasi Brewing location beforehand also and had their decent ESB called Daft Punch, and their OK IPA called Two Wolves.  

4/26 - Ashlee and I attended my (gulp!) 40th High School Reunion tonight in Jasper at the nice Redpoint Inn Restaurant.  We had a pretty good time.  It's funny how I ended up hanging tonight with the same clique I hung with then.  Good pizza and even craft beer on tap.  I had a couple of unidentified but tasty IPAs. 

Beforehand, I had some great beer and tasty food at Hello Monty Restaurant in Chattanooga who serve the new-to-me Dynamo Brewing craft beer.  With my tasty salmon skewers, I had their very good Dynamo IPA.  Next was their smooth and delicious Cask-Conditioned ESB.  I finished with their superbly dry Cask-Conditioned Porter. 

4/27 - It was a good sunroof-open kinda day today.  I still had the sweet Audi A3 rental car for work next week, so I took it down into Georgia today to do some waterfall scouting.  Afterwards, I stopped back by Tanasi Brewing again and had their nice Rosemary's Baby rosemary-infused farmhouse ale.  

I took a crowler home from Tanasi Brewing of their pretty good Brevnov- Bohemian Pilsner and enjoyed it by the pool tonight just shooting the shit with my pal, Curtis.  

4/28 - I was back in Chattanoga yet again for work today, so I set up my "office" at Five Wits Brewing and enjoyed a couple half-pints there including their nice IPA called Mamaw's Wallpaper and a solid farmhouse ale called Bernadette.  

4/29 - After a lovely night back at the historic and beautiful Read House hotel (thanks, CU!), I was back at 5 Wits Brewing for some more office time and lunch today.   I had their excellent Blackstar Schwarzbier with my lunch of a tasty Philly-style chicken salad.  I finished with their really good Belgian dubbel called Who Closed Last Night? and their so-so Rhythmic Red ale 

Beforehand, I was killing some time with what I thought was just going to be some waterfall scouting up on Lookout Mountain but then was able to fairly easily and quickly hike to the top of pretty Glen Falls.  Who's that guy hiking in work khakis? LOL

4/30 - Nothing like waiting until the last day of the month to get your monthly magazine out...WTF?  Anyway, my April column in the Ante Up Online Magazine looks good despite the late arrival.  

5/1 - I went to opening night for the new Marvel Studios flick, Thunderbolts, at our local Roxy Theaters (recliners!) with some friends tonight.  I thought it was a pretty good movie, albeit a little weird, but a nice addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  

Beforehand, Ashlee and I had dinner across the road from the theater at Bangkok Pad Thai where I had a bottle of the decent Beerlao Lager from Lao Brewery (Laos) with my pineapple fried rice meal.  

5/2, 5/3 and 5/4 - I had some double-duty dog sitting this weekend (kind of overbooked myself, but it worked out) in Watertown with my favorite pit bulls, and also north of town with three friendly huskies.  I also got some overtime at CU working during graduation on 5/3 as a shuttle driver.  Keep side-hustlin' and making that money!! 
Of course, I would (almost) dog sit for free for my good buddy, the mighty Sampson, pictured above.  

I stopped at the Three Forks Market in Watertown on 5/2 and picked up a six-pack of the terrific Pacific Pale Ale from Yazoo Brewing here in Nashville to enjoy over the weekend.

And after a string of bad beats and coolers, I finally got back on the winning side on Global Poker on 5/3 with a small buy-in NLHE bounty tournament win vs. 77 other players.  With eight knockouts, I cleared an ROI of just over 2,300%!! 

5/6 - I attended the Opening Round Game of the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Tournament tonight with the Chattanooga Red Wolves taking on our own NSC at Geodis Park.  Thanks to my pal, Nate, (and Ginny who couldn't go), for the seat.  NSC pulled out a ho-hum 1-0 win that pretty much proved our depth/bench-players are suspect to say the least.  
Beforehand, Nate and I met up (and parked for free) at Broadcast Brewing near the stadium.  I had their excellent black IPA called Sonar, and their equally good and quite unique cherry-infused cream ale called Waveform Supernova.  At the game, I found a can of lager from Wiseacre Brewing out in Memphis called Sky Dog that was solid. 

5/7 - I did a The Amateur/The Accountant 2 double feature today at the Opry Mills Theaters.  I thought both films were pretty good.  

 

5/10 - We were lucky enough to see the Savannah Bananas play a baseball game at Nissan Stadium tonight.  We had some pre-game libations at the new Hoppin' River North Tap Room where you pour yourself and pay by the ounce.  It's about time Nashville got one of these places!!   It's a great place, and I had a nice bunch of new-to-me tasters including the: 
Minami Crisp Japanese lager from Southern Grist here in Nashville - very good!  
Permanent Record TIPA from Marble Fox Brewing here in Nashville - excellent!
Conquer and Prevail pale ale - Jackalope Brewing here in Nashville - meh
Fiddler's Pay Irish dry stout - Fait la Force Brewing here in Nashville - solid! 
Edelweiss 10 Degrees - Barrique Brewing here in Nashville - very nice! 
Peanut Butter Milk Stout (with some Guinness) Left Hand Brewing (CO) - tasty! 
Zombie Dust (2024) pale ale - 3 Floyds Brewing (IN) - classic awesomeness! 

At the game I had a pint can of the Summer Shandy (2024) from Leinenkugel Brewing (WI).  Regrettably, I found out there was a Savannah Bananas craft beer, but was not able to get one before the game was over.  Next time!! 

5/11 - After taking some time away from the virtual felt, I plowed back into Global Poker tonight to a series of bad beats and coolers that had me shaking my head, but then to end the night I finally got a small buy-in NLCP tournament win.  Granted, it was only against 12 other players and only netted me about 700% ROI, but you take what you can get when you are getting bitch-slapped like I have been lately.  

5/12 - OK, now that's more like it!  I got a nice NLHE bounty tournament win tonight on Global Poker vs. 128 other players.  With my 12 knockouts, I cleared an ROI of just over 2,800%! 

5/14 - I took my young Indian student friend, AP, to his first US pro soccer game tonight as NSC took on the New York Red Bulls.  We used my pal Nate's tickets since he wasn't able to go to the game.  AP graduated with a masters degree from Cumberland U and heads out tomorrow for Texas to live with his sister for a while as he tries to find a job here in the U.S. before he's forced to go back to India.  I wish him all the luck.  The game was a statement win for NSC who've actually never beaten the Red Bulls until tonight by a 2-1 margin!!  Them Bulls just got Alex Muyl-kicked!! 

Since AP had to be at the airport by 5:30 AM tomorrow morning, I decided to just grab a room by the airport since I was dropping him off anyway.  This way we didn't have to get up so early and we could hit a couple watering holes after the game as well.  I got a cheap Hotwire app room at the decent Glo Best Western Hotel and then we Ubered over to the game from there.  We walked over to Broadcast Brewing after the game and had a pint while the traffic (and Uber surge pricing) died down.  We kicked the keg on their nice cream ale called Waveform.   We then moved on to Hops and Crafts in the Gulch where I had the new-to-me style of beer called a roggenbier (German-style rye beer) from Fonta Flora Brewing (NC) that they call Specks of Sand that I thought was very good. 

5/15 - I slept in at the hotel after dropping AP off early at the airport since I had a remote day for work.  I finished the satisfying "Andor" series and then stopped at Cledis Burgers and Beer Garden on the way back for lunch where I had a pint of the Tiki Like A Fox Tropical Hazy IPA from New Realm Brewing (Atlanta) with my tasty Thai burger and seasoned-perfectly fries.

5/16 - 5/20 - I had a repeat pet-sitting gig up in Gallatin again this upcoming long weekend.  Nice house and easy money! 

5/17 - I attended another NSC game tonight with my work friend, Todd, and this was his first time seeing The Boys in Gold play live as well.  Thanks again to my pal, Nate, for his sweet seats to give a couple newcomers (and me) a great experience this past week.  Tonight's opponent was D.C. United, and the game ended in a frustrating 0-0 tie that I felt we should have won with a vastly superior squad, but you take the point and move on.  We parked at Broadcast Brewing for free and had a couple pints in gratitude.  Since I've had all their current brew, I had a couple of guest-tap pints including the excellent New England-style pale ale called Mind the Wake from nearby Fait la Force Brewing, and then the solid bock beer from also nearby Barrique Brewing called Gross Fass.  

5/18 - While up here in Gallatin this weekend, I figured I would check out The Original Campione's Taste of Chicago eatery since another one will be opening soon closer to home in Mt. Juliet.  I got the Chicago-style Polish sausage dog, and it was fantastic!  Think I will go for lunch again tomorrow!! 
 

5/19 - Today is our 24th wedding anniversary!!  Congrats to us!!  

5/20 - We had the Second (Unofficial) Class Reunion tonight with three of my former WHS classmates and myself at what was supposed to be the AC/DC concert at Nissan Stadium in downtown Nashville.   Unfortunately, the show got postponed due to weather, so we ended up just having dinner at the M.L. Rose Craft Beer and Burger joint in Mt. Juliet where I had a decent Southern Blonde ale from Marble Fox Brewing here in Nashville with my tasty Thai chicken salad.  

Much earlier today (as in after midnight this morning), I made my first final table on the relatively new Club WPT Gold website.  This is a "sweeps-coins" sweepstakes loophole poker site just like Global Poker.  There is evidence that this type of site is in the crosshairs of the U.S. government already, so let's see how long it lasts.  This site has HUGE buy-in tournaments, WPT name recognition, and big pro names attached to it that will definitely attract a lot of attention and probably get it all shut down sooner than later IMO.  Again, we shall see. I really hate the software currently (no notes, only two skins to choose from, a hard to read tournament lobby, etc.), but I haven't put a dime into it and will certainly play for free on it for at least some money.  As far as this small buy-in NLHE tourney went - I came to the final table (8-handed) as a slight chip leader and finished 5th vs. 341 other players for an ROI of just over 1,900%!! 

5/21 - Well, let's try this again.  The AC/DC concert got postponed a day due to extremely bad weather yesterday afternoon.  Two of my high school friends had to bail and couldn't come tonight unfortunately, so I sat with my other pal since kindergarten, Mick, and his wife and son at the show instead.  It was a very good show and the old farts from Down Under still know how to rock.  The vocals were a little low was my only criticism.  Thanks to Mick for some free parking as well in a TDOT lot near the stadium. 

Beforehand, I walked a short distance to Barrique Brewing for a few pre-show libations including their excellent German-style pilsner called Absolute Simulation; their smooth and refreshing lager called Dent; their solid dark ale called Eriador; and finally, their killer IPA called Matrix Mixer.  I bought a four-pack of these and gave one to Mick as a thank you for the free parking access.  Props to the DJ at BBC too for all the AC/DC deep cuts playing: "Live Wire" - "Ride On" (bought that one) - and "The Jack."

5/23 - I got a small NLCP tournament win on Global Poker tonight vs. 18 other players giving me (and my withering bankroll) and much-needed ROI of 800%! 

5/26 - We tried to host a Memorial Day weekend pool party despite the weather being a bit cool for the time of year but today was too cool and cloudy for the pool, so I went waterfall chasing instead.   I headed east to Monterey to finally check out Bridal Falls at the Spacious Skies at Belle Ridge Campground.  I had to pay $8 for a day-pass, but I didn't mind.  It's a great park, but I was disappointed in the water flow at the falls, but it is a very cool little gorge it's in and the potential for a monster waterfall after a good rain is definitely there.  There are also two other waterfalls on the property requiring longer hikes.  So, I will be back!! 

My second stop back west a bit just inside the Putnam County line on Pfifer Mountain at pretty little Stone Cove Falls.  This roadside falls inside the crack of a large rocky bluff seems to part of an old homestead that is nicely maintained and mowed, but there's no indication what it was or who owns it. Maybe the state?  There's a "No Trespassing" sign downstream of the falls themselves, but that's about it.   Since I was in Putnam County, I might as well stop for a brew or two at Red Silo Brewing in Cookeville...so I did!  First up, I had their tasty (and discounted) Brown Sugar Ale.  I finished with their less-than-great white stout called The Queen of Hearts.  I also got a "free" 10" pizza from the potheads running the Pizza Machine # 3 food truck/bus who forgot to charge me for it.  
Back at home, I had the first of four bottles of a variety pack I picked up while at RSBC also.  This one was their solid TBD IPA.  

I re-upped my subscription to BeerBox.com this month in preparation for the summer and some pool time.  My first box arrived today, and it is a dandy with not repeats that I recognize.  It contained a couple IPAs, a pale ale, a lager, a blonde ale, a shandy, a wheat ale and a porter.  

I got another small NLCP tournament win tonight on Global Poker that was very similar to last night's win.  I topped 16 other players for an ROI right at 700%!  I also came very close to nabbing another trophy when I placed third in the GC Rattlesnake Open Main Event.   

5/25 - Well, the weather held pretty well today, and we were able to get a few floats in at least.  A few friends came over and we enjoyed some grilling out and hanging out.  I popped open a couple more of the Red Silo BC variety bottles including their very good tripel IPA called First and Cedar, and also their tasty Honey Bear Blonde.  

5/26 - I got a nice win today on Global Poker in a turbo progressive total bounty NLHE tournament vs. 62 other players.  With my 10 knockouts I got an ROI of over 2,200%!!  That gave me enough overall bankroll profit to cash out $100 as well!!  I used most of the money to give my crazy sister a pretty cool present (cupcakes!) to be delivered to her house on her birthday next month. 

5/27 - My friend, Toney, and I went to see the new action flick, Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, in IMAX at the Opry Mills Theaters tonight.  As the final film with Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, I thought it was fantastic and definitely worth a look on IMAX!  Definitely the best one of the franchise, and a perfect ending, but is it the end???

5/28 - I had a nice and quiet remote day at work today followed by some poolside brews with my buddy, Curtis.  I dipped into my recent BeerBox.com order and started with a can of the nice blonde called Awesummer Ale from Capitol Brewing (WI).  Next up was the Witty Monkey that was a pretty smooth wheat ale that packed a 9.5% ABV punch from Victory Brewing (PA).  I ended with the lovely Mexican Lager with Lime (love that can art!) from Great Lakes Brewing (Cleveland, OH).  

5/30 - 6/1 - I got an easy, last-minute cat sitting gig in Gallatin this weekend for pretty Ms. Blanca pictured above.   

5/30 - I got yet another small NLCP tournament win on Global Poker tonight vs. 21 other players with an ROI of over 800%! 

5/31 - The May issue of the online Ante Up Magazine was released today and my monthly column features the beloved Scott Miller.  I think the article looks great!  And I think Scott would be proud! 

I enjoyed a Chicago-style beef sandwich as a grain bowl (no grain, just a lot of meat!) from Campione's Taste of Chicago for lunch while in Gallatin today.  I also got a pool float in late this afternoon and enjoyed a couple libations including the last bottle from my Red Silo Brewing (Cookeville) variety four-pack.  It was the excellent El Dorado Session IPA Single Hop Series.  I finished with the also great Frozen Tundra IPA from Half Day Brewing (IL) from my latest Beer Box.  

April 2025 - 58 years on this Earth

Fave show, fave saying - "Andor" Season 2 this month!!! 

4/1 - No foolin' - it was more work on the road this week, but I was able to get back home in time to go with Ashlee (and Sunny) to meet up with friends at the newish Tailgate Brewing location in Antioch (photo above).  Along with some dream-worthy pizza, I had their excellent NEIPA called Trees: Doobie Decimal System, and then their equally good Hoppy, Respectfully, Hazy IPA.  

4/2 - Work took me through Cookeville again today, so it was lunch again at Father Tom's Pub and the house salad I got with added blackened chicken and blue cheese crumbles was out of this world good!!  I will get that again for sure!!  My brew of choice was the Classic Amber from nearby Calfkiller Brewing over in Sparta.  

Back at home again tonight, I won a small buy-in NLHE bounty tournament on Global Poker.  I lost the details, but it was about an 800% ROI.  

4/3 - More CU at CJ!!  I placed another CU sticker in the men's room at Common John Brewing in Manchester today on my way back home from a work trip outside Chattanooga.  I enjoyed their new lager called Thingamabob with a tasty chicken finger basket for a late lunch. 

Way to go, Mocs!! I enjoyed seeing my alma mater take down the NIT Basketball Championship over CU-Irvine on ESPN tonight.  During the game, I enjoyed a pint can of the tasty Parched Pig Toasted Amber ale.  It was another gift from Ashlee from her recent girls' trip cruise. 

4/4 to 4/5 - I started a pet-sitting weekend gig over off Hwy. 109 tonight.  It's a repeat client with two sweet girl dogs:  Izzie and Lily, and one old grumpy female cat named Cali.  Easy-peasy duty.   I also made a very deep run in a mid-size buy-in NLHE deep-stack tournament on Global Poker making the final table and finishing 6th out of 519 other players for right at 1,900% ROI!!  It was good enough to cash out $200 in profit for the night!  With most of my winnings I bought Ashlee a super-nice beach chair and beach tote that she wanted for her birthday - or for our upcoming anniversary. 

4/7 - What started out as a quick stop at Cedar City Brewing Company after work to check out the new collab brew from CCBC and East Nashville Beer Works called A Glass of Paradise - which was excellent by the way - turned into dinner and our foursome grabbing second place in the trivia contest with a come from behind go for broke last question that we nailed!! 

I got a smile from this screen-grab quote from the 1993 classic, “Tombstone.” RIP to one of the most underrated actors of our time, Val Kilmer, in arguably his best role ever as the legendary, Doc Holliday, which should have earned him an Oscar IMHO.  Man, look at that cast! Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Kurt Russell, Bill Paxton (RIP) and a then relatively unknown Billy Bob Thornton.

4/8 - I went to see the new Jason Statham action flick, A Working Man, at our local Roxy Theaters (recliners!) with my pal, Toney on $6 Discount Tuesday.  Look, his movies aren't winning any awards, but they are pretty entertaining, and he does have a great on-screen presence. This one was OK, but mostly forgettable.  A lot of weird bad guys in it which was interesting at least.  

4/9 - It's so nice to get some public love from the Ante Up Magazine folks for my monthly column with them.  They posted this on their Facebook page today regarding my column in the April 2025 issue of their online magazine.  

4/10 - After seeing Tom Hanks in person in Nashville tonight interviewing his daughter, E.A., who has a new book out, I stopped by Homegrown Taproom for a late dinner and a couple of half-pint libations from Industrial Arts Brewing (NY) including their IPA called Power Tools and their Wrench NEIPA which were both great.  

4/12 - After a hard day of spring-cleaning including vacuuming our dirty pool.  I got my first float in afterwards along with a cold beer.  I had a pint can of the West Coast IPA from Parched Pig Brewing  NOW, the pool is really open!! 

I got a satellite "win" tonight vs. 46 other players with the top 6 getting tickets to a tournament whose buy-in was worth 1000% ROI.  It was a hyper-turbo NLHE on Global Poker.  

4/13 - The Last of Us - my second favorite show - Season 2 started today! 

(Editor's note:  Holy shit!  Joel gets killed in the second episode??  WTF!  He was the best part!  This definitely drops the ranking of this show now IMO.) 

Before watching the first episode tonight, I got a NLCP tournament win on Global Poker vs. 20 other players for an ROI of over 800%! 

And before all that, we had a great afternoon down at East Nashville Beer Works - Wilson County for Yappy Hour with Sunny and a bunch of butt-sniffers.  I had a nice collab pale ale called Off the Hop Rope that they made along with Tennessee Brew Works here in Nashville.  I also had their throwback Roaming Dog ASB - the first beer I ever had from ESBW back in 2016! 

4/15 - I was on the road again for work down in Chattanooga and stayed a couple nights in Cleveland, TN, again at the same nice, new by Courtyard by Marriott hotel (rack up them points!).  I had most of the day to poke around before a late afternoon fair today, so I took a drive up into Mullins Cove along the Tennessee River Gorge and it was a beautiful day for it.  The trail to Blowing Wind Falls was closed due to hunting unfortunately.  I will tackle it another day.  

A nice alternative that was nearby were these two small sister-falls on Middle Creek coming off Signal Moutain.   There's a trail coming off Suck Creek Road to this area that used to be closed.  I can remember someone yelling at me, Ashlee and Paige years ago when we stopped to hopefully take a look.  Now it seems open to all visitors although I still don't know who owns it.  

I moved on to the base of Lookout Mountain in St. Elmo next to The Tap House there for some lunch and libations.  Along with my excellent house-made pimento cheese and warm naan bread I had the solid Czech-style pilsner call Zuzu from Oddstory Brewing here in Chattanooga.  I finished with a tasty IPA called Ocoee #1 from nearby Copperhill (TN) Brewing.

It was a perfect day to revisit Point Park upon Lookout Mountain as well today.  I haven't been here in many, many years, but what a special place and the views are simply amazing.  I don't remember having to pay $10 before to get in, but I also don't remember it being in the national park system either so I didn't mind. 

My main goal in going back to Point Park other than the perfect weather for overlooks was to see the famous and historic Umbrella Rock which has been cordoned off from the public now, but you are still able to get a picture of the interestingly stacked sandstone.     

On the way back down Lookout Mountain I caught glimpse of small waterfall I had never seen before near Ochs Highway.  It was on private property, but I got a decent shot of it from thru the car window. 

I stopped by Tremont Tavern in North Chatt before my evening high school fair and was excited to try the (now) world-famous Wrexham Lager from Wrexham Brewing (Wales). It was excellent!  I finished with a very nice Dead Guy Pilsner from Rogue Ales (OR). 

I closed out a good day with a late showing of the new film, Warfare, on $6 Bargain night at the UEC (recliners! like the Roxy at home, only cleaner and newer) Theaters in Cleveland.  I thought the movie was sort of an interesting concept and very matter of fact, but overall, I wouldn't call it great.

4/17 - I flew to Akron, OH, this evening on a dirt-cheap fair with Allegiant Airlines.  I am staying 3 nights at The Inn at Brandywine Falls as my base of operations for this year's waterfalls/breweries/birthday trip.  I'm going solo which is fine by me.   The inn is technically in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, so that's another NP checked off the long list as well!
My friends, Curtis and Kate, dropped me at the airport since Ashlee was out of town on a business trip.  We stopped at Homegrown Taproom for a pre-flight brew.  I had the too salty and too limey (shoulda only gotten a half pint) Sky Dog Chelada lager from Wiseacre Brewing over in Memphis.  
Allegiant flies out of the new, but separated by shuttle bus, Concourse C at BNA which has a giant Fat Bottom Brewing bar in it!  I had their solid Sandy blonde ale just before taking off. 

Might as well turn 58 driving the roads of northern O-h-i-O!! 

The Simon Perkins Room at The Inn at Brandywine Falls was awesome!  Beautifully furnished and roomy.  Even tasty and fancy Oreos were complimentary.  It was a bit pricey, but worth it.  YOLO!! 

4/18 - Before my complimentary (and very tasty) breakfast this morning, I grabbed some coffee and walked down to the namesake, Brandywine Falls, for a look.   Like most waterfalls here, the stream has cut its way down dramatically into the relatively flat land and common sandstone here to form this beautiful drop.  But unlike an elevated drop that could be seen from the inn, I could see just the top of the falls from my second-story room.   The bridge running above it takes away from the aesthetic somewhat, but that's kind of a running theme up this way I came to find out.  
 

The weather looked iffy for tomorrow, so I headed to my farthest north point of interest first and planned to work my way back.  The beautiful Fairport Harbor Lighthouse up on "da pig vater!" as my boy, Kee-har, calls it in my favorite book, Watership Down, was first on the list.  This historic Lake Erie beacon has been greatly cared for.   Well worth the 40-minute drive.  

A bonus in Fairport Harbor is the quaint little West Breakwater Light.  I kinda wanted to walk out to it, but was a little pressed for time, so I moved on instead.  Beautiful weather today though! 

Pretty little Paine Falls was next.  Oh look, a bridge above it.  Seems familiar.  

Buttermilk Falls was next and I'm glad this little cascading slide was roadside and not after a hike of any amount.  And, yes, there's a walking bridge above it that I cut out of this shot! 

Chagrin Falls has a town named after it, and a pretty cool little
(but busy) town at that.  Hey, when the town is named after the falls, I expect a bridge above it...and buildings around it, but at least it isn't completely dammed up like some are with towns named after them.  Great little place and a dandy roaring waterfall! 

I also had lunch and a couple brews here in town at Pub Frato which looked to have a good local craft beer list.  I had their amazing and huge luau bowl for lunch along with a pint of the NEIPA called IPA Factory from local Crooked Pecker Brewing (gotta go see those guys! great name!).  I finished with an excellent Progress Pilsner from Market Garden Brewing up in Cleveland.  Those guys were one of my fave Cleveland breweries on a G.A.M.E. trip there years ago.  Wonder if I still have that great T-shirt I got there?? 

I was expecting a bit more of a dramatic drop at the Great Falls of Tinker Creek.  My innkeeper told me about this one and it was a good addition.  It's seen a lot of history and industrialization around it, so I guess we are lucky it's even still around.  Just downstream is a huge tunnel that was built to divert the creek after an aqueduct over the canyon was filled in to make way for the railroad.  

I decided to continue west this afternoon instead of back toward the inn with the weather still predicted as not so good tomorrow.  I am glad I did because there were some nice surprises awaiting.  I almost skipped this next one based on where it was.  It's actually in Cleveland city limits and as I got close and noticed I was definitely "in the hood" I was not feeling great about it and having flashbacks to getting rear-ended here in a rental car at the end of the aforementioned G.A.M.E. trip here several years ago.  But Mill Creek Falls turned out to be a surprising beauty in a nice little park that was free of clutter, graffiti or hoodlums.  

Now I'm beginning to like bridges above waterfalls!  This is the amazing (best of the trip IMO) West Falls of the Black River in Elyria, OH.  I love the multiple splits and volume on this one.  

If there's a west one, there must be an East Falls of the Black River in Elyria, OH.  This picture turned out pretty good despite some challenging cropping out of buildings and such.  I included the dam above it because it works with the falls pretty well.  This was only place I felt a little weird.  I thought I had the place to myself nearing sunset right in downtown Elyria until I walked up on some teenagers doing God knows what on a hidden bench near the overlook.  I snapped a few pics and go TF outta there. 

I got greedy-lucky to include Olmsted Falls in my day as well.  This odd little set of very small falls in the center of the town by the same name make up for volume with their interesting layout.  This small stream converges into another larger steam with a straight-line fall on it as well, but the smooth rocks make this one more interesting.  All the other falls today had sandstone with rough edges being carved by the water, but not here.  Pretty cool little spot.  I am glad I added it.  

Well, if you've been counting that's nine different named waterfalls in just one day!!  That's a new record for me, folks!! 

I stopped at the promisingly named and super-busy Hop Brothers Brewing for dinner tonight in nearby North Ridgeville, OH, and the Asian salad I had was excellent, but the beer was just so-so.  The Route 80 West Coast IPA was decent enough, but the Palmers Light kolsch was pretty awful.  I couldn't finish it. Yechh! 

4/19 - I started the day with another great complimentary breakfast at the inn.  Such a beautiful and historic place!  Several window shades in the home have original paintings on them from the first dwellers there.  The painted scenes are usually renditions of what you see out the window itself.  Evidently, this was a common thing in this area in the past, but I've never seen it before.  Very cool.  

Fearing rain today, I decided to skip waterfall hunting and booked a morning passage on the Cuyahoga Valley National Park train for an hour and a half ride through the park, down to Akron and back.  It wasn't pouring, but I still think it was a good call based on the weather.    CVNP is not the most scenic of the national parks here in the U.S., but it's got a great story of recovery and survival and well worth some time and a visit.   

They had a pretty nice selection of craft beer on board as well.  I enjoyed this pint can of the rich Coffee Then Beer milk stout from HIHO Brewing down in Cuyahoga Falls.   

After lunch at the world's fanciest McDonald's, I made the executive decision with drizzling rain still coming down to head south about an hour to rainy day back-up plan location that's been on my bucket list for a good while now. 

I headed south about an hour to Mansfield, OH, to take a tour of the long-time closed Ohio State Reformatory and the shooting location for most of the classic film, The Shawshank Redemption, which is easily in my top ten favorite films of all time.  What an amazing place!  And to think they almost tore it all down!!  The movie filming here was actually the start of the saving process.  
I even got have a craft beer here as the Scofield Cafe inside had a good selection of canned brews.  I had the very good IPA called Wicked Willy's from Fat Head's Brewing here in Ohio.  

An iconic shot from the movie where Andy first enters Shawshank Prison and looks up at the foreboding structure.  

Even some of the few parts set outside the prison in the movie were filmed here including Brooks' room when he was released.  

I did a "Beyond the Bars" walking tour that took us everywhere in this giant, amazing place.  Upstairs, in the basement and even up in one of the guard towers.   90% of the prison is in need of drastic restoration, but the non-profit organization running it now is taking on the immense project day by day and money from tours really helps, so I was glad to contribute.  Two modern real working prisons within view next door really intensified the visit as well. 

While in the town of Mansfield on the way to the prison, I saw a street sign for "Fletcher Falls" so after my tour and with the rain subsiding, I was able to find it pretty easily and she's a little beauty for sure. 

While it was out of my way a bit going back from Mansfield, I was determined to stop and check out Crooked Pecker Brewing back in Chagrin Falls.  Their beer continued to be outstanding as I enjoyed a pint of their Beastly DIPA.  But, man, their merch selection was not great.  That's disappointing given the hilarious name and excellent beer.  

4/20 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!  58 years and counting!!  Oh, and it's Easter as well.  So, amen to the big guy and his cool son.  After a last great breakfast and checking out of the awesome Inn at Brandywine Falls with a couple hugs from the innkeeper, Vicky, I headed into the Cuyahoga Valley National Park for a few planned stops since the rain had moved on.  I had most of the day here since my flight home was not until around 8 PM.  My first stop was the pretty little Bridal Veil Falls.  

Blue Hen Falls was also small, but I had the place to myself when I hiked a short distance to it, so that was nice. 

I took a longer than planned hike around The Ledges area of the CVNP with its cool rock formations and cliffs including their own version of Rock City's Fat Man Squeeze.  

My next stop was the Everett Covered Bridge - this modern-built replica of the original was nice, but a little hard to photograph from the outside due to telephone lines and other clutter around it. 

The last stop in CVNP was the Beaver Marsh which is an amazing story of a car junkyard being cleaned up and brought back to nature in not even the way the park folks intended.  It's what the beavers intended, and the park just finally went with it.  You gotta love that!
I will be the first to admit the CVNP is not the most stunning of our national parks, but it's got a great story behind it in a lot of aspects such as recovery, rebirth and preservation in the nick of time.  

I had enough time to drive about an hour south of the airport to pretty Dundee Falls in heart of Amish farm country.  There were even some Amish young folks there enjoying the falls as well.  And, hey, no bridges anywhere! 

You know what's not open on Easter - craft breweries!! I mean none of them other than some Easter brunches and then closed immediately after.  So, with even more time to kill before heading to the airport, I doubled back to the town of Cuyahoga Falls and found Little Falls in the video above to be much more charming and cool than I had previously read about and decided to skip.   Big Falls evidently got swallowed up by a damn dam, but at least they preserved this one and it's excellent whitewater canyon right in downtown.  

I finally found some craft beer birthday love at the Canton/Akron airport (yeah, CAK(e)!!) with a can of the solid Elliot Ness Amber Lager from Great Lakes Brewing up in Cleveland.  
Also, while at the airport I managed to finish on the final table (7th outta 126) of the USPO Players' Championship GC (play money) Final which looks like it earns me some more Global Poker swag including a robe and slides...hmm, we shall see.  

All in all, a great little trip.  By the numbers it was 15 waterfalls, two lighthouses, one covered bridge, two new-to-me breweries (that's low for me), 10 new-to-me craft beers (that's more like it), one Shawshank visit, one train ride, one new-to-me national park, plus a better appreciation for an area of the country that probably doesn't get a lot of thought overall.