59 and a half years old = Game Changer

This is the month!!  

I turn 59 and a half on the 20th and that means drawing out of my IRA with no penalties!  Things are about to go from good to better, and the sign above will become even more relevant!

10/1 - My "Ante Up Online Magazine" column came out today with a glaring typo that I wasn't too happy about.  I let them know about it, but not much you can do now, I guess, although with it being online, I would think it could be edited rather easily.  We shall see.  It also affected my blurb on the "Contents" page, so I didn't even include it on this blog entry.  

Otherwise, I think the column itself turned out pretty good.  

I did think it was important to separate the artist from the man based on some disturbing reports of Glen Hansard's behavior toward women during his life.  

10/2 - The difference with an online magazine vs. print is that you can correct mistakes on the fly! And, yet it's still got a typo in it.  Doh!  They fixed it too after I told them about it.  I should be getting paid for all this work! 

 I started a long weekend of Watertown pitbulls house/pet sitting today.  Since it was a remote workday for me, I headed that way pretty early today to hang out with my favorite rum-heads.  

10/3 - We took a pretty fun ghost walk/tour in downtown Gallatin tonight and while we didn't see any apparitions in the supposedly most active window in the Trousdale Place house (photo above), the swarming bats above the chimney were pretty cool to witness.
Beforehand, we had dinner at the excellent Prince St. Pizza and Pub also in downtown Gallatin and with the tasty AN-I-MAL all meat pizza that I shared with Ashlee I also had two new-to-me pints of craft brews from their always-impressive beer list.  First up was the tasty Pacific  Pale Ale from Yazoo Brewing over in Madison, and then the decent pilsner from Half Batch Brewing in Hendersonville called Lake Time.

10/4 - The owners of the Watertown pit bulls got back early enough for me to head out to Nashville this afternoon to catch the very last showing of Manhunter: The Final Cut at The Belcourt Theaters.  This new 4K restoration was overseen by director, Michael Mann, himself, and it's become one of my favorite films from the 80's.   There was a nice sized crowd for the film, and I even found a new-to-me beer to have with my popcorn:  the Skydog Premium lager from Wiseacre Brewing out in Memphis. 

Beforehand, I also had time to swing by the new location of Harding House Brewing in the L&L Market over in West Nashville.  I've really missed these guys since they had to close up shop in their original W. Nashville location right after Covid hit a few years back.  They are now in the part of L and L Market where Bold Patriot Brewing used to be.  I always liked their beer at BPBC, but the place gave off a somewhat icky MAGA vibe.  There were only two new-to-me brews on the small Harding House's nanobrewery menu, so I had them both.  First up was the solid NEIPA called Jubilee in recognition of their new Jubilee Bar at the brewery.  I finished with their very nice Honey House.  I had some more time and also swung by the new nearby second location of Living Waters Brewing out here in The Nations.  This is where Czann's Brewing moved to from downtown several years back and folded after Covid also.  There is quite the merry-go-round of craft beer going out here in W. Nashville lately.  It's a great location and I like what LVBC has done with it.  Here I had their excellent collaboration IPA with Soul and Spirits BC out of Memphis called Conrad 3.
And even before all this, I swung by Vui's Vietnamese for lunch in Berry Hill.  

10/7 - I had a good night on the virtual felt tonight with a 3rd place finish in a NLHE poker tournament on ClubGG vs. 113 other players that netted me over 1,200% ROI.  I came to the final table (photo above) as the chip leader, but the blinds got crazy and a couple of bad beats didn't help.  I also got second vs. 136 other players including rebuys for the second time in a current PLO poker tournament series on Global Poker, but since it's play money only now for me here in Tennessee, only a first-place finish for a trophy really counts.  But at least I am doing better at this sometimes-annoying and frustrating type of poker.  
With some of my real-money winnings I bought a handful of new shirts and shorts from Academy Sports during their summer clearance sale.   I also got five new fun music-influenced super-soft custom T-shirts from Tee Public with more of the winnings to wear on our upcoming music cruise next month.  

10/9 - More Watertown dog sitting this weekend but this time it's only one night and it's with the three goobers on Neal Road.  They are such sweeties.  Amy's house is nothing fancy, but it's quiet and comfortable.  And I think her giant rock "fence" (photo above) is pretty cool too.  

 "Excuse me, would you like to maybe share your lunch?" LOL.  Amy says this is best picture of sweet Ruby she's ever seen!  

BOOM! Goes the dynamite!! I made another final table on ClubGG tonight in a NLHE bounty tournament but made most of my profit with 13 knockouts!  I wound up getting 7th out of 94 players for an ROI of well over 800%!    That's just under $800 in my bankroll on there now. 
I quickly withdrew $500 and plan to buy something for Ashlee and I that I can always look at and say, "I bought that with other people's money!!"  

10/12 - The good ol' pocket 3's magic hit again tonight as I "won" the local NLHE tournament on PokerStars against 5 other players tonight with a 3-way chop roughly per the ICM count of my more than double stack vs. the other two remaining players.  They tried to get me to take less, but I said no.  It's rude for smaller stacks to ask to make a deal anyway, but then to try and short-change me.  Please.  My still-modest payout was just over 333% (I like that number!) ROI.  
I had three different games going on three different sites tonight and while I went fairly deep in the other two as well, but this was my only cash of the night.    

10/14 - I start another pet-sitting gig back in Mt. Juliet at a repeat location.  The little dog and elderly cat (JJ and Gracie) here are easy to deal with so it's easy money.   And the house is located so close to The Mt. Juliet Beer Company that I just had to grab a variety pint can four-pack for the long weekend.  Beer # 1 was the tasty Autumnal IPA from Fonta Flora Brewing (NC).  

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10/15 - I had a remote day today which led to an unexpected last pool float since it was close to 90 degrees along with Sunny since our pool was actually not closing until the 23rd.  I had two brews from my most recent BeerBox.com order.  First up was the excellent Lager Town märzen from Half Acre Brewing (Chicago) and then the Best Brown (2026) ale from Bell's Brewing (MI).

10/16 - I met my buddy, Todd, today after work at the Hillside Hangout in Mt. Juliet today where he paid me for a couple of dog-walking favors I did for him in the last week or so with some dinner (a tasty chicken pesto grilled cheese sandwich and some excellent house-made chips) along with a couple brews.  First up was the solid ESB from Mill Creek Brewing over in Nolensville.  I followed that up with their even better MCBC Pumpkin Cream Ale (2026).  Since I was "free-rolling" I tipped the excellent 

I had my # 2 brew from the variety four-pack from the Mt. Juliet Beer Company later on tonight.  It was a pint can of the excellent I Want My IPA from Mikerphone Brewing (IL) which I enjoyed while watching The Town: Extended Cut which I added to my digital movie library recently with some won poker money. 

10/17 - I used some more won poker money today to order some Door Dash lunch at the house in Mt. Juliet.  Pokeworks here in MJ wasn't my first choice, but the Huli Huli chicken and brown rice were good. The PLO tournament I was playing was not so good. 
Beer # 3 from The Mt. Juliet Beer Company variety pack tonight was the Speckled Haze IPA which is an excellent NEIPA from Northwoods Brewing (NH) which I really, really enjoyed while watching UT put the beat down on Alabama in Knoxville!!  

10/18 - This month's BeerBox.com order arrived yesterday evening and it looks like another good haul. Maybe a couple repeats.  I've decided to keep on with my subscription this year despite the pool being closed. I'm kind of interested to see what winter beers come my way with them. 

Beer # 4 from the variety four-pack from The Mt. Juliet Beer Company was the near-perfect DIPA from Fonta Flora Brewing (NC) called Life's Changed which I toasted to JJ (photo above) and Gracie as my pet/house-sitting gig drew to a close today.  Love ya, my little moochies!   It's also an appropriate beer title for today given the fact our friends, Adrianna and Christian got married today (I had three pony Coronas at the reception!) and the Titans effed around and actually won today...so much for that perfect 0-18 record!  

Caption for photo above:  "Is it too late to get a fish sammich??" 
(that will only be funny to me...and Jay Mohr)

I came to the final table tonight in the ClubbGG NLHE Sunday night tournament as chip leader with 6 left, but the blinds got big and the coinflips didn't go my way, and I was out 6th of 123 - disappointing but still just over 600% in ROI to puff the bankroll back up.

10/19 - I headed east today in another nice VW Jetta rental from Enterprise for the first of a three more short fall road trips for work to close out the year.  I stayed in Knoxville tonight at a nice Aloft Hotel.  

I stopped in Cookeville on the way east to take a look at what will now be my new Mustang from Cookeville Ford!!   We haggled to $42K even and I put down a $500 deposit to hold it.  I should pick it up Thursday.  I talked with David, my IRA financial advisor, today to start the process of withdrawing $75K from my IRA with no penalty.  

Afterwards I had time to swing by Pickett State Park and get a peak at Arch Lake there.  What a beautiful park!   They have some great historic CCC-built cabins too.  This is definitely a place to return for a weekend of kayaking, stargazing, etc.

In Knoxville tonight I had dinner at Abridged Beer Company - food on CU, beer on me.  With my very tasty dry-rubbed grilled chicken club sandwich I had their very good copper lager called Desert Canary and finished with their interesting Belgian-style farmhouse ale called Waffler.   

10/20 - My first lunchroom visit today was two hours east of Knoxville and then afterwards I had to head back down to Chattanooga for the night, so there was a lot of windshield time. But I had a great new audiobook to help me pass the miles that I bought recently with some poker winnings called Hue' 1968:  A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam by Mark Bowden (he also wrote Black Hawk Down).

I didn't realize my school lunchroom visit was all the way in Bristol today, but I made it in and out and then found a great place for lunch and some libations afterwards.  Tennessee Hills is a "brewstillery" in Bristol with a beautiful complex.  I have been to their satellite tasting room in Johnson City, but here's where all the goodness is made.  I started with their excellent Rugged IPA (that's a dead soldier of it and its pretty lacing in the pic above along with the great view I had for lunch).  Next up was their solid Bird Dog Rye Pale Ale.  My lunch of burnt-ends skewers was fantastic as well. I even grabbed some gifts for some folks also, so it was a great stop. Man, I gotta come back here! 

I stayed overnight down in Chattanooga at my usual nice favorite TownePlace Suites Hotel in Hixson.

10/21 - I was in Chattanooga for work today and then headed back home afterwards but had time to stop up on Signal Mountain at the Rainbow Lake Wilderness which is part of the larger Cumberland Trail complex.  I was looking for Rainbow Falls in the same area and I think I've figured out how to get to it (just not today) and also an overlook of Julia Falls - a wet-weather dazzler nearby as well.  What I did find today was Rainbow Lake itself and its accompanying dam just upstream from Rainbow Falls on Middle Creek.  I've heard about it for years and seen pictures, so I knew it was dam-controlled, but I had no idea how big the dam is.  Long-abandoned after its construction back in 1916 as a recreation and swimming spot for the also now-defunct Signal Mountain Hotel.

Bluffers write-up on Facebook 

10/22 - THIS IS THE RED-LETTER DAY!!  

No penalty to withdraw from my IRA from now on!!!   I withdrew $75K for the following:  (screenshot pics on home laptop at 10/10) 

A. A brand new Mustang convertible!  Thanks to my pal, Curtis, for taking me to Cookeville today after work to get it.  I paid him for time and trouble with dinner at Father Tom's Pub (his first time there!).  With my awesome dinner I also had a pint of the 

B. Pay off my credit cards. Payments will be going out immediately!  This will free up a good amount of dough for me each month as well as getting rid of that awful interest.  

C. Buy Ashlee some piece of jewelry (diamond stud earrings maybe?) in the $5K range for our 25th anniversary last year.  I am hoping to enlist the help of Ashlee's sister, Paige, and our good friend, Mollie, to help me find something maybe while we are on our upcoming music cruise to the Caribbean and they good jewelry shopping like they always do on cruises.  

10/27 - Back to Chattanooga overnight for work

10/28 - Home from Chattanooga 

Go East (a lot), Old Man!

8/17 - My six-pack of the limited-edition Spiderman cans (and box) from Bero Brewing arrived while I was gone.  No autographed can from Tom Holland unfortunately.  The zero ABV beer was OK, but nothing to get excited about.   

Additional Note:  I did get a nice shout-out on the 8/31/26 episode of "Movie Mike's Movie Podcast" from the host, Mike Deestro, for an email I sent him about these beers since he's a big Spiderman fan. 

My monthly BeerBox.com order arrived today also, and for the first time it has three repeat-for-me beers in it.  Oh well, when you top 6K check-ins of unique craft beers, the chances increase for that, I guess.  Still, some great stuff in here though.  Cheers! 

I went to see the new action/sci-fi flick, The End of Oak Street, tonight at the Regal Theaters in Mt. Juliet (discount Tuesday!).  Even though I said I would wait and see it this weekend with friends, I just couldn't (in JJ Abrams - producer - I trust).  Sadly, I was pretty disappointed in it.  Great story idea, but some of the acting was just awful and despite it being a fantastical tale, a couple of things that happened in the plot were just stupidly unreal.  Too bad.  I had a lot of hope for this one.  

I snuck a beer in that was so much better than the movie.  It was a can from my recent BeerBox order.  It was the very good Working for the Weekend DIPA from Spiteful Brewing (Chicago).  

8/19 - I dropped $150 (mostly recent poker winnings - see below) today on a legacy brick to be placed at the new Titans stadium in honor of our G.A.M.E. trips over the last 18 years.  I am proud of these trips despite the fact that my co-founder and I are sadly no longer friends. And the fact that the Titans have been pretty awful over those years.  I've put a lot of time and money into this mostly woeful team, but the experiences have all been memorable and worthy of recognition.    Now I can't wait to see it in person when the new stadium opens next year! 

Despite what the picture above shows, I actually chopped our local PokerStars tournament tonight for a nice 300%+ ROI.  I also cashed in the weekly Wednesday night tournament on ClubGG, so the total helped mostly pay for the G.A.M.E. brick at the new Titans stadium that I ordered earlier today (see above). 

8/22 - I thought about skipping this one, but I did want to see the # 1 team in the MLS at home vs. Columbus.  I was going to just buy a ticket, but then my pal, Nate, said his wife decided not to go tonight, so I took her seat.  And I am so glad I did!  I thought I had made a mistake when we were down 2-1 with time expiring in the second half.  But we had 6 minutes of extra time and only needed two of them to get two goals and to get the win 3-2!!!!  Unbelievable!!!  What a team we've got here!  We also broke an MLS record tonight by recording 49 points through just 21 games! 
 
We parked for free at Broadcast Brewing and I had a couple of new-to-me ones of theirs.  First up was their very nice take on a Kentucky common historical beer called Common Channel.   I finished with their outstanding spiced beer called Speculoos Shortwave which was served with a Biscoff coffee for dipping.  Delicious!  

8/23 - My favorite new can art and brewery logo was on this very good pale ale called Hopular Kid from Alter Brewing (IL).   Note how you can read "Alter" upside down as well in the brewery name.  Pretty cool.  I had this one in the pool this afternoon.  I also had a really good Lounge Lager pint can from Maplewood Brewing (Chicago).  Both of these were from my latest BeerBox order.  

I also started another easy cat-sitting gig this evening at the $2 million dollar lake house for a few days.  I also had some cat drop-ins at the house in Geers Place again over this long weekend. 

And at the lake house tonight I got another 1st place (chop) on our local PokerStars tournament for another nice ROI of 340+%.  I used most of those winnings to buy a couple new $30 Cumberland U hats at CVS the next day. 

8/24 - I had a remote workday today and decided to have lunch at Cedar City Brewing to take advantage of my monthly free flight as a Mug Club member.   One of the tasters in my flight was their new Lemon Hefe.  I had their burger of the month to eat which included fried bologna on it = winner!! 

8/25 - Autumn work travel starts today! It was a long day of (dirty) windshield time as I was way up in East Tennessee but came back late to stay at the lake house overnight because I just can't lose this sweet cat-sitting gig. 

In between fairs today, I did have time to run up into SW Virginia into the Jefferson National Forest and check out Little Stony Falls.   It was easy quick hike to the base of this beauty.  And I do believe this is my first-ever Virginia waterfall visited which is surprising.  There are evidently two more smaller unnamed falls downstream from this one, but I didn't have time to investigate today.  
(Song companion:  "See the World" by Brett Dennen)

I also had time to grab an early dinner at Uptown Cheesesteak Company in downtown Kingsport.  My "works cheesesteak" was outstanding - maybe one of the best ones I've ever had!  AND they have great craft beer too!! I started with a pint can of the excellent DIPA called Delusions of Grandeur from Xul Beer Company down in Knoxville.  I finished with another pint can of Xul's, their Helles lager called Dizzy.  I toasted the loss of the amazing Dolly Parton today with this one.  RIP, sweet lady of Tennessee.  

8/26 - It was back to East Tennessee today, but at least tonight I was staying overnight and that gave me a chance to go see my best bud, Craig, down in Burnsville, NC, tonight at the Birdfoot Taproom.   Cool little place with a great beer list!  Hanging over the bar is what I assume is an empty box for a "Godzilla 99-pack" of PBR (photo above).  Pretty funny, and, yes, that have it...on draft!   But instead, I started with a half-pint of the solid Island Hopper - Citra IPA from Pilot Brewing over in Charlotte.  Then a full pint (at only 3.3 ABV) of the very nice English Dark Mild from Diatribe Brewing down in Asheville.  I concluded with another half-pint of the Crusher Run Helles lager from Leveller Brewing in nearby Weaverville, NC.  

I got back in time to my nice Fairfield Inn in Kingsport to chop the nightly local tournament on PokerStars vs. just four other people.  I had it won outright until I got sucked out on at the river - pretty typical.  Just a 180% ROI, but you take what you can get I guess.  

8/27 - I had a full day of work in Johnson City today.  Between fair times, I went back to Uptown Cheesesteak Company in downtown Kingsport for lunch.  How could I not?  The food and the craft beer choices are just too good!  With my sandwich called "The Works" I started with a pint can of the decent lager from Xul Beer Company (Knoxville) called Awful Nice.  I finished with a fantastic collaboration DIPA from Xul and Burial Beer Company called Over the Mountain and Through the Woods (since that's what that are from each other basically).  
Back at the hotel tonight, I had some more good results in the local NLHE tournament on PokerStars vs. 6 other players.  I took it down outright for a 280%+ ROI.  I also made the final table in our Ante Up league on PokerStars playing limit razz which seems like a game with a lot of luck to me.  Not so much skill.  This was second final table this week with Ante Up as I came in 6th in the monthly NLHE tournament out of 21.  Tonight's razz game had 16 people in it and I wound up getting 3rd.   

8/28 - I drove back from Johnson City today after an early fair, I made a stop in Cookeville for lunch at Father Tom's Pub where I had a great grilled chicken house salad and a pint of the solid pale ale from Highland Brewing (Asheville) called Saint T's.  I finished the audiobook that I bought called Sunrise on the Reaping which is a Hunger Games prequel that was OK, but kind of pointless since most readers already know the fate of the main character, Hamish Abernathy, anyway, but it passed the long hours on the road so that's good enough, I guess.  

8/29 - We had a fun Saturday morning "hang" at the Nashville Zoo today for a behind the scenes look and feeding of Fern, the two-toed sloth.  This was an early birthday present for Ashlee that I got her after her perked interest in the animals after our trip to Costa Rica earlier this year.  We also had front-row tickets (thanks, Ashlee) to a Mat Kearney concert tonight to close out the day.  In between, I took a float in the pool and enjoyed a can of White Lights, a wheat bear infused with apricots from Middle Brow Brewing (Chicago).  This one came from my latest BeerBox.com order. 

3/30 - My pal, Toney, and I went to see the new Ridley Scott post-apocalyptic flick, The Dog Stars, tonight at the AMC Theaters in Antioch.  Toney's been bragging about how nice these theaters are so I thought I'd give it a look.  And, yes, they are very nice, but the drive is a bit of a nag.  I loved the book this movie is based on, so I was not sure how this adaptation was going to be, but Ridley's one of my favorite directors, so I was hopeful.  It turned out to be fantastic!  It followed the book very well, but with some added dimensions that I really thought were great.  That's pretty rare when the movie is just a little better than the book.
Beforehand, I got some pool time in along with a cold can of the excellent Zombie Ice (2025) from 3 Floyds Brewing (IN).  This was my last brew from my most recent BeerBox.com order.   

8/31 - I had a remote day today before heading back on the road tomorrow for work.  The August edition of the Ante Up Poker Online Magazine dropped today too and I'm very happy with this particular column.  It got talked up on the podcast too which is nice.  

Page 1 of 3 - Three full pages again! 

Page 2 of 3 

Page 3 of 3 - I've been wanting to work my favorite quote of TR's into this column and it worked perfect on this month's topic.  

9/1 - Zaddy in a Caddy headed to Chatty! 

My much younger friend, Curtis, calls me "Zaddy" for some weird, funny reason, so that's where the little rhyme above comes from.  I got an "upgrade" from a standard car at Enterprise Car Rentals this week to a luxury Cadillac CT4 350T sedan.  It's OK, but not something I would buy.   
In between fairs today I stopped by Sigler's/Alpha Brews on E. Brainerd Road and had a pint of the pretty solid white/wheat IPA called White Lightning made by Alpha Brews.  

9/2 - I was still in the Chattanooga area today for work and started my new audiobook that I bought recently called Whalefall.  This is another popular novels that's been made into a film to be released soon.  So far, I am really liking it. 

After a morning fair in Bledsoe County, I had time to stop by Monkey Town Brewing in Dayton and have a couple of beers.  First up was their solid lager called Where's My Pizza?  I finished with their surprisingly good (because I don't usually care for tequila) Vienna-style lager that had been aged in Gate 11 Distillery Agave Tequila barrels called Oak and Ember.  

Tonight, during another school fair, I had my first fantasy football draft for the first of two teams I will be managing this season.  I thought it went pretty well. Let's go team: Never Punt!! 

9/3 - I had a long day at a big multi-school fair at Chattanooga State today, so with my free evening I decided to grab a couple brews at one of my favorite breweries here in the Scenic City, Tanasai Brewing Company.  I started with their nice Kentucky common historical beer called Harvest Moon.  I finished with their solid hefeweizen called Banana Hands.  On my way out, Clint, the owner and sole brewer here showed me his sweet "new" ride out front in the parking lot.  Don't cut him off in traffic, he's just installed a train horn in it! 

9/4 - On the drive home from Chattanooga today, I had time to stop in for a quick beer at Happy Trails Brewing in Sparta.  I had their very nice Lemon Gap Sour.  

9/5 - I went to the UT home opener game today with my pal, Toney, vs. tiny Furman who was there mostly for the big check I assume.  Before the game we stopped at Big Ed's Pizza in Oak Ridge which is sort of legendary.  It's been around since 1972 and it's very old-school including the decor which included this ancient ABC Sports banner (photo above).  They had an original ESPN banner also.  The pizza was very good and hand made.  They also have a great beer list!  I started with the very good Juicy IPA from The Black Dog Brewhouse here in Knoxville (haven't been there yet, but it's on my list now for week after next when I am back up here for work!).  I finished with the BDB's interesting and tasty Vanilla Milkshake Ale which is a wheat beer with lactose and vanilla added.  

9/6 - I finally got to try the food at Stoke Haus Brewing in East Nashville today and it was off-the-rails good!  My half of the plate pictured above was the perfect brisket and grilled corn on the cob.  My accompanying beer was their Premium, an NEIPA which was solid. I also a few sips of Ashlee's very nice Shandy that they brew (top right in the picture above). 

The new Nissan Stadium is coming along quickly with its sign up now and the translucent white roof as well (which you can't see from this angle of a drive-by shot I took of it today) as we left Stoke Haus Brewing.  

My buddy, Curtis and I, stopped in the very cool (but kind hot today) Greenhouse Bar in Green Hills while our wives did some shopping nearby.  Their beer list didn't do anything for me, so I had a couple of their signature mixed drinks that were pretty good including an interesting blackberry mojito.  

9/7 - Labor Day was pretty quiet for us at home in the pool today.  I didn't even have a beer which is odd.  I did have an outright win tonight in the local PokerStars tournament vs. 6 other players and at least one rebuy for over 300% in ROI.  

9/8 - I started another busy week of college fairs today and while none required overnight stays, there was a lot of driving, so after finishing Whalefall (which was pretty good, not crazy about the ending - let's see how the movie version goes), I started the beautifully written 2013 novel, The Light Between Oceans.  Based on its age, it was a bargain to buy.  I just learned about it after seeing info about a film made from the book in 2018.  I haven't seen it either, but it's on my list for sure.  While beautiful written, it's an epically sad tale.  

9/11 - I ended the hectic work week this afternoon near New Heights Brewing in Nashville today, so there was no way I wasn't stopping in and having a couple.  I started with their nice IPA called Fist Bump.  I ended with their pretty-colored (photo above) Blackberry Wheat that was very good.  I toast with both of these in the remembrance of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the USA.  RIP all you victims and heroes.  

Even though it's been open for a while now, I finally made it up on the roof tonight at Town Square Social overlooking the Lebanon Square.  We had a drink with some friends, and they even had a beer I had not had, so I checked in an Unfiltered Wheat from The Black Abbey Brewing Company over in Nashville.  Cheers to our little town for becoming at least a little hip! 

9/12 - Happy Birthday, Ashlee!! (and Paige!).   We had a fun day in Chattanooga today celebrating Ashlee and Paige's birthday.  Our first stop per Ashlee's request was the awesome little Bleu Fox Cheese Shop in the revitalized Main Street area.  We had some excellent blue cheesees and Ashlee had wine while I found out they have a nice craft beer selection.  I chose the smooth and easy-drinking Hutton and Smith Mexican Lager from HLBC here in town. It also had some incredible can art (photo above).  

9/13 - So, let me get this straight, NFL QB, Justin Herbert, has a super-hot girlfriend and her name is Morgan BEER?!?!?  That seems unfair on so many levels!!  I learned this fact while at Dream Country Brewing in Cookeville late this afternoon where I stopped for a couple of 10-ouncers on my way to Oak Ridge for early work tomorrow.  I started with their nice English bitter called Puck and finished with their decent rye IPA called The Wolf in the Rye.  They were having a quite-spirited Shakespeare table read downstairs while I was there with a large cast that seemed to be having a great (and loud) time.  

9/14 - I was in the Knoxville area again for work today and after my one morning fair, I had the afternoon pretty much to myself.   The weather was warm, but clear, so I headed toward the Smokies for few photo ops. After lunch at the very nice (and new to me) Black Dog Brewpub in Knoxville where I had a tasty Philly cheese sammy and tots with their very good IPA called Smells Like Hoppy Spirit. 

My first photo stop was in Alcoa at the odd, but historic, Millennium Manor (1937) built by hand with local stone by a religious married couple of very slight build as a home that they thought would withstand Armageddon.  It was saved from ruin years after the deaths of the couple and was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2020.  

I ambled on into The Great Smoky Mountains National Park next to check out The Sinks.  This man-made waterfall was created when a logjam on The Little River was dynamited back in the late 1800's.  I've been by here many times but don't recall stopping for a look until today.  

It was just a gorgeous (albeit still hot) day in The Park.  This is The Little River just upstream from The Sinks.  

How could a return to Big Ed's Pizza not happen when it's less than a mile away from my hotel in Oak Ridge!  A large Big Ed's Special should feed me for a day or two...maybe three?  Thanks, CU, for letting me blow my entire food per diem today on this bad boy!  

I finished the night at the hotel watching The Emmys (way to go, Sally Field!) and chopping our small local PokerStars tournament vs. 5 other players and collecting over 260% ROI.  

9/15 - After a morning fair in Oneida, the nearby Big South Fork NRRA was calling my name this afternoon.  I did some waterfall scouting in the area since it was too hot to hike and streamflow would be low this time of year anyway.  I gathered some good intel for future visits and wound up at the Honey Creek Overlook of the Big South Fork of the Caney Fork River.  Despite the heat, it was a glorious day to have this stunning overlook all to myself!  

Back in Oak Ridge late this afternoon, I checked out new-to-me Atomic City Brewing.  Odd little place, but with potential.  I love their logo above, but they had zero merch that I saw.  No indoor facilities and putt-putt golf was available, but, again, it's hotter than Hell's hinges today, so pass on that.  I did have a pint of their very good and high ABV Tropical Fallout NEIPA while I was there.   

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Tonight I went to see the new historically based crime thriller film, By Any Means, at the Oak Ridge Cinemark Theaters near my hotel.  It was Tuesday Bargain Night, and the theaters were very nice and clean (yet in Lebanon we are stuck with the "rats nest").  The movie overall was pretty good.  

9/16 - On my way back from a lunchroom visit a good distance west, I stopped at Tri-Dog Brewing Company in Harriman.  This is another new-to-me craft brewery. I started with their very good black IPA called Baa Baa Black Sheep.  I followed that with their so-so NEIPA called Lil' Bunny Foo-Foo that had a weird lingering aftertaste that I didn't enjoy.  Still great to see another new brewery popping up in the region after Covid knocked several other ones out a few years back.  

For lunch beforehand, I stopped at Father Tom's Pub in Cookeville where I had their awesome house salad with grilled salmon along with a couple of brews on my dime.  I started with the excellent hazy pale ale called Gasoline Dreams from Monday Night Brewing (Atlanta and Nashville) and then a very nice Apple Pie Eliot Ness Amber Lager from Great Lakes Brewing (Cleveland) that's got me in the mood for fall for sure! 

I finally had some great luck tonight while playing in a weekly poker tournament on ClubGG with my signature hand, pocket threes, turning quads and getting me paid off big as well.  

Just a few hands later in the same tournament, the pocket threes hit again with a set that turned into a rivered full house and paying me off big-time again!  

Those two big hands of pocket threes and some more pretty solid play on my part got me to the final table ultimately finishing in second.  I had the tournament all but won when I lost a coin flip to my opponent who was down to under ten big blinds and from then on just could not gain the momentum back.  Frustrating, but still my best finish on ClubGG so far vs. 81 other players with six knockouts and a whopping 1,200+% ROI!! 

9/17 - After another morning fair, I drove down to Athens to spend the night for another early fair tomorrow morning.  On the way to the hotel, I stopped by Bert's Hometown Grill and Pizzeria in Madisonville for lunch.  Bert's is a long-time staple here, and my Philly cheesesteak and house-made chips were pretty good, but still not up to snuff to the Phillies I had in Kingsport recently.  They are still the state reigning champs.   

Look who's sneaking up the leader board in the Ante Up Patreon Poker Group on PokerStars thanks to three straight final tables in the last three games on there.  Of course, it pretty much means nothing moneywise, but I still like the accomplishment. 

9/18 - I had a lot of driving today as I had to go back to Lebanon after my morning fair in Athens to load up on supplies for next week, and then double back to Monterey again for a football tailgate fair tonight.  But I had my old friends riding along with me:  Will Patton reading James Lee Burke writing about Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcell in the audiobook, Clete.  

9/19 - My September monthly BeerBox.com order arrived today and it looks like a good batch (no sours, yay!!).  Beforehand, I worked a little before a CU football game (OT!).  After a little chilling in the fridge, I enjoyed the Xtra extra pale ale from Surly Brewing (Minneapolis) from the BeerBox order.  I toasted our NSC team who keep on breaking records while racking up another home win (undefeated at Geodis this season) over Chicago that I enjoyed from the couch.  This win also gave NSC the first earned spot in the playoffs this season.  

9/20 - I drove back to Knoxville this afternoon for an early fair tomorrow morning.  I had some extra time, so I went on past Knoxville to the small town of Pittman Center, TN, to check out the pretty Emert's Cove Covered Bridge right near the northeast end of The Smokies NP spanning the Middle Prong of the Little Pigeon River. Oddly, this bridge was actually built in 2000 in honor of a Revolutionary War settler here.  But was there a covered bridge here before?  Just not sure.

For dinner tonight, I got some great take-out (steak salad) at Cazzy's Corner Grill next to my hotel in Knoxville (thanks, CU!).  

The post above reminded that I actually forgot to shout out the Sunshine Covered Bridge that I stumbled upon last week over in Townsend, TN, spanning the Little River.  This one has a history of over 100 years but was saved and restored only back 2019.  

9/21 - I continued to stay in Knoxville today for work and had time between my second and third fairs of the day to slip by Orange Hat Brewing for a couple of pints.  I started with their so-so 865 Pils that had a bit of a rough finish.  Now their NITRO Stone the Crows NEIPA (photo above) was fantastic and ultra-smooth.  But I think I miss my cats, anyone else see the reclining cat in the lacing??  

Look, UT is hard enough to compete with at these college fairs as it is, but this is just completely unfair! #dirtyoldman #boredatacollegefair 

Speaking of tacos < drumroll rim shot>... I had some great ones for dinner at this fair in Oak Ridge from Juan's Taco Truck (thanks, CU!) 

Back at the hotel room tonight, I chopped the local tourney on PokerStars vs. just four other players but it more than doubled my buy-in in ROI.  I also cashed (again - did so last night too) in a nightly NLHE tournament on ClubGG.  I went out 10th, but it was a mystery bounty tourney and I didn't get any, so the payout wasn't much.  But out of 121 people, I will take it for the principle of it.  

9/22 - Another day of fairs in Knoxville with a break in between the last two that was long enough (and close enough) for me to drop by Xul Beer Company - Hardin Valley for a couple of pints and a new hat thanks to some recent poker wins!  I started with their excellent DIPA called Lunacy Has Found Me (seems like an apt name for me currently).  I followed that up with their extremely good pale ale called Wivick (photo above).  

I also started another cat-sitting gig at the $2 million house on the lake back in Lebanon today also, so I had to drive back after the last fair in Knoxville tonight and the next two nights.  It's a lot of driving, but worth it to keep this sweet gig.  Plus, I am saving CU some money on hotel rooms vs. gas.  To help the miles go by I started another new audiobook called The Names that I got for a great price ($3.99!) that was recommended on a podcast that I listen to.  It's probably considered a chick-book, but I am enjoying it so far.  I finished Clete which got very odd toward the end.  Not my fave by JBL, that's for sure.  

9/23 - I've also been passing the miles listening to a new Preds podcast by my good friend, Todd.  He does a good job with it with lots of good research, solid observations, and positive fandom.  I mainly included it on here because Todd's about the only one who routinely asks me about my blogging (whether he's reading them or not) and I like his logo.  

I had just enough time today between fairs to run up north of Knoxville to Caryville to check out Notch Falls which is roadside and was rather swollen due to recent rain in the area.  Man!  What a little beauty! 

9/24 - I drove up to Hendersonville today to check out the WWII restored USS Landing Ship Tank (LST) 325 which made 44 trips across the English Channel on D-Day and then served in Greece during The Cold War and was involved in some Antarctic missions as well.   She was saved from a Grecian ship boneyard and brought all the way home to dock as a floating museum in Evansville, Indiana, most of the time, but she does make short voyage tours out and about each year like this stop in Hendersonville.  It was a great visit, and I spent more than an hour aboard her.  Note the standard bass boats at the rear to get an aspect of its sheer size.  

While on board the LST-325, I also met author, Chris Underwood, who signed a copy of his book The Cold Winter:  Battle on the Ohio River for me.   

While in Hendersonville today, I also caught a showing of the new period-piece film, The Weight, at the Streets of Indian Lake Regal Theaters.  It was OK, but not great.  I guess I was expecting more from a Sundance Film Festival darling.  I did get to see it for free at least thanks to some Regal points as well as free popcorn and a free drink.  

9/25 - This was my last night out on the lake in the fancy house sitting with those ferocious beasts (that's actually just a mid-yawn in the pic above).  I'm gonna miss it.  Hopefully, more stays will be coming soon.  

9/26 - With some foreboding, I got up very early today to go with my pal, Toney, to see UT vs. UT in Knoxville at Neyland Stadium in an early-slated college football game.  I was afraid it might be a madhouse traffic-wise and game entry-wise (since dumbass tRUMP was supposedly coming) and College Gameday was going to be there as well.  But, I did want to see Peyton's nephew, Arch Manning, play in person for #1 Texas plus Matthew McConnaughey is a big Horns fan and might be there on the sidelines as well.  And there was also the hope that the #13 Vols could upset the Longhorns at home.  

The game was quite the spectacle and lived up to the hype...somewhat.  The atmosphere was electric and the traffic and entry into the stadium were surprisingly smooth.   Adolf Shitler did show up and despite who was in it, I have to say the flyover the stadium by Air Force One was impressive.   The next flyover by two military jets and a big tanker was awesome too.  The celebs were out.  No McConnaughy that I saw, but actor, Glenn Powell , a big Horns fan, walked right by us with a police escort.  I saw Johnny Knoxville on the field and the whole ESPN crew including a clear view of Bama legendary Coach Sabin and popular analyst, Sean McAfee.  Arch Manning didn't look all that impressive (in fact, he made some bonehead mistakes), but the Vols couldn't get anything going on offense until it was too late and wound up losing 20-17.  At least they beat Vegas I guess.  

After the game, we stopped at Gus's World-Famous Fried Chicken for a late lunch/early dinner which we've been talked about doing for some time.  It was worth the stop.  Outstanding chicken tenders and tasty sides (baked beans and collared greens).  And a good beer list!  I had a pint can of the solid Rifleman (2026) lager from Abridged Beer Company here in Knoxville with my meal.  

9/27 - I got this cool shot this morning thanks to having to go do a doggy drop-in across town. Sometimes there's more benefits to this side hustle than money. 
However, with some of the money earned, I did get me a delicious giant stuffed potato at Spud-n-Butter in Mt. Juliet for lunch along with one of their tasty, flavored teas.   You can't get that with just a picture of the moon!!  

9/28 - I've had this little VW Jetta rental for over two weeks now for work and I've enjoyed driving it and I've definitely put a lot of miles on it.  It goes back in rotation on Wednesday after my last work daytrip for a little while.  

9/29 - I went to see the new Brad Pitt adventure film, Heart of the Beast, tonight at our local Roxy Theaters with my pal, Toney.  The movie was well done, but nothing that new.  

At work earlier today, I checked out some CU ladies soccer while on the clock with the Lady Phoenix finishing off Gwinnett College by a score of 4-0.  

9/30 - I grabbed a last-minute ticket off Stub Hub today to go see my girl, LP, at the Brooklyn Bowl in Germantown.  This isn't my favorite venue, but I was able to also secure cheap parking nearby thanks to my SpotHero app.  She was great as usual and has an excellent backing band with her.  I didn't stay for the whole show since I had pet duties at home, but I got a good hour's worth of her soaring voice to placate me.  
Before the show, I had time to walk over to Monday Night Brewing Company where I had their excellent Evolution Sage saison.  I was also able to walk back to the venue with another beer in a plastic cup - their very good NEIPA called Cheat Code.  

Earlier, Sunny and I took our last dip in the pool for 2026 since it's scheduled to be closed tomorrow for the season.  I cracked open a pint can of the very good session IPA called Outside Voices from Hopewell Brewing (Chicago).  This beer was included in my last BeerBox order.

I also had time to swing by Cedar City Brewing for an early dinner (dry-rubbed wings!) and to have my monthly free flight for Mug Club Members and enjoyed their new Bumble Berry Blonde fruit ale.