Go East, 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 beer was OK, but nothing to get excited about.   

My monthly Beer Box 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.  I've put a lot of time and money into this sometimes-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 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 21 games! 
 
We parked for free at Broadcast Brewing and I had a couple of new-to-me 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 am 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 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 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 seeing 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 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.  

8/27 - Full day in Johnson City  - between fair times I went by Yee Haw Brewing here in JC.  

8/28 - Drove back from Johnson City (audiobook pic on work laptop) 

9/1 - Chatty for work 

9/2 - 

9/3 -

9/4 - 

9/5 - UT game with Toney 

9/14 - Knoxville again for work 

9/15 - 

9/16 - 

9/17 - 

9/18 - 

9/19 - Drive to Craig's? 

9/20 - Craig's? 

9/21 - Knoxville for work - The War on Drugs in Asheville? 

9/22 - work travel and cat sitting 

9/23 - 

9/24 - 

9/25 - 

9/30 - LP at Brooklyn Bowl? 

10/14 - Pet-sitting back in Mt. Juliet 

10/21 - THIS IS THE DAY!!  No penalty to withdraw from IRA!!! New mustang, pay of credit cards, buy Ashlee something in the $10K range for our 25th anniversary last year, etc. 

WG.A.M.E. in Cincinnati

 cool logo pic for GAME trip on phone at 7/8

10/30 - Bourbon Trail 

10/31 - Cincinnati, haunted brewery tour

11/1 - Titans at Bengals 

11/2 - headed back home from Cincy 

11/6 - Alabama waterfalls and AirBnb stay with crazy sister? 

11/7 - Bama 

11/8 - Bama 

An Alaska Cruise (and, of course, some brews)!

8/4 - The night before our big Alaska trip, I bought take-out dinner delivered for everyone who was staying here in Lebanon (a total of six) from Demos' and we enjoyed it outside on the patio since it had cooled somewhat from the blistering day.  It was $100+ of poker winnings well spent! 

8/5 - We flew direct to Seattle this morning and the flight went smooth.  On the flight, I caught up on some of my streaming shows and watched a pretty good movie called Tuner that I had rented.  

Despite a large number of wildfires in the state of Washington and somewhat overcast skies, Mt. Ranier still rose above it all as we neared Seattle.  

We killed some time near the airport waiting on our AirBnb to be ready at the very cool Museum of Flight.  I especially liked the "big stud" poker-themed WWII fighter plane.  We also had lunch here at their Wings Cafe and with my sandwich I had the pretty good Johnny Utah pale ale from Georgetown Brewing here in Seattle. 

O

Near our AirBnb in the very nice Magnolia neighborhood of NW Seattle I picked up a pint can of Hop Venom, an enjoyably bodacious (9% ABV) DIPA from Boneyard Beer (OR) at a gas station and enjoyed it at the nice house we had rented.   It seemed like a worthy candidate to receive the UNTAPPD badge pictured above.  

I treated everyone to their first (and mine as well) Seattle Mariners game tonight at the beautiful T-Mobile Park.  The seven seats cost around $20 each through StubHub.  

Our front-row, left-field-foul-line seats were pretty awesome.  The Mariners game beat the Detroit Tigers 4-2 and I enjoyed a pint can of the solid IPA from Georgetown Brewing here in town called Bodhizafa.  

8/6 - We took a great food tour down at the famous Pike Place Market on the Seattle waterfront today and one of the stops included beer...well, ginger beer...well, non-alcoholic ginger beer...but still delicious and worthy of an UNTAPPD check-in.  Rachel's Original Ginger is a long-time staple here at Pike Place Market. 

After the food tour while looking for a brewery that I saw a sign for nearby, we stumbled upon The Taproom at Pike Place.  Very nice place with a great list of local beers!   I started with the tasty and excellent-named News Cancelling Headphones, a pale ale from Urban Family Brewing here in Seattle. I had a taste of Ashlee's rather pungent Charli Oak Puncheon Saison from Fair Isle Brewing also here in Seattle. I finished with one from the nearby brewery we were looking for to start with called Old Stove Brewing.  Their Belgian Blonde was decent.  

Ashlee's knee pooped out on her just after starting an afternoon Underground Seattle Tour we had booked.  I finished it solo and thought it was pretty good.  This town has a rather wild history!  My favorite stop was below today's sidewalks where these light crystals were installed to provide illumination to the underground passages similar to how old sailing ships used prisms to cast sunlight into dark quarters below deck.  

Ashlee obliged me a quick visit to the lovely and historic (circa 1881) West Point Lighthouse at the end of the giant Discovery Park near our AirBnb late this afternoon.  She stayed in the car since we were parked kind of illegally and I ran over and snapped a few pics.  The sunset was an added bonus to the charm of this little beauty.  

A dinner tonight at the fun little Dreamland Bar and Diner in the quirky Fremont neighborhood, I had a very good Citra IPA from Stoup Brewing here in Seattle.  

8/7 - Nothing like a good A.M. beer!  Since we were cruising out of Seattle this morning and I had intended on drinking this one last night back at the AirBnb, I had to "five o'clock somewhere" out on the deck of the house this rather good Megathrust (2026) DIPA - another rousing 8.4 ABV pint can from the gas station nearby.  It's made by Aslan Brewing over in Bellingham, WA. 

Then again.  How could I not have a brew on this day!! 

Such a great place!  I love ya, Jet City!!  We will see you again in a week! 

My biggest pet peeve about cruising is that the beer on board is notoriously awful overpriced sheeple choices and unfortunately the Celebrity Edge was no exception.   I could find no beer of any quality on board, so I stuck with chai tea and other fancy coffees instead. 

We got a beautiful sunset tonight along the coast of Vancouver Island (a future waterfall/brewery trip destination, by the way). My brother-in-law, Andy, I tried to watch all of the outdoor movie, The Mandalorian and Grogu, but had to abandon it halfway through when we literally got "fogged out" - it rolled in so thick that it started creating enough condensation that it felt like cold rain on us.  Crazy! 

8/8 - We had a day at sea and did a tour of the spa on ship and usually I don't have a lot of interest in this sort of thing, but they had a great sale (about $30 a day vs. $80 if you buy access day by day, and a pretty good sales pitch which sold me over (more or that later).  My first spa enjoyment was a solo stint in the crystal hot spa.  Interesting affect.  My skin definitely felt smooth and less dry. 

Another beer/liquor alternative on board was Sanpellegrino flavored sparkling water from Italy.  I usually don't care for sparkling waters, but these are less harsh than seltzers and have no weird aftertaste like many others do.  

My red snapper tonight for dinner at the specialty restaurant, Eden, aboard the Celebrity Edge, was pretty great.    

Hey, a man's got to have his priorities straight when heading to Alaska!   I was researching breweries in Ketchikan, our first stop tomorrow and when I went back to see where we were on the map tonight it showed my last searched place as well.  This got a lot of likes and laughs in the Facebook group I belong to called "Have Beer Will Travel."  

8/9 - Welcome to Ketchikan!  Bursting with light!   Ashlee and I started our visit here with different objectives but would meet later in the morning for a waterfall and wildlife tour I booked through Viator. 

While all the others in my group went to what I thought would be a lame lumberjack show, I headed out on my own to a few pre-planned that I could walk to in town.  First up was technically, my first Alaska waterfall, here at Ketchikan Creek Falls and Salmon Ladder.   

Man, such a struggle to get home for salmon.  It's amazing to me that they constantly fight current, fight gravity and dodge predators on this long journey that still ultimately leads to their demise.  Such a great lesson on the will to survive and procreate.  

While I waited on the town's two breweries to open (10 AM - hooray!!) I visited the quaint and historic New York Cafe (thanks, Brent Nixon, for the suggestion) for some of their delicious signature coffee.

I ambled by historically bawdy (and now touristy) Creek Street on my way to my first brewery.  The buildings were first built on stilts because prostitution wasn't allowed "on land" in Alaska.  

My first Alaska craft brewery to visit was Bawden Street Brewing.  I was the first one in the door at 10:05 AM and first to order a flight that consisted of  

I met back up with Ashlee at my next brewery stop, Baleen Brewing.  

Rainbow Falls 

Just missed him!! #scathumor 

Hey, there, bear! 

in search of good spruce tip taste, awesome smoked salmon  

Jays 

Is there anything cooler than a floatplane mini airport?
After our tour, I also had a beer at the nice Cape Fox Lodge before we left Ketchikan.  It was the solid 8503 IPA from Icy Strait Brewing in Hoonah, AK.  

8/10 - I skipped a craft brewery tour in Juneau today for a once-in-a-lifetime helicopter ride to atop a glacier with Ashlee.  It was pricey, but so worth it! 

Iceberg!  Right ahead! 

The waterfalls started appearing fast and furious.  Too many to count (or name). 

There's nothing like that first peek.  

Glacier fed waterfalls are hard to beat! 

NOT a screengrab!  I caught this with a photo, not via video! 

Now THAT is some TITAN blue!! 

"A big shout-out to Larry for reserving this iceberg for today's meeting." 

Well, I'm easily over 400 waterfalls seen in person after this trip.  

OK, one more and that's it...

Just kidding, here's another banger! 

OK, last one...for a little while...

I did get some craft beer in Juneau beforehand however at Alaskan Brewing out on their nice waterfront patio deck with Ashlee where I had a flight consisting of 

Another sweet seaplane shot.  Go Vols! 

Thanks, AtlasObscura.com for clueing me in on the beautiful story of  

I submitted this shot of the Aquilean Whale Tail Sculptures to AtlasObscura.com where I learned about them, because they don't have a picture of multiple ones.  

Mendenhall Glacier 

And, of course, there were waterfalls! 

Yep!  We landed and took off from there! 

Walking on a glacier...now that's pretty "cool." 

Like you are on a different planet...

The ride back was beautiful as well. 

8/11 - Skagway waterfall tour on my own 

Wine glass?  Beer glass! 

hot tub to myself for a morning dip 

Pitchfork Falls

Zoom in of a lower tier of Pitchfork Falls with the railroad bridge that Ashlee went over earlier today. 

Bridal Veil Falls 

International Falls 

Hey, Canada!  Nice view! 

Welcome back! 

Moore Falls 

Bus view, but still spectacular.

The Overlook 

Lower Falls 

Skagway Brewery 

Brewing 

Buzzed shopping 

So long, Skagway!  You were awesome! 

Alone again - just me and the Inside Passage. How can you miss this for some sit-down dinner inside the ship? 

Waterfalls and vistas!! 

The Range in the distance from the front deck of the spa.  

One of my favorite shots from the trip - Light 

Sunset and the golden hour from our room balcony

Breathtaking light 

8/12 - another day at sea 

How do I sneak this off the ship and into the airline overhead luggage compartment. 

lovin' in salt forevvvs! 

8/13 - While sailing into Victoria, British Columbia this evening wasn't that scenic, the sheer bank of fog that we cruised out of was kind of amazing. 
Canadian ale trail tour

Whistle Buoy Brewing 

Herald Street Brew Works was my favorite our three stops. 

Swan's Pub and Brewing 

8/14 - cruising back to Seattle, sailboat sunset cruise in Seattle with Ashlee and our entire crew

Can't miss having a brew on this day! 

Dragon Tail IPA

Beforehand, Tom and I checked out Gasworks Brewing 

8/15 - Back in Seattle for a day - Mt. Rainer National Park tour with Ashlee and our entire crew

Box Canyon 

Falls 

Falls is visible across the valley from the hike to Myrtle Falls 

More Mt. Rainer, sans bus window reflection. 

The idyllic Myrtle Falls 

The incredible Falls 

Falls.  While the mountain is king here, this national park has some of the most beautiful waterfalls I've ever seen one after the other! 

One last glimpse of Mt. Rainer's slopes over pretty River.  The milky white water is because it's glacier run-off.  

While everyone else was grabbing ice cream, I found a cold can of 

I even had time when we got back to walk around the corner from our airport hotel to a summer pop-up location of Stoup Brewing. 

Very cool! Proud to hoist a cold one (or two) for this badge.  

8/16 - Fly home from Seattle

rented movie(s) 

Fuze 

I dropped a little more coin on gifts for my co-workers this trip.