Cheers to 25 Years (of marriage)!!

Ashlee and I are celebrating 25 years of marriage this month.  

Cheers to my baby!! 

5/1 - I was back on the road just for the day for work today.  I was able to stop in at Happy Trails Brewing in Sparta on the way back and had their decent So Passional Coconut Banana Sour and then off their guest taps I had the nice Peach Day lager from Half Batch Brewing over in Hendersonville. 

Well, it happened again.  Our great pearl-clutching, hypocrite of a state called Tennessee has now blocked real money play at ClubWPT Gold.  It's not surprising since they use the same "sweepstakes model" as Global Poker does.  And I was never really much of a fan of the site, but it was all I had, and I was winning on it.  So, I promptly won my last $5 SNG on there tonight and cashed out my entire $76.39 bankroll while I could.  So lame and so frustrating.  

5/2 - I got some nice overtime today working the Cumberland University spring graduation ceremony.  There was a huge crowd there, and I was busy shuttling folks to and from the ceremony from outer parking areas.  One guy even tried to tip me $5!  

5/3 - I am back at the $2-million-dollar house on the lake cat-sitting for the week and I had no luck fishing (although I had a good bite), but I might have found a new online poker site to play on called Bovada Poker.  I was able to make a real money deposit.  Not sure about cashing out yet. We shall see, but it does gives me a place for good practice and keeps me sharp vs. opponents who care about playing which is worth the $25 investment to me.  I even won my first small buy-in 6-handed SNG on there today!  

5/4 - I got another small buy-in 6-handed SNG win on Bovada tonight.  

5/6 - I went solo to see another 80's heavy metal former frontman, David Lee Roth of Van Halen fame, at The Ryman tonight.  This was kind of a last-minute decision that was made on a couple of factors:  1. He's performing mostly Van Halen songs! 2.  I got the floor seat ticket for under $25 on Stub Hub! 
With another big show going on downtown, I decided to Uber to The Ryman from New Heights Brewing where beforehand I had their decent Tail Dragger IPA and then their nice amber lager called Boston Bob.
The show was really great.  Diamond Dave's still got tons of energy and showmanship.  His backing band was solid, and he had a quartet of black male singers to help him with harmonies.  He told stories, cracked jokes, and cranked out hit after Van Halen classic

hit all of which he wrote.  He even choked up a bit talking about Eddie (RIP).  And to top it all off, I had this smokin' hot young girl sitting/standing by me who was also alone.  She seriously looked like an 80's Taylor Swift...who knows, maybe it was her incognito! You never know in Nashville! 

5/7 - I got another small buy-in 6-handed SNG win on Bovada Poker tonight. 

5/8 - Finally!  On my last day cat-sitting at the fancy lake house and on one of my last casts, I caught this healthy young bass off the dock.  I will sure miss this beautiful place.  Hopefully I will get another chance to stay here again in the near future.  
(Editor's note: I got two new bookings for August and September!! Yippee!!) 
I also got two small buy-in 6-handed SNG wins on Bovada Poker today.  

5/9 - We tailgated at the Iroquois Steeplechase in Nashville today, and I brought along a couple of brews from a variety four-pack of pint cans for the festivities that I picked up earlier this week at the Mt. Juliet Beer Company.  I started with the excellent wheat beer called No Spring Kitten from Fat Orange Cat Brewing (CT - on my bucket list to visit) and then a very good DIPA from Burial Brewing (Asheville) in collaboration with Xul Brewing (Knoxville) called The Fabrication of a Most Diabolical Empire.  

5/10 - I headed up to The Barrel in Franklin, KY, today to play in a poker tournament that didn't go great due to two bad beats, but it was a beautiful day nonetheless, so I moseyed over to find the nearby art piece called Fork in Road.  I even ran into the surrounding farm owner while I was there who told me it was created by the local high school welding teacher.  Pretty cool!  

Just around the corner is the Cutting Edge (get it?) by the same welder along with a little park area of other fun creations.  I am going to submit these places to Atlas Obscura and hope they get some notoriety.  On the way home I stopped by Portland Pizza and Pub where I had a draught of the pretty good Banzai XPA from Half Batch Brewing over in nearby Hendersonville.  I also grabbed an early dinner from Vui's in Gallatin that was oh so delish. 

5/11 - I had a remote day at work today, so I walked up to Cedar City Brewing (it's been a while since I've done this) for lunch and to have my Mug Club monthly free flight which had three new-to-me brews including their new and very good Banana Pudding Cream Ale and their new and refreshing Salty Watermelon Gose.  I also added their Apple Cider since a taster is about all I wanted of it to get it checked in on UNTAPPD.  It was actually OK, but too sweet for a whole pint to my palette.  I had their always-awesome dry-rubbed wings to eat.  On the way walking back home, I stumbled upon the NashBrew coffee truck and just had to have one of their delicious honey wildflower chai teas to sip on as I finished my short journey.

5/12 - Hopefully this is $35 well spent.  I paid the CU registration fee for a student over in DeKalb County today, so she can come check out Cumberland University and hopefully go to school here this fall.  She's a smart cookie with a great GPA and ACT score, so I was happy to help.  I know how it was to be poor as a high school student with potential.  Thanks to my dear momma for the encouragement and help as best she could when I was in a similar position.   I dedicate this gesture to her memory.   

When one poker window closes, another one opens.  Despite the recent loss of Global Poker and WPTClub Gold to real money online play here in Tennessee, I've learned of some other options that look promising.  The newest one is the Bluffers Poker Club on Clubb GG which I heard about through the Ante Up podcast.  I've dropped $50 in on this one to get started.  Fingers crossed! 

5/14 - She's back and better than ever!  Our beloved backyard pool got a new dark blue liner this year plus a few leak repairs and she's back in business as of today!  This is our 10th anniversary of the installation of the pool, and we still think it's the best money we've ever spent.  I toasted the reopening with a poolside brew this afternoon.   I cracked open a pint can of the excellent hazy DIPA called Hashtag...Vaguely Italian from Young Blood Brewing (WI) that I picked up recently in a variety four-pack from the Mt. Juliet Beer Company. 

5/15 - I got a nice mention (by my PokerStars screen-name) on this week's Ante Up Podcast as Joe Scales and his co-host (and wife), Elle, gave me some props about my play last night in the monthly Ante Up Patreon Game. Even though that luck-box, Joe, beat me heads up with a runner-runner flush, plus he crippled me earlier when, as chip leader, my AK ran into his conveniently timed AA.  But, in turn, I had already knocked Elle out when my K7 ran down her AK on the river earlier in the game. It was quite the rollercoaster of a night and I could say the same also over on Global Poker where I got just five spots away from another play-money trophy.  

5/16 - More frustration on Global Poker tonight with two final table finishes and another 5th place in PLO that was 4-handed, so I just missed a third final table.  

5/16 - I celebrated American Craft Beer Week and the 60th birthday of my friend, Brenda, tonight at her casino-themed party (the poker didn't go well) with a can of the solid session IPA called Stone DayFest from Stone Brewing (CA).  

5/17 - I sat with my pal, Nate, tonight in his session-ticket seats and enjoyed seeing our NSC boys take a 3-2 victory over LAFC thanks to a hat-trick by team captain, Hany Muhktar, and some incredible saves by our goalie, Brian Schwake.  This victory keeps NSC atop the Eastern Division and now gives us a one-point lead for best record in the entire MLS!  
Beforehand, I parked for free at Fait la Force Brewing and enjoyed their brand-new NEPA called Flower Maiden.  

5/18 - I recently found a great website called TeePublic with some hilarious and nerdy-cool T-shirt designs.  The prices are fair and the material is great.  I chose super-soft.  I love this McCleod Scottish Ale tee inspired by one of my favorite 80's movies, Highlander.  "Best served without a head" - now that's funny!  

I mean, come on, The Tipsy Taun Taun Pub and Brewery located on Hoth...how is that not the funniest Star Wars thing you've ever seen! 

5/19 - It's our 25th Wedding Anniversary!! - We flew very early this morning to Costa Rica to celebrate for the rest of the week.  

With a three-hour drive from the airport to our hotel at an average speed of 25 MPH due to road conditions and traffic, a few complimentary Imperial lagers were helpful to ease the pain.  Made by macro-brewery Heineken Costa Rica, Imperial is the national beer here.  And they're not bad, especially if they're free!   

5/20 - After some beach time today in Nosara, Costa Rica, we had lunch at the Beach Dog Cafe where I chased a chili guaro shot with a bottle of the decent marco-produced Tona lager from Compania Cervecera in neighboring Nicaragua. 

This Rosa Brual brut IPA wasn't even listed on their menu at the Beach Dog Cafe but I am sure glad I asked about the "premium" beer.  It's a microbrewery collaboration between Elviaje Brewing in San Jose, CR, and Juguetes Perdidos Brewing in Buenas Aires, AR.   Spoiler alert:  this turned out to be the best beer of the trip!  And the bottle art matched my swim shorts! 

5/21 - Ashlee actually found Blue Zone Brewing in Nosara.  It didn't even come up in my search for nearby microbreweries.  It's a great little place that like everything here just blends with the jungle surroundings.  There's even a tree growing through the taproom!  I started with the solid flagship NEIPA called Jungle Haze and finished with their decent Mexican lager called Tika's.   The best "beer" here, however, was hands down Ashlee's choice of their non-alcoholic "house ginger beer."  I had to add it to UNTAPPD and proud to do so since I gave it my first 5 out of 5 rating in a long time on there.  We even got a crowler of it to take back to the room with us.  

Beforehand, I had earned this cool badge on UNTAPPD when I checked in a couple other CR craft beers.  First up was a bottle of the nice Passion Fruit Ale from Papagoyo Brewing up in Liberia. It was in our honor bar fridge in the hotel room, and I enjoyed it during a soak in our private plunge pool.  The other was a pint of the crisp Hazy Daze IPA also from Papagayo Brewing that I had at Chancho BBQ in Nosara.

 

5/22 - I enjoyed some of my "white and sneaky" privilege today when I walked up the road from our hotel a half mile or so to another resort called Tierra Magnifica.  I walked around like I owned the place and no one seemed to give me a second look.  Their overlook of the coast and Punta Guiones in the distance is awesome, and they also have their own restaurant as well.  

I saw this beautiful boy on the way back to our hotel.  We've seen a lot of iguanas on this trip, but he had the best markings and color yet.  

We enjoyed just hanging out in our room and plunge pool most of the day today and I had some great brews that I found yesterday at a small bodega market down in Nosara with a surprisingly great craft beer section.  I started with the very nice kolsch called Liberiana from Numu Brewing up in Liberia.  I also had Numu's fruited pale ale called Edulis Tropical which was equally good.  I closed the day with the very good Marbella West Coast IPA from the unimaginatively named Costa Rica's Craft Brewing Company over in San Jose.

Costa Rica has a surprisingly good craft beer scene from what limited time I had there to explore it.  Definitely gives me another reason to go back!  My last brew in country was a bottle of the decent Imperial Light lager from the Heineken Costa Rica macro-brewery while I was at the airport waiting to fly home.  Cheers and pura vida, Costa Rica! 

5/24 - I went to see the new film, Star Wars:  The Mandalorian and Grogu, at the fancy new Hooky Theaters in downtown Nashville with several friends tonight.  Despite some critics (and my best friend, Craig) giving it terrible reviews, I thought it was a fun little romp and basically just a long episode from the hit TV show.  Saying it's the worst Star Wars movie ever made is ridiculous.  The prequels will always hold that title.  

5/25 - We had a fun childhood throwback party to celebrate Memorial Day today as well as some recent milestone birthdays for three of our friends.  The rain held off and the giant blow-up Hungry Hungry Hippos game was a hoot!   My friend, Nate, brought a couple of great beers to share from Xul Brewing (Knoxville, but now in Nashville).  First up was the interesting historical beer called Passenger: Grodzisk which is a lightly-smoked Polish style of brewing often referred to as "Polish Champagne." Second was the solid schwarzbier called Room 217.  I also shared with Nate my recent purchase at the Three Forks Market in Watertown:  the very good Shiner Off Road IPA from the Spoetzl Brewery in Texas.  

5/27 - I started another easy pet-sitting gig in Mt. Juliet today and through the weekend.  This is JJ the dog and his snoozy cat friend, Gracie.  

5/28 - My pet-sitting gig house is only a half mile walk from a new Tim Horton's, so I had an enjoyable stroll this morning for a sausage/egg/cheese croissant and an iced caramel cappuccino. Yum! 

Well, I dipped my toe into my first Whale Club tournament on ClubGG Poker this morning (remote workday) with some success.  I got four knockout bounties to lessen my buy-in to just one dollar.  I was second in chips going into the final table of eight only to frustratingly going on the money bubble in 5th with a horrible bad beat.  There were 35 total entries including rebuys which I did not have to do.  Despite the outcome, I do like the format on GG and look forward to playing more on there.   

The pet-sitting house is also located very close to the Mt. Juliet Beer Company, so I slipped over and got me a variety four-pack to enjoy during my stay.  Tonight's pint can was the excellent DIPA called Tidal Balance from Equilibrium Brewing (NY).

5/29 - The latest issue of the Ante Up Online Magazine is out, and my column looks great plus a very cool shout-out in the table of contents. 

I still love seeing my photos published, no matter the format! 

This was a fun one to write.

Tonight's pint can from the MJ Beer Co. variety four-pack was the superb NEIPA from Hop Butcher For the World (Chicago) called Aspect of Aquarius. 

Also, near the pet-sitting house is the excellent Milestone Craft Deli.  I got their huge authentic Philly cheesesteak for dinner which was awesome.  

5/30 - I stopped at the Emeraude Bakery in Mt. Juliet this morning which is also near the pet-sitting house and picked up some tasty pastries for me and Ashlee.  These chocolate croissants were so big and so buttery!  I also got a giant cinnamon roll to split as well as a huge chocolate chip muffin.
 Today's pint can from the MJ Beer Co. variety four-pack was the solid NEIPA from Outer Range Brewing (CO) called Cliff Drops which I took home with me to enjoy with a little pool time this afternoon. 

5/31 - My Mt. Juliet pet-sitting gig ended today without any issues. I took another walk to Tim Horton's this morning which was again great.  Today's final pint can from the MJ Beer Co. variety four-pack was the very nice rye IPA called Winds in the Holler from Edmund Oast Brewing (SC).  

Tonight, I went solo to see Steve Earle at The Ryman with a $30-flat ticket that I scooped up recently during the Ticketmaster/Live Nation big summer sale.  I also got a fairly cheap parking spot ($13 - cheaper than Uber) using the new-to-me SpotHero app at a downtown hotel just a short walk from The Ryman.   My parking spot was near Alley Taps, so before the show, I had their decent Alley Taps Lager (not sure who makes it for them).  The rest of their taps were ho-hum, so I headed to Broadway Brewhouse next and had a couple of dandies:  the Brix Cubed TIPA from Brix City Brewing (NJ) and the TEST - Nitro Cold Brew Milk Stout from Boulevard Brewing (Kansas City).   
The show was awesome!  Just Steve and his guitar covering 50 years of songs with interesting stories about his life in the music business.  Finally hearing "Billy Austin" and "South Nashville Blues" live were worth all the time, money and effort.  Steve's an underrated living legend and that's all there is to it.