SPRING-loaded and ready for action!

OK, I guess she's growing on me a little...Cheers, Tay-tay! 

3/1 - I kicked the month of March off with a walk up to Cedar City Brewing this afternoon where I had three of their new-to-be brews including the rich and tasty Schwarzbier, the Belgian-loving Cedar City Witbier, and finally, the light and decadent Blueberry Pilsner on nitro.  With an order of dry-rubbed wings, I was a happy man! 

3/2 - Ashlee wanted to do a little shopping today in the Antioch area, so I hung out with Sunny on the patio at Tailgate Brewery South in the swanky new Tanger Outlets there.  It was great weather, and the beers were solid.  I started with their nice, bready-tasting Lager Projekt: Oat Lager; next was their excellent Stoutanooga; and finally, their decent lager called Forklift Certified Gold.   

When I got home, I won a small NLCP tournament on Global Poker vs. 24 other players for an ROI of right at 1,100%!  

3/3 -I finally (I hated missing opening night) got to see the epic new film, Dune Part II in IMAX 70mm tonight at the Opry Mills Theaters with my pal, Toney.  The film was very good.  Not mind-blowing, but very good.    I'm going to give it another look in a few weeks.  

Beforehand, we stopped by TennFold Brewing for dinner and a brew for me which consisted of their recent Valentine's Day inspired strawberry-brewed blonde ale called You're the Only Tenn-I-See that I thought was a little too sweet, but the grain-bowl with smoked chicken was spot-on as always! 

3/4 - It was just too nice a day not to go see a waterfall!  Sunny and I headed west today in search of Rattlesnake Falls over near Mt. Pleasant, TN, in Maury County, but found out disappointingly that what looks to be a brand-new house has been built in front of it and fenced off as private property.  Luckily, Still House Falls State Natural Area was close by, so even though it was a fairly recent repeat for me, it was still worth a look especially from the brink as shown in the photo above. 

On the way back, I stopped by Curio Brewing Company in Franklin and had their very nice (but pricey) porter called Hinge Ninja.  

Back at home tonight, I won a small bounty tournament on Global Poker vs. 9 other players with 6 knockouts for an ROI of right at 600%.

3/5 - I attended the Preds game tonight vs. the Montreal Canadiens and a sports industry networking/job fair at Bridgestone Arena beforehand.  The job fair turned out to be sort of a bust with long lines and very few jobs available beyond hourly-wage entry-level crap, so I skipped out of it early and went and drank instead.  I slipped over to City Tap and had a nice trio including the excellent double IPA called Artic Panzer Wolf from 3 Floyds Brewing (IN); then the solid dark lager called Beer to Drink When It's Cold Outside from Westbrook Brewing (SC); and finally, the decent, albeit a little sweet, Belgian tripel called Voodoo Love Child from Voodoo Brewing (PA).

After another bust in the raffle they had at the end of the job fair, I slipped back out of the arena and down to the Broadway Brewhouse Downtown for a couple more and some dinner.  The pale ale called So Fresh and So Green from Mikerphone Brewing (IL) and the Juicy Daze NEIPA from Mill Creek Brewing over in Nolensville were both excellent as was my chicken-finger basket meal.

The Preds blew a 2-0 lead at the end of the second period and then lost in OT 3-2 to close their winning streak at eight games.  Bummer, but the boys are still playing well at the right time.  

3/7 - Sunny and I drove up to Gallatin today and used a BOGO offer I had for Big Trouble Brewing Company.  There was no outside seating here (boo!), so Sunny had to wait in the car while I had their decent Old Dirty Blonde ale, and their solid blackberry-infused tart more than sour Berliner Weisse called Ram Jam. 

3/9 - Ashlee and I attended the SOLD OUT Lucero show at The Basement East tonight and stayed overnight close by at the very cool Waymore's Guest House Hotel which has become one of my favorite stay-cation locations.  Just before the show, we stopped into Smith and Lentz Brewing for a libation and I had their excellent New-England-style Sincerely, IPA. 

Before the show, we also met some friends at Pins Mechanical Company.  This was our first visit here.  What a fun place!  And they have a pretty good craft beer list.  Most of them were repeats on UNTAPPD for me including the excellent NEIPA called Hazy Jane except this time it was brewed by BrewDog USA up in Ohio instead of Scotland. Yep, I've been there!  

3/11 - I doubled my buy-in tonight with a 3rd place finish in my little local league on PokerStars vs. 10 other players.  I took some of my winnings and downloaded five new Lucero songs that I heard the other night at their SOLD OUT show.  Love those boys from Memphis!! 

3/12 - Who knew there was a "skunk rule" in college baseball??  I walked up and caught a little bit of the Cumberland Baseball Team taking on Milligan University from up in East Tennessee.  CU jumped out to a 6-0 lead with two 3-run dingers early, and then it was 7-zip when I left to walk up to Tenn Lakes Brewing for a beer.  I had their very nice Hefen Fantastic out on their patio in the beautiful spring weather.  By the time I got back to the game, the Phoenix were up 11-0 and the game had been called on the count of a mercy rule in the bottom of the 7th.  Yikes!  

Tonight (and on into early tomorrow) I made the final table of the GPC Micro Thunder Series Event # 4-L for real money.  I ended up getting 4th out of 694 players for a 4800% ROI! It was a mystery bounty tournament, and I got a few knockouts, but none of any big value.   Supposedly, I get some Global Poker swag for making the final table too, but we shall see.  I still haven't seen my alleged trophy I won back in January.  

3/14 - I won a small NLCP Tournament on Global Poker tonight vs. 14 other players for an ROI of over 600%

3/15 - I traveled down to Whitwell/Dunlap today to help my sister with the hard and sad task of having her dog, Cara, put to sleep due to numerous health conditions.  RIP, sweet girl.   I toasted the good girl at lunch at Sequatchie Valley Brewing with their solid Valley Latte Golden Stout.

Cagle Mountain on Hwy. 111 on my way back home was booming with wet-weather falls today thanks to a lot of rain overnight. 

I stopped in Sparta after the two roadside waterfall stops and had a brew at Happy Trails Brewing.  Their new Butter Pecan Brown Ale was just about perfectly sweet and smooth.   Their cute female brewer even served me herself!  

3/16 - I attended the NSC vs. Charlotte FC MLS game tonight at Geodis Park with my pal, Danny.  Beforehand, we met up at Fait La Force Brewing and had a couple pre-game libations.  I started with their very good Belgian blonde ale called Parlour Games and then finished with their solid Vienna lager called Spatial Acoustics which went very well with my dinner of excellent poutine from the New Berlin Food Truck outside.  The game was a nail-biting 2-1 win for the good guys with two beautiful header goals by NSC.   At the game, I had a repeat can of the serviceable Two Foot Cream Ale from Half Batch Brewing up in Hendersonville. 

3/17 - We celebrated St. Patty's Day today over at the M.L. Rose location in Providence in Mt. Juliet.  Their patio was open, so we could bring Sunny along too. We both had their signature Owl Lager dyed green for the day, and I also had a very nice Irish dry stout from Sullivan's Brewing (Ireland since 1702) called Black Marble.  Cheers!  

3/18 - After a rough day of bad beats and coolers, I got a small NLCP win tonight on Global Poker vs. 15 other players for an 800% ROI.  

3/19 - My pal, Toney, and I went to see the new music biopic, Bob Marley: One Love, at our local Roxy Theaters (recliners!) tonight.  I thought it a was pretty well-done film.  What a loss at such a young age for such a gifted musician and humanitarian.  I needed that recliner seat too after walking the 2 miles to the theater thanks to mild weather and the time change. 

3/20 - Sunny and I welcomed the first official day of spring today with a walk around some of Couchville Lake over in Long Hunter State Park in some very nice weather.   It's a great place and I like that no motorized boats can be on the lake, so it might be a good place to kayak in the future. 

Afterwards, we stopped by the patio at M.L. Rose at Providence in Mt. Juliet where they were celebrating the first day of spring with a free beer!  Yep, a free craft beer!  Thanks, MLR!  I chose their new ML Rose Melrose Hazy IPA made for them by Hi-Wire Brewing (Asheville). It was very good.  I made it a BOGO deal with the order of another hazy IPA called Juice Raptor from Monday Night Brewing (Atlanta).   I really enjoyed it's grapefruit-forward taste.  Cheers to springtime! 

3/21 - I played in my first-ever Ante-Up Patreon Game on PokerStars tonight.  "Ante Up" is a poker podcast that I have followed for a long time, and it now has a new owner and host, Joe Scales, who was also playing tonight.  He's been pretty kind to me in responding back to my inquiries and info that I have sent him regarding the podcast, so I decided to pony up the $10 a month to be a Patreon subscriber to help him out a little in his endeavors. 
As far as the tournament, I got 6th out 11 players when my pocket sevens ran into a flopped pair of queens.  It's a good structure and a fun time.  I will be playing again. 

Beforehand, I got an outstanding half-pound of fried catfish "nuggets" (they were bigger than that) from the Just Fish Food Truck for $10 as their contribution to the Wilson County Restaurant Week.  

3/22 - I got to attend another Finally Friday show at 3rd and Lindsley today which included performances by The Empty Pockets who are a tight band and very lively; Meg Gehman who sounded just like Melissa Etheridge and whose set I enjoyed the most, and Darrin Bradbury, an interestingly quirky storyteller playing now for a great cause to help the homeless.

Afterwards, I was going to do a short downtown brewery crawl, but opted to head back east while the traffic was reasonable and stopped by the Mt. Juliet Beer Company for a variety four-pack.  Then I got a call from my pal, Curtis, who I picked up at a tire shop in Lebanon while they were working on his car, and we went for a couple brews at Cedar City Brewing where I had their new and surprisingly delicious Low Key Jam Session IPA.

I made it back to The Poker Barn for some live action that tonight was a Deuces Wild NLHE tournament.   I took a threesome of craft beers with me that I bought earlier at the Mt. Juliet Beer Compay that included a very good cold IPA called BRRRRRR... from Fonta Flora Brewing (NC).  Next was a bit too much earthy-tasting (and correctly named) Dirty South Trail Ale from up Albright Grove Brewing in Knoxville.  I finished on a better note with a tasty London Lager from Barrique Brewing here in Nashville. 
  As far as the tournament goes, it was different and fun, but I busted out 11th out of 27 (and some rebuys which I did not) when my set of fours ran into a made wheel straight.   Same ol' shit, different night.  I just don't run very well here.  

3/23 - I went to see Dune 2 again in 70MM IMAX at the Opry Mills Theaters this afternoon with my friends, Danny and Brenda, who also wanted to see it again.  As suspected, I did enjoy this second showing more than the first which I can also say about the first film in the trilogy.  Now, I can't wait for the finale!  
Beforehand, we met up at the nearby Bavarian Beirhouse where I had a nice Original Munchner Marzen from Paulaner Brewery (Munich) with my tasty curry-wurst plate late lunch. 

3/26 - I had a very early Southwest flight up to NYC today for a quick overnight trip to see my favorite singer of all time, Jim Cuddy (of Blue Rodeo), play the first of two solo shows at Joe's Pub in Manhattan. 

I wound up staying at the Washington Square Hotel in Greenwich Village which was just a short walk to the venue.  It's a historic hotel (i.e. 1902; i.e. tiny rooms), but I kind of liked it.  I mean The Stones and Bob Dylan stayed here!  The front facade was getting a facelift which is probably why I got such a decent price on the room.  They even let me check in when I arrived at 10 A.M. since there was a room ready.   Despite the work going on outside, my room was quiet, clean and all I needed.  That's the pretty lobby in the photo above.  So very cool.

The iconic Washington Square Arch was standing proud today under a beautiful sky (at least for a little while before getting completely cloudy, but no rain, thank goodness).   There was a dude playing piano near it which made for a pretty cool atmosphere.  Welcome back to NYC! 

I decided to just stay in "The Village" and just walk around during my stay instead of tackling the subway as I had first planned.  There was plenty to see (thanks to AtlasObscura.com) and drink (thanks to my UNTAPPD app) here.  I started with a big one:  the fairly new Stonewall National Monument commemorating the fight for gay rights in this country.  The famous Stonewall Inn bar is across the street from this small, but tasteful, area of national history. 

The official "narrowest building in NYC" was built in 1873 and was once owned by Cary Grant.  Its most recent price tag was $3 million despite only being 9' wide and 30' deep! 

The Greenwich Locksmiths Shop is the smallest numbered building in Manhattan at 125 square feet.  The artistic mosaics around the entrance are made of keys by the owner himself.   In business since 1968, it's a wonder it's still here among the high-priced development.  

Ok, enough history and walking, let's drink!!  A beer bar I've actually been to before here, The Blind Tiger, opened at 11 AM and I was their first customer!  I started with the excellent DIPA called Epitome from Carton Brewing (NJ) and moved on to their latest house beer, the IPA called Tiger Shark Skate Park, brewed for them by Kings County Brewing over in Brooklyn.  It was very good and went great with my excellent spicy smoked chicken grain bowl for lunch.  

They've been pouring them here since 1854 at McSorley's Old Ale House, so you know I had stop in for a belt.  I forgot they only take cash, so I was lucky to have enough on me to order a pint of "the dark" which came in two small half-pint glasses...ok?  "The dark" is the McSorley's Irish Black Lager which is made for them by macro-brewer Pabst down in San Antonio, but it's more about the ambiance and history here instead of the beer...which wasn't bad.  

I had researched that Brooklyn Brewing has a new location in The Village, so that was my next stop.  Cool little place and again I was their first customer looks like today (day-drinking on a Tuesday has its perks!).  I started with their solid pale ale called Climate Control and then ended with their very nice black IPA called The Dark Knight.   

 "...there are, like, thirty Ray's Pizzas. They all claim to be the original. But the real one's on 11th" - Santa Claus
"The yellow ones don't stop"  - Buddy the Elf 

My next great find was the lovely Loreley (heated, very nicely) German Restaurant and Beer Garden.  Again, one of the first on the patio out back and by the time I left it was filling up.  I started here with the lovely house Loreley Kolsch made for them by Kings County Brewing over in Brooklyn.   I finished with a so-so IPA called Braufactum Progusta made by German macro-brewer Radeburger Gruppe in Frankfurt.   I got a plate of their curry-wurst for dinner, but I have to give the nod to what's made here at Bavarian Bierhouse as being a little better. 

I changed nationalities next with a stop at an Irish pub called Slainte in hopes that I could see the Predators playing a little before I went to the show which didn't start until 930 (ah, NYC).   They did have the game on, but by the time I left the Preds were down 3-0 at home to Vegas (they came back to win incredibly in OT 5-4! That's 18 games in a row with at least a point!).  But despite the early woefulness from the Preds, I really enjoyed this beautiful bar where they had some Irish music playing in a booth and I had a nice conversation with a pretty young girl as well. Beer-wise, I started with the very nice New England pale ale called TV Party from Radiant Pig Craft Beers here in NYC.  I finished with a nice winter ale called Apres from nearby Torch and Crown Brewing. 

I had just enough time to slip into the very cool and very small Proletariat Beer Bar where I had the lovely Saison/farmhouse ale called Geodesic from Oxbow Brewing (ME).   

If you haven't been keeping count, that's 10 beers today before getting to Joe's Pub where I had to buy two more  (decent repeat Allagash Whites from the Allagash Brewery in Maine).  Let's just say I was feeling fine, but I kept it together pretty well.  Joe's Pub is part of the larger Public Theater collection of performance spaces housed in this beautiful building pictured above.  

I completely forgot I had a front-row seat!  What a deal!  Jim sounded and looked great and did several of my Blue Rodeo favorites.  My table mates were a nice family from Ottawa in town on vacation.   A bonus treat was that Jim's son, Devon, accompanied him on piano throughout the set.  Very cool! 

Me and Jim!!   Just two old farts reminiscing about meeting each other (yeah, he doesn't remember) down in Birmingham about 30 years ago!!   I also got to meet Devon briefly as well after the show.  What a wonderful surprise! 

The Washington Square Arch loses nothing in appeal when it gets dark. I even got a little Southern on the way back and stopped for some late-night chicken fingers at a Raising Cane's location nearby. What a beautiful, perfect day and night in The Big Apple! 

3/27 - I slept in and then had a little time to kill before my flight back from NYC, so I ambled up to The Grey Dog for brunch.  I was going to go the breakfast route until I saw they had a Philly cheesesteak wrap.  Yes, please!    It was excellent as was my pint of their house beer, the Grey Dog Michigan Lager made from the Grey Dog Brewery (USA? hmm, a bit suspect).  

I knocked out a few more Atlas Obscura locations before leaving The Village, none that were that particularly picture-worthy, but the oldest operating apothecary in America, C.O. Bigelow's, was kind of fun to look around in.   I even picked up this trio of scented salves as a gift for Ashlee.   They are known for these and have been selling then since opening back in 1838.  

3/28 - My buddy, Toney, and I went to opening night of the new monster flick, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, tonight at our local Roxy Theaters (recliners!).  I thought the movie was silly, but fun, as a monster movie should be.  The special effects were very good.   I walked the two miles to the movie theaters again since the weather was pleasant and even had a quick dinner at Alberto's Taqueria 2. Yep, tacos in a gas station - they are delicious, as is their elote en vaso! 

Earlier today I got a nice win on Global Poker vs. 166 other players in a turbo progressive bounty tournament with 10 knockouts for a total ROI of 3,600%!  I made the final table in another similar tournament later on as well.

As I walked to the movies this evening, I gave a homeless guy (and his dog) five dollars as a bit of payback for my poker success today. 

3/29 - Congrats to Duke and UT in advancing to The Elite Eight tonight!  Duke was an underdog to # 1 seed, Houston, and UT was a slight favorite as the # 2 seed over Creighton (# 3 seed).   If they both can win again on Sunday, they would face each other in the Final Four!  

Earlier today, Ashlee and I met our friends, Curtis and Kate, at Barcadia up on The Square for a tap takeover from Half Batch Brewing up in Hendersonville.  I got my walk in for the day by walking up and having Ashlee and Sunny meet me when outdoor seating was secured for them.   4 of the 5 Half Batch Pints that I had were repeats on UNTAPPD, but I did get to check in their new-to-me Half Batch Pils which was pretty good. 

3/31 - I decided to sneak in a couple beers from a variety four-pack I got at Mt. Juliet Beer Company the other day into Fall Creek Falls State Park for an Easter picnic we were having with Ashlee's sister and her family.   We also stopped by my favorite waterfall in the park, Piney Falls (photo above), which I now need to come back to since they've repaired the bridge down to the base  of the falls which I have not been to before.  The beers were both great.  First up was the Feel Feelings, a Helles lager from The Veil Brewing Company (VA), and then the nice brown ale from Fonta Flora Brewery (NC) called Bread Tree. 
The Elite Eight outcomes were not great as both UT and Duke lost their respective games.   Glad I didn't waste nice outdoor time watching them.   

4/1 - Today was my first paid dog-walking gig thru Rover!   This is Gus (l) and Dolly who I will be walking every day around lunch for the foreseeable future.    They live north of town here in Wilson County and their owner, Michelle, is very nice and has pretty much given me free reign over her house while I am there.  
Tomorrow, I look to have my first overnight stay with a couple of other dogs just up the road and I've got another standing overnight retainer with another older gentlemen here in town when needed.  Could this be my next career?  We shall see! 

4/2 -My second paid job on Rover started today with a couple of nights stayover with LaKoya (foreground) and Takoda, two beautiful and sweet Siberian huskies, owned by a lady just over the county line north of Lebanon who is away on a business trip.  

4/3 - I got a NLHE turbo bounty tournament win today on Global Poker with ten knockouts vs. 102 other players for an ROI of 2,500%!   I also got fourth in The Diesel nightly NLCP tournament for about 600% ROI.  

4/5 - I celebrated my first completed week of dog-walking with Mr. Gus (photo above) and Dolly today with a couple beers at Cedar City Brewing with my pal, Curtis.   First up was the excellent S.M.A.S.H. Alora Hop pale ale, followed by the crisp and tasty American Light Lager which is in their "Lake It Easy" line of brews. 

4/6 - I got up very early this morning (before dawn) to attend the Premier League Mornings Live broadcast from Nashville and Fan Fest downtown on Broadway.   It was pretty cool.  I got about 3 rows from the stage and even clapped former USMNT goalkeeper and now-broadcaster, Tim Howard, on his shoulder on his way to the stage.  His fellow broadcasters for this popular world-wide show also there were Rebecca Lowe, Robbie Mustoe and Robbie Earle, plus special guest, footballer, Daniel Sturridge. 

The crowd was huge even before dawn.  It must have continued to have strong attendance thru Sunday since I have now read that they broke attendance records here in Music City for their road trips and had 30,000 free ticket requests as well.   The Fan Fest was cool too with some fun things for fans including huge screens broadcasting the day's games, giveaways, team mascots, the Premier League Trophy in attendance as well as the Olympic Rings for photo ops. 
 
I headed home afterwards to do some yard work and watched the USWNT vs. Japan in the She Believes Cup semi-final which the US eked out a 2-1 win to move on the finals against Canada. 

Then it was back downtown to catch the NSC vs. Philadelphia game with Nate.  We did a little pre-game crawling with a stop at Cledis' for burgers and beers.  I had the Oklahoma Double and a pint of the excellent Stonefly Double IPA from Blackberry Farms Brewing up in Maryville.  Our next stop was Fait La Force Brewing for free game parking and a couple brews.  I had their new cold IPA called Behind the Balsams which was very good.   On the walk to the game, we swung by Jackalope Brewing where I had their boozy Baltic porter (aged in brandy barrels) called Mice and Men.    I even found a new-to-me beer at the game: the decent Music City Citrus Wheat from Fat Bottom Brewing here in Nashville. 
As for the game...well...we blew a 1-0 lead in the second half and wound up losing 2-1 with a Philly goal very late in the game.  So frustrating!!  But, overall, a great full day of soccer and brews!

4/7 - Hey, it's National Beer Day!  No badge from UNTAPPD? Man, that app is really starting to slip, but I still celebrated with a check-in of a can of Gay Beer - yep, that's what it's called.  It's a golden lager (pretty sour IMO) contract-brewed in Brooklyn, NY, and celebrating the LGBT community.  Cheers! 

4/8 - I got extremely lucky today and caught a brief part of almost full solar eclipse (we were supposed to get 95%) before it completely clouded over here in Lebanon for the rest of the event.  Too bad, but still a helluva shot for an iPhone I think! 

4/9 - My pal, Toney, and I went to see the new action film, Monkey Man, tonight at our local Roxy Theaters (recliners!) on a Bargain Tuesday ($6 movies!).  I thought the film was like John Wick, but with a soul and an actual story of substance behind all the action.  Well done, Dev Patel! 

4/11 - I got a NLHE turbo bounty tournament win today on Global Poker with six knockouts vs. 141 other players for an ROI of 2,300%!   I also got third in the next tournament of the same variety a couple hours later for some more positive ROI.   Then, a couple hours later I got another win on a small tournament vs. 9 other players for another decent ROI boost.   Next, I placed 6 out of 7 tickets given in a satellite worth 500%+ ROI vs. 26 other players. 

4/12 - I toasted another week of dog-walking, and the fact that the Preds have clinched a wildcard playoff spot despite being kind of written off at the start of the season with a new coach and some young players, this afternoon at Tenn Lakes Brewing with a couple of their new-to-me brews.  First up was the nice Mexican lager called Tenn Lago and then their decent Chipped Prop Pilsner.   Back at home, Ashlee's drinking cousins are staying with us for a couple nights, so I cracked open a pint can of the excellent tropical IPA called Lil Gushy from Decadent Ales (CT) as a welcome brew.  This was the start of a variety 4-pack I picked up at Mt. Juliet Beer Company yesterday.   

4/13 - In between party prepping today, I was able to enjoy a couple more brews from my variety pack from Mt. Juliet Beer Company outside in the lovely weather today.  First up was this pint can pictured above of Mosaic Pollen (good beer name for today's springtime snowstorm of pollen in the air).  It's a tasty pale ale from Tox Brewing Company (CT).  
I followed that one up with a Neural Glide NEIPA from Cerebral Brewing (Denver) as we sat around the Solo Stove with a nice fire tonight. 

4/14 - Today's is Letty's First Birthday Party and I had some new-to-me beers for the occasion.  First up was the very nice Brown Owl ESB from Northwoods Brewing (NH).  

With our unique backyard hibachi (I had the excellent steak and shrimp), I cracked open a solid IPA called Gasoline Rainbows V. 7 from Cerebral Brewing (Denver).  Next up was the very good DIPA called Over Zealous from Eredita Beer Company (CT).  I concluded with excellent IPA called Fugu Nelson from Tox Brewing (CT).  

4/16 - My pal, Toney, and I went to see the new "horror" flick, Civil War, tonight at our local Roxy Theaters (recliners!) on a Bargain Tuesday ($6 movies!).  I consider this a "horror" film because this shit could really happen.  I thought the film was quite disturbing, but a bit of a bait-and-switch IMO since there wasn't a scene in the movie like the cool movie poster above.   I walked the two miles to the movie theaters again since the weather was pleasant and even had another quick dinner at Alberto's Taqueria 2.   Yep, tacos in a gas station - they are delicious, as is their elote en vaso! 

A Virgin Cruise Virgin

Nothing says "craft beer section" like cases of Modelo stacked up high...nice fail by our new BJ's Wholesale Club store in Mt. Juliet.  

We are taking our "virgin" cruise on Virgin Cruise Lines, and I am excited about the expected craft beer choices on board! (and possibly some poker???  we shall see...)

2/10 - We flew down to Miami tonight in preparation for our first-ever cruise on Virgin Voyages.  While at the Nashville Airport, I found a couple new-to-me beers as I did a short Concourse C pub crawl.  First up was the decent Hap and Harry's Original Tennessee Whiskey Barrel Ale from here in Nashville at the Vino Fiesta bar.  I finished with the nice Hazefest NEIPA from Honky Tonk Brewing also here in Nashville which I had at the Rickhouse bar.  I wanted to have a trifecta with a nearby Tailgate Brewing beer but ran out of time. 

2/11 - I was impressed with how much craft beer is on board the Scarlet Lady including a Draught House bar which focused on craft beer.  Of course, the first beer I asked for they were out of...uh-oh ,,, so I settled for an UNTAPPD repeat, the decent La Rubia blonde ale from Wynwood Brewing here in Miami.  I do like the fact that they are working with a local craft brewery even if it is considered a macro-brewer.  
By the way, before we got on the boat, we had a little time to spare and my pal, Curtis, and I Ubered over to Prison Pals Brewing for a couple of libations before boarding...and they were closed...on Super Bowl Sunday...WTF???  Somewhat fortunately, there was a little Italian place next door that was open, and I had a decent 6 Luppoli Bock Rossa from Angelo Poretti Brewing in Italy.  

My first new-to-me beer on the boat was this terrific Whiskey Barrel Stout, an imperial from Boulevard Brewing (KC).  The prices weren't bad either for being on a cruise ship.  I bought a deal where if you spend $300 in drinks during the cruise, you get $50 free, so I had some damage to do this week!  I will only be reporting on new-to-me beers unless it's a special location or occasion and none of the countless white Russians and mojitos I consume! 

2/12 - It was a day at sea today and I enjoyed this solid Rye on Rye beer also from Boulevard Brewing while watching my Duke boys beat up on Wake Forest.  

2/13 - We docked in Cozumel, Mexico, today and I went on a solo tour of Punta Sur Ecological Park including the beautiful Celarain Lighthouse (1934) at the south end of the island.  It was such a fun excursion! 

These are Mayan ruins of an ingenious hurricane warning system where conch shells were placed inside and if the wind was strong enough it made a warning noise of impending danger.  Amazing!  

The beach at the base of the lighthouse was spectacular with some pretty big waves rolling in.  

It was on this same beach that I had my best animal encounter with this huge iguana sunning himself on the rocks there and really camouflaged from a distance.  I climbed an observation tower to hopefully see some crocodiles, but no such luck, although we did glimpse a young one sunning himself on a rock as we passed by in the military style truck we took out on the excursion.   

After 133 steps up, the view from atop the Celerain Lighthouse was spectacular. 

An even cooler aspect of this visit was the fact that you could actually touch the Fresnell Lens in this still active lighthouse.  No rules in Mexico!  

On our last stop I got a chance to take my first dip in the ocean here in Mexico and enjoyed a walk and a beer on the beach afterwards.  The always-good Modelo Negra lager was worth the repeat. 

I absolutely loved the Punta Sur area and would definitely do this tour again if and when we return to Cozumel. 

2/14 - It was another day at sea today and I was able to try the Virgin Craft Beer, a decent English pale ale made for the cruise line by Wynwood Brewing (Miami).  The weird lighting on the can is because I had it during a performance of "Duel Reality" on the ship in a dark theater with only red tones of illumination. 

I had some real poker success today on the ship as well.  It was an interesting scenario:  It was the WPT at Sea's Main Event Tournament and I almost didn't play since it was a bit pricey and I had played in a less expensive one a couple days before and flamed out badly.  But, with nothing much else to do and knowing I had some online winnings to cover most of the buy-in, I went for it.  Well, only 10 other players ponied up to play which meant first prize was a $2K valued cruise on Virgin and only $200 for second.  I managed to get to the final table by being patient and knocking out this ultra-aggressive player to my right on my first table.  I continued to knock out a few more players and wound up against this lady who had been the chip leader all day (in fact, she crippled me early on the first table with a turned set of deuces to my beautifully slow-played flopped two pair).  The staff said we could make deals, so I offered her the cruise if she would pay me $500 and I get the $200 for second.  She agreed!  It was actually her birthday, and her husband couldn't come on this cruise, so it seemed to work out better for her instead of us having to try and squeeze another cruise in by the end of the year anyway. She was also annoying to play with by constantly not knowing what the blinds were, weird table talk, etc.   So, I took 2nd place for $700 with an overall profit of $340 after tipping the dealers and accounting for this buy-in plus the previous one.  Hey, that'll work! 

 
With some of my profits I contributed $25 to DTCare, a public charity that will donate to the PAWS Foundation in the mission to help sick, injured and orphaned animals.  The contribution also got Dudley some more votes in the national America's Favorite Pet competition in which he is currently in 4th place.  Go, Dudley, go!! 

2/15 - It was our first visit to the Bimini Islands in the Bahamas today and Ashlee and I booked an excursion to snorkel around the wreck of the SS Sapona which ran aground here during a hurricane in 1926 and has a very interesting history.  It was an amazing experience!  I even snorkeled inside the wreck itself where there were tons of fish hanging out.  We also saw a sea turtle from a distance and the water was exceptionally clear. 

Before heading back to the ship, we stopped by Stuart's Conch Stand where it was 2 for $5 on their beers.  I grabbed a Sands Light lager from Bahamian Brewing over in Freeport which was not bad, and a Sands Pink Radler which I had a few sips of, and thought was a bit sweet for my taste, so I gave the rest to my friend, Kate.  We enjoyed our beers all the way back to the port via a golf-cart that Kate and Curtis had rented.  Cheers, Bimini!  What a great little visit!  We would love to come back ASAP! 

2/16 - We had some time to kill in Miami before our flight home today, so we stopped by the Latin Cafe 2000 near the airport and had some great Cuban food and I had a nice lager from Bacardi over in Coral Gables, FL, called Hatuey.   It's brewed for the liquor company by Thomas Creek Brewing over in Greenville, SC. 
When we got home, we were all starving again and decided to go for Indian food near the airport at Sindoore where I had a Kingfisher Premium Lager from United Breweries, a macro-brewery in India, that was OK, and a couple sips of Kate's beer, the decent Taj Mahal Premium Lager also from United Breweries.  
Good trip.  Pretty good beer.  Some poker profits.  And a fun time.  

AND THEN I GET HOME TO THIS NONSENSE...

The “Cold Beer Ban” In Tennessee Is NO MORE After Backlash Causes Lawmakers To Back Off (newsbreak.com)

another embarrassing moment of Tennessee elected officials being a nationwide laughingstock.  I mean you can’t make up shit this effing dumb…

I toasted this success of failure with a can of Premium Lager from Prison Pals Brewing down in Miami (hey, they sound familiar...).   Cheers, dumbasses!  

2/17 - I don't usually post 8th place finishes on Global Poker, but this one was lucrative.  It was another mystery bounty NLHE hyper-turbo, but super-deep, tournament with 173 other players and hosted (time-delayed) live on Twitch.  I only got two bounties, but they were the two biggest totaling just under $170.00!  When it was all said and done, I actually finished second in total earnings when I scooped an ROI of over 3,500%!  My handle was also mentioned by the host a couple times.  I cashed out a $100 of profit for the good cause. 

2/18 - Well, it's been a good 30-years-plus since I visited the Sewanee Natural Bridge up on Monteagle Mountain, but I returned today with Ashlee and Sunny as was happy in the knowledge that the university has given the property over to the state to protect as a natural area.  

Beforehand, we stopped at Common John Brewing in Manchester where I got a new hat with some poker winnings and a pint of their excellent IPA called Empty Promises. 

2/20 - I had some success on Global Poker tonight with a win of a small bounty tournament with only 5 other players (basically a sit-n-go), but I did get all five knockouts for an ROI of 500%. 

I also got second in a satellite tournament with 26 other players paying the top seven with tickets worth 500% ROI.  There was some overlay in this one to of around $18.   No luck in the main tournament unfortunately. 

And I got third in a final table on another small tournament with 100 other players in it. 

Decent little night on the virtual felt.   

2/21 - It was just too nice a day not to go see a couple waterfalls with Sunny today!  Our first stop was Union Camp Falls east of Lafayette up in Macon County.   A repeat visit for me, but Sunny's first time here.  

Our second stop turned into quite an adventure as we were able to make it to the bottom of the little water-carved canyon called The Winding Stairs thanks to some new trails at this cool little city park in Lafayette.  It's kind of a mini-Watkins Glen and Sunny was fearless walking in and beside the cascading water.  This was my second visit the park and Sunny's first.  And it was my first time to the bottom of the little gorge.   I can't wait to come back this spring when this little canyon is bursting with greenery.  

2/23 - I volunteered at the 14th Annual Science of Beer event tonight at the Adventure Science Center in Nashville.  I've always wanted to go this event, but never wanted to really pony up the somewhat steep ticket price, so volunteering to work at it seemed like a good choice.  It was a pretty good time as I was teamed up with a couple other nice folks to demonstrate how nitro-beers are made and why.  No free tasting glass for our efforts, however, so I only got to sneak off and have one beer tasting, but it was a good one: the Black is Beautiful IPA from Crazy Gnome Brewing over in East Nashville.  The ASC is a great place, and it was nice to be there without a million kids running around.

Beforehand, I attended another Finally Friday Live Music show at 3rd and Lindsley that included performances by Madness and Melody who were OK; Brittany Ann Tranbaugh whose voice was great, and her lyrics were very clever; and Kenny P (not G...P) who soulful, powerful voice was awesome to hear live.  I even downloaded a song of his.  I had a tasty lunch here as well. 

I filled my afternoon with a nice downtown Nashville walking beer crawl from 3rd and Lindsley.  First up was Tennessee Brew Works where I had their very good Secret City Imperial IPA .  Then it was on to Hi-Wire Brewing for their solid Super Bloom Pale ale.  

I concluded the first part of the crawl with a couple beers at Marble Fox Brewing where I had their tasty IPA called Vox Populi, and then their light and enjoyable Lumino Pils.  After walking back to 3rd and Lindsley, I drove over to the Adventure Science Center next and parked (for free with lots of spaces - worth remembering for future downtown outings) and then walked to New Heights Brewing where I had their brand-new Clown Baby pale ale that I thought was terrific.  I also had dinner here from the Sausfries food truck:  a terrific Chicago-style hot dog with all the trimmings. 

2/25 - I attended opening day of the new Nashville Soccer Club season at Geodis Park with my pal, Nate, this afternoon as our boys in gold took on the NY Red Bulls.    It was a frustrating 0-0 tie in the end, but we will take it since we had two of our top starters out.  I did have a couple of new beers at the stadium.  First up was a repeat for me, but new to the stadium, the tasty Scotch ale called The Fulkin from Half Batch Brewing up in Hendersonville.  Next was the excellent high-gravity Belgian blonde called The Strong Silent Type from Rock-n-Dough Pizza and Brewery which is now brewing beer here in Nashville, but started out in Jackson, TN. 
(This awesome NSC mural pictured above is on a building next to Santa's Pub near the stadium.)

Speaking of strong, silent types.  It was cool to see Titans legend, Eddie George, up close and personal from our seats as he "delivered" the game ball this afternoon.
We stopped at Homegrown Tap Room on the way home and had a couple half-pints as well including another ABV heavy-hitter, the overly sweet Rye Hipster Brunch Stout from Odd Side Ales (MI) and the light and refreshing Haus Pils from Barrique Brewing here in Nashville. 

2/26 - I got a small win today in a turbo bounty tournament on Global Poker with just 8 other players, but I did score four knockouts and claimed an ROI of almost 500%.  

I also chopped most of a local tournament on PokerStars with nine other players with a second-place finish that gave me an ROI of over 200%. 

With my winnings, I was able to grab some Johnnyswim concert tickets for me and Ashlee! 

I also got my first (and only) paycheck from the USPS today for some training I went through, but ultimately decided the part-time rural mail carrier job wasn't my cup of tea.  Thanks, anyway, USPS. 

2/27 - My buddy, Toney, and I went to see the new off-Marvel movie, Madame Web, tonight at our local Roxy Theaters (recliners!).   I had pretty low expectations based on the reviews, and was surprised to find it to be a decent film.  Not the best, but definitely not the worst.  Not sure where all the hate is coming from, but I have a suspicion that like with The Marvels, it centers around the film having female leads. 

Earlier today, I won another small turbo bounty tournament on Global Poker with just 9 other players, but I scored three knockouts and claimed an ROI of almost 500%.  

2/28 - I have been checking out the new epic FX/Hulu series, "Shogun" the past few nights and while it is slow in places, it does have its merits.  Tonight, I continued watching while enjoying a can of the DIPA called Transmigration of Souls from Orpheus Brewing down in Atlanta. 

2/29 - The Green Mile, one of my favorite films, is back in theaters for a couple days, so I went to catch a cheap matinee showing of it today at the Hollywood 27 Theaters.   What an amazing story and film!  And I only cried three or four times! 

This evening Ashlee and I attended our first Nashville Predators game at Bridgestone Arena in quite a while.  The boys are doing pretty good with a 6-game winning streak and are currently in the wildcard hunt for the playoffs this season.  Tonight's opponent was the Minnesota Wild and by the time we left in the 3rd period the rout was on with a final score of 6-1 Predators!