What's happening in my world…
Karen and I are getting excited about our vacation. It is just around the corner. At the last minute, we almost changed our hotel from the Carribean Bearch to the Swan or Dolphin to be closer to Epcot. But, we didn't.
We signed up the Disney Dining Experience which will give us a 20% discount at many restaurants through DisneyWorld.
I hope to be posting pictures here throughout our vacation.
Karen and I enjoyed the Tomato Head in Knoxville, TN. The Tomato Head has been featured on the Travel Channel and is local favorite. We had the Number 3 pizza which was great!
After dinner, we stayed in the area to watch an outside showing of the “Maltese Falcon
Karen and I hit the Unclaimed Baggage on our way to Knoxville. And, I think we did minor damage to our wallet on this trip.
Karen bagged a bunch of cloths and hazards chemical glove. Don't ask me about the gloves. I don't know of any hazards chemicals at our house.
I picked up another digital camera battery, because we go through them like candy.
And, would you know we actually bought a piece of luggage! Who would have thought!
Karen and I are ready to head off to the beer festival. The weather is looking great. The GPS
We'll be hitting the Unclaimed Baggage in Scottsboro, Alabama on the way to the jam. You just never know what you'll find there. We picked up a $50 digital camera so that we could have a small camera that we wouldn't worry about as much as our good camera.
This beer festival has a flat cost of $20 which is great. Many festivals charge per beer. Check back here for a report on the festival.
I enjoyed my last class with Williams-Sonoma for this year. They have more classes, but my schedule is too full for the remainder of the year.
more soon!
Karen and I went to our first beer tasting put on by Free The Hops. In a single word, wow!
We met a lot of new people.
We met a lot of new beers, too!
We all have Danner Kline to thanks for heading Free The Hops.
Everyone was enjoying themselves.
The service was great and always with a smile.
Another happy customer!
You will find more pictures here.
Karen and I had time to kill and we were getting hungry as we drove around Birmingham, Alabama. We have already driven by the Liberty House which will be hosting the Free The Hops party later tonight. So, we decided to find something nearby and we had been looking for the Purple Onion, but the one that our GPS found had been closed down.
We decided to give The Metro Bistro & Market a try. We both had great sandwishes. Karen had a turkey while I had a B.L.T. Everyone was getting hungry smelling the bacon cook.
Once the staff determined we were from out of town, they filled us in on the local scene. We talked with the bartender and the cook, Josh and Mike respectively, about the Free The Hops, brewing beer, and our favorite Hefeweizen.
Everyone had fun and the food was great. After eating to the point of needing to pop, everyone headed over to where the Alexander homestead had been many years ago. You can see signs of where the cellar and corn crib was on the land. The old spring is still flowing, but it has gone undergrond for the most part.
We even got a group picture to boot.
Karen and I will be heading to the reunion for her mother's side of the family. Karen sent out invitations to everyone to encourage a good turnout.
I think the weather is going to be great. Karen's co-worker, Larry Woellhart, smoked us a pork butt which should be super. Larry is known for his ability to smoke anything from catfish to pork butt to walnuts.
Karen and I will be heading to the Knoxville Brewers' Jam for the first time. The Jam is always held on a weekend that does not conflict with a University of Tennessee football game. So this year the festival is October 15th. The festival runs from 2:00PM to 8:00PM.
We signed up for the whole package which includes hotel room and passes to the festival.
The following brewers will be present:
Tennessee
Downtown Grill & Brewery (Knoxville)
New Knoxville Brewing Company (Knoxville)
Smoky Mountain Brewery (Gatlinburg)
Blackstone Restaurant & Brewery (Nashville)
Depot Street Brewing Company (Jonesborough)
Tennessee Valley Homebrewers Club (Knoxville)
Calhoun's Microbrewery (Knoxville)
North Carolina
Highland Brewing Company (Asheville)
Carolina Beer and Beverage (Mooresville)
Olde Hickory Brewery (Asheville)
Mash House Restraurant & Brewery (Fayetteville)
Catawba Valley Brewing Company (Glen Alpine)
The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery (Farmville)
French Broad Brewing Company (Asheville)
Foothills Brewery (Winston-Salem)
Weeping Radish (Manteo)
Asheville Brewing Company (Asheville)
South Carolina
Thomas Creek Brewery (Greenville)
Kentucky
Browning's Brewery at Louisville Slugger Field (Louisville)
Alltech's Lexington Brewing Company (Lexington)
Georgia
Sweet Water Brewing Company (Atlanta)
Zuma Brewery (Atlanta)
Other Regional and Craft Brewers
Stone Brewing Company (San Diego, California)
Great Divide Brewing Company ( Denver, Coloradao)
Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales (Milton, Delaware)
Redhook Brewing Company (Portsmouth, New Hampshire)
Rogue Ales (Newport, Oregon)
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company (Chico, California)
Barrel House Brewing Company (Cincinatti, Ohio)
Flying Dog Brewery ( Denver, Colorado)
Blue Moon Brewing Company ( Denver, Colorado)
Some items are copyrighted by organizer of the festival.