Toronto @ Washington, Friday 6/19/09

Friday I get up early for the close to 7-hour drive from Cooperstown to the Brannon household in Alexandria, VA. My vacation is sadly coming to a close. Just a couple more days left. Left at 8:00am and pulled into their driveway about 2:40pm. Hung around on their back patio and drank a few of James's homebrewed creations. Sadly the Brannons had a charity dinner to attend, so it was planned to be a solo game for me. But no. At about 4:00 I hit the Metro to meet Kimberly in DC. Yes, she was in town for some legislative visits, so she offered to meet me for the Nationals game and celebrate it as a birthday present. Nothing beats birthday baseball. I try to hit up a game either on my birthday proper or as close to it as I can. Baseball brings me joy.

I told her that it's my birthday and I was going to get some primo seats as a treat, and she didn't need to pony up for them. She would have none of that argument. We got 4th row behind the Nationals dugout. I have never been as close as we were that night for a major league game. Ever. It was absolutely incredible. Wow.

Made sure to get there by 5:30 for the 7:00 game. Wanted to walk around and take in as much of the park we I could. Plus, there was the added bonus of my favorite DC hangout Ben's Chili Bowl having a stand at the park. Delicious. Engorged myself on a chili cheeseburger plus chili cheese fries. I was a mess. Beards hold cheese like a sponge.

The draw for Kimberly for the game was fireworks. Friday night fireworks. However, the game went into extra innings. 11 innings specifically. There apparently is some ordinance or a gentleman's agreement that if the game runs past 10:50pm, there would be no fireworks display. The game ended at 11:00pm. No fireworks. Curses. Still, pay for 9 innings and get 2 free? Sweet! And to have the home team win in extras? Even sweeter.

Upstate New York brewery visits

A perfectly rainy day today to drive around and spend some time inside.  And what better place to spend some time inside than in a few breweries?  Three planned on the docket today!  Let's go make some beer...

Stop #1: Cooperstown Brewing Co.

About 10 miles out of town in the village of Milford lies Cooperstown Brewing Co.  Opened in 1994 with baseball themed brews: Old Slugger Pale Ale, Nine Man Golden Ale, Benchwarmer Porter, Strike Out Stout, etc.  That buttery nastiness from Ringwood yeast is actually held in check with these guys.  The butterscotch and slick oily mouthfeel is calmed down.  Such an aggressive yeast it takes over a brewhouse and these guys have no hope of using a different yeast (that's even if they wanted to).  A tiny operation with a tiny crew.  Distribution puts up a fight in that they don't want to push more than 4 labels....even though the brewery puts out 7 beers.  7 beers that we all got to sample at 10:30 in the morning before the 11:00 tour!  A tight space with a leaky roof.  A mixed case came home with me.  And with Cleveland Indian Napoleon Lajoie on the t-shirt for Old Slugger?....SOLD!






Stop #2: Brewery Ommegang

"Belgian Brewing in America".  Opened in 1997 as a family-owned business, now under the Moortgat umbrella of Belgian brewers (Duvel, Maredsous, LaChouffe).  Funky Belgian-style beers in upstate New York.  Started out with tiny sample tastings of Witte, Rare Vos, Hennepin, Ommegang, Three Philosophers, and Biere de Mars.  A quick tour, fast-paced.  Almost a "let's just get this done".  The sampling before the tour was more informative and cordial.  Some glassware souvenirs, and a "Make Beer Not War" shirt.  All their brands are available in NC, so no samples came home.





Stop #3: F.X. Matt Brewing Co., the Saranac line of beers

Oldest brewery in the state, starting up in 1888.  Four generations of the Matt family running the show.  A smidge over 45 minutes away from "home base" out to Utica.  Most organized and "corporate" of the three tours today.  Immense gift shop to browse before touring.  Sadly, a devastating fire from last year has abruptly shortened the tour.  We couldn't go past the fermentation tanks (large enough to take 88 years for one person to drink dry if they drank 10 beers a day.  Think about it.)  Construction was still going on even though they are functioning, so the general public can't go further in for a few more weeks.  But of course, they still charge full price ($5) for the tour.  After this tour though, two full-sized pints are offered.  Both other tours were just samples, with Cooperstown beating out Ommegang's thimbles for quantity quaffed.  A lot of frou-frou "brewery tour headquarters" touring, as opposed to proper brewhouse viewing.  A lot of dark wood, manly dens, and rich mahogany tones.  Nice to see, but I want to smell some grain!  I might still return one day to see the whole tour however.

June 17, 1994

What better way to begin the next set of 500 posts? (i.e. this is HofG post #501)

Born in a puppy mill in Nebraska, moved to Kansas within a few weeks, shipped to a mall pet store in Fairview Park, OH.

Purchased by humans actually visiting pug breeders all day; unhappy with the breeders, the humans then stopped at every pet store on the way home in search of the elusive pug.

8:50pm, 10 minutes before closing, a particularly non-Puggish fluffy white snowball who constantly gnawed on our fingers won our hearts and came home.

Best.  Dog.  Ever.

Happy 15th birthday, Sam!!!!

National Baseball Hall of Fame

Today was just a veritable overload of all things baseball.  Spent the entire day strolling through the Baseball HOF here in Cooperstown.  The entire day.  Got up early and walked the couple blocks down Main St. and just absorbed everything.  Read everything.  Took pictures of everything.  Just really enjoyed everything.  Not much to type about, really.  Basically, a huge baseball and museum nerd goes to baseball heaven and just smiles all day long.  A lot of fun.

Destination: Cooperstown

A sluggish start after such an exhilarating concert the previous night.  Couldn't sleep.  Eddie Vedder was AWESOME.

Anyhoo, it was a lengthy drive from Baltimore to upstate New York.  More specifically, Cooperstown, NY.  The home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  A museum and a village (it's not even a TOWN) that warms my heart.  I love it here.

Got into town, er, village, right before dinner.  Checked in to the gorgeous Inn at Cooperstown and it was more than advertised.  An 18-room inn that has all the charm and comforts you could hope for.  I seriously think that next time I come here, if there isn't a room available, I would consider not going.  Really.  It's THAT beautiful.

After settling in, I hit up Main Street for some dinner and window shopping.  The amount of baseball-related shopping here is mind-boggling.  And truthfully, I didn't do all that much "window shopping"...I frankly cut to the chase and did outright shopping.  Caps, a personally-engraved bat, an old-style glove, shirts; hell, this town (village) is my personal heroin!!!

Tomorrow looks to be an in-depth all-day affair at the Hall of Fame.  They're open 9am-9pm during the summer, and I'm here for 2 1/2 days.  I'm a normally painfully slow museum-goer, so add the bonus of subject matter that I REALLY get excitable about?....and it may not be enough time!

Eddie Vedder live in Baltimore

I'll start with the obvious: he wore flannel.  Man-crush continues...

Made the trip from Williamsburg up to Baltimore Monday.  The destination?  The stunning Lyric Opera House in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood of downtown Baltimore.  I stayed at the Peabody Court Hotel less than a mile from the venue.  My view from my 9th floor room was pretty good: the "Washington Monument".  A gift from the state of Maryland in honor of our first president:


Before the concert, and after settling into my room, I hailed a cab to take me to the harbor and Fells Point. There is a "beer nerd destination" there called The Wharf Rat.  Two beer engines for handpulled cask ale; anad plenty of smooth and creamy English Ales, brewed as Oliver Ales.  In true English pub fashion, it offers counter service.  Come to the counter and place your order, then go sit down.  No waiters.  Your bartender is your cook is your server.  

The beers?  Really tasty.  QUITE tasty. Sometimes an English ale can come across as bland and somewhat boring, but all the ones I tried were favorful and full-bodied. Bishop's Breakfast (oatmeal stout), Oliver ESB, Oliver Manchester Cream Ale, Oliver Irish Red Ale.  Yum.

I'd go back in a heartbeat.

From there, another cab to the Lyric Opera House.  The concert is nigh.  Beforehand, the "event staff" was going up and down the lines imploring people to take their cameras back to their cars. Do NOT bring them in.  Apparently, bootlegs and unauthorized photos are the bane of his existence.  Even cameraphones were threatened.  WHAT?  Go back to my hotel to drop off my phone?  Methinks not.

Anyway, the concert was absolutely OUTSTANDING.  Eddie Vedder. One man.  Many guitars.  A mandolin.  A ukelele.  A bass drum.  A harmonica.  That's it.  Seriously.  (Outside of the instances when opening act Liam Finn joined him onstage, or the writer of "Society" joins him in a duet.)  

I know I don't physically purchase tickets to a concert that I think would be subpar, so it seems every description of my concerts are glowing, but really....this concert was out of this world.  The setlist:

Walking the Cow
Brain Damage (intro)
Sometimes
Trouble
Around The Bend
I Am Mine
Far Behind
No Ceiling
Guaranteed
Rise
Picture In A Frame
You're True
Atlantic City
Driftin'
You've Got To Hide You're Love Away
Let My Love Open The Door
Parting Ways
Elderly Woman Standing Behind a Counter in a Small Town
Porch
-----
Society
Throw Your Arms Around Me
Golden State
Forever Young
Wishlist
Arc
-----
Hard Sun

A lot of singalong-y tunes. And a Pete Townshend song? I LOVE IT!  Another in a long line of fantastic concerts I've gone to, but this one is rising to the top of the list.

It's a mystery to me
we have a greed
with which we have agreed

You think you have to want
more than you need
until you have it all you won't be free

Society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me

When you want more than you have
you think you need
and when you think more than you want
your thoughts begin to bleed

I think I need to find a bigger place
'cos when you have more than you think
you need more space

Society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me
Society, crazy and deep
I hope you're not lonely without me

There's those thinking more or less less is more
but if less is more how you're keeping score?
Means for every point you make your level drops
kinda like it's starting from the top
you can't do that...

Society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me
Society, crazy and deep
I hope you're not lonely without me

Society, have mercy on me
I hope you're not angry if I disagree
Society, crazy and deep
I hope you're not lonely without me

Short MSNBC Trent article

Reznor says Bonnaroo his last U.S. concert
Nine Inch Nails continues tour in Europe and Asia

updated 9:25 p.m. ET, Sun., June 14, 2009

MANCHESTER, Tennessee - Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor said their performance Sunday at the Bonnaroo Music Festival was their last in the U.S.

The industrial rock group performed in the early morning hours Sunday at the Tennessee festival, shortly after Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band wrapped up.

"It just dawned on me that this is our last show ever in the United States," Reznor said during his band's set. "Don't be sad. I'll keep going. But I think I'm going to lose my fucking mind if I keep doing this, and I have to stop."

Nine Inch Nails just completed a U.S. tour with Jane's Addiction. Their summer tour continues in Europe and Asia. The tour, dubbed "Wave Goodbye," was conceived as a farewell tour to mark the 20th anniversary of their first album, "Pretty Hate Machine."

Colonial Williamsburg

I fulfilled my inner (and outer) history geek today by spending the entire day walking the streets of Colonial Williamsburg.  It is so awesome.  I love it.  I donate every year to the foundation, but inexplicably it has been YEARS since I've paid a visit.  WTF?  No more.  I'm here, and will make a concerted effort to return more often.

Took a lot of pictures.  A LOT.  Not really much to go into detail here on the blog.  The photos tell the tale.  A great day exploring buildings, interacting with interpreters, eating tavern food, buying history souvenirs, then finishing it all with a harpsichord performance inside the Colonial Capitol building.

A great day.  A great, great day.

Summer vacation 2009 begins

Friday night you saw I took a drive down to Charlotte for a concert.  Saturday begins in earnest a week-long vacation to points northward.  But first, visitors....

Fraternity brother "Art" and Shelley and their kids stopped in town on their way home to Ohio. I'm starting a week off, they're completing one. They went down to Myrtle Beach last weekend; then on their way home, after 4 hours of driving, they stopped for lunch in Greensboro. I really had nowhere to be, so I delayed my own vacation departure until they got into town and we had some lunch. On the menu: Natty Greene's for some good food and good beer. It was great to see them! Always great to catch up with good friends, even if they're just passing through town. After two hours of kibitzing and hanging out, they went north and a smidge west, I went north and a smidge east.

My destination? Colonial Williamsburg.  Time to cash in some of that "hey I donate to your foundation" capital.  My room?  The Williamsburg Lodge.  Just gorgeous.




After settling in, it was a late dinner at one of the few "beer nerd" spots in town: Green Leafe Cafe.  Dominion Brewing's Oak Barrel Stout on-tap?  Yes, please.  Not as good as it once was (remember the brewery tour, James?) but still pretty tasty.  Sadly, it's only a matter of time until it disappears with the sale of the brewpub to Fordham, a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch.  Yuck.

A good day.  And a busier one in store for tomorrow with a full day planned in the historic area.  Awesome!