Japan 2017

I went to Japan with my brother and his friends.  While there, I got to catch up with some of my Japanese and Korean friends as well.  We had a good time.

Places we went:

Tokyo: Asakusa, Senso-ji (big lantern), Ueno Park (lotus pond), Kappabashi (fake food), Akihabara (electronics), Shibuya Crossing (lots of people), Meiji Shrine and Inner Gardens (iris), Ryogoku Kokugikan (Sumo Center), Imperial Palace, Tokyo station (vegan ramen)

Nara: Nara Park (deer), Kodai-ji (pagoda), Daibutsu (Big Buddha), Kasuga Shrine (lanterns)

Kyoto: Pontocho and Kiyamachi (night life), Sanjo-Kawaramachi (sushi), Nishiki Market (food), Kiyomizu-deru (temple and spring), Sannen-zaka (artisan shops), Arashiyama (bamboo forest), Fushimi Inari (red gates), Kizakura (sake and beer brewery), Kyoto Station (architecture)

Arima: Arima Gyoen (ryokan), Kin no Yu (hot spring)

We walked approximately 60 miles in 7 days.  My feet and knees are not happy, but I am glad we got to go to so many places.  And it was nice that a hot spring was the last day!

I posted a few more pictures on Instragram.  From now on, I'll mostly be posting things on Instagram, not this website.  If you'd like to continue following me, I'll be on Instagram; it's easier to post there.  Just ask me for my info.

In the 'Ton

The La Crosse Curling Club took two teams to the Appleton Women's Bonspiel this weekend. For two of our curlers, it was their first time curling on dedicated ice in a curling club, compared with our usual arena ice that is shared with a hockey team.

Everyone played well and had a fantastic time, especially because we dressed up a bit - penguins and snow women. The Appleton club members were great hosts who made delicious food and provided plenty of beverages to keep the party going late.

In terms of placement, my team finished as runner up in the 3rd event, which means we got sixth place of eight. The other team finished last. But we all improved, and the more experienced teams in attendance were great to learn from.

I'm quite looking forward to going back next year.

Bonspiel!

My first bonspiel of the season! Let's curl!

Too much pink

I like to crochet in the winter. It gives my hands something to do during Sunday afternoon football and on long car trips, such as our yearly pilgrimage to Indiana for Thanksgiving.

This time around, I was tasked with creating slippers for my cousin's daughters.  I was sent the yarn to use, but told I could use any pattern I wanted. Now, these little girls are adorable, but as I got halfway in through the what I thought was an equally cute slipper pattern, I realized that the pink and purple yarn really did not have the effect I was hoping for. 

And I began to dislike little girls with a penchant for pink. Unfortunately for me, I still plan on finishing these slippers, even though I don't like them. I hope that the girls will at least find them acceptable.

Brazil Day 5: Lencois

It was a good thing I mostly slept through the bus ride from Salvador to Lencois, because on the basis of the swerving feelings, the road was narrow and the bus was going fast.  I didn't need to see that.  Sam did wake me up once to view what might be the starriest night sky I have ever seen.  I recognized the Milky Way immediately, but the rest of the stars of the southern hemisphere were a mystery to me.

We arrived at the little bus station in Lencois at 5am.  Our host said he "might be able to meet us," so we hung around a little awhile and then started walking in what we thought was the right direction.  A nice guy from a hostel saw us walking away and asked us where we were headed.  When we mentioned that Ito was our host, he knew exactly where we were going.  We were soon to find out that Ito is the sort of guy that everyone knows.

Ito actually met us about halfway.  He is a 60-year old man with long dreadlocks, and he has lived in Lencois all of his life.  He and his wife, Simone, have built Surya Chapada, which is what they call the little enclave of the family house and two little chalets that they rent out.  It is cozy, quiet, and very welcoming.  We went into our chalet and took a nap for a couple of hours.  When we got up, Simone had left us some delicious watermelon juice and bananas.

We relaxed in hammocks and chased lizards for a bit, and then went into town for lunch and to see what the tour options were for hiking in Chapada Diamantina National Park.  Ito, who is also a licensed guide, had agreed to take us on one hike the following day, but in order to see some of the other sites, we needed to hire a guide with a car.  We found a reasonable-seeming company and a reasonable-seeming trip, and booked it for the day after next.  Then we tried to have lunch.

It seems that nothing in Lencois is really open until after 12 noon.  The tour companies open early because they start their tours early, but since all the tourists are gone in the morning, nothing else opens until later.  We sat down for beers until the kitchen opened up at a little restaurant on the square.  Stray dogs wandered in and out, sniffing for food, or just lying down in the shade.  We watched one lying down in the middle of the street and not even flinching as cars swerved around it.

We finally ate a light lunch of soup and salad, and started exploring the little shops and markets.  I bought a necklace handcarved from a coconut shell.  I chose one with a lizard because I love to watch all the lizards scurrying around.  After some more shopping, we tried our hand at reading the Lonely Planet's directions for a short hike along the Lencois river.  In hindsight, I would suggest not trying to figure them out.  Just go up.

We walked through town and up the riverbed where families were out washing their clothes in the pools of water formed in the rocky bed.  Ito had said it was the dry season and it was particularly dry, so while there was water flowing, it was also very easy to walk through areas that would be covered in water in the rainy season.  We hiked to the top looking for a promised waterfall, but found nothing.

At this point, we were approached by a guy who made it his goal to get us to hire him to take us to that waterfall.  He would not take no for an answer, and while we didn't really need to find the waterfall, we eventually caved and agreed to pay him $R15 for guiding us.  The waterfall wasn't that impressive due to the lack of rain, but he also took us through a sand cave that local artisans use for paintings and such.  The rock in this is area is composite, which means that there are lots of different kinds all stuck together naturally.  In the sand cave, you can rub away at one section, and the sand will be blue.  In another, it will be red.  It was nifty.

When we got back to the trailhead, the guide told us that no, it was $R15 per person, not $R15 for the group.  You must have misunderstood! No amount of arguing would change anything, so we finally just paid him, and chalked it up to our one time of being ripped off.  It could have been worse.

We headed back to Surya Chapada for showers and then back into town for dinner.  We stopped at "Burritos e Taquitos," where we were met by the chef/owner, Joseph, who apologized that his waiter hadn't shown up and he would be doing both the serving and the cooking.  We weren't in a hurry, so we sat down and watched lizards, and helped Joseph out whenever possible with setting tables and greeting other customers.  Dinner was fantastic.  Sam and I split nopalitos (cactus) burritos and bean tacos with three different salsas.

On the way home we picked up some Fanta and juice from the little gas station to go with the local organic cane-sugar liquor we'd picked up earlier, and spent the rest of the evening playing euchre and finishing off the bottle.  A fine ending to fine day.

Travel tip: The juice in Brazil is fantastic.  Watermelon juice, lime juice, pineapple juice, whatever juice.  It's usually freshly blended and perfectly thirst-quenching.  Try it all, with and without alcohol.

Brazil Day 4: Brasilia/Salvador

By the fourth day we had become familiar with the neighborhood and familiar enough (we thought) to try out a coffee shop that seemed to have a breakfast buffet of pastries and juices.  This was the place we'd briefly stopped for just coffee the morning before, and it seemed that one of the waitstaff remembered us.

We tried to indicate that we wanted the buffet, but were confused by the fact that we were also given a menu to order from.  Had we actually gotten the buffet? Could we just go up and take some delicious-looking pastries?  We tried to ask the waiter, we tried to ask another patron, and eventually we just got up and helped ourselves.  In the midst of our trips, our ordered entrees also arrived.  I had a waffle with dolce de leite cream, which was heavenly.  All was well until we received two cups of coffee each.  No idea how that happened, but we ate enough quiche, muffins, juice, cupcakes, and other tiny delicacies to make up for paying for extra coffee.

We went back and tidied up the apartment and repacked our bags while Cassy and Connor made their morning trip to a different coffee shop.  After everyone was ready to go, we said goodbye to the doorman and walked down to the bus stop for the bus to the airport.  Thirty minutes later, and it hadn't come yet, so we woke up a napping taxi driver and had the most leisurely car ride in Brazil.  Seriously, no one in Brazil except this old taxi driver drove reasonably.

Flying domestically in Brazil is easy.  Print out your boarding pass, walk through a metal detector, and you're ready to go.  You don't have to worry about liquids, shoes, or belts.  Sam did note, however, that there was an insane number and size of knives in the "you have to leave it here" box right before security.

Once in Salvador, we had about six hours until we had to get to onto the overnight bus to Lencois.  We took a cab to the long-distance bus station to pick up our tickets and then crossed over a bustling pedestrian bridge to Iguatemi Shopping, one of the largest malls in Salvador.  We quickly claimed a table in the food court and started our countdown.

I always maintain that grocery stores are a good way to learn about a culture.  Malls are pretty good too.  While food courts in the US are designed to get people their food as quickly as possible, this is not the case in Brazil.  Most of the eateries had servers who came out to you to provide menus, and most of the food was cooked to order.  Sam and I got a pizza, which was hand-tossed and brick-oven baked after we ordered it.  Cassy and Connor got lasagna.  Also, soft drinks at the mall cost one third the price of bottled water, and beer was on draft.

After dinner, a few rounds of euchre and drinks, and taking turns wandering the stores, we put our bags back on our backs and headed back across to the bus station along with everyone else leaving the mall at closing time.  We got on the bus at 11pm and settled down to sleep as much as possible until we were scheduled to arrive in Lencois at 5am.

Travel tip: The water in drinking fountains at airports, malls, public buildings, and the like is good to drink.  Always carry a water bottle to refill so you don't have to buy expensive water at restaurants.

Brazil Day 3: Brasilia

The nice thing about most of our days was that we never had anything scheduled to do right away in the morning, so we could wake and get ready for the day pretty leisurely.  On this day, we nibbled on breakfast and then wandered down to a coffee shop so Cassy and Connor could get their caffeine fix.  After that, we were ready to head out to the Parque National, which was said to be inhabited by giant armadillos, anteaters, and capybaras.

The bus ride was longer than we expected, but some friendly passengers assured us we were on the right bus and asked the ticket-taker to tell us where to get off, which happened to be just on the side of a six-lane highway.  How to get back on the bus?  Just wave as it comes into view...

We hiked two trails, the Capybara trail and the Crystal Water trail.  The first was wooded and devoid of any life besides scurrying lizards and giggling high schoolers.  The second was out on a savanna of sorts.  The red soil was vibrant in the sun, and the slight breeze made the tall grasses and short trees wave slowly.  We saw a plethora of leaf-cutter ants trudging along toward their holes in the ground, and took note of hundreds of termite nests in trees, but the closest we came to any of the large animals was a few footprints in the mud.

We returned toward the front of the park hot and ready to take part in the other main attraction, swimming pools fed by natural springs.  It seems that this was also the main destination of a few class trips, as the school kids outnumbered the adults.  A few heard us speaking English and all of a sudden we were being heckled by calls of "Hello!" "American Pie!"  Teenagers really are the same all around the world.

We swam, changed, and left the park refreshed, which was good considering our next adventure.  We went and stood out at the edge of the highway and almost immediately saw our bus hurtling toward us.  We waved, and it crossed two lanes of traffic and screeched to a halt a mere feet behind a car stopped on the shoulder.  Sam says the subsequent ride was a like a roller coaster.  I'll agree, but only in the sense that I do not want my bus ride to be like riding on a roller coaster.  Connor swears that the bus was on two wheels on a few cloverleaf on-ramps.

We got off the bus in a residential area supposedly known to have a scattering of good restaurants, but it was early yet, so we sat down at a little bar to watch the Brazil pre-World Cup friendly match.  The owner, who called himself Tony Bennet, chatted with us and told us about his daughter, Alyssa Milano, and was generally pretty funny and friendly.  He invited us to visit him at his other home in Macao on our next vacation.

First dinner was at a different bar/restaurant where we shared plates of baked potatoes topped with gravy and shrimp, toasted cheese sticks, and deep-fried pockets filled with pork.  We only half knew what we were ordering.  For second dinner, we went back to Green's and to our surprise, they suddenly had English menus!  Was it because of our issues the night before, or were they already planning such menus in light of the World Cup?  We don't know, but it was extremely helpful in ordering a very satisfying dinner of soup, sandwiches, and the ever-present and refreshing lime juice.

Travel tip: In Brazil, the buses run on loops without much of a time table.  Because many buses run past a single stop, you must flag down the bus you want, or it will just keep going by.

Brazil Day 2: Brasilia

Everything we read said that Brasilia was not designed for walking.  We ignored that and walked Brasilia.

After a lovely breakfast of egg scramble made by Sam and local melon we found at the grocery, we headed to our first destination of the day, the Office of Tourism, to pick up our tickets to the World Cup game.  We hopped through multiple lanes of traffic to get to the correct building, but couldn't find the office.  We asked a friendly looking man in uniform, and all of a sudden we were being led through an auditorium filled with pretty much all of the police, fire, and rescue personnel in Brasilia.  We had stumbled upon some of the final logistics meetings for the World Cup.

We eventually picked up our game tickets, made a quick stop to drop them off at the apartment, and then attempted to find our second destination, a bus station at which we could purchase bus tickets for another section of our trip.  We stopped at a tourist information center, but the English-speaking helper was out to lunch.  So we decided to get lunch too.  We ate sandwiches and wine outside on a little plaza.  The information from the English-speaker was what we had heard before, "Maybe you could try....," but nothing definitive.  We decided to skip it for now and start sightseeing.

Brasilia is arranged in the shape of an airplane.  There are two wings (north and south) and a central axis running from the cockpit to the tail.  The residential areas and some commercial areas are in the wings, the government buildings are in the cockpit, and the museums and other sights are scattered along the axis from the cockpit to the tail.  We started near the tail and worked our way toward the cockpit.

TV Tower: Mostly under construction, but if it were open it would probably give a good aerial view of the city.  All the construction surrounding it gave us a good idea of how much last-minute updating was going on ahead of the Cup.
National Library: The guy at the desk said that there were more books in his college library than in the National Library.  Based on what we saw, we could believe it.
National Museum: (see photo above): We didn't get to go in, as it was closed for renovations.  Looks nifty from the outside, though.
Cathedral of Brasilia: This is one of the only three postcards of Brasilia I could find, and all of the photos were horrible.  The building is distinctive on the outside, but the stained glass on the inside is really the beautiful part.
Government Buildings: Nearing the cockpit, the avenue is lined with rows of tall, boring, identical government buildings.  At rush hour the lines for the buses fill the sidewalks.  Once we passed this section, we found a row of bushes and trees in which hummingbirds were flitting.  While stopping to gaze, some stinging ants found Cassy's feet.  We quickly walked away.
Plaza: Surrounded by the palace, the congress, the judiciary, and other government buildings.  Like most of the other architecture, it is cement and plain.
Hero Museum (not official name): We ventured into a small museum dedicated to the heroes of Brazil.  We couldn't read the exhibits, and the stained glass memorial was closed.
Eternal Flame for past president: We climbed up the steps close behind some teenagers with McDonald's.  It seems this vantage point is popular with both tourists and bored youths.

At this point it was just past sunset, and we had been walking around for about seven hours total.  Our guidebook said there was a good bar not too far back toward home, so we slowly headed that way.  No luck in finding the bar, but we stumbled upon a small plaza where a street vendor was grilling meat and cheese for a small throng of locals seated on plastic chairs.  We waded in and Cassy's charm garnered us some chicken and bacon sticks, and some grilled cheese sticks.  Delicious.  The men at the table next to us were very friendly and shared some other snacks, some laughs, and hugs when we left.

We wandered slowly home and tried out Green's, an organic food restaurant near our house, for dinner.  We were having some communication issues when a local guy walked over and helped us out.  He suggested we try the acai.  He was very adamant we try the acai.  I thought acai was a fruit that was mostly used in beverages, but the acai came out in a bowl as a very cold custard or pudding with granola and bananas on top.  Acai became my favorite food in Brazil.

After dinner, we tried a local bar for the "national drink" of Brazil, the caipirinha.  It is cachasa (sugar cane liquor) mixed with lime juice, sugar, and limes.  It is very refreshing, especially after a long day of walking.  While we were drinking, a local came over and talked with us.  It turns out he had been a gymnast for the University of Illinois at Champagne-Urbana many years ago.

Travel tip: Brazilians are really friendly.  If you put a good-faith effort into trying to communicate in Portuguese, they will really do their best to make the interaction work.  The ones who speak English will also go out of their way to help you if they overhear you having trouble, or will just come over to say hi.  These are the best conversations.

Brazil Day 1: Sao Paulo/Brasilia

Did you know that the entirety of the South American continent is east of Detroit?  That makes the jet-lag to Brazil pretty much non-existent, despite the nine-hour flight from Toronto to Sao Paulo.

This whole crazy idea to go to Brazil started with a suggestion in a bar that going to Brazil for the World Cup would combine two things we've wanted to do: travel to South America and go to a World Cup.  The idea was quickly seconded by our friends Cassy and Connor, and before we knew it, we were buying plane tickets, getting up in the wee hours of the morning to purchase tickets to a game, and scouring Airbnb for places to stay.

And then the day came, and all four of us landed safely in Brazil.  We arrived in Sao Paulo, but hung around the airport for a few hours for our next flight into Brasilia, the capital of Brazil.  Brasilia was built as the new capital in the 1960s, and we were drawn to it for the renowned architecture and city planning which makes it unique in Brazil and the world.  It is also in the center of the country and has a very different climate than that of the coast.

The cab ride from the airport to our apartment introduced us to what would be my lasting impression of Brasilia - the crazy driving tactics of the citizens of Brasilia.  We made it safely, however, and after some poor attempts at speaking Portuguese with the doorman, we met with our hostess, Leide, who is a soil researcher at an institute just outside the city and, coincidentally, had gone to graduate school in Kyushu, Japan about the same time I was there.  We dropped off our bags and  Leide very kindly drove us around the neighborhood so we could get our bearings on the grocery store, some restaurants, and where to start our sightseeing.

By this time, we were quite hungry, so we had Leide drop us off at one of the nearby bar/restaurants for our first attempt at ordering food.  It was fairly easy to order beers and french fries, but my "He's a vegetarian" line did not work so well, and so we ended up with what we assumed were some breaded chicken pieces.  We decided we shouldn't forget the phrasebook next time.

On our way home we stopped at the grocery store for breakfast food.  I love grocery stores in other countries.  You can learn about a culture in the grocery store.  We quickly realized that Brazilians do not eat a lot of cheese, do not have open container laws, and are never in a hurry when checking out.

Travel tip: Do not flush your used toilet paper in Brazil.  There are wastebaskets next to the toilet for that.  Sam says that you should not be able to be a developed country without adequate sewer systems to flush your toilet paper.  It didn't bother me that much.

Travels in Brazil

We went to Brazil.
We saw a World Cup game.
We swam under a waterfall.
We joined a street party with Brazil fans.
We took pictures.

Blog posts coming shortly.

day 21: fog

In the spring of 2001, I drove back from Boston to Indiana with three of my college friends.  We took turns driving the 16-hour journey through the night.  Ten minutes into my turn in the middle of the night, it started pouring down rain.  I could see nothing but the lines on the road ten feet in front of me.  I certainly didn't have a problem staying awake for my shift, as all my powers of concentration were focused on staying between those two little lines.

That's about what it was like on our drive down to Indiana, only with fog.  Over half of our drive was accomplished within a fog cloud so thick that our visibility was limited to the lines on either side of us and the little bit of road in front of us.  So much for enjoying the scenery.

july in summary

They say that time flies when you're having fun.  Well, July disappeared in the blink of an eye.

It went something like this:

The last weekend of June, we went down to Bloomington for my cousin Sarah's wedding to Jeremy.
Two days after we returned, we flew out to Colorado to Observe the US Open Ultimate tournament, at which time we were also able to visit with Sam's aunt, uncle, and cousins.
The week after we returned, my friend from Korea, Jungmin, came to visit for two weeks.
In the midst of her stay, Sarah and Jeremy stopped by on their way back from their honeymoon in the Boundary Waters.  (The above picture is all of us together on Granddad Bluff in La Crosse.)
The week after Jungmin left, Sam's parents came to visit.

And then August appeared out of nowhere, and Ultimate season officially began.  I'm hoping that the next couple of weeks are just as much fun as July, but perhaps a little less hectic.  Here we go!

tundra struck

My mom came to visit this weekend. It was her first visit to La Crosse, and we did a little sightseeing around town. However, we also went down to Brownsville, Minnesota for a bit of birdwatching.

Winter and spring on the Mississippi River are great because this area is a stopover for several types of migrating birds. This time of year, the tundra swans are starting to come in. They stop in the shallow pools between islands in the wide Mississippi to eat arrowhead and pondweed in order to build up fat reserves for the rest of their trip to the east coast. There were about 8,000 swans here on Saturday, but there will be about 20,000 at the height of the migration.

The bald eagles are out and about as well, swooping from the bluffs and fishing in the river. They are best seen in the spring when the ice is melting, but my mom was lucky enough to see them this weekend too.

ultimate near the ocean

Last week Friday I was in Florida for the USA Ultimate Club Championships. I was invited down as an observer, Ultimate's version of a referee. I knew going into this that I wouldn't have an excess of time to lay on the beach or wander among the palm trees, but it turns out that I had even less time than I expected.

I worked eight games over the weekend, several which where very close. And because the games were spread out to give the teams ample time to play and move fields, I never got back to my hotel before 6:00pm. Sunset is at 6:30pm, and the beach is far away.

I did make it down to the white sands once, though, with just about ten minutes to stick my toes in the water, watch the pelicans swoop down to catch some fish, and gather a few shells before it was time to go to dinner at Yoder's, an Amish restaurant. Believe me, I fully understand the irony of eating Amish food in Florida when my hometown is in Amish country, but I wasn't in charge of choosing the restaurant.

along the platte rivers

I've been to most of the states east of the Mississippi, but this last week I added one to my western states checklist: Colorado. Sam and I drove out for my friend Leslie's wedding and to visit his aunt and uncle. I would have photos of the gorgeousness of the high altitudes, but the camera lied to me when it said it had full batteries, so I was cut off before I could even begin.

Instead, I have a photo of this toad who appears to have taken a smoke break next to the curb where we parked our truck for the night in North Platte, Nebraska. The toad might have been the nicest part about North Platte.

Reasons not to visit North Platte, Nebraska:
1. Bar patrons who don't tip, and the barmaids who constantly complain about them.
2. Liquor store employees who call you a hippie to your face, laugh, show your ID to their friend, laugh some more, and call you a hippie one more time before you leave.
3. Overpriced donuts.
4. Subway employees who fondle your vegetables before placing them on your sandwich.

the falls and beyond

After Michigan, we went up to Fergus, Ontario (an hour south of Toronto) for a ridiculous Ultimate frisbee tournament/carnival. The Ultimate part was mostly rained out, but we made the most of muddy Canada, and had a good time.

We got to Niagara Falls on a Sunday night, just in time for the mediocre seven-minute fireworks show over the falls. More enjoyable was the fact that we had brought our bicycles and parked a fair distance away, allowing us a leisurely ride through Queen Victoria Park along the falls.

We didn't stay long the next morning, because it was just a giant tourist trap. Instead, we wandered along the shore of Lake Eerie, stopping at an old fort, a winery, and Cleveland. And let me tell you, if you ever get to Cleveland, go to Melt Bar and Grilled. Go and eat the most ridiculous grilled cheese concoctions your brain could never imagine.

lake and dunes

We drove up the east coast of Lake Michigan and had the dunes all to ourselves one stormy morning. The last time I was at the dunes I was much smaller, and I therefore remember them being much more imposing. The hike that took all afternoon when I was ten took us about thirty minutes, and we were being leisurely.

The afternoon brightened up, and the drive along the coast was picturesque. We stopped by a few small towns and took in the view of the lake from parks, piers, and picnic stops.

mostly michigan beer tour

It's been a couple weeks now, but we took a vacation of sorts driving in a loop from Wisconsin to Michigan, Toronto, Niagara, Cleveland, Indiana, Ohio, and home. There were all sorts of stops, but let me start with the first set - the beer.

Mostly Michigan Beer Tour
Tasting List

1. Three Floyds Brewing, Munster, IN
Ragnarok: Aesir robust porter
Pride and Joy: American mild
Black Heart: English-style IPA

2. New Holland Brewing Company, Holland, MI
Imperial Hatter: Imperial IPA
el Mole Ocho: Mole beer

3. Brewery Vivant, Grand Rapids, MI
Farm Hand: French Farmhouse Ale
Triomphe: Belgian IPA
Solitude: Belgian Amber
Rye Porter
Barrel Aged Raspberry Porter

4. Founders Brewing Company, Grand Rapids, MI
Empire Strikes Bitter: ESB
All Day IPA

5. Bell's Brewery, Kalamazoo, MI
Lager of the Lakes: Pilsner
Mild Ale: British
Oarsman: Sour Mash Wheat
Sparkling: American Triple
Hole in the Bucket: Experimental ale with 3-6-9 hops
Oracle: Double IPA
Wedding Ale: Honey Wheat

6. Dark Horse Brewing Company, Marshall, MI
Raspberry Ale
Reserve Special Black Bier

7. Canadian Randomness
Mill Street Tankhouse: Red Ale
Alexander Keith: Pale
Wellington Pale
Wellington Lager
Rickard's Red

8. Great Lakes Brewing Company, Cleveland, OH
Dortmunder Gold: Alt beer
Eliot Ness: Amber lager
Lake Erie Monster: Imperial IPA

And for those of you who think this is a lot of beer, it is. But it took us fourteen days to get through them all, and most were taster glasses. I even did a bit of beer-snobbery and wrote down tasting notes, which I have already put on a shelf and forgotten...

weekend activities

Sam and I were flown out to Buffalo, NY this weekend to Observe the DIII College Ultimate Championships. Thanks to the five weeks of recordbreaking rain they'd had, the field site had to be moved to a smaller space, which meant that instead of five rounds of games on Saturday, there were eight. And more rounds meant more Observing!

Sam worked 12 games over the weekend and I worked 10. We both came home very tired and very sore, but we had a great time. All of the teams worked very hard, and it was obvious they appreciated our presence on the field. That's what makes it really worthwhile.

Driving home from the airport, we heard on the radio that there had been a tornado in La Crosse while we were gone. We were lucky that it hit 10 blocks south of us and we didn't come home to a missing roof or a tree on the house.

two kids and some chickens

On Sunday we went out to Jarpal Farms, the homestead owned by my friend and coworker, Beth and her husband, Erik. The farm is home to two human families, over thirty chickens, seven ducks, five cats, and most recently, goats!

Clara and her brother Macaroon were born only a few weeks ago, and we went out to visit before they lost their baby playfulness. Clara was jumping around the whole time, so it was hard to get a non-blurry photo!

We played with the goats, Sam asserted his dominance over the chickens, and I curled up with a cat. Then we enjoyed quiche made from the chicken eggs and fresh goat cheese, and some great homebrewed beer. It was a wonderful afternoon spent on the farm with friends.