Old Brown Dog

Tonight I am trying something new: Smuttynose Brewing Companies 'Old Brown Dog Ale'

And 'no', it doesn't taste like an old brown dog .. not, like I would know what an old brown dog would taste like.. it actually tastes pretty good and at 8.99 a six-pack it's a fine outstanding beer - By the way, I use BUD to clean the bird-poop off of the deck.. works pretty well...

OLD BROWN DOG ALE
Winner of a Silver Medal at the 1989 Great American Beer Festival.

AWARDED BEST BROWN ALE IN THE NORTHEAST - 8th Annual US Beer Tasting Championship

Old Brown Dog has been cited as a classic example of the "American Brown Ale" style of beer. Compared to a typical English Brown Ale, Old Brown Dog is fuller-bodied and more strongly hopped.Old Brown Dog has been around for many years. It was first brewed in 1988 at the Northampton Brewery. In 1989 it won a silver medal in its category (American Brown Ale) at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver.

VITAL STATISTICSOG: 1060, TG: 1016 Grain Bill: Pale Brewers, Munich, Crystal 60°L, ChocolateHops: Cascade, WillametteIBU's: 15, ABV: 5.7%Color/Number: Deep brown-amber, 25°

What's on my jukebox (or should I say XM):

Fleetwood Mac - Don't Stop

Kansas - Dust in the Wind

Ricky Nelson - Garden Party

Little River Band - Happy Aniversary

Grand Funk Railroad - We're an American Band

Carol King - It's Too Late

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - An American Dream ('might be the answer to this hillbilly beer')

The end of our vacation

On Thursday we went to Hollywood Studios (used to be called MGM). Carter got to meet some of his heros - the Power Rangers! After days of only being given the choice of Hamburgers, Hotdogs and Dry Chicken Sandwiches there was finally a Pizza place! Sue can't eat Pizza (namely the sauce) so while we went on the 'movie ride' Sue went off to find something to eat. Carter really enjoyed the movie ride. You are in a car and go past these elaborate sets made to look like the actual movie sets with animatronic actors; John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, the munchkins, etc. One of the sets was set up like a town in the 1930s and once the car stopped a gangster jumped out (a real person), there was a gun fight and he took over driving our car. That was until he got greedy and tried to steal the jewel (from Raiders of the lost ark) and was turned into a skeleton.

Some of the rides remained the same from when Sue and I went in the early 90s; Tower of Terror and Star Wars (flight simulator). Carter seemed a little scared when we went on the Star Wars ride but he was totally into the characters and the light-saber battles outside. He even got to meet Darth Maul but ran away when he showed him his nasty 'green' teeth! He is still talking about it and saying he's Darth Maul (then showing me his teeth). I told him that your teeth can turn green if you don't brush your teeth every day.

Friday we spent most of the day at the pool. Sue's mom and dad checked out at 10am and headed to their next destination (Treasure Island). They are retired so they'll be in Florida for the next 2 or 3 weeks. We hung out at the Hilton Grand Resort.. plenty to do.. about 4 pools, music, games, a bar and tables where you can eat. Carter got to paint a snake and played on the playground until he fell and hit his chin on the ground. It wasn't a good day for Carter. While I was leading him to the bathrooms he hit his head on one of the walls (don't even know how this is possible), then his chin, then at the airport he had a nosebleed right before we were to be checked over, and to top things off he fell off his chair (while sitting at a table) and hit his nose on the table before falling to the ground with the chair behind him.

So we are back home in Bethlehem. Got back around 10pm last night. It's funny when you return home after just a week.. things look different for some odd reason. The cat was especially glad to see us. As I got to the front door he was scratching at the door (having heard us arrive). He was epecially needy all night but then bit Sue as she came up the stairs. Cats get weird when you're gone for awhile or maybe he was just hungry.

Here are some more photos:

Universal and Epcot

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

On Tuesday Sue and I went to Universal Studios by ourselves. Some of the rides have changed since we were last there (it has been 14 years) but I was amazed that the Lucy exhibit was still there. We got to see some of Lucy's dresses, some old Lucy scripts and her Emmys; just to name a couple of things.

We caught the Blues Brothers show (performed outside their brownstone), the Horror Makeup Show, Men In Black ride (I won), The Mummy Ride (a rollercoaster; Sue thinks her back is now fixed), The Simpsons Ride (replaced Back to the Future) which is a flight simulation; towards the end of bouncing and flying through the air after your roller coaster car lets loose a Giant Maggie puts you in her mouth and spits you out. The park closed at 7:00pm so we didn't get to see FEAR FACTOR and the live taping was for some wrestling show.

Here are some photos:

EPCOT

On Wednesday Sue, Carter, Grandpop, Grandma and I went to Epcot. The first ride we went on was pretty cool. You go through the history of technology. There are some games you can interact with before getting on the ride (almost like playing a wii; without the remote). As the ride starts moving your pictures are taken. There is a computer screen in which you plug in some information (what you like to do, where you are from, etc.) and then before the ride ends it places your faces into the video. Although I am a little worried since this was supposed to be our future and I was no where to be found (Sue told me I better buckle up!).

Carter especially liked the Character Depot where he got to meet Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip and Dale, and Goofy (after about an hour wait). In the old days you would wander the park and get to meet the characters; now you have to wait in lines and sometimes just to see one character. Kind of funny when you see kids with autograph books waiting in line to have goofy give you his autograph. You have to train them young to be autograph seekers! At least these characters weren't charging.

We spent some time in England where we saw a bad Beatles band. Ok, they were ok.. but just putting on a wig and outfits doesn't make you the Beatles (although anyone could be Ringo); the Fab Faux are much better. Sue bought some AERO bars and Carter got a set of Peter Pan figures. We ended the night in Mexico and watching some of the 'illuminations' .. fire, fireworks and lights.. before heading to the parking lot.

Here are some photos:

Animal Kingdom

On Monday we ventured off to Disney's Animal Kingdom. My expectations were high and after leaving I was a little disappointed. Sue was told that most of the animals are hard to find (they hide) and this was the case at 1/2 the exhibits.

If you have small children (under 5) you might want to re-consider BUGS 3-D. This looks all cutesy and cuddly from the outside but once you get in you are bombarded with acorns, a stink-bug lets one loose, bees are up close and personal, huge animatronic bugs, and spiders drop from the ceiling. Right before you leave all the slugs and snails (and such) need to leave first so you feel things underneath your seat moving.. pretty gross.. Carter was a little scared of the spiders and the acorns flying past our heads.

Some of the fun stuff was Carter meeting Goofy and Pluto (pluto's tag said "if lost, please return me to Mickey Mouse) and Meeko the raccoon. We also saw some monkeys, various birds, an anteater, a hippo, and a pair of Gorillas. We were watching the Gorillas; thinking they were going to fight. We soon found out that one of them was male and the other was female as the parents frantically rolled away the strollers and shielded their children's eyes from nature.

We didn't have a chance to go on the safari since the park closed at 6pm. That is one thing that we're not too happy with but I guess we are here off-season. The first day at Disney we were very sad to here that the park closed at 7pm (on a Saturday!) but this was because of 'grad night'.

Here are some photos

The future Chad Smith (or Ricky Ricardo)

This monkey has a child clinging to it

The Gorillas (before showing us some tricks)

Carter meets Goofy and Pluto

Disneyworld

Saturday we went to Disneyworld. The last time I was at Disneyworld was around 1994 when Sue and I went. We remember doing disney in one day since most of the rides are geared towards the little ones. This time we spent 7 hours on Saturday and 8 hours on Sunday. Sunday we stayed for the parade (see photos below) and the fireworks. The park closed at 11pm. If you stay at one of the resorts you can come in at 11pm and stay til 2am!

Carter's favorites: Meeting buzz lightyear (he gave him a high-five), meeting winnie the pooh and tigger (too). Carter's favorite rides were: Pirates of the Caribbean .. he can't stop talking about seeing 'jack sparrow' (What is funny is that they put this wax figure of Johnny Depp (as Jack Sparrow) in various places through 'pirates' (the ride still looks the same except with Jack showing up here and there... and also an apparition of davey jones (not the guy from the monkees) greets you when the ride starts), Buzz Lightyears Galactic Adventure (Grand-ma won!), it's a small world (I have a fear of the ride breaking down and all the little people coming to life) and the Country Bears (they dust them off once in awhile).

The fireworks were unlike anything we've seen before. I imagine disney creates their own types of fireworks.. and the grand finale was tinker-bell (or someone a little bigger than her) flying down a wire from the top of the castle and across to a nearby building.

We had to fight the evil Zorg to get our son back

Everyone Loves A Parade

These are real "little" people - don't be fooled!

Super Carter and his Dad

Drinks were priced reasonably. Water was $1.80.. Powerage (blue) was $2.00 ... that's about all I've been drinking is the energy-drinks. It's hard to find something healthy to eat at disney but they were selling bananas, apples and oranges at some of their stands. You can only eat so many fried foods before the muscles in your legs cease up on you.

The little mermaid was my favorite. She's a redhead, you know and she's been my favorite disney character for a long time. I was very excited to see her in person!

Next up: Animal Kingdom

Florida here we are!

On Friday morning (April 25, 2008) we got up at 5am to catch a 7:45 flight out of Allentown for Orlando. I haven't flown since 1996 (on my honeymoon). Going through the gate check wasn't too bad but I did protest when they asked that I remove my belt. This holds up my pants and without it there are problems. Off with the shoes, remove all the crap from your pockets, take off all outerwear, remove any gold teeth, throw your brand-new laptop into a plastic tray, remove all metal rods from your spine, and proceed.

The airport breakfast food is something you do not want to consume. I bought a double-bacon egg omelet at Subway. Basically pre-cooked egg rolled out with pre-cooked bacon wrapped in a fajita and unheated. Sue went with the more practical blue-berry muffin (as did Carter). As I was leaving the subway my wife and son were no where to be found. I usually get a 'waa waa waa' (like the teacher on peanuts) and then realize I never heard what my wife told me. So I sat in front of the subway eating my omelet as they called 'last call for gate 10 to orlando'.. S**T that was our flight. I see Sue running and coming to a halt in a panic looking for me as I rustled with the spackled omlette and shoved it back in the bag.

We ran to the gate. No hurry since once we got through there was a line going onto the plane. This was Carter's first plane ride. The flight was pretty smooth but I did take offense to the flight attendant's attempt at humor during the safety instruction. .."if the flight becomes a cruise please use your seat as a floatation device"... somehow I remember hearing that in a movie..

During the flight they held a raffle and we bought 10 tickets for $5.00.. and we won! A Florida blanket and a deck of cards. I remember flying as a child and receiving 'wings' and a deck of cards.

Once we were about to touch down Carter moved over to the window seat (seen below).

We picked up the rental car (a Dodge Caliber) and went off to Seaworld. Even before we got inside Carter was wanting to see a Manatee! We have no idea where he even heard of a manatee before.

The manatee was one of the last things we saw before leaving. I wasn't very impressed with Seaworld after spending $200.00 on 3 tickets. The only things to drink were soda and water.. we could not find juice anywhere and you will think I'm lying but my son does not like either water (he drinks this sometimes) or soda (he hates soda; yes, he's my son). The shows were really bad; even for kids shows. Once you become a father (or mother) you become an expert on what kids like and otter/seal show was pretty bad. We didn't get to see the Shamu show since it was to capacity as we approached the gate. You have to walk about 3 miles to the stadium and then once you get there you are either told to 'come on in' or 'go away; we're full' (not exactly what they said). The food was over-priced (like most theme parks) - water $2.50 / bud - $5.00 - and if you are carrying your bud make sure they're aren't any small children in front of you. You could accidentally poor beer down there back if you aren't watching what you are doing.

What was very cool was that you could see Shamu up close and personal. He has his own tank. (see the photo below). The manatees were outside and you could get pretty close to them. You could also see sharks, stingrays, barracudas (these guys look mean; and have teeth!), dragonfish (look just like a floating plant), and the occasional squirrel. While we were sitting at the otter/seal show Sue looked over and a squirrel was staring at us from the aisle. They seem to seek me out! They are vicious little creatures and should be avoided at all costs.

I will post more as soon as I have more energy. Yesterday we went to Disney and 7 hours walking around in the sun takes a lot out of you. And we are heading back there today.

A Manatee named Jeremy

Thinking of Summer

Today it was in the 70s here in PA. Nice change from the 40s and 50s of previous weeks. So, I decided to get a head start on the patio furniture.

Several years ago my in-laws gave us a nice wood patio set. Since we had the deck built back in October I decided that it was time to put new life into the old patio set. We've debated whether or not to buy new patio furniture or keep what we have. We both like the wood furniture that was given to us and it's a great compliment to the new deck. The only problem is that it needs some care, and some paint.

Today I sanded down the table and primed it. This took me about 2 hours! But the end result will be well worth it. We have two chairs, 4 benches, a bench seat, and a lounge chair that all go together. My goal is to have the table, 2 benches and 2 chairs sanded, primed & painted before summer gets here. The two chairs are currently sitting on the deck next to each other. The bench is also on the deck and in better shape that the other pieces. The photo (above) is of the primed table.