Christmas in Jamaica (Part 2)

We pulled into Sandals Negril and I immediately felt a difference. Not that it was good or bad, just different. My easy going lounging in bare feet, no make-up, hair in a pony tail, and t-shirt and shorts, now changed into an easy going lounging IN make up, hair done, with swimsuit and cover ups. Everything about the resort was posh. Boo's face was lit up as soon as we walked into the outdoor lobby. He loved it. We were whisked in and invited to have a late breakfast while they get all our paperwork ready. After navigating the buffet lines, we were escorted to a linen clothed table on the outdoor deck with a view of the ocean. I can't lie, it was NICE. I relaxed and took in the view. After breakfast, we were escorted to our "upgraded" room. The room itself was nice, but it had no balcony. We went from lounging in two balconies to not having one at all. At least we were in an end unit. After finally unpacking (at Samsara we lived out of our suitcase) and hanging up all our clothes, putting away our fins, snorkels, and mask, putting out all my make-up, hair products, etc... we decided to take a walking tour around the resort. The best thing about our location was that we were the closest to the water sports and dive shop and just a stones throw from the actual beach, paplas, and lounge chairs. Can't complain. Oh, and we had AC, which we didn't at Samsara. The property is actually pretty big and hugs the coast of the Caribbean Sea on the west side of the island. So you know what that means... SUNSETS!

The next morning it was still raining a bit so we decided to walk off the property to the outdoor craft market. It was about a mile up the road. When we arrived, we were the ONLY people their, so all the booth keepers made sure we went into their little stalls. Most of the morning was spent shopping stall to stall to see if where we could get the best deal. I was in hustler mode and we ended up buying lots of souvenirs at a great price. My favorite was a wooden carving of the Island of Jamaica with all the Providences on them. I was originally quoted $45, but haggled down to $12. The guy even carved "One Love" on it especially for us. I took his picture while he did it. It was cool. One of the vendors that we bought a handmade photo album made out of palm leaves said that b/c I mentioned to her that I loved the Jamaica colors (red, green, yellow, and black) she was going to give me a free gift. She put an ankle bead bracelet around my right ankle and when I tried to pay for it, she said "no, no, just think of it as a gift from your Jamaican mother." Wow... I was so touched by this. Now I have a Jamaican mom :)

The rest of the vacation was pretty much the same. Wake up around 10am, breakfast, play in the ocean and bask in the sun, sail or snorkel, grab a cocktail and catch the sunset, change for dinner at 7-8pm, cruz by the live entertainment to see if it's worth checking out then call it a night and where we ended up talking til the wee hours of the morning. So I'm going to break it down by a couple of categories.

Water sports: Sailing: By mid vacation all the water sports guys knew Boo by his name. Too funny. He got to get in some nice sailing time. The wind wasn't as strong as Antigua's trade winds, but it was enough to get him out for a bit. I sailed with him twice, and he sailed some on his own as I watched from under my papla on the beach :)

Snorkel: We snorkeled twice while there, and wish we had done more. Our guide Davion was awesome. Davion was so funny with is high pitched squeaky Jamaican voice. I remember asking our boat captain where in Jamaica he was from and he said Orangebay, near Luccea. Well, Davion squeaks "And me?" so I indulged him and asked where he was from. He says. "Me from me mama" and laughs, then says, "and she's from she grandmama." The whole boat laughs. On our first tour, I remember as I stepped up the ladder at the back of the boat, Davion grabs my fins and helps me up, then he looks at me and says, "You have Jamaican eyes." Without skipping a beat, I say, "well that's b/c I am Jamaican." (I have an adopted Jamaican mama after all!) We both laugh. I saw so many different types of fish and coral reefs. I even got to hand feed some Sargent major fishes, that was really cool. On our second tour, we saw two HUGE Stingrays, one had spots, and the other was a giant grey stingray. He floated below us and as soon as he got out of range he took off. I didn't realize how fast they could swim! Davion was brave enough to stick his hands into some reefs and pull out some interesting things. We followed him around and I remember Boo and I were the only ones that saw a spotted flounder like fish slink out from underneath a reef, so cool. Another time, Davion pulled out a blow fish and right before my eyes I watched it puff up. He held onto it so we all could pet it. It has hard little thick spikes all over it's body. When he let it go, it clumsily fluttered around b/c it was too slow to get away. We saw alot of colorful fish, like a yellow trumpet fish, rainbow fish, bright pink fish, Sargent majors, blue fish, and so many more.

We also took a Glass Bottom Boat tour and once again, Captain and Davion were our tour guides. He showed us lots of star fish, lots of cucumber coral, beautiful reefs, schools of fish. Even fed bread off the boat to a huge school of Sargent major's. Davion, in his Jamaican accent said, "Dey da greediest fish. Dey follow the boat looking for more food." So funny and so true, the greedy little striped fish followed our boat for more bread! haha! As we drove back, the captain sailed us passed Hedo II. For those of you that don't know what Hedonism II is.... well, it's a resort for really, really free and adventures people who like to be uninhibited. It's an all inclusive, clothing optional, party type place, and boy did I get an eye full of uninhibitedness. I mean I've never seen so many naked people sunny, splashing in the water, and hanging out (literally) on the beach. I was frozen, jaw to the floor, stunned. I usually wave at people on shore if I'm in a boat, but I was so shocked, I couldn't do anything but stare! I'm such a prude... hahaa! I just remember our entire boat being silent, I supposed everyone was curiously shocked.

Restaurants:

Kimonos Your standard Japanese Steak house where you sit with another group and the chef cooks your meal right in front of you. No sushi bar like the Sandals in Antigua. I had conch soup, Our chef, Jeron was awesome! He made everything so much fun. We all laughed, sang, and drank so much wine that night. We met a Canadian family that night that we saw everywhere! We also met a couple for Sedona, AZ. They were celebrating selling their company that sold some sort of children's instrument. We kept seeing them alot too.

Barefoot by the Sea Our first dinner was here. Toes in the sand, gourmet dinner, sunset views. It was awesome and one of the best dinners I had. I got the steak in a red wine reduction sauce. YUM. Wish we would of eaten more at this place.

4C's was the Italian restaurant. Food wise it was OK and close to our room. But view wise it was great. It looked like a huge gazebo right on the beach. Every seat has a view of the Caribbean sea at sunset. They played the same album of Lionel Rich songs both times we had dinner here. I think the best park was the dessert. We raided the hell out of the dessert bar. Chocolate chip torts were sinfully good. We plated it up and brought it back to the room for a late night snack. haha!

Bayside was where we had breakfast everyday. It's your typical buffet style breakfast. I fell in love with the chocolate croissants and just had to start every morning with one. One morning they ran out so I refused to eat there that day. We walked to the other side of the property and had "second" breakfast at Sundowner. (Well, not really second breakfast, cause I didn't eat at the first place.) One night we ate here for dinner for the Sandals returning members dinner. We were given a leather necklace of two little sandals and sat with the Sedona AZ couple to dine on steak and lobster. We also got a nice bottle of Jamaican Appleton Rum. The dinner was OK and the lobster consisted of a bite of lobster tail, otherwise it was the tiniest lobster I ever had.

Sandals Grill was where we ate lunch almost everyday. I got a burger and fries the first day, ribs another day, and twice I had the Jerk Patties and both nights I ate the patties I got queasy. Not a good memory. Other than that it was OK.

Soundowner was a very nice Caribbean Food style restaurant. We had one breakfast here and a nice dinner. I had the Jerk Chicken with rice and peas, plantains, and calaloo. It was way on the other side of the property, but worth the trip over for dinner.

One day we decided to walk 7mile beach. We probably walked a good 3 mile down and 3 miles back up. We took an entire morning to do this b/c we lolly gagged all the way. As soon as we left the Sandals property and passed the Beaches property, there was nothing for while. Just empty white sandy beaches, mangrove trees for shade, and the blue Caribbean sea. We got to a section where the beach turned into a rocky peninsula and we had to walk behind the mangrove trees for about 1/2 a mile. It was different and jungly. Then it opened back up to the beach again at the public beach park. We saw a family swimming and picnicking for the day. Then we got to the busy strip of 7 mile beach in Negril. This was where all the beach hustlers were out in full force and all the boutique hotels are packed next to one another. This was the Negril I loved. hhaha! I loved being in all the action and hustle and bustle. Don't get me wrong, I like the quiet seclusion of Sandals, but sometimes you just want to be in the thick of things. As we walked all the way down to our old favorite, IdleAwhile, I heard the familiar sing-song of the beach vendors. "Cigaaaaaaaaretttttes," "Fresh Fruittttt, pineapple, papayaaaaaa." awww..... if you've ever been to 7 mile beach you know what I mean. It's like the vendors are part of the whole experience. Their chirping singing voices walking up and down the beach selling their items. Then all the reggae music playing from all the hotel bars, mixed with the sweet coconut smell from all the sun tan lotion on the beach is just perfect. Yeah it was packed and crowded and probably loud, but I loved it. Boo couldn't wait to get back to our resort. I guess he was missing the Lionel Richie. haha! We did stop by and have lunch at the Beaches Sandy Bay resort. Since Sandals and Beaches are owned by the same company, we were able to dine at their restaurants. Beaches is more of a family resort. It had a ton of kids and a nice water park. Sandals is adults only.

Entertainment: They had a piano bar that Boo and I had all intentions of going to, but never made it out. A disco, who disco's anymore anyways? So we never checked that out either. A place to check out board games, a giant outdoor chess set, and a shuffle board set. We did pull a senior citizen moment and checked out the shuffle board. I've never played and Boo was showing me how it works. They had two huge macaw parrots a red one named Jazz and a blue (almost bald) one named Pizazz that we spent a few minutes coxing into talking to us. They were not having it and just ignored us. We did play a game of pool in the outdoor tables and I got my butt kicked by Boo. He's such a pool shark :) For the live entertainment, we checked out a show that the staff put on and it was like an avante guard Broadway type show. We attempted to go to the beach party one night, but they had the entire thing lit up like a Christmas tree and played techno music instead of Reggae. I mean how can you NOT play reggae music in Jamaica? We turned around before we even got to the beach. Now one night we had all intentions of checking out the entertainment when we sort of got side tracked. See..... what had happen was.... We walked by the stage when all of the sudden a woman grabs my arm and asks if I wanted to participate in "the Newly Wed" game. Now Boo and I aren't newly weds and we told her, but she said that was fine, they just needed one more couple. I said sure and the next thing I new, we were escorted ONTO the brightly lit stage with 8 other couples! We had BECOME part of the entertainment!!! After they introduce us all, they escort all the ladies off stage into a quiet room while they ask our husbands some questions. Well, after 20 minutes, we are all brought back to the stage and as I glance up, I see Boo just shaking his head with that "what-have-you-gotten-us-into" look. As I sit down, the host comes over to my chair and says she asked our husbands certain questions about us and now we have to match up answers and I'm answering first! First question, how did we meet? Easy enough. OK, second question, what's my favorite perfume. Last question, what's my favorite position in bed? WHAT!!! I have to answer this on stage in front of 150 people? What HAVE I gotten us into? haha! Then they cart off the men and ask us 4 questions. Now, I'm already nervous just wondering what intimate question they're going to ask me and I start to instantly sweat. I mean sweat trickling down my back, in my arm pits, springing up on my forehead. I wonder if I'll make it through this debacle. And once again, the host starts with me. What is his favorite car (which I got wrong), his favorite cologne, his favorite position in bed, and if he's a marathoner or a sprinter. TMI, TMI, TMI!!! We didn't win :( That's OK though. After the entertainment, we walk back to the room and shut in the rest of the night for fear of being recognized. HA! Seriously, it was all in good fun, but sometimes, I do get us into some strange and crazy predicaments. Thankfully I have an easy going Boo that goes with the flow. He is much more poised and calm in these situations than I am. hahaha! Thanks for letting us make fools out of ourselves Boo! I Love You!

Overall, it was a nice vacation full of some crazy and relaxing adventures. Jamaican is a beautiful country with some of the friendliest people I've ever met. It isn't for everyone, but as the island saying goes, "Once you go, you know." You just have to experience it for yourself. I love Jamaica and hope to make it back for a 3rd time. Til next time... GET OUTDOORS!!!

Christmas in Jamaica (Part 1)

aaahhhh.... Christmas in Jamaica. When Boo wondered if we would ever have a white Christmas, I promised him we would. A white sandy beach Christmas! And that's what we did. (Living in the south has its advantages, but a white Christmas isn't always one of them. Rarely do we get snow.) We headed to the natural mystic island known as Jamaica.

The flight was pretty smooth. We left at 6am, had a quick 1 hour layover in ATL and were landing in Mobay (Montego Bay) by 11:30am. We hopped on the JUTA shuttle and were whisked away to Negril for our 10 day vacay. It's an hour and a half trip from Mobay to Negril, so we took in the sights and relaxed. I had forgotten how crazy the drivers were in Jamaica and glad that we hadn't rented a car this time. We had a Red Stripe beer and some jerk chicken when the driver stopped mid-way for a quick break at one of those little side of the road beer and jerk stands. Finally, we arrived in Negril and were the last passengers dropped off at our hotel. Boo and I had agreed to divide our stay in Jamaica with 3 days on the west end cliffs at Samsara Hotel and 7 days on 7 mile beach at the all inclusive Sandals Negril. You see, I'm the adventurous, mingle with the locals type, and Boo is the posh, pampered on the beach type. So we both got our way :)

We check into Samsara and were surprised that our room was upgraded to an oceanfront double balcony (yep, we had 2 balconies! a private one with a table and two chairs, and a larger one with a chaise lounge and chair.) We didn't do the all inclusive b/c I wanted to try some local food at a couple of places that we missed the last time we were in Negril (2 yrs ago.) After we settled in and changed clothes, we toured our little boutique resort and hopped into the hot tub for a bit. Boo wanted to walk to the little grocery store to load up for some bottled water and snacks, so after the soak, off we went on our first adventure. We headed to LM grocery, which was probably a 1/4 mile up the road, and by the time we got there, we were "greeted" by at least 5 different hustlers trying to sell us something. So beware, if you go to Jamaica, you will get approached by the local hustlers trying to make some $$. But in their defense, they are some of the friendliest people you will ever come across. We just smiled, listened a bit, browsed their jewelry/wood carvings/paintings and politely said no thanks. Don't ever say, "maybe later" or "next time" cause they will remember you and later or the next time they see you, they will remind you that you said you would see them later. Too funny, and yes, we learned that lesson the hard way. hahaha! GOT to love them. It's part of the whole entire Jamaican experience for me. To mingle with the locals, talk and get to know them, even out hustle the hustlers. Boo doesn't share my sentiment. Oh well.... I still love the interaction.

LM grocery is basically an overcrowded convenience store. They squeeze in so many products in a tiny space. After buying 2 one liter bottles of water, some oreo cookies (for guess who), a bag of cheese puffs in honor of our last stay in Jamaica (inside joke) and a comb, cause I forgot mine, we walked back to our room and changed up for dinner. Now, if you've never walked in Negril's west end cliff's, just beware that the road is a bit narrow, there is no side walk, they drive really fast and on the wrong side of the road. In retrospect, walking was probably not the smartest thing to do. But I'm cheap and didn't want to spring for a cab that would of cost $500 Jamaican, roughly $2-$3 bucks. Besides, I wanted to SEE the west end cliffs. As we walked the mile to 3 Dives Jerk, I saw are so many little road side shacks that look so charming and inviting. I just want to stop at all of them! Boo probably thought they look dilapidated, unsafe, and sketchy, but he indulged me. As we pass by, we notice a stream of smoke coming from behind this fence and no one at a make shift table of jewelry and small wooden carvings. As we get almost up to it, a blood shot, small eyed, dread locked Jamaican by the name of Charlie peers around the fence with his joint still in hand. He had the biggest smile ever and invites us to look at his wares. Even though we didn't buy anything, he spent a few minutes talking to us about his life. I thought it was pretty neat. We move on down and finally get to 3 dives Jerk. Looks like we are the first and only ones there. We ordered up a platter of jerk chicken, rice and peas (red beans and rice) calaloo, and a red stripe to wash it all down. We find a seat outdoors and enjoy the view of the sea. After a few minutes, a random car pulls up with 4 guys, whom we later learn are from Canada, and a Jamaican driver. The driver stops by our table and starts up a conversation, at first it was kind of nice, but then he starts offering us all kinds of illegal substances and we have to turn him away, several times. It was probably the most awkward moment of the trip. Normally, the locals are pretty good about not hounding you as soon as you say no. Anyways, our food finally arrives and Boo and I dig in. After dinner, we notice it's starting to get dark, and with no side walks in the west end, we decide to head back to our resort and call it a night. It's been a long day.

The next day we made plans to walk 3 miles down to the light house. We wake up around 9am, get dressed and head to Just Natural for breakfast. It's one of the cutest places I've ever been too. Once you walk off from the street, your transported into a lush tropical garden. Most of the tables are outdoors and hidden on little patios. I order french toast with a glass of fresh passion fruit juice and Boo get's the Jamaican breakfast with some freshly squeezed orange juice. It was really good. We say goodbye to Teresa, the owner and chef, and head back out onto the road. We pass by lots of little shacks stands and pass The Rockhouse hotel. This is one of my favorite little boutique hotels from our last visit. As we walk by, I smile reminiscing about the amazing dinner with the amazing view we had here 2 years ago. Yum, I can still taste the coconut shrimp. We continue on in the 89 degree heat with sweat dripping down my back, when we are greeted by a friendly dreadlocked Jamaican. He begs us to see his garden. I'm feeling a bit friendly myself, so I agree and drag Boo across the street. He starts telling us about all the different flowers he grows, he shows us the aloe plant he has and tells us how he uses the aloe as eye drops. He takes us over to the mint and herb section and tells us how eating naturally keeps his 45 year old body healthy. Then he proceeds to do a back flip right in front of us just to show how in shape he is. As we continue the tour, he tells us that he does all of this gardening with only one tool and pulls out a huge machete from the back of a bush. When I see this, all that runs through my head is that he is going to chop us up in bits and pieces and use us as fertilizer for his garden! I see Boo tense up a bit, then the guys asks me to point out my favorite flower and he goes over and pick a huge yellow hibiscus off a tree and hands it to me with a sprig of mint. He picks a stem of aloe for Boo and walks us back up to the road. (Now this is where we learn our lesson.) When he asks if we enjoyed the tour and we say yes and when he asks us if we enjoyed the plants he picked for us and we say yes again, he says in his sly Jamaican accented voice. "Well if you enjoyed what I provided you with today, please feel free to tip me what you think is was worth." Dang this hustle man was good. Boo and had enough for a cab ride back and that was all, so we couldn't tip him. He says it's ok and blesses us anyways. I felt so guilty for taking the flower and aloe and that's probably what he was banking on. (Note to self, don't fall for this hustle again.)

We keep on trudging along and come upon a little strip of colorful shacks selling all kinds of stuff. When we tell the locals where we came from and where we are walking too, all of them sound amazed that we actually are walking to the lighthouse instead of taking a cab. Hmmmm... wonder why... Anways, we say no to every stall and come up to the last stall. Well really not a stall at all, just two guys sitting in lawn chairs. All they do is hold up the biggest dried up branch of the illegal green plant I've ever seen. We politely say no, cross the street, and keep on moving. Man, these guys are bold! Wow. We continued on and find a perfect little picnic table with a stunning view of the blue Caribbean sea. I snap a picture of it and we walk a while more til we reach the lighthouse. Right outside is a small stand with a woman selling cold drinks. She tells us how to get to the fenced off lighthouse. We actually have to go through someones yard. After trespassing, we decide to take a cool down break underneath the cutest little bench under a tree. When we feel better, we attempt to walk up the lighthouse, but notice the doors are locked. Bummer, we walked all this way, got hustled, and the place is locked up. HA! We decide to just enjoy the cliff view and catch a glimpse of the posh hotel called The Caves that was right next door. After taking a taxi back to our hotel and we decided to have a late lunch at the resort. I'm so glad we didn't do all inclusive, lunch was nothing to write home about.

Since we brought our own snorkel and fins, we tried our hand at snorkeling. The best part of our resort is that being on the cliffs makes for some easy snorkeling right off the property. We battled the churning waters for a couple of hours and saw lots of interesting fish. We called it a night and just relaxed on our balconies and watched the sunset. We talked most of the night away. Which was awesome. Back at home we would of caught up on our DVR and sat in front of the TV all night long, but being on vacation means, not being tied down to our normal routine. I love how we got up late almost every day, breakfasted at 9:30am or 10am and went to bed way past mid night. In my real life that would never fly. I'm usually up by 6:30am and asleep by 10pm. We talked, joked, laughed, bonded, and relaxed. I remember telling Boo, with my dirty wal-mart feet from going barefoot most of the day, propped up on our second balcony couch, that we must look like the richest guest at the resort b/c we had two balconies. (Boo, we are New New. hahaha!) We laughed so hard b/c that's not true at all, but for some reason, they put us in the only room on the property with a huge double balcony. The silly things I come up with.

The next morning, we ventured out to cloudy skies. The weather made the Caribbean sea look scary, waves lapped over most of the resorts cliff and it was starting to rain. We took some photos, then retreated back into the room to pack up and head over to 7 mile beach for the rest of our stay in Jamaica. Boo got the taxi driver to cut his fare in 1/2 to take us over to Sandals, which was literally on the other end of Negril. So off we went....

Day at the Museum

I was feeling cooped up this weekend, so Boo and I made plans to go to the Mint Museum of Craft and Design for a nice Saturday afternoon outing. The weather was drizzly and cold, but we were in great spirits. The nice thing about living in a big city, is that there are always things to do and sometimes they are free! Today was one of those "free" days at the museum. Boo and I had pretty much the run of the place, not many people out and about. They had some interesting Russian Art exhibits that were very peculiar. One sculpture looked very Lady Gaga'esque. It was a mannequin dressed up in colorful patches of clothes topped off with a bird cage over his head. It was called "Soundsuit" by Nick Cave and honestly, it was kinda creepy. They had some interesting metal jewelry exhibits, some large colored glass exhibits, like a huge acorn, and some really beautiful wood furniture sculptures. The wood was from Australia and striping in it was amazing. Boo wanted so bad to touch this round desk called "Ebony desk" by Jere Osgood, and he got as close as you can without touching it. I think security saw us on camera, cause a split second later they whirled into the room and started talking to us about the desk. Oops.... hahaa! One exhibit that kind of made me feel uncomfortable was an exhibit about Andy Griffin. The artist made these little sculptures into unsettling poses. I snuck a picture so you can see, in this snapshot, the artist explains that Barney Fife is holding Andy Griffin, who is shot in the heart with his arms sticking out to look like he was being crucified. Another one showed Floyd the barber and I think handyman Emmit sitting on a bench, holding hands signifying gay marriage. Another one had Gomer and Goober Pyle, one in a wheelchair with no legs implying war was evil. And the last had Aunt B sitting in a chair with a bunch of empty prescription bottles laying in her lap and Opie standing above her with a shot gun. It was really disturbing, but I guess some art is supposed to be. We were surprised to find that we actually liked the last exhibit. It was about American Quilts. To get up that close to one really makes you appreciate how intricate some of those designs were and just how many pieces of tiny cloth it took to piece together a quilt!

After the museum, we decided to take a brisk stroll around to check out the Christmas decorations around the city. We made it up to the huge tree in the middle of town and even caught the "Bear Symphony" show for a few minutes. It's a show that has a bunch of mechanical moving bears singing and playing instruments. Kind of reminded me of SHOW BIZ pizza band. A bunch of bears playing guitars and singing. hahah! Anyways, all the little kids watching it were mesmerized. It was cute. We decided to call it a day and head back to the car, cause it was getting even more cold and rainy. At least we got some culture and were out for a bit. Now we're off to get ready for a Christmas party. Hope you all have a great holiday and til next time... GET OUTDOORS!!!

Disc Golf morning

Today we braved the cold and headed out to Kilbourne Park to play 18 holes of disc golf. I think I was on a completely different planet, or the cold weather gave me the crinks (is that a word?) cause I played baaaaaaad. But I'm pretty proud of myself for playing consistantly bad at each basket. :) hahah! Oh well.... I guess, like Tiger Woods, I was having an off day and it wouldn't go away. The course was pretty challenging, so I'll have to come back and beat it down another time. Boo says that this park is also called "Skill-bourne" cause you need some skills to play it. I believe it. It was pretty tough. Til Next Time.... GET OUTDOORS!!!

Beer Tasting

Ok, another non-outdoorsy post, but hey, it's cold out and I wanna stay in and drink BEER!!! hahaha! Boo and I decided to have our very own beer tasting. We headed out to our local Total Wine store, sailed past the wines, and cruised down the beer aisle. We picked up an assortment of beers from all around the world. The cool thing about Total Wine, is you can just buy one bottle of beer. So after some serious browsing, we walked out with quite a variety of libations. We used our little pint sized pint glasses we got from our beer tasting we did a couple of weeks ago. They were the perfect size b/c one beer filled both 6 oz glasses.

Our first beer was FAT TIRE. It's touted as being the "New Belgian" beer and it's from Colorado. The Fat Tire recipe originates from a co-founder's (husband and wife) bicycle trip through Belgium from brewery to brewery. This eco-friendly company practice employee ownership and in 2008, it was named THE place to work in America by Outside Magazine.

REVIEW: It was good. Amber colored, and cloudy. Had a nice little after taste kick, maybe from the hops. Might try it again.

Next up was Hoegaarden. A true Belgian Beer. I liked the pretty bottle and had fun running around saying HO Garden, HO garden! like a 13 year old. haha! It's actually pronounced Hu-garden. It dates as far back as 1318 and was named after the village it was brewed from, just east of Brussels. It's an unfiltered beer that won tons of awards.

REVIEW: When I poured it, I was nervous at how cloudy this pale beer was, but that's b/c it's unfiltered. I have to say that the crisp taste made this my favorite beer of the night. The taste ended up being orange peel and coriander, as written on the bottle. It had no after tasted, which I definitely liked, and it was sort of fruity tasting. Very good beer. Will definitely try this again.

Green Flash West Coast was next. This beer hails from Sunny San Diego, California, and I've heard many good things about it so I was excited to try a beer from my beloved SD. It's an IPA that won several first place awards in 2008.

REVIEW: If I recall correctly, the description on the bottle says hoppy and pungent. It ain't lying! Talk about hoppy.... whoo hoo, this beer is hoppity hop hop hoppy. If that's your thing than this is the beer for you. Personally, I'm not a hopped up person, so I was a bit disappointed I didn't enjoy it as much as all other things southern Californian. Not sure if I would try this pungent beer again. (sniff, sniff, one tear falling.) Sorry SD, I still love you.

Up next, we made our way to Germany. I was kind of looking forward to this one. After all, isn't Germany known for its beer? So we had a bottle of Dinkel that we got from my in-laws, I think... Anyways, we decided to add it to our little beer tasting. I couldn't find anything on this beer bottle that was readable to me. It was all in German. So this is what I think. I think Dinkel, means Dunkel, which means Dark Beer in German. That's all I got.

REVIEW: This beer was pale, cloudy with chunky bits floating in it, and looked scary to drink. We poured about half a glass full and took about 10 minutes of agruing who was going to attempt to drink this first (at one point I looked at Boo and jokingly asked if his parents meant to kill me with this. haha! He didn't think the in-law joke was funny. Oh well. haha!) It tasted like straight WHEAT. So gross, we tossed it down the drain. You'd think after a couple of beers anything would go down easily. This beer threw that theory out the window. Maybe the saying is that Germany's know for drinking beer, not making it? Anyways, NEVER trying this one again.

Up next is one of Boo's favorite. The San Fransisco, California made, Anchor Steam. Founded in 1896 during the gold rush. The 1906 San Fransisco earthquake and subsequent fires actually burned down the original brewery, but it was rebuilt in a different location in 1907. During the 50's and 60's it went through some rough times when Americans started drinking the pale mega breweries like Bud and Coors. It actually closed down for a year in 1965. It was bought out for a couple of thousand dollars, moved to a different/current location, re marketed with a new recipe and BAM, it's now a great, sought after American beer.

REVIEW: I really wanted to love this beer cause it was Boo's favorite. But my palette had a different idea. It had a strong kick to it that I didn't enjoy and it was a bit hoppy. I'd try it again, but not one of my favorites. For those who like a hopped up beer, this one's for you.

Next, we went down south to New Awlins, Louisiana, (I know it's New Orleans, just like pronouncing it New Awlins. Oh, and Abita is actually made in Abita Springs, Louisiana, north of New Awlins), and tried another one of Boo's fav's, Abita Turbo dog. Founded in 1986, this baby American beer company not only makes beer but also makes root beer in the same facility. Another eco-friendly "green" beer company, saves the environment while mixing together "British and North American malted barley, German and American yeast strains, Pacific Northwest hops and the pure artesian water of Abita Springs." (Abita website)

REVIEW: This dark, velvety, coffee/chocolately flavored beer was one of my favorites of the night. It was a smooth perfect winter beer. It actually tasted alot like Carolina Brewing Company's "Low Down Brown" beer, which I like. I will totally try this beer again and looking forward to trying the Pecan Beer too.

For our last beer, we decided to stick our tried and true Corona in for good measure and to end the tasting on a good note. :) So off we go to Mexico. Usually served with a slice of lime, the pale ale Corona, or should I say Corona Extra, is a cerveza (beer) owned by Modelo Brewing (Cervecia Modelo, which happens to be another one of my favorite beers). Not only is Corona the top selling cerveza in Mexico, it's the top selling export in the United States.

REVIEW: What can I say about this beer other than it's liquid gold. It is a refreshing, smooth, great tasting pale beer. It has the best beer commercials I've ever seen and if you ever come to casa-de Sweetpea, chance are my fridge has a few Corona's floating around in it. It's a staple in our house. Of course I'll try this one again. haha!

Well, that does it for the at home "Beer Tasting." Hopefully I entertained, as well as gave you a few suggestions on new beers to try. If you have any favorite beers you want to pass along/recommend, let me know, I'll be happy to taste test it, all in the name of science ;) Til next time... GET OUTDOORS!!!

Tweet Tweet

Today we met a group out at a local disc golf course. We all played a relatively good 18 holes. Boo even got a birdie and one guy lost a disc at one of the lake shots. Oops. After playing, we decided we felt pretty good and we should go for another 18. At first I didn't want to play, call it ADD, but I wanted to go do something different. Then, at the very last second, I decided, what the hell, lets play.

Well guess what? I got 5 birdies! TWEET TWEET Bitches! hahaha! I was just as shocked as the three guys I was playing with. Boo just proudly beamed at me and the other two were speechless. I guess they didn't like getting their ass handed to them by a girl :) hahaha! Seriously, I think my arm was loosened up and I did change driver disc's. That added with the right wind and some good old fashion luck allowed me to play the game of the day. It was so sick! I just threw them really accurate and close to the basket, then on my second shot, I just slammed dunked them into the chains. It was a nice feeling. Though I wish the sore losers would of been more gracious and given me some props. I mean, I didn't need a standing ovation or anything, but a "nice shot" would of been nice. I guess not everyone shows good sportsmanship like I do.

Afterwards, we went home to pick up the hounds and take full advantage of the awesome weather. We took them to their favorite pond and let them have a nice swim. The dogs love it at the pond, you can just see how happy they are. They smile and their tails go crazy. Boo and I chillaxed and enjoyed the day. Til next time. GET OUTDOORS!!!

Disc Golf Sat.

We decided to try out a disc golf course that I hadn't played in a while. Boo played it a couple of weeks ago and told me how challenging it had become. OK, I'm up for a challenge. We loaded up into the car and headed out to Renaissance Park. The first 6 holes were pretty much the same. Hard, crazy ravines you have to repel, and lots of up and down hiking.

Well the next 12 holes were hard as hell! There were two par 6 over 1000 feet in distance throws. Believe me, I took all, and more, of the 6 shots just to get it to the basket. It was disgusting! Luckily I didn't lose any discs, but I think I need a better long distance driver..... hmmmm...... This course was definitely humbling, but made me want to come back and try it again. I think tomorrow we'll hit the easy course and see if playing on a pro-course has helped up my game any. Til Next Time. GET OUTDOORS!!!

Thanksgiving 2009

Ok, Ok.... I know this isn't an outdoorsy post, but I just wanted to talk about my TG dinner. Thanksgiving was a low key affair at casa-de-Sweetpea. I decided to take on the challenge of cooking my very first Thanksgiving dinner! Turkey was a bit intimidating, so I went with something a bit smaller. Cornish Hens. I found a great recipe while surfing the Food Network, on Barefoot Contessa's show. So I downloaded the recipe from the website. The sides were easy-peasy. Nothing to fancy. I made regular stove top stuffing, just added some carmalized onions, celery, and dried cranberries to make it my own. I went with potato's augratin, simple. Take and bake oven rolls, and steamed brocolli. Oh, and wine :) I even cheated on dessert by getting an already made pumpkin pie. All in all, it took about 1 hour to make everything. Hope you all had a nice thanksgiving! Til next time, GET OUTDOORS!!!

$5 Beer Tasting

So I was supposed to go backpacking this weekend to test out my new stove, but beer kind of got in the way. haha! We ended up taking my dad to Carolina Beer Company on Saturday, since my mom was still out of town. It ended up being lots fun and I got to bond with my dad over some good beer and funny stories :) You may have seen Cottowood Ales or Carolina Blonde in your local grocery store. I know I can pick up a six pack at the local Harris Teeter. But something about going directly to the brewery makes the beer taste so good!
Well, we picked up my dad around noon. After Boo helped him figure out the latest computer issue, we headed out to Carolina Beer Company. Every Saturday, from 12pm to 3pm, they have live music and beer tasting for $5. And let me tell you, for $5 you get ALOT of beer. 5 beer tastings to be exact and a complimentary tasting glass. The glass looks like a pint size pub glass. I think Boo said it held around 6-8 oz of beer.

Anyways, we pull in just as the party was getting started. Lots of people, the music was in full swing, the beer taps were flowing, and the sausage dogs were sizzling on the grill. We walk in to the tap room, pay our $5, get our 5 tokens, and side up to the bar. Boo knows he wants a glass of the Carolina Blonde. I'm eyeing the Cottonwood Pumpkin Spiced Ale, and my dad also gets the Carolina Blonde. We walk outside to take in the sunshine and grab a seat on the outdoor patio. As we are discussing the beer and it dawns on us that we could potentially taste all the beers offered if we each got a different beer and passed the glasses around so everyone gets a swig. (We family, so cooties don't scare us. ) After reading the descriptions of all the beers and we decide what we want to try next. This time around my token gets me a Low Down Brown, which I really liked. (Strong, chocolate/coffee tasting, dark beer.) Boo gets the Irish Red Style (taste alot like Killians), and my dad tries the American Wheat (taste Blue Moon-ish). We pass around our mini pints and everyone takes a sip out of each beer. Even though I appreciate the different flavors, I'm glad to get my Low Down Brown back it's sooooo good. I sip down the smooth, velvety dark beer and get that familiar tingly warmth feeling :)

My head starts bobbing to the music and I get bold enough to pull out my camera and start snapping some photos of the band, the crowd, and the brewery. I can tell my dad's having fun to b/c he makes a quick call to my brother to rub it in that he's at a beer tasting and he starts relaxing and telling us some of his funny beer stories. For our third glass, since they didn't have my favorite Cottonwood Almond Stout, I try the Endo IPA, Boo gets the Carolina Strawberry Ale, and I think my dad gets the Cottonwood Frostbite. Now my mind was a bit fuzzy by that point, but I think that's what we all got. As for the fourth token, I have no idea what we all got. It was good though. hahhaha! We decided to save the last token for the next time. Yeah, we're light weights, well at least I am :) I had a lot of fun at the brewery and highly recommend checking it out if your ever in the area. Oh, and technically we were outdoors enjoying the sunshine, music, and beer :) Til Next time... GET OUTDOORS!!!