Karen and I are getting excited about our vacation. It is just around the corner. At the last minute, we almost changed our hotel from the Carribean Bearch to the Swan or Dolphin to be closer to Epcot. But, we didn't.
We signed up the Disney Dining Experience which will give us a 20% discount at many restaurants through DisneyWorld.
I hope to be posting pictures here throughout our vacation.
Karen and I had a great time at the festival. The night before, I ran into the Foothills Brewing guys as they arrived at the Marriott. They were surprised to see me in Knoxville. They are great guys and they have a great set of beers.
Things got going slowly the morning of the festival. Karen’s back was killing her more than normal, but she ran through her exercises and I helped where I could. (I get to bend her to put things back where they go.)
We headed out for lunch and we settled at the Downtown Grill & Brewery. Karen had the pecan crusted trout and I had the Quesadilla. The food was great and we had a long talk the general manager about the brewery, the beer festival, and where to get good beer in Knoxville. I wish I could remember his name, but thanks for good advice on the where to get good beer.
Karen and I headed off to the Leaf & Ale to pick some beer for trip back to Huntsville. We found a great selection including many beers that would be available at the festival.
We arrived back the Marriot and waited for the transportation to the festival. Our driver, KA, was late, but we all did arrive at the festival in due time. We learned that everyone had ‘Will-Call” tickets which meant we had a line, but there was no line for purchasing tickets at the gate. Maybe next year, we can arrange for the tickets to be at the hotel.
After walking through the gate, we ran into Brian from the New Knoxville Brewing Company. He accused us of stalking him from beer festival to beer festival. (Could be?)
Alltech’s Lexington Brewing Company had great beer called Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale which is aged in spent bourbon casks. Here you can see Karen waiting as it is being poured. It gave the ale a mellow bourbon’s oaky over tone.
We enjoyed Rogue Ales‘ Hazelnut Brown Nectar way too much.
Foothills Brewery‘s Oktoberfest was super. It is one of the best Oktoberfest that I have had this season.
The Tennessee Valley Homebrewer’s Association had a great selection of well made brews. We had a stout and kolsch which were both very good.
The first two musical acts were okay, but they were a little too garage band or college fraternity party for me. The next two acts, Scott Miller & The Commonwealth preceded by Mic Harrison and The High Score, were good. I enjoyed Scott Miller’s clean vocal stylings. You can checkout Scott Miller & The Commonwealth on iTunes.
You can see all the photos here.
Karen and I enjoyed the Tomato Head in Knoxville, TN. The Tomato Head has been featured on the Travel Channel and is local favorite. We had the Number 3 pizza which was great!
After dinner, we stayed in the area to watch an outside showing of the “Maltese Falcon
Karen and I hit the Unclaimed Baggage on our way to Knoxville. And, I think we did minor damage to our wallet on this trip.
Karen bagged a bunch of cloths and hazards chemical glove. Don't ask me about the gloves. I don't know of any hazards chemicals at our house.
I picked up another digital camera battery, because we go through them like candy.
And, would you know we actually bought a piece of luggage! Who would have thought!
Karen and I are ready to head off to the beer festival. The weather is looking great. The GPS
We'll be hitting the Unclaimed Baggage in Scottsboro, Alabama on the way to the jam. You just never know what you'll find there. We picked up a $50 digital camera so that we could have a small camera that we wouldn't worry about as much as our good camera.
This beer festival has a flat cost of $20 which is great. Many festivals charge per beer. Check back here for a report on the festival.
I enjoyed my last class with Williams-Sonoma for this year. They have more classes, but my schedule is too full for the remainder of the year.
more soon!
Karen and I went to our first beer tasting put on by Free The Hops. In a single word, wow!
We met a lot of new people.
We met a lot of new beers, too!
We all have Danner Kline to thanks for heading Free The Hops.
Everyone was enjoying themselves.
The service was great and always with a smile.
Another happy customer!
You will find more pictures here.
Karen and I had time to kill and we were getting hungry as we drove around Birmingham, Alabama. We have already driven by the Liberty House which will be hosting the Free The Hops party later tonight. So, we decided to find something nearby and we had been looking for the Purple Onion, but the one that our GPS found had been closed down.
We decided to give The Metro Bistro & Market a try. We both had great sandwishes. Karen had a turkey while I had a B.L.T. Everyone was getting hungry smelling the bacon cook.
Once the staff determined we were from out of town, they filled us in on the local scene. We talked with the bartender and the cook, Josh and Mike respectively, about the Free The Hops, brewing beer, and our favorite Hefeweizen.
Everyone had fun and the food was great. After eating to the point of needing to pop, everyone headed over to where the Alexander homestead had been many years ago. You can see signs of where the cellar and corn crib was on the land. The old spring is still flowing, but it has gone undergrond for the most part.
We even got a group picture to boot.
Karen and I will be heading to the reunion for her mother's side of the family. Karen sent out invitations to everyone to encourage a good turnout.
I think the weather is going to be great. Karen's co-worker, Larry Woellhart, smoked us a pork butt which should be super. Larry is known for his ability to smoke anything from catfish to pork butt to walnuts.
