Category: Dog Parks and Brew Pubs

As some of you may remember from a previous blog (October at Styx River)Sharon found a sister she had never met, Elise, through the website MySpace. It was pretty emotional and something that I’ll never forget.

This past week her other sister Rachael was turning the big four-oh and as a present Sharon arranged for their little sister Elise to meet up with us to surprise her at Ocean City. It was a neat moment when they all met up. I think Elise may have been a little overwhelmed. Sharon was so excited. We got to hang out with her and her boyfriend Motts and their adorable energetic son Jake. Elise was cute as a button. Motts was a fun and very personable guy, easy to chat with. It was really nice, but too short. I wish we could have hung out longer and I know Sharon did also. We had so much going on that day and we figured we were going to see them the next day so we let them enjoy their day at the beach.

Unfortunately things never worked out to allow us to see them again 🙁 It was such a busy weekend for everyone. We had hoped to maybe visit them at their house, but we encountered some drama and other problems so we did not have time. We are planning on doing a Xmas visit to them so we can bring gifts to our nephew!

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Well not a lot happened while at Deal Island. We did have a bunch of people staying at the in-laws and had a great time. Some drama surfaced but fizzled out pretty quickly.. Sometimes can happen when you get all the Harp/Byrd women in one house 🙂

I did get to meet the owner of Historic Holland Island. Mr Steve. Sharon’s pops sold him some land on which to build a house on and he stopped by for a chat one day. He is 78 and healthy as a horse, he barely looks 50! He was a nice and interesting guy, I wish I had more time to pick his brain. Holland Island is a small island in the Chesapeake Bay that at one time was home to a thriving community but after economic hardship and mother nature taking away pieces of the island, it is barely a mass of land anymore with just one lone house still standing. Steve is trying to save the historic island from eroding to nothing but needs the government’s help. There has been an emmy-award-winning documentary done about him and the plight of Holland Island. It can be viewed on YouTube via this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlzgA2RtT9I

Speaking of impressive older men, Captain Art Daniels recaptured his title by winning the Skipjack race in typical fashion. He had a perfect start fell back when he made a long run out wide, but ended up being the winning move as he did not have to tack and came around the inside of the leader to recapture the lead as they turned for home and never looked back. Nice work. There is a lot more info about Capt Art in last year’s blog, GO >>

It is always a great time when we all get together, we had the pleasure of having Donnie (Rachie’s hubby) come up this year. Made it nice to have another guy around.

The festival was a little disappointing, there were too many photographers set up this time and I did not sell as much as I usually do 🙁 But I did get an interesting story to tell about it. I guess over the course of speaking with people on that Sunday a couple overheard me speaking about my fascination with old cameras. And that the yard sales on the island would be great places to find some but I had to work the show so i could not get out and find any. Well come to find out, they decided that the next morning they would go around for me and buy all the cameras they could find, 6 in all. They stopped by and gave me the cameras, I was so shocked. Total strangers just went out and bought me cameras like I was family. It was one of the nicest things that has ever happened to me in a long time. Thanks you so much for the cameras, but even more for the renewed faith in the kindness of strangers. Although some people say I have never met a stranger. I talk to anybody 🙂

We made it to Harrisburg without any problems, other than me getting into a small fight at Roy Rogers fast food restaurant. As i was in line the older gentlemen in front of me became irate with the cashier because she made a mistake. Instead of three roast beefs and one cheesburger, she ran it in the opposite. He corrected her by sticking his arthritic digits in her face, yelling the number. She got it right then, but the girl helping get food together asked which was to get and he barked at her and called them clueless. I could not stay silent anymore. I said to him “hey they are getting it right, you do not need to be so mean about it” He barked back “miind your own business, these girls are clueless” I looked at the girls and told them “He is just one of those people and just ignore him, dont let him ruin your day” he shut up and just scoffed at me. And when I got my food and walked from the counter he said something under his breath. So i asked “What was that”. He said soomething nasty like. “I just wanted my damn food” I looked back at him and told him “you’re an ass”. He then started to bow up at me, and asked me to step outside. I could do nothing but chuckle at him. Here was a 5’5” 65 year old man wanting to fight me. And I forgot to point out there was a long line of people watching this guy and I. All I could get out was, “You need to just calm down, you are going to end up having a cardiac arrest. It was just a small mistake they made and you berated them. What gives you the right to treat people like that? They work their butt off for minimum wage. Do they deserve to have someone like you to yell at them?” Just then the guy behind me chimed in at him. “look, you were wrong to yell at them like that, just get your food and sit down, you are making a fool of yourself” I just nodded a thank you, and headed on my way. Amazing what asses some people are!!

In the Harrisburg area we have friends, Ray, Monica, Megan, Emily, Nathan, and their puggle Gideon. We called ahead to a nearby church to get permission to park in their lot and they were just fine with it. They had a great lot to park in, large, paved and level 🙂 It was also just across the street from their house. Instead of staying in the coach we stayed at their house. We had a great time.

We took Gideon for his first trip to a dog park, it was pretty much empty but it was a great way to get his feet wet. They were afraid Gideon was going to be aggressive with Jack and Jinny, but Jack never let that happen and took control from the beginning and actually was a bit of a bully.

The highlight of the visit was watching Miss Teen USA pageant. We witnessed live the train wreck of an answer given by Miss South Carolina. I cannot give it justice by writing the explanation so here is a link to view it on youtube.com

We laughed so hard we only heard the first part of the question, but thanks to the modern technology of DVRs, we could rewind it and watch it again. Watch it again we did, we watched it 5 times!!!! And it got better and funnier each time we saw it. It was amazing, you could not script it to be any funnier. Fact is stranger than fiction. She will be famous for it. Within hours it was all over the net, people were dumbfounded!!&

We would like to give a special thanks to the Bichard family for the great hospitality, you have a beautiful home and family. We really had a blast and hope to be back for next year’s Miss Teen USA 🙂

Whew! Thank god that day was over. The day we had getting to PA was grueling. CD burner screwing up when on a very tight deadline. Changing a tire in pouring rain. Getting the RV stuck turning around. Semi-lost. Setting up in pitch blackness, getting muddy, etc, etc, etc!

The following day was much better. We packed up the puggles and headed out to Ohiopyle State Park near Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water home. We planned on eating lunch at Falling Water and checking it all out, but it was going to cost us $32 for admission for both of us just to get in, so we said..NAY NAY (that was for you Alice 🙂 I always wanted to see that place, but for that price Ill settle for pictures.

hiopyle State Park was just a few miles down the road but on the way we stopped for lunch (after being scolded by a friendly female road construction worker) We found a little pizza joint off the beaten path in Mill Run that was a great find. We had awesome huge strombolis. The woman working at the restaurant…I am embarrassed to refer to her as “woman” as I should have gotten her name as we chatted quite a bit while waiting for the strombolis to cook…anyway she gave us a great treat to try and if you happen to stop at the Pizza Barn Family Restaurant you gotten try it to. It was fried dough and it is addictive in taste. Kinda like cinnamon sticks from Dominos but better. Just look for the signs pointing you down a small road to get there.&

So we got into Ohiopyle and were surprised to see all of the activity there. The Youghiogheny River was roaring from all the rains they had been getting. It was amazing watching all that water crashing over rocks and forming huge foaming rapids and waterfalls. There was an area that had natural waterslides carved into the limestone that normally people can slide down but it was a torrent that day. Way too dangerous. We hiked out to see cucumber falls and then just hiked for a bit through the dense foliage. It was so green and beautiful out there. The dogs had so much fun tromping through the thick mud on the trails.

On the way out we stopped for a beer at the Ohiopyle House Bar. With 72 different beers to choose from I was a kid in a candy store. I settled on Troeg Nut Brown Ale brewed in nearby Harrisburg, PA. It capped off a great day out in nature. We even found a solo pink flip flop perched on a rock, it almost looked too staged.

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Well I first have to apologize as this blog is going to take a bit to write as I am behind and a lot of things have happened this trip. So many in fact they have left me no time to write but once I get back on the road I will get caught up. But I do have time to announce …. I GOT THE BOOK FINISHED AND READY TO SELL!!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Look out, Oprah here we come!! Many things have happened on this trip and since I am a little behind I am going to summarize mostly. The first day into Cincinnati area we were headed to have dinner with our good friend Trish. On the way our rear brake caliper failed and seized up 🙁 I had to have Trish give us a ride home and my mom to take me back to my car where I got it fixed in under 20 minutes. I had time to drive around Loveland, where I grew up, with my mom. It was an emotional ride as we went by our house where I spent my entire childhood at and my mom last year was forced to sell. I had to hold back tears and be strong for my mom as she was on the verge of breaking down. It would not have been so hard had I not been with her. There are so many good times in that happened in that house along with some hard ones, but the good ones are the ones I hold on to. I plan to sometime in the future write a book about all the great stories from my childhood growing up with Skippy, Jason and others. And if anyone has been around me before, they will know I love to tell those stories, just hope I can do them justice in writing them down. The day ended by having lunch at Skyline Chili. If you are from Cincinnati, you understand what role Skyline plays in your life, and if it doesn’t, that must mean you are one of those Gold Star people 🙂 🙂 :) We did a side day trip to Lebanon, Ohio and were pleasantly surprised by its charm. It is a great small midwestern town. The Golden Lamb is its famous landmark but there are many other sites to check out. A place you should go to if there is the Wild Bill Cafe. The decor of the place does not portray what the menu is like. It is gourmet and fabulous! And the beer selection is not bad either. We had our One Shoe Diaries exhibition at Depot Square Frame and Art courtesy of our good friends Dave and Beth Magella. It was a great success, but once again not much traffic other than friends and family, but most of them showed up and it was so fun to see everyone. It was a great moment to be able to sell the first copy of our book to my older brother Doug. I wish there was a way we could reconnect as we are so busy it seems to find time 🙁 We would like to thank all those that came out. Pat and Vicky Costello, Trish and her mother and friend. My mom, sister Vicky, Skippy, Becky, Wayne, Randy, Jen, my nephew and Niece, along with Juanita, Mike and any others I may have failed to mention. I had my first interview with a reporter and will be posting the article as soon as it is published. The next day my cousin Terry, whom I wish I was closer to and my Uncle Junior stopped by with his friend Mary Ann. I got to hear a great story about my grandfather from him I have never heard before… My grandfather, Henry Geisner and his two brothers came over on a ship from Germany together years ago when they were just young men. So what do young men who have no job or life do when they get off the ship do? They get drunk, and get drunk they did. They ended up getting into a fight, over what he never said. But they were so furious after the fight they decided to part ways. One brother was so angry he said he was changing his last name to Geesner. The other brother, not to be outdone said he was changing his last name to Gessner. The third was so mad he decided he could not live in the same country with them and went back to Germany! And still to this day the two families have not spoken. You can even see the two families names, Geesner and Gessner in the Cincinnati phone book. My father never knew his father, and I never met his mother Hazel. My grandmother died when I was young and grandfather Henry Geesner died before I was born. Therefore I know very litle about my history and I am hungry to learn all I can when I get the chance. I hope to have more time with Uncle Junior some time, along with cousins Ron and Terry. Before our last day in town we were able to meet up with Randy, Jen and Trish at the Valley Vineyards. You know we cant go anywhere without finding a winery 🙂 This was nice as they have a dinner function on the weekends where you get a table and pay a certain price. And for that you get either steak or salmon. The twist being you grill it yourself on their outdoor grills. ALong with the main course they have prepared corn, potatos, salad and desserts for you. And oh yeah, you get a bottle of their wine. The wine was nothing special, but it was good and they grow all the grapes there. The best part was sharing more time with our friends. It was a perfect evening.

Indiana was a nice stay. The Thousand Trails, Indian Lakes was not one we particularly liked. It had a lot of locals that essentially lived on the property for the summer. Which since they felt like it was home were just out of control. They justy thought they could let dogs run free, be tied up outside, and speed around in the bubba carts. A bubba cart is a modified golf cart with big mud tires and jacked up, not to mention more horsepower for speed.

But the towns surrounding the preserve Sunman, Batesville and such were great small towns, very charming. Also charming was the jewel of a vineyard outside Batesville.

We headed out to the Ertel Cellars winery to have brunch. They have a very classy dining area. It was even better food! They have the most incredible brunch buffet. You could tell the chef took great pride in his product as he made fabulous omelets buffet-side. That day was also the last day of their wine festival so we just a bonus. We tried many of their wines. They were pretty good, but this is a new winery and their wines will surely improve over time with experience as it is a top-notch operation.

Other than that our time in Indiana was pretty uneventful. This area of Indiana is a nice place to visit, with several quaint small towns to visit and explore, we just did not have time to do it.

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Bowling green was just a quick night stay over. We did get to eat at one of our top Thai Restaurants. Proved to be worthy of that rating too. Staying at Diamond Caverns was nice, we had stayed there before. It had lots of nice walking paths, people drive slow and respect walkers. It was still very hot though. We did not get a chance to hit “the Spa”. One of the buildings they constructed some years ago in the 80’s was designated a spa. It had tanning beds (with bulbs original bulbs I think) mirrors on the wall, old school workout equipment, a hot tub and a sauna. It was still kept pretty nice, just kinda funny to see all of the old school equipment.

The drive to Indiana from Kentucky included a stop at the Jim Beam distillery on the Bourbon Trail. We would have liked to hit more but time did not allow. The tour was neat and the most fascinating part was to see the barrel houses with the 12 or so stories of nothing but aging bourbon. The whole process of making bourbon is pretty cool, something you should check out if ever driving from nashville to Louisville.

As luck would have it there was a winery near our RV park so we just had to visit it. It was the Long Hollow Winery. Very nice tasting room, but it was not near a vineyard. The hostess for the evening was very nice, young and very quick witted. And seemed to be in fast forward, and her ears were ringing so bad so said. Not sure what that means. Anyway we bought their reisling and concord grape wines. The reisling was the best we have tried, more dry than sweet. We are not sweet wine fans.

The first place we hit in Nashville was the Blackstone Brewpub. The place looked great, very well done. An upscale brewpub with an awesome menu. Even if I did not drink beer I would eat there! But the beer is just as good. I actually loved the Heffeweissen the best. Would love to revisit this place. Next we headed down to Broadway to do the tourist thing. After shopping and visiting a mediocre brewpub we wanted ice cream. It was here I got the laugh of the night.

While in line I had a guy behind me hand me a business card. White with black type, looked like it was printed using a home computer, complete with perforated edges. It was classic. On it was a bands name and website. The guy said that they are an up and coming band that just signed a 3 song record contract, he wanted me to check em out. I asked some questions finding out he was there PR manager. And then I saw a guy, a male Paris Hilton wanna be the way he sat trying to look cool. When in reality he cracked me up, he had sent his PR guy to go get his ice cream. He sat like he was a big shot. So i started to ask him the questions directly “where have you played” “what kind of music do you play”. The more he became uncomfortable talking to me like I was one of the little people that he did not have time for the more I asked questions. It was a fun little game that I do get bored of and let the primaddona off the hook. It was just so funny to me watching from then on at the people, noticing which ones were looking to “make it” in Nashville and thought they were important.

Overall Nashville was a fun time, wish we had more than a night to explore it.

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Well after making a few turnarounds in some country church parking lots we finally made it to the Thousand Trails Natchez Trace. As usual that place was out in the middle of nowhere, but what a better opportunity to explore a good small town. And a good small town is what we found.

Hohenburg, TN is a small town with a historic downtown area and is known for its junk stores and antiques. We ate lunch at the Junkyard dog restaurant, they had good food but the atmosphere is something not to miss. We only hit one junk store and did not find much we wanted, but the antique mall was full of affordable treasures. I bought an old 1950’s 95A Polaroid camera, but found out that night they no longer make film for it so I returned it for a newer 1970’s model. Complete with film, but wouldnt you know it, the film was no longer any good 🙂 Sharon realized she wants some amber glassware when we settle down, she fell in love with the vivid reds and oranges of it.

On our way up to Nashville we drove the “Trace” (Natchez Trace). It was a little elusive at first but we found it. The road is great, barely any civilization in sight, it was essentially a very long paved trail through the woods, no stop signs, lights or anything. There are numerous picnic areas, trails, waterfalls and historical places along the way. It would take a month to do it all, 442 miles in all

NOTE: Stop in the quaint town of Leiper’s Fork for a bite and gifts.

I almost forgot to mention the sweet couple that camped next to us in Natchez Trace. They were some of the nicest people, Someone is very lucky to have them as parents and grandparents, I hope they are as appreciated as much as they deserve. I know I would like to think if my grandparents wold have lived long enough for me to have known them, that they were be exactly like the couple we met. Safe Journeys to them!

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Montgomery: We only spent one night in Montgomery, so there really is not much to write about. Other than the RV Park we stayed at, had some pretty sad looking RVs in it. It is hard to see people living in such horrible conditions. I realize we live in an RV also, but it is a pretty nice RV and we choose to live in it, it is not our only choice.

Birmingham: It was just a short trip up to Oak Mountain State Park where we stayed for two days. Sometimes it is weird to stay in a state park, everyone there is camping and we are just living. The first day we spent in the coach until dinner. We ate out at what we thought would be a brewpub, but its brewing capabilities have been shut down. The laws are so screwy in Alabama we found out. In order to brew beer before, they had to make a seperate building next door and truck the beer around the block before bringing it into the restaurant. Something about a law you cannot brew beer and serve it in the same building. Also in Alabama, port is not considered wine, it is a liquer. So at the wine bar we could not get port. Whatever. We have not really settled on where we want to live, but we know we cannot live in Alabama. We need our brewpubs.

Now back to the restaurant we went to for dinner. The food was top notch, We ate so much we were gonna burst. They may not brew their own beer, but they had great beer on tap. They had our new favorite, Southern Pecan. We had it in Pensacola and loved it and it was just as impressive. I had a Sweetwater Brown ale, but it did not stack up so I switched (I just have a weakness to try new beers:) There was a lot going on down at the five points area, many of the choices were a little too upscale for us though. We had fun, although it would have been a lot more fun if Alice were with us.

Even in Alabama we can find a winery to visit. We visited the Vizzini Winery in Calera. We were a little taken back, because their “vineyard” was tiny, almost to the point where they should not advertise being a vineyard. Now after dogging out their vineyard, I have to give praise to their tasting room. It was very nice, we had a great lunch in the restaurant and sampled some pretty good wines. They import grapes from Washington State to create them. We purchased a Viognier. I actually cannot wait to try it paired with something spicy. In addition to nice wines so was the host, he was a good old guy. Quite funny too. We probably should have bought a bottle of wine for Alice, but she still has not drank the last one we got her.

Speaking of wine, we opened our bottle of Pietra Santa Zinfandel. It was better than we remembered. Sharon made a great sun dried tomato pesto pasta to go with it, it just brought out the spiciness of the wine. Sooo good!