Star Wars

The kids and I just saw the new Star Wars (The Force Awakens) and had a great time. We went and saw it on opening night - the day the kids finished finals and the last day of school before Christmas break. Someone at work told me about the Star Wars app that lets you take a selfie as a Jedi and I was all over that. So here it is :)


The force is strong with this one!

I think the beard goes great with the Jedi and make me look a bit Obi Wan like. I have a Jedi robe and blue light saber (mine is actually Anakin's) which I like to wear and walk around in on Halloween. I think I'll go grab my light saber and do battle with the kids right now..... they get to use my Yoda light saber. Good times.

It was awesome to see Luke Skywalker at the end of episode VII. We can't wait for the next one!

Weekend work trip to Chicago

I had the wonderful opportunity to head to Chicago for a work conference last weekend. I haven't been to Chicago in over 20 years but I remember really loving it. I was only there 3 nights so I didn't have much time but I was determined to experience some of Chicago's most famous pizza places, go to the Art Institute of Chicago, and run along Lake Michigan. We stayed in the Marriott on the Magnificent Mile so I was within walking distance of everything and the weather was great. It was around freezing first thing in the morning but it was in the upper 40s in the afternoons.

The Cloud Gate sculpture...also called the Bean

 

View of  Cloud Gate with the skyline in reflection.and people watching the ice-skaters.

I remember loving Chicago pizza and we really don't have any here in Atlanta. I made it to two of the highly regarded joints: Lou Malnati's and Gino's East. Both were fantastic. I think I give the slight edge overall to Gino's East but that might be because I loved the spicy sausage I got on it. I think Lou's pizza had a slightly better crust. I ate so much pizza at those places I almost burst. It is a HEAVY pie with the sauce on the top. I think I recall being told that the sauce was on top to keep the cheese from burning during the long cook time needed to cook these bad boys (45 min).

Waiting for some pizza at Gino's East

A slice of heaven at Gino's East

 

One of my best friends (Michael Barringer) is a professional artist and he said I really needed to go to the Art Institute of Chicago and at least try to see a couple of the more famous works housed there including the Georges Seurat painting:  A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. He was right of course - it was an amazing place! I'm so glad I went. I spent about 2 hours there and wish I had another 2-3.

Saw this on my way to museum but didn't read what it was. There is a lot of public art.

The Lion with holiday spirit out front of the Art Institute

 

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte

Don't recall the artist but I loved the 3-D texture of the hair on this one.

American Gothic by Grant Ward

The Old Guitarist by Picasso

I have to get off the computer because Drew needs it for school. But it was an a great time. Oh yes, and I did go for a run along the lake which passes by the Art Institute, The Shed (aquarium), and planettarium. The view of the city across the lake (as you run away from it) is amazing. I really hope I get to go back with the family some day.

Heaven in a Glass

Went to Lincoln Filling station on Friday night to pick up a growler of beer. I didn't realize it but a "tap takeover" was going on by New Belgium and 3 Taverns breweries. I was initially thinking of getting and IPA but when I saw all the new beers on tap from these breweries I took a look and the New Belgium Hop Stout caught my eye so I asked for a taste. It was delicious and I instantly knew I would be enjoying this draught beer on my stone patio for this beautiful Fall weekend.

Enjoying the Hop Stout in my signed glass

When they handed me the full growler they also gave me a New Belgium glass which I was not expecting. Maybe that is normal during tap take overs - not sure. Then Brad says you want to Master Brewer to sign that for you? I was like - sweet, I sure do. I don't know if he came all the way from Colorado just for this but he was at the Filling Station for the event. He signed my glass, I shook his hand, and I was on my way home to enjoy the weekend!

Winery Dogs

On Columbus day, after Diane and I got back from our hike/ride, Michael and I went to see the Winery Dogs at the Variety Playhouse.  We saw them a couple years ago after their debut alum and it was great. This show was in support of their sophomore release called Hot Streak which is getting great reviews and just came out a couple weeks ago. I bought the new CD at the show. I almost bought the signed LP but decided to save a little money and I can listen to the CD in my jeep.

Billy Sheehan solo time

Billy Sheehan solo time

It was a great show once again. All three of them are just great musicians and fun to watch. I tried to take more pictures but I just couldn't seem to get good shots with all the lights moving and changing. The opening act, Kicking Harold, was also a trio and put on a great show. They had a female bass player who was quite attractive and looked like she was having a blast jamming up there. They (Kicking Harold) hung out after the show to meet fans. We didn't stop to meet them....probably should have. Oh well. I'll check out some more of their tunes on Spotify.

Alex and Diane Fall Ride -2015

Diane and I decided to go on a little motorcycle ride and hike last Monday (Columbus Day). I have a book on day hikes in north Georgia and decided a trip to Chenocetah mountain would be fun. It looked relatively close and it has the only stone fire tower in Georgia. For the ride up we decided to stay off the highways and instead traveled through some small towns like Winder, Jefferson, Commerce, Homer, and finally Cornelia. It was a nice ride up but a bit cool and quite foggy at times. We ate lunch at around 11 am in downtown Cornelia in a historic building. At first we couldn't find anyone in the place and we were worried they weren't open. I didn't expect much but we both ended really enjoying our lunch.

Our lunch stop. Randomly selected but cool place and good food.

View of Lake Russell from top of the mountain

The fire tower

We did a 5.4 mile hike down to Lake Russell and back up. The hike down was quite nice except the trail is not well kept and we had to climb over or under about 20 trees. The hike back up was another story. We started to get hot and tired....and lost. Our book which had good details and markers listed about the trail for the most part, failed us on the hike back up when we were supposed to rejoin the loop and head back up the mountain. But it all worked out and we found the road. When we popped out of the woods onto the road a woman saw us an said " oh, you must the ones with the motorcycle." We were so excited she knew where it was and could direct us back :)
I think we did the whole hike in a little over 2 hours. We were kind of on a tight schedule to get back home so we didn't stop much. I think that is about as much ground we could cover in one of our day trip ride/hikes. Diane was really sore the next day.

There is a camp ground at the bottom by the lake which looked pretty nice. Might be a nice place to come back with the kids.

My cute wife

We look happy because we haven't started the hike back up yet :)

We had to speed up our ride home so that I could go see the Winery Dogs with Michael. So we decided to take the highway. It is faster but definitely not as enjoyable. But it got the job done and we had another safe and fun trip.

Marcus Miller Conert

Last night me and the Michaels went and saw Marcus Miller at the Variety Play house. A few months ago I didn't know who he was which is frankly just unacceptable for a bass fan and player. Because I mostly listened to Rock growing up I wasn't as familiar with the great jazz and funk bass players. I noticed Marcus was coming to the Play House and the description sounded interesting so I listened to some of his music on Spotify and instantly ordered some CDs. When I mentioned him to my bass teacher, he finished the name before I could say Marucs. Childhood prodigy he told me....definitely go see him. And that's what I did.

Show was on a Friday night. M. Morgan and M. Barringer and I went to the Wrecking Bar first for dinner and some fresh beer. The food, atmosphere and beer were great. I tried some octopus for an appetizer, had some Brunswick stew, and a pastrami sandwich.

The show was all that I hoped. It was sold out (which I believe is about 1,000 people). There is really no bad seats in the playhouse be we somehow managed to grab 3 seats, 4th row, center stage. It couldn't really get much better. I could watch Marcus's hand work and be amazed. He plays the bass so many different ways.

Playing the bass clarinet. Awesome sound.

He seemed totally laid back and had a great interaction with the crowed. He constantly gave credit and attention to the other young musicians he surrounded himself with. The band included Marcus on bass (and bass clarinet once), drummer, percussionist, saxophone, piano/keyboard, and electric guitarist. There was no opening act and they played form 8pm till after 11 pm I believe with only a 20 minute intermission. It was a lot of great music! I don't remember all the songs but he definitely played:
Detroit, Slippin into Darkness, and Goree off of the Renaissance album
Hylife, B's River, We Were There, and Papa was a Rolling Stone off of Afrodeezia

Marcus and I after he signed my CD!

Marcus and Michael

I bought the Afrodeezia CD at the show and he signed it afterwards. There was a short line at his merchandise table after the show and he came out about 10 minutes after the show and took the time to take pictures with us and sign stuff. So cool that he took the time to do that. I'll definitely be continuing to purchase his music and see him next time he is in town! He is a must see for any bass fan no matter what your music preference is. He might just expand your interests like he did mine.

Stand Up Paddle Boarding

I had been wanting to try stand up paddle boarding (SUP) for a while. It is supposedly the fastest growing sport or recreational activity. It looks both fun and potentially relaxing. Everybody was not as eager to try it as I was but Diane really wanted it to be a family activity so we all went. I think the kids were interested but just very concerned about falling in. I said it wouldn't be a good story if at least one person doesn't fall in :)

 

 

You paddle away from dock on your knees before you stand up.

 

No one fell in until the very end when we were headed back to the dock. A momentary lapse in concentration led to Drew landing in the drink. I've never seen him swim so fast! He was so worried about touching the bottom for some reason :)



Moments after the plunge....hugging his board.



Group shot after the paddle

We all really ended up enjoying it. It takes a little bit of time to feel comfortable but overall not very hard. Drew and I really want to buy boards but the high cost is stopping is at the moment.

The end of Summer!

Man, I have been bad about capturing some of this summers activities. Stacy, Nick and Sharon visited us a few weeks back and I never posted a single picture. Emily said she put some stuff on her blog so that makes me feel a little better. I also went Phoenix for work and had time to catch a baseball game (very nice stadium with a retractable roof), so I thought I should post a couple silly photos with co-workers from that trip.

The family photo at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens...minus Emily (she took the pictures)

Diamondbacks game in Phoenix: Evelyn and I with Randy Johnson

Diamondbacks game in Phoenix: Not sure who this guy is with me and Mindy.

And finally the big family vacation of summer - we went to St. Augustine Florida for a week last week and had a great time. We basically went to the beach 3 times a day and did one touristy thing each day. We went to the Alligator Farm/Zoo, Ripley's Believe it or Not museum, St. Augustine Distillery, and the Castillo de San Marcos. The Castillo is the oldest masonry fort (made of Coquina stone) in continuous U.S. There is evidently an older one in Puerto Rico. The Alligator Farm's claim to fame is that they house all 24 species of crocodilians - evidently they are the only place to do that which was pretty cool.

Got off to a good start on day 1 when a wave took me down and raked me on some broken shells.

Tour and tasting at the distillery. Great place and philosophy. bought some Gin and Vodka.

Some love birds :) at the Castillo

Family at the gates to the city

Drew and Emily at the Alligator farm.

Some lounging gators.

Emily next to model of tallest man at Ripley's museum

Drew said he wanted to see some "biology" on this trip and boy did it deliver. We say all kinds of critters. The highlights for me we seeing lots of Osprey (may favorite bird) and dolphins. I tried to put a list together of what we saw based on memory (which isn't' good).

Birds: Osprey, Great Blue Heron, Cattle Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Reddish Egret, Green Heron, Roseate Spoonbill, Wood Stork, Boat-tailed Grackle, Brown Pelican, and lots of other shore birds and "gulls" which I have never taken the time to learn to identify.

Other: Raccoon, Whip Snake, Dolphin, Coquina clams, Sand Flea (Mole crab), Sea Anemone, and tons of lizards.

On the way home we stopped by a Nu-Way hotdog joint when passing through Macon. I had always wanted to try them ever since I saw them on that Hot Dog Show on PBS covering the best dogs in the U.S. They are known for their red/pink color (photo doesn't do it justice) which also penetrates into the dog (Diane wouldn't eat them because of this - she is so uptight). Unfortunately the original store in downtown burnt down back in march and thus is currently not open. So we didn't get to see that landmark. I assume they are rebuilding on the original site. Soon as the kids and I bit into the chili dogs, we were like "hey, this is Cincinnati Chili!" Evidently the founder was Greek which is also the origin of Cincinnati Chili. I've never had anything like that outside of Cincy. So crazy to find it in Macon GA. Wish it was closer to Atlanta (even though Diane's hamburger was evidently a dry puck...that's what she gets for not buying what they are famous for).


Some dogs from the iconic Nu-Way Weiners in Macon Georgia! Chili dog rocked.

St. Augustine was a great town and beach with plenty to do. We would definitely love to go back!

Family Time in ATL

Brad and the family drove down to Georgia this summer to visit us for a week. They actually just left this morning at about 5:30 a.m. for their drive back. We had a great time and the kids have so much fun together. They are already pestering me to go visit them for Christmas vacation. We'll see....

All the kids outside the aquarium

The kids inside the aquarium

 

Some jellyfish at the aquarium -one of my favorite exhibits

It was a busy week but unfortunately I didn't take a lot of photos. We went to Stone Mountain, The mall of Georgia, Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, Raccoon Cave, and of course visited our pool several times. We did get a lot of rain this week but at least it kept the temperatures down a bit while they were here.
Brad and I had some good laughing time and watched some nice movies to inspire it, like: We're the Millers, Get Hard, and Dumb and Dumber to. We also enjoyed some really good beers and visited the Lincoln Filling station a couple times.
I miss them already. Back to work tomorrow :(