we are off to grams’s house for thanksgiving!

– ryan & gub

i recently went on a trip with the kids to tuscaloosa, alabama. grey and clementine were able to visit their cousins and i was able to attend a university of alabama college football game with my brother. it was a ton of fun indeed!

the game was a blast. i felt like i appreciated the experience more than when i was in college, which is the last time i would have been. i’m surprised it took so long to make it back to a game, especially with the amount of college football i watch.

the only downside was not being able to have a beer at the game. although being in an open-aired stadium on a cool evening was a fair tradeoff. the georgia dome gets quite stuffy for football events.

roll tide!

– ryan

we had a ton of fun at japanfest 2014!!! besides the amazing totoro hat we found for grey, there were lots of things to do, see and eat. there were performances, workshops and plenty of other activities for both adults and children. the event took place in and around the gwinnett convention center in duluth.

grey and clementine had a blast fishing for balloons, having their fortune read and enjoying some japanese snacks! plus they got to create their own calligraphy at the hudgens center for the arts, where there was a coinciding exhibition of japanese calligraphy and paintings. we were also able to see some of the matsuriza performance, which was awesome! they are a japanese traditional taiko drum troupe known for their performances at epcot center.

there was also a section with lots of authentic japanese food as well as vendors selling everything from studio ghibli gear to traditional kimonos and origami. there were also various yamaha tractors, boats and what have you on display that the kids had fun playing with.

on a side note, we did see a handful of studio ghibli costumes, including: kiki, tombo and a catbus. clementine got a kick out of them! there were plenty of other anime cosplays that i did not recognize. lots of blue hair for sure, you gotta have blue hair.

we weren’t sure what to expect at japanfest, however we were definitely impressed and will head back next year!

– ryan & gub

japanfest

Saturday, Sept 20, 10am-6pm | Sunday, Sept 21, 10am-5pm

gwinnett convention center

6400 sugarloaf parkway
duluth, ga 30097
770-623-6002

hudgens center for the arts

6400 sugarloaf parkway #300
duluth, ga 30097
770-623-6002

check out this great view looking out a window of an old house near of madison, georgia.

– gub

having fun exploring madison, georgia!

– gub

we packed up a very nice picnic with the kids and headed out to find the perfect picnic spot, only to be poured on by a huge florida storm within minutes of getting all set up at melbourne beach. it was straight out of a berenstain bears book! clementine was still trying to eat her sandwich as we were running to the car for shelter!

– ryan & gub

on our way back from melbourne, florida, we were able to swing through jacksonville and go on a brewery tour of intuition ale works! my old buddy willy, who i used to homebrew with, is the brewmaster there.

it was a very nice brewery! it was way bigger than i expected and although it was super hot, it was really fun to check out. they had various wood casks up front with special beers fermenting and then a ton of stainless steel kettles with their rotating beers being brewed. we also saw the canning process, which was cool, and their room of empty cans, which i don’t think i had ever seen before.

next to the brewery was a tap room featuring about 15 intuition beers on draft. they had a huge variety on tap, including: ipa, double ipa, saison, stout, black ale, pale ale, black lager, belgian tripel, farmhouse ale and even a strong ale aged in a tequila barrel with blood orange puree! i was very impressed to say the least! i think my favorite was the ra saison, although they were all very tasty. the tap room had a very cozy atmosphere and a bunch of board games to play while you drink. they also offered a mug club for the locals.

if you are ever in the jacksonville area, be sure to visit intuition ale works! the tap room is open tuesday through friday from 3pm to 11pm and on saturday from 1pm until 11pm. they also have brewery tours by appointment tuesday through friday at 3pm. it is highly recommended!

intuition also released a cookbook featuring over 80 recipes made from their beer. it’s a nice hardback with some cool ideas of things to make with beer. you can order one here.

– ryan

intuition ale works

720 king street
jacksonville, florida 32204
904.683.7720

tuesday to friday from 3:00pm to 11:00pm
saturday from 1:00pm to 11:00pm

greetings from melbourne beach, florida! we recently headed south to visit gub’s great-aunt joanie and to also get a little R&R. we were craving some beach time and had also been meaning to visit our friend willy’s brewery for ages, so we hit the road.

it was definitely a long drive with two little ones, as you can see in clementine’s dave pirner impression below, however it was totally worth it. the beach was great and it was nice visiting gub’s family!

– ryan & gub

i really enjoyed the belgian-style white ale from cigar city brewing! it’s a great summer beer from ybor city, florida. so far i’ve had it in alabama and florida, but yet to find it in atlanta. i’m sure it’s around though.

florida cracker is tasty straight out of the can or poured in a glass. it’s cloudy with hints of coriander and citrus. at 5.5%, it’s not messing around either.

if you are ever in the tampa area, cigar city has a tasting room and does brewery tours as well. next time i’m down there i will have to check it out!

– ryan

cigar city brewing

3924 west spruce street
tampa, fl 33607
813.348.6363 x206

tasting room:
sunday – thursday: 11:00am – 11:00pm
friday – saturday: 11:00am – 1:00am

grey was looking for the beach!

– ryan & gub