When you’re walking in Memphis. . .

For two city gals who’ve never really ventured south (except for the time I did the Mardi Gras Half Marathon in New Orleans!), we really knew nothing about Memphis except Graceland, and that song that everyone thinks was sung by Springsteen but wasn’t! Unfortunately, Graceland was a bit out of the picture since we were on a late traveling schedule and wanted to catch up. So we ended up just going to a few random spots that were near-ish to our hotel, while singing Walking in Memphis in the car. . . even though we were driving.

Anyways, as stop 2 of our Texas Road Trip, Memphis was *supposed* to be the stop we got to actually sight-see. However, after getting to Indianapolis late, and then having my friend’s parents abscond with the car for a while, we didn’t actually hit the road until about 5 or 6pm after a very late brunch! Which meant we pulled into our hotel in Memphis around 1am.

Being in a brand new city that neither of us had been to, crashing at the hotel when we got there just wouldn’t do. We had picked up some food on the road, so we weren’t particularly hungry. (Our on-the-road meal was clearly not memorable, since I have no photographic evidence of it. It might have been Cracker Barrel or some other place you only go to if you’re on a road trip!) But we wanted to experience Memphis at least a little, despite the fact that it looked totally dead when we arrived.

Indy: The Start of Our Starbucks Mug Obsession

The first leg of our Texas Road Trip was the shortest one- Chicago to Indianapolis. It was just supposed to be a short, starter-leg of our trip, where we would stop by her parents’ house in Indy to drop off some of her stuff she didn’t want to take with her to Texas.

However, it felt like the longest since my friend, who is perpetually running late, kept pushing back our departure time. First it was 2pm, then 4pm, then 8pm. I don’t think she actually picked me up at my apartment until after midnight! And of course we were both starving since we had expected to by in Indy by dinnertime!

Texas Road Trip

Next up on my “Things I did on my Summer Vacation” Report (aka my “Blogging Hiatus” Report): Time to discuss my TEXAS ROAD TRIP! Lots of food-themed adventures during that trip that I’d like to share. Plus, it’ll be good to keep those places in mind in case I’m ever around that way again!

Greenbush: The Hidden Gem of the Trip

I LOVE this place!

Bells: Arguably Our Most Fun Stop!

Third stop on our Anti-DLD Brew Tour was Bell's Eccentric Cafe in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Directly south of Grand Rapids, I had thought for a half minute that I might just bike down to Kalamazoo while my friends drove. Unfortunately, the beautiful bike path that heads directly north of Grand Rapids, does not go south :( So I would have been taking my chance at roads that I'm unfamiliar with. Not the best idea for a solo cyclist! Which is how I ended up on the bike path heading north while my friends slept in that morning!

Founders: Bands, Bikes, and . . . Beer?

After visiting New Holland and checking into our hotel, the second stop on our Anti-DLD Brew Tour was Founders Brewery in Grand Rapids, Michigan! Since we had gotten a fairly late start and had already made a stop for dinner, we didn’t get to Founders until fairly late. That evening they had a couple of bands playing, and it was pretty crowded inside.

New Holland: So Many Beers, So Little Time!

First stop on our Anti-DLD Brew Tour was New Holland Brewery in Holland, Michigan! We went that Saturday, figuring is was "sort of kind of on the way" to Grand Rapids, where we had planned to spend the night. The plan was to grab dinner and a few brews at New Holland, drive to GR to check into our hotel, then spend the evening at Founders.

We ended up getting there later than expected, which meant we missed our friends who started eating/drinking without us! Whatever. We saw them on the street as they were leaving and we were going in. We didn't want to be rushed, so we ended up finding some seats at the bar and ordering some noms, as well as a taster of every beer on the ment. Yes, this menu:

Adventures of Anti-Dark Lord Day!

My first adventure after dropping off the face of this blog was to commiserate not being able to get tickets to Dark Lord Day at Three Floyds, only one of the greatest days of the year for a dark beer fanatic like myself.

Last year, it was sadly impossibly hard to get tickets. I had about 10 friends waiting by their computers when tickets went on sale, and only 1 friend was able to get one. They only allow you to buy two in the first place, and my friend actually didn’t get one himself; his cousin was the lucky one who scored two! So the rest of us were left with nothing but sadness, jealousy, and a free weekend!

Hey There Stranger!

Hello again after another long hiatus! In my last entry, I was embarking on a Julie/Julia-esque project in which I had planned on try out various recipes from one of my many vegetarian cookbooks. Alas, that project got completely put aside in favor of tri and marathon training! And beer adventures!

I ended up doing a number of long-distances races last season and early this year, starting with a Half Ironman in August, a marathon in October, pacing a friend for a 100-mile run in November, and a cross country ski half marathon in February. Whew! If all that wasn’t enough, then I immediately started tri training again and completed another Half Ironman just last week! Needless to say, all that training left little time for cooking and experimenting.

The good news for all my blog readers is that I’ve decided to retire from long-distance racing for a bit to return to my *OTHER* interests.... Including martial arts, music, and of course FOOD!