Bestfriend Adventure Part One: The Road to Maryland

A {little} while back, my Bestfriend and I went on a bit of an adventure!  We went road tripping from Michigan to Maryland for the Michigan State v. University of Maryland game, and boy did we have a blast!  We stopped at a few breweries along the way, saw some interesting stuff, and made some new friends.  Not to mention came home with a bunch of wonderfully drinkable trinkets!  Here's part one of our journey!

We left Grand Rapids, Michigan fairly early (for us) and hit the road!  We made it to about Jackson, Michigan before  making our first pit-stop - Gas, "Breakfast" (meaning, snacks from the gas station), and a couple extra stops at some stores before we got back on the road!  We hit up Best Buy and randomly purchased some Blue Rays.  I was in the market for Maleficent and Allison picked up Hot
Tub Time Machine (one of her ultimate favorites...together with Terminator 2), and something else! 

Side track:  One of her favorite games to play with people is to ask them...if you were showing a personal film festival, what 5 movies would you play.  I always have so much trouble coming up with mine, but I'll take another stab at it again...

Megan's Film Festival

1.  The Wizard of Oz

2.  The Shawshank Redemption

3.  The Naked Jungle

4.  The Poseidon Adventure

5.  Kindergarten Cop

 

 

Okay, so back on the road for a few and then we come to our First Brewery Stop!!

 

1.  Original Gravity Brewing Company in Milan, Michigan

 

We each did a flight here, chatted with some of the locals and met one of the owners, Brad, and one of the brewers, who happened to be from Maryland!  They even gave us a little swag on our way out - some stickers and pins!  I would definitely go back if I found myself back in the neighborhood!

• Atmosphere:  Very open and relaxed.  You could tell as soon as you walked in that it's definitly a local hang-out.  It was very friendly feeling in there, which I like! 
• Decor:  Tons of University of Michigan stuff everywhere...EW!  Just kidding....well...kind of.  But the owners (I believe both of them) went to U of M, so it makes sense.  They did have one teeny tiny Michigan State flag hung up near the rafters.  If you get out your binoculars you'll be able to spy it!  The tables were gorgeous though - made out of huge old wooden doors! 
• Bar:  The bar wrapped aound and kind of formed an "L" Shape.  We sat at one end near some of the fermenters.  And, bonus...they had hooks for you purse under the bar!  Us gals always appreciate that little touch!
• Brews:  The beer was good, although overall they seemed to be pretty simplistic.  They did have a couple of small batch brews on that were more unique:  a Hibiscus Wit and a Cranberry Brown.  I liked these two the best! 
• Food:  We were told they had pretty amazing sandwhiches but we didn't actually look at a menu or eat here since we had just stopped. 

When we left Milan (pronounced "MY-LAN") we actually drove until we made it out of Michigan and into Ohio!  By the time we hit Cleveland, the weather had taken a turn on us and we found ourselves driving though a bit of a snow storm.  But that sure as heck didn't stop us from continuing our Brewery Tour to the game!  After driving around the same block a few times we found a parking spot, trekked through about a foot of watery slush and ankel deep snow to get to our Second Brewery Stop!

 

2.  Platform Beer Co. in Cleveland, Ohio

 

I just had a pint here since I was driving and the weather was getting worse, but Allison did a flight and I of course sampled a few of hers as well!  This place was fairly busy, so we didn't get as much individual attention as we did before, but we still managed to score seats at the bar. 

• Atmosphere:  It was pretty easy-going and fun in there!  They had a bowling game, which I though was a really fun touch!
• Bar:  The bar here wrapped aound and kind of formed a short "U" Shape.  They also had hooks under the bar for your purse! 
• Brews:  I really only had a pint of the Lawlessness Porter, which was pretty delicious!  From Allison's flight I remember thinking the Esther Christmas Ale was pretty unique and also pretty tasty! 
• Food:  They didn't seem to have an actual separate food menu, but there was a sign that said you could get Pizza by the Slice and I kind of got the idea you could place an order for Pizza or another local place to have delivered there. 

Allison's gotta check in her brews on Untappd!

Allison's Flight!

And....they had bowling.  Right in the brewery!

And, just up the way a bit, still in Cleveland, was our Third Brewery Stop!  We were trying to wait out some of the snow storm!

 

3.  Great Lakes Brewing Co.  in Cleveland, Ohio

 

We needed to eat. We each got a pint and some chow then did some pretty quick exploring and even quicker shopping before heading back on the road!  

• 

  So many choices!

  Atmosphere: Winding.  There were so many rooms and ham alls and little cavities of hidden things all over this place. Each little cove seemed to have a slightly different feel to it, ranging from cozy and more quiet to a bit rowdier, to...,"wait, is this still the same place?!"
• Bar: There were multiple. We sat at none of them unfortunately. 
• Brews:  Around ten or so drafts. I had the Christmas Ale!  It was boozey in that sneaky sort of way with a nice lightly spiced flavor bouquet. 
• Food:  Full menu, ranging from bar-esque appetizers to burgers, sandwiches, pizzas, and standard entrees.  We both got the Old World Burger which was your typical BBQ, onion straws on s patty deal.  Quite delightful and quite messy. My napkin may have looked like it was used to wipe up a crime scene.  

This is outside of Great Lakes Brewing, across the street from the Pub, where I taught Allison how to take panoramic photos!

After chowing down we hit the road and made it to just outside Pittsburgh before stopping for the night! 

Me, pumping gas....about to haul the crap out of Sheetz with my bestie.

The next morning we hit the road, passed a couple more Eat'n Parks (still not entirely sure what this is), and became acquainted with Sheetz...where we proceeded to haul a decent portion of the store.  I wish I had the haul photos. You would not believe how much damage two terribly impulsive shoppers can do in a convince store. 

We got a lesson in the strange alcohol sales laws of Pennsylvania, which, from what we were able to figure out, liquor and wine must be sold separately than beer. That in itself isn't too out of this world, but then we learned that beer is sold in grocery stores...still not too wild. But it must be done so completely separately and there has to be a cafe or some sort of food-ordering/serving deal available too. You are only able to buy singles and four/sixers here. If you're looking for larger quantities, you've got to find a case store. We're still not totally clear on what a case store entails, but it seems to be mostly self-explanatory.  

Anyway, we were able to score some pretty awesome goodies in Pennsylvania despite the foreign booze restrictions!  We succeeded in getting our paws on some brews not distributed to Michigan! 

 

My beer haul from the trip!  So many goodies!!

Turtle Power!

Allison and I did a couple of trades so we could try more things!  And also brought home some booze too!  The Gin was a travel gift for Rob and I got the Root for myself, although I have yet to try it! 

Coming up in Part Two - We actually make it to Maryland and sit with the helicopters, above where the birds fly!  Check it out now right here!

Hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year!