Bestfriend Adventure Part Two: Maryland and the Road Home

We made it into Maryland...and promptly got swallowed by the thongs of traffic and turned around.  We eventually made it to the hotel, got checked in, dropped our belongings in the room and proceeded to layer ourselves in as many articles of clothing as humanly possible.  It was cold out there, after all!  Once we were ready to go we went back down to the lobby, met some pretty colorful fellow MSU fans, and got lucky enough to catch the Hotel Shuttle to the Stadium!  There was no way we wanted to venture back out in that traffic behind the wheel!  No way, Jose!  Navigating through that shit was INSANE! 

The shuttle trip proved to be rather interesting.  We rode there with the colorful fans I just mentioned...learned they were brothers who seemed to have a pretty rocky relationship, and that they drove most of the way to Maryland while drinking in the car.  One was ragging on the other so badly I thought at one point he'd start tearing up!  Also...did I mention they purchased tickets from some guy they didn't know and whom they had to track down and meet about 5 minutes before the game started!?  Yikes!  We were not sad to never see them again...to say the least! 

Once we finally got to the Stadium, we jumped out of that shuttle, tipped and thanked the driver and scooted right over to the line to get in!  But first, we had to take a photo so everyone back home could see what we looked like in Maryland! 

See for yourself!  Here we are!!!  Yay!!!!  Best Friends for Life!

 Then we started our journey up, up, up, way, way UP to almost the tippy top of the arena, which was three whole tiers high!  It was a little terrifying being up that high, but once we were seated we were okay, just had to be careful not to move too much...or fall!  To give you some perspective, the birds that flew past were flying lower than where we were physically located!  And, at one point, we were so high up, a helicopter was hovering pretty much parallel to our seats.  We were definitely thankful that we hadn't participated in any tailgating prior to the game!

The game was good, with some extra excitement in the fourth quarter, leading to a MSU victory!  Here's Allison celebrating and showing her Spartan Pride! 

The halftime show was also pretty awesome!  Maryland's band did Broadway Classics with songs from The Lion King, Les Miserables, and Wicked!  They even formed out these awesome visuals to go along with the music! 

Top:  Ruby Slippers, Middle: Broomstick, Bottom: Witch Hat (All obviously from Wicked!) 

And, I discovered a new hobby whilst among the birds:  Fashion Sniping! 

Basically, I just took pictures of things I saw girls wearing that I really liked! 

Like these boots:

Or this hat:

After the game Allison and I headed through the campus and out to what we assumed was one of the main streets in search of beers and grubs!  By then it was Midnight and a lot of places were closing, or didn't seem to be serving food any longer! 

We found the inspiration for Bob's Burgers!  Hah, just kidding!  Wo else loves that show??  But you never know...I mean, it could be!  You decide! 

Then we came across this place called The Board and Brew!  We could see a food counter from the window, it appeared they were still serving and brew was in the title so we made our way inside to further investigate!  Score!  They were still serving food!!!  We sat down and were instantly greeted by the most adorkably clueless boy server.  He had a blonde bowl cut and glasses, and we loved him!  We asked about the beer list and he brought us a list and then proceeded to tell us they only just started serving beer a few nights ago!  I ended up ordering a Root Beer flavored beer, which I would never recommend to anyone!  It was disgusting!  Allison made a much better choice, although I don't remember what she had. 

Adorkable Clueless Server Boy Memorable Moment:  When he brought our beers over, Allison asked for a glass.  Then he proceeded to ask if we wanted ice and/or a straw!  Awww! 

We ordered some sandwiches, which were surprisingly really good, then decided to try out a game while we were there!  The "Board" of the "Board and Brew" is for  Board Games....and a TON of them!  They had three, two-sided book cases almost floor to ceiling full of different games to choose from.  They charged $5.00 per person to play, but you could choose any game, switch as often as you liked and stay as long as you wanted! 

Allison chose the game Pandemic for us to play.  I had played the electronic version and had previously defeated the world with my Smegina virus.  But the board game version is totally different!  Everyone plays as one team against the board and the goal is to save humanity from outbreaks of different viruses.  It's a little confusing to start out, but once we got the hang of it, we LOVED it!  Unfortunately The Board and Brew had to close before we could find out if we saved the world, but I ended up getting the game for Christmas (thanks Santa Mom), so we're planning to play here in Michigan soon! 

On our way home the next day, we were back on the brewery trail and quickly came to the fourth brewery of our trip!

4.  DuClaw Brewing Co. in Bowie, Maryland

From what we could tell, DuClaw has several different locations, and is kind of like a Chain Brewery...if that's even a thing?!  We went to the one in Bowie, which was inside of a shopping center.  We each did a flight here, and made friends with some of the locals, who proceeded to give me Fantasy Football advice and made us promise that we would only make two brewery stops on our venture home!  Allison also finally talked me into joining Untappd here.  After over a year of trying I finally gave in and started checking in my beers, beginning with this flight!  I've got 73 check-ins now!  Woo HOO!  Look at me go! ☺

• Atmosphere:  Very friendly.  The booths were super deep and comfortable looking, and the bar was nice and big!  It almost had kind of a sports bar type vibe. 
• Decor:  There was a very modern, metally/cook feeling here.  Tons of TVs all over around the bar area.     
• Brews:  The beer was good!  They had a ton of options and some pretty interesting flavor combinations. 
  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
• Food:  The food all sounded really good.  We didn't order anything, but Allison made friends with some locals who ordered an entire appetizer they weren't going to eat, so they passed it our way when the server brought it out.  It sounds weirder than it actually was, I promise! 

Then we were back on the road and headed toward our fifth and final brewery stop of the mini-vacation! 

5.  Antietam Brewery in Hagerstown, Maryland

Another strange type of Maryland Brewery!  This one isn't a chain-gang style but the brewery is actually inside of another bar, Benny's Pub.  Here Allison and I shared a flight!   

• Atmosphere:  This was very much a locals hang-out type of place.  As much so that as soon as we walked in the door we instantly became the source of many stares and whispers.  We were very obviously the out-of-towners in the joint!  But don't get me wrong, the folks there were also very friendly!
• Decor:  Typical small town pub décor, including tin signs and beer posters.  There were several smaller rooms that you could pop into, including the back room which held all the brewery fermenters and stuffs!     
• Brews:  We enjoyed the beer here too!  There were a few different styles that we had yet to experience on our Maryland tour to date, like some farmhouse and dunkels brews.  I think our favorite was the uber-fruity Otto's Orchard Boysenberry!

Boo!

After we left Benny's Pub we got back on the road and headed back home!  The homeward story is so much less exciting than the getting there story!  We really just focused on driving - it was a work day for both of us Monday and we were already aiming at getting home pretty late!  We ran into some weather, stopped at a couple truck-stops on the way, ate a little McDonalds as it was literally the only thing left open at the last one (we did share a 20-piece chicken nugget, so I can cross ordering one of those bad boys off my bucket list), ran into some more weather and then finally arrived home safely! 

If you have a chance to go on a road trip with your best friend(s), even a short weekender, do it!  It was an awesome adventure and we had a great time being silly and experiencing some new things together! 

If you missed Part One of the Adventure, you can check it out here!

What's a fun trip you've been on with your besties? 

 

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!   

Keep Cold, Pour Hard

I love a good stout and the Left Hand Milk Stout definitely doesn't disappoint! 

So, imagine my excitement when Rob and I noticed there was a bottled Nitro version of our favorite milk stout!  AHHHH!!!!  (And that was only a preview!)

We snatched up a sixer and went on our merry way - picking up a few other necessities...milk, snacks, lego mini figures.  ☺

To set the scene:  we're in the kitchen, two pint glasses rest on the countertop, and Rob is to my right pouring himself a nice cold Founder's Centennial IPA.  I grab one of the Nitro Milk Stouts out of the freshly stocked refrigerator and popped the cap.  Then I tipped it straight upside down and Rob about had a hernia!  He quickly paused mid-pour and exclaimed, "What are you doing!?  It's going to go everywhere!!!"  I shrugged, stated I was just following directions and pointed to the cap laying beside my glass.  The words Keep Cold ♦ Pour Hard were staring straight up at us, and I smiled. 

I wasn't really sure what would happen, but it didn't overflow, instead it poured similarly to how a nitro beer pours on tap - simply amazing!  I'm actually enjoying one as I type this post - and I captured the magic on video for all you non-believers! 

Hope you enjoy this little bit of brew magic!!!  Cheers! ♥  Sorry the quality is pretty bad - I recorded it on my phone originally as a Snapchat...but you get the idea!  This is poured in real-time, I promise!

 

 

And, if you're wondering what this magical elixir looks like when it's settled, feast your eyes on this little ditty:

 

 

 

If you love stouts, I definitely recommend this one - nitro or not, it's a goody! The nitro just gives it that awesome creamy flavor!!  Mmmm!

 

Have you tried any bottled brews "on nitro?"  What ones?!  I'd love to discover some new gems!  And, if you've tried this one, what did you think!?