Monday was another successful romp around Minneapolis. Even away from home, I still get to have a morning routine which involves trip updates on my blog for all you curious readers and to satisfy my muse, imbibe coffee, workout, shower and get dressed, have a beer, then hit the road. I've been enjoying the New Belgium 2*Below for my after workout beer, and today I'll make sure to take some tasting notes. My head is slowly clearing up thanks to a steady flow of drugs, so I still have confidence in my ability to smell and taste new beers.
Speaking of new beers, we went to Pairings for some delicious lunch and finished with and eclectically amazing artisanal beer selection. Not that I need more beer to ship home...OK, yes I do, but now I gotta figure out the shipping part. It's all good stuff I can't get in Vero Beach, much less Florida. For example: Moylans, Lift Bridge, Goose Island, New Belgium, New Glarus, Southern Tier (available in Florida soon but doubtfully the whole portfolio to start), and many more I can't recall at the time. Before we cruised the shop side of Pairings, we munched on some lunch and mooched Raze's wifi. My lunch was a butternut squash panini, and it was delish. I'm pretty sure I have never had butternut squash before and I like it. Jenn went for the roast beef panini which was also delish. When snarfing a roast beef sandwich, the meat should be melt-in-the-mouth tender. I don't want to have to work to chew through the roast beef, and neither does Jenn. The second half of my butternut squash panini made for a great afternoon snack, and both paninis were accompanied by homemade chips. The biggest surprise of pleasant proportions was the choice of artisanal cheese, specifically Rogue Blue Cheese and Chimay Cheese. Jenn took home a wedge of the Rogue Blue Cheese to have with dinner and OMG! Wonderful. Cheese heaven. Now I absolutely have to visit the cheese shop at home to see if they have any of the artisanal cheeses produced by craft and Trappist breweries. I see some Chimay cheese and Chimay beer in my very near future. Indeed. Hopefully.
The shop side of Pairings had an amazing beer selection along with Gouden Carolus and Moinette glasses, but they were strictly for their beer tastings and not for sale.
{Insert sad Kristyn here}
That's the way the yeast ferments, I guess. It didn't keep me from bringing home about a half dozen beers or so. I also noted quite a few Bells beers I hadn't tasted yet, but they were only available as 6packs and not singles. Till next time, I guess. What I did score for my beer supping pleasure was:
Kasteel Rouge 2007; Aucht Schlenkerla Helles Lager; Boulevard Smokestack Series Two Jokers Double Wit; Braserie Dupont Floret; Full Sail Old Boardhead Barleywine; 21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Beer; 21st Amendment Brew Free or Die IPA
A nice stash if I do say so myself. I could have bought more, but I plunked down a decent sum of change at Casanova so I had to restrain myself. It was hard, very hard.
Better later than never. During our journey north to Minneapolis, our very first night was in Macon, GA and in the downstairs bathroom by the gym, there was the most interesting sign on the inside of the door. Something for my poor lost sinful soul to ponder while dropping a load:
Yeah...don't ask. I didn't. Though it did create the desire to crack open a beer while sitting on the john. Why be agreeable when one can be contrary.
After Pairings we swung by TC Running to see if the pair of Womens Flow Five-Fingers they had on hold for me would fit. The winning answer is NO. Part of that is my initial size choice based off their online conversion chart was off by two sizes. Whereas I thought my foot was a 39, I am actually a 41 or 42. I'm putting off that purchase until I get back to Florida where I will have a better selection to choose from anyway. The options have been pretty limited around here, but it is the middle of winter...
The shoes were a no-go so we made our way to Lake Minnetonka to check out its frozen tundra wonder and girl, was it ever frozen?! After a few minutes, a curiosity caught our attention: trucks driving ON the lake. The frozen lake. The immense frozen lake with hundreds of thousands of gallons of bone-chilling water underneath. Crazy comes to mind. At one point, there was even a traffic jam with a truck, a truck with trailer, and a car. We almost had to call a cop to direct traffic, but they managed to work the jam out without any professional assistance. Besides the crazy truckers, we spotted a couple skiing with their dog, a couple out for a walk, and two snowmobiles zooming and zagging across the frozen watery tundra. Crazy. I like my ground solid, unmoving, and without disturbingly slushy ice.
After feeding the lil munchkin and amusing ourselves with the carnival on ice, we puttered to Super Target for some necessities and then on home we went. After breaching the Super Target entrance, it was immediately clear that I have been in one before. Problem is I can't remember where and when. I don't think it was in Jacksonville or Eugene. Maybe it was on one of my work trips with Borders, but that doesn't make sense either. It's a mystery.
Dinner was good. I cracked open the Lindeman's Cassis which was OK; not my favorite of the Lindeman;s fruit lambics, but still tasty. The Rogue Blue Cheese was amazingly delicious. A bit crumbly with medium pungency, it went well with the toasted pita crisps and herb & mushroom sausage. All this good food is spoiling me for when I go home. It won't take long to adjust to the usual bachelorette meals, though.
Sleep eventually came to call around midnight and all of us hit the sack. As soon as my head hit the pillow, my eyes closed and dreams moved in.
(an original written work by Kristyn Lier. plagiarism is not tolerated)
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