Suddenly, it set on me.

Few things are better than choosing at random to grab a beer in the afternoon with a friend you haven't seen in a while.

I stopped in to Kasey's to grab a beer with Steve Figg and b.s. about the Louisville Ironman course and what I'm doing in school. Long story short, we caught up.

What really inspired me to write today, was the beer I decided to enjoy on my way out the door. A Green Flash, West Coast IPA.

I've been living in Chicago for three years now and I have to admit that I've gotten used to Midwestern brews. While that's not a problem, it highlights how my expectations have changed. Much like one would expect a Sierra Nevada to be off-palate of you live in Connecticut, the Green Flash sharply reminded me of how a West Coast Ale should taste.

There's something inherent in the bitterness that permeates this IPA - a fruity and ever-present hoppiness reminds me of the (many) days I spent in San Diego while in the Navy. It should be no surprise that Green Flash is located in San Diego, but to be perfectly honest, I don't remember where I've tasted this brew before (can you blame me? I was a sailor on shore leave!) but they've certainly managed to embody what I consider a quintessential West Coast beer.

I've been to Fleet Week in San Francisco, tried to make my mark on the Gaslamp (left its mark[s]on me) in San Diego, and have sampled brews from Long Beach to Santa Monica... I'm very happy right now to have chosen this brew, in this, the oldest tavern in Chicago's South Loop, only to find myself transported to the Pacific Coast - if only for a few minutes. 

 

...and for those of you who know what it is, I once caught one on video!

Museum Day! (Part 1)

Back in late November, Jami and I took advantage of a rare day off at the same time and set off to see the neighborhood! I hadn't been to the museum in a very long time; certainly not with Jami.

This place looks awesome since they decided to bring their larger collection pieces inside the museum. to be a bit more accurate, they built new exhibit rooms around the larger collection pieces.

What? Who's quirky?

Part of the inspiration for heading over to the museum was for the navy exhibit. Jami is pursuing a commission as a Naval Emergency Medicine Physician, and I had exchanged several messages with some buddies from the USS VINCENNES. I wanted to add this photo to the collection on the facebook page that one of my Vinny buddies started for veterans of that ship.

You know you're an engineer when...

It's a habit of engineer ratings in the navy; the yellow boxes mounted on overheads and bulkheads in ships are called: battle lanterns. They're like the emergency lights in fire escape stairwells: they're supposed to light up when the power goes out. There's a little button on the top to make sure that the battery works.

I know... it was only an exhibit; I didn't really expect it to work.