Artisanal Liquor

I am glad that prohibition laws were repealed. I would be lousy at making bathtub gin and I hate juniper berries.  Or maybe I am just not a gin fan.  I am getting off on a tangent and I haven't even started writing what I wanted to write about.  I want to write about Bloomery Plantation Distillery. It is going to be one of those mornings. I am going to blame it on the super moon for my lack of everything.  People have been blaming the moon for centuries and it seems to work out. The mood doesn't argue back.

The reason I like repealed prohibition laws is not because I have a passionate embrace on my martini glass, but more because artisanal  craft distilleries are becoming more prominent. They are bring with them a fresh taste to refreshment by constantly thinking outside the box.

Gat and I had the pleasure of stopping by Bloomery Plantation Distillery on our way back from the caves.  Making our way up the long and steep drive way, we had to giggle, because we could tell that this distillery had a sense of humor.  The drive way is the sort of drive that makes you wonder if you are going to come back alive.  I am sure it could have been featured in several into the woods horror movies and they seemed to known that so they put a few sign up to make it friendlier.

Once you actually get up the hill and into the tasting room, it is all smooth sailing from there. Our guide through the wonderful tasting experience greeted us like old friends and made is feel welcome.  Tastings were free the only thing he needed to be paid in were compliments.  Gat complimented his lovely red shirt and I tried my best to compliment his football team. (Go Bills?) I liked how personable he was and that he was more than willing to answer any sort of questions we may have had.  There were a total of 11 samples to try and he made a point to talk to us about each an every one of them without it feeling like a rehearsed speech and gave insight into different ways to mix the spirits. I love with service feels like friendship.

When Gat and I finally decided it was time to hit the road, we decided to pick up a couple of bottles for later.  I had a good time at Bloomery Plantation Distillery and would be willing to stop there again on my next road trip.  My only regret is not remembering our tour guides first name, since he was super nice and made the entire stop worth it.

Dinosaur Land

There need to be more road side attractions.  Roads side attractions are a lost art.  They need to be family friendly, kitschy and inexpensive. Those are the key elements in making a worth my while roadside experience that I will stop for. Dinosaur Land met all of my expectations and went beyond.  I love Dinosaur Land.  

Gat and I were on our way back from our lovely cave adventures and stumbled upon this roadside gem. I think if Gat could leave me at Dinosaur Land, she could.  That may be due to the nonsensical song I made up about Dinosaur Land that I would sing loudly as we frolicked with the dinosaurs.  The truth is that only one of us, really frolicked with the dinosaurs.  The other one sort rolled their eyes at the frolicking. I might need more dinosaurs in my life, or at least more dinosaur themed attractions.  

If you ever get a chance to see Dinosaur Land I would recommend it, especially if you have ever been to Peggy Sue's 50's Style Diner.    Just like Peggy Sue's epic gift shop, Dinosaur Land has knickknacks for everyone with three times as many dinosaurs.  It has that nostalgic charm that makes you want to come back one more time.  I love Dinosaur Land.   I think I can cross off selfies with velociraptor from my bucket list now. 

Alien World Within

I like caves.  I know that is sort of a bland thing to say.  Sort of like I like turtles. Not something that is easy to expand upon, but more of a statement of fact. I like caves. I like caves because it is like going to another world.

I recently visited Skyline Caverns. It was not what I was expecting.  I have been to more than one cave in my short life, but none of them can hold a candle to the tour at Skylines Caverns.  Most I go to have one or two caverns that we visit and then it is done.  

The tour at Skyline was an hour of walking with multiple caverns and several underground lakes to see. The tour guide (Steven) was enthusiastic about the tour without feeling phoned in.  Steven was full of interesting facts and had a good grasp on the history of the cave and made the information that he was imparting interesting.  A couple times during the tour, the lights would go completely out (on purpose) and it really helped with gaining a better perspective on what we were seeing.

If given the opportunity to do the tour again, I would.  I feel like there is always something more to see and that it is the closest that I will ever get to visiting another planet.  If you clear your mind and get rid of any pre conceived notions, it is totally plausible to see the inside of a cave as an alien terrain. It was totally worth it to visit Skyline Caverns and visit a world away from the top soil.

Survival Tea

My friend Gat and I are on a road trip. It is always an adventure when we get together and this time is no exception.  Hotels are nice.  I like complementary breakfast, and I like that they have coffee makers in the rooms.  I love in house wifi. I don't drink coffee. I drink tea and sometimes I really need a cup of tea.

Gat and I spent a day shopping and trying local eateries, but when we got back to the room I was dying for a cup of tea. I had picked up some lovely tea at a local tea and wine bar and it was chanting my name. Cha-cha-ing over to the coffee maker I fill it full of water.  A coffee machine is just a vehicle for hot water and loose leaf tea is a common friend to hot water.

Filling the pot full of water, I realized that there were not filters on the counter with the other complementary  coffee items.  Plenty of cups, plenty of sugar and cream, just no filters.  It seems that the coffee comes in its own filter much like a tea bag. I refuse to despair.

Summoning my survival skills, I crafted a filter out of paper towel.  I would like to tell you that it went well.  In fact I would like to tell you that it was a simple super easy solution to a minor inconvenience.  It sort of worked. The paper towel didn't quite work. In fact the paper towel mostly dissolved and the tea overflowed onto the counter and missed the majority of the pot.  The amount that ended up in the pot was about one cup.   What was not on the counter or down the sink ended up in my cup, and I got my cup of tea.

It was not perfect, but it was a cup of tea.  So I consider it a win.

New Motto

Be Kind. The Universe is watching. 

That is what my dad told me this morning. He said it came to him in a dream last night. He said that he had some weird dreams last night, and he wasn't sure what he ate before bed, but he woke up with that in his head.   He couldn't really remember much of what went on other than that word of advice. I have to smile, because of all the things that you could wake up with in your mind, that is pretty awesome advice, and for some reason it gives me a little bit of hope for the future.  I think this is going to be my new motto. It certainly can't hurt. 

Be Kind.  The Universe is watching. 

Organized by Feeling

A long time ago and what seemed like a planet far away, I used to work in a bookstore.  It was only part time, and I loved it.  I loved the people that I worked with, I loved the books, I loved the customers, even the annoying ones.  It was one of the most fulfilling jobs I have ever had. One of the things that the bookstore impressed upon me was organization.  You need to be able to find stuff, so it was always divided up by genre and then alphabetical by last name, unless you were graphic novels then it was divided up by publisher then sorted by series.  There was always a method to the madness. Always.

Now if you fast forward to the present, and remember all of that lovely organization, you can understand why I might have a problem with organizing the home DVD collection by feeling.  My husband has organized it by what he feels should go together, so if you are in the mood for one type of movie, perhaps this other movie might interest you as well.  

If you were in the mood for a zombie movie, he has all the zombie movies grouped together, except for maybe Shaun of the Dead, because after all that is part of the Cornetto trilogy, and trilogies need to stay together.  At first this sounds like he is just organizing it by genre, but there is more to it.  Part of it seems like it is organized by producer, theme and time period it was released.  After all you have to have heart  and a little bit of poetry in your soul to put all the low budget bargain bin early 90's late 80's movies all together.  I think I lost my heart and maybe never had a soul, because I can't organize by DVDs by feeling.   

If I tried to organize by feeling, you would be stuck with a childhood nostalgia category. It would have movies like: Young Sherlock Holmes, The Cat From Outer Space, Vampire Hunter D and Alice in Wonderland (live action) and would probably leave anyone else tying to find a movie completely confused as to how any of those movies even go together.  I think that organizing by feeling is all subjective because feelings change.

Somedays We Need Cat Pictures

I don't think there are enough cat pictures on the internet to make this day any less dreary. The damp cold rain makes me want to put on a sweater and snuggle in bed with my cat and wait for better days.  Unfortunately I can't do that.  However I can add more cat pictures to the internet and hope that things will be brighter tomorrow.