Part Two - The San Diego Beer Scene

I was wrong.  Living in the Northwest and thinking that without a doubt the best craft beer in the United States is either (a) in Seattle or (b) in Portland might have just constituted jumping to an erroneous conclusion.  As provincial as I am about our beer scene it became apparent to me shortly after arriving in San Diego that there’s a new participant on the block.

There are 29 microbreweries within the city limits of San Diego.  According to my sources, Seattle has 21.  Of course I’m not counting the many breweries in surrounding towns in both cases.  With limited time, we barely scratched the surface of beer in San Diego but here are a few highlights:

The Taps in the Stone Brewing Tasting Room

Stone Brewing.  This large and quite well known microbrewery is actually in Escondido, around 30 miles north of the city.  They have a nice, newer facility with a great restaurant and tasting room.  There’s also a great outdoor garden to stroll around with lots of outdoor seating.  We also took the free tour after our lunch and ale sampling session.  Great tour, costs a few bucks, but you get repaid in the form of more sampling in the tasting room afterward.  They have a lot of different things on tap including some aged ales, but many are familiar with their flagship IPA and their Arrogant Bastard Ale.  They also had a smoked porter on draft that was tasty and unique.  Stone is well worth the short drive and a visit.

BowlingJoe Can't Decide Where to Begin

Pizza Port Brewing Company.  Yeah, I know it doesn’t sound like a brewery but don’t let first impressions deceive you.  This place makes a ton of different and interesting types of potent potables.  My favorite of theirs, being a hophead, is their Jetty IPA.  It has a nose and follow-on burst of hoppy goodness on the tongue that rivals anything we concoct around here.  Pizza Port also has many guest taps available, too.  BowlingWidow ordered and enjoyed a West Coast IPA brewed by Greenflash Brewing.  I followed up the Jetty with a stronger double IPA brewed by Societe Brewing called Pupil IPA which turned out to be a fine sipping ale.

The Tanks at Pizza Port Brewing

Ballast Point Brewing.  We showed up at this smaller north San Diego brewery’s tasting room at around 4:00pm on a Friday afternoon.  And we were not alone.  I think that most of crowd in the surrounding neighborhoods decided to get an early start on the weekend with growlers in hand.  And most of them hung around for a pint.  After all, one has to do something while that jug is being filled.  We waited in line for our pints and it was well worth it.  If you ever find Sculpin IPA from Ballast Point in bottles or on draft, get some.  It may be light bodied, but it's a big beer.  You won’t be disappointed.

Ballast Point Brewing on a Friday Afternoon

The San Diego trip was a success and I really only have one wish:  we could uproot San Diego and put it in between Seattle and Portland (maybe where Chehalis is now….nobody goes there anyway).  Wouldn’t that just set up a nice three-day weekend?

San Diego - Part One

February is usually a cold, foggy and drizzly month in the Seattle area, so BowlingWidow and I thought it would be the perfect time to continue what we’ve been calling our “Because We’ve Never Been There Before Tour”.  Most people we know have been to San Diego.  But not us.  Until now.

Even though February is probably not the best month weather-wise to visit San Diego (say, THAT’S why those airline tickets were discounted) we thought that partly sunny and the low-60s is still a giant step up from what we were waking up to every day.

We decided that three nights was a good length of time to get a good visit in and get a glimpse of what life there is like.  We ruled out going to big theme attractions such as Seaworld and the San Diego Zoo.  I’m sure they were grand, but as time has gone on we see less value in paying sixty bucks a piece to see a canned presentation.  Even if there is a slight chance of getting a front row seat to watch a killer whale chomp off the arm of an 8 year old innocently trying to share his cotton candy with it.
 

San Diego from the Coronado Peninsula

No, we elected to go with the three “B’s”:  breweries, beaches and Balboa Park.  And a few other things as well.  After a late-lunch visit to In-N-Out Burger, we checked into our hotel which is called The Dolphin.  It’s been around for years and reminds me of the motor inns we’d stay at on long road trips when I was a kid.  It was clean, quiet, had a great location in the city and the staff was great.  Even the eccentric old man, who was apparently the owner, became a pleasure to interact with after keeping our eye on him for a bit.

As the afternoon progressed, we decided it was time to look for one of the 56 microbreweries that San Diego boasts.  I’ll have more about those in Part Two of this blog topic, but we headed to the community of Ocean Beach for the beer and some hot wings at a place called Pizza Port.  They must have known we were coming as jumbo hot wings were just 35-cents each that night.   I think we were both filled up for less than 5 bucks.
 

Surfers at Ocean Beach

There also happened to be an open market a few blocks long which was closed to vehicles.  Apparently it’s every Wednesday from 5pm to 7pm.  We checked it out, then walked along the beach and took a few really nice sunset pictures with my world class Motorola smartphone camera.

We found that there are a lot of young people in Ocean Beach and in fact I believe it’s the most popular retirement destination for twentysomethings, most of whom have surfboards.
 

The Famous Hotel del Coronado

Here’s a bit about what we saw and did in San Diego, in no particular order:

Balboa Park – This place is more than just a big lawn with lots of trees and trails.  Sure they have that too, but it’s also home to a whole host of museums with topics that range from natural history to botany to miniature railroads.  There’s also a Shakespearean playhouse on the premises.  Note that while it’s free to get into the park, the museums generally cost a few bucks to visit (although not nearly as much as the zoo).
 

The Botanical Building at Balboa Park

Old Town – We love the idea of an “Old Town” in each city we visit, but to be honest this one can be skipped.  We took a guided walking tour (free) and got some good historical information about San Diego but it’s largely a tourist trap with souvenirs and what appeared to be overpriced restaurants.  Try as they might to dress this place up and give it an identity, but we weren’t too impressed.

Little Italy – Little Italy, on the other hand, was a nice place to spend an hour or two.  It is in fact little, just a few blocks along the not-so-aptly named India Street.  There are restaurants to fit every budget and a few interesting delicatessens scattered throughout.  I wish we would have been able to take some fresh salami or cheeses with us on the plane, but we had to settle for some good conversation with the deli workers instead.

Hotel del Coronado – This is a quite famous older, luxurious hotel on the Coronado Peninsula.  Kind of fun to roam around the property and know that you’re not actually paying $400 a night to stay there.  There’s also a nice beach nearby.
 

The Surf Near Hotel del Coronado

Cabrillo National Monument – Go here for the best view of San Diego.  It’s also a park that pays tribute to Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a 16^th century explorer who was the first European to set foot on the United States west coast.  I’m generally not a fan of documentary films at interpretive centers (I’d rather spend time roaming around and seeing things of interest) but I will say that this 25 minute film about Cabrillo was well worth sitting through.

Ocean Beach – As I mentioned this part of the city is great for hanging out at for a while.  And if you’re a fan of fish tacos as we are, going to South Beach Bar & Grill in Ocean Beach is a must.  And don’t think that you can eat three or four of them.  It’s simply not possible unless you’re a competitive eater.  After having two each we were ready for an afternoon nap on the beach boardwalk across the street.

Sunset at Ocean Beach, San Diego

Mission Beach – Just north of town, Mission Beach seems to go on for miles.  It kind of reminded me of Lincoln City, Oregon but instead of kite shops there were surf shops on every block.  And a surfer on every wave (well, they tried to catch waves but some are clearly better than others).  If you want to take a nice long walk or jog on the beach this is the place to do it.

For a city of more than a million, San Diego was surprisingly easy to get around in.  We stayed in a great location that seemed to be near everything we wanted to see.  Yeah, I could see us going back again for another visit in a few years.

MOHAI

On a recent rainy Saturday afternoon (are there really any other types of winter Saturdays in Western Washington?) BowlingWidow and I decided to venture out to the new Seattle Museum of History and Industry (or MOHAI) just south of Lake Union.  We’d been to the MOHAI many years ago, in fact before Muffinheadedboy was born, at its original location near the University of Washington.  But it’s now in a much bigger building that recently became available for use.

An Old UPS Delivery Vehicle:  They Don't Make 'Em Like That Anymore

The museum exhibits touch on just about everything with a Seattle stamp on it.  Often times this is done with humor, as in the short film which chronicled The Great Seattle Fire of 1889.  I suppose they chose to go slapstick with this one because it was so long ago and nobody actually died in the fire.

There are pop culture references and artifacts galore, including the current Seattle in the Movies special exhibit that salutes the city’s many great appearances on film and television.  This includes TV shows such as Here Come the Brides and Twin Peaks as well as films like Sleepless in Seattle and Harry and the Hendersons.  Well, maybe Harry and the Hendersons doesn’t count as a great moment in cinema.  I think I’d just as soon forget that it was made.

J.P. Patches' Famous Coat

The 1979 Championship Trophy

The place is filled with things that range from early state railroad equipment to World’s Fair memorabilia to J.P. Patches’ coat to the Sonics’ 1979 NBA championship trophy to the grunge and current Seattle music scenes.  There’s even the giant “R” from the old Rainier Brewery hanging proudly in the main hall.

The Main Lobby and The Big R

It was a good way to spend three or four hours (you’ll want to allow at least that amount of time for a good visit) and was well worth the 15 bucks for a ticket.  Have fun…..and Keep Clam!

Like Hockey But With Balls

No, I’m not being crass here.  That’s the 2013 promotional slogan for the Washington Stealth National Indoor Lacrosse League team that plays its home games at Comcast Arena, just down the road from us.  I had never been to a lacrosse game of any kind and it was their home opener so I thought I’d drop in and see what I could learn about it.

The Washington Stealth Play at Comcast Arena in Everett

Well, it is in fact like hockey with balls.  Instead of a puck, ice and skates we have a ball (that looks about the size of a tennis ball), artificial turf and tennis shoes.  And of course hockey sticks are replaced by a lacrosse stick with a small net at the end to hold the ball prior to passing or shooting.

Just as in hockey you have six players per side (including the goalie).  There are penalties for infractions as well as the occasional dust up.  There is also a 30 second shot clock to prevent teams from playing “keep away” and killing time to protect a lead.

Fans Toss Tennis Balls at the "Bulls Eye" in a Halftime Contest

The 6,500 fans in attendance obviously enjoyed the scoring pace, which is far greater than in hockey.  In this particular game the Stealth hung on to win 13-12 against the defending champion Rochester Knighthawks.  I may just have to go to another game or two this season.

What I Did On My Holiday Break

Condo life has afforded me some opportunities to do some things that previously took a back seat to chores such as raking leaves, cleaning roofs/gutters, and all the other stuff that goes with maintaining a wooded half-acre.  This time of the year, we get a generous bunch of holidays between Christmas and New Year's Day (courtesy of my employer) and this is the first time we haven't been churning through the rain and mud in late December just to try and keep the place looking respectable.

This past Friday, I took a short drive to Issaquah, WA to have lunch and visit a guy I used to work with (and for) more than 25 years ago.  Dick Rosenkranz was the Tooling Manager in the Boeing group that I was hired into back in May of 1986.  Dick was responsible for large parts of several big government contracts.  He was good at what he did but that's hardly the reason that I keep in touch with him to this day.

Dick Rosenkranz With BowlingJoe

 He made coming to work a lot of fun.  How many managers have you seen who bring their trombone into work to give an impromptu concert?  Or taxi remote control airplanes up and down the aisles of the work area?  I'll bet not many.  Especially in the age of politically correct, buttoned-down, image-conscious managerial hacks that roam our offices these days.

Dick is in his eighties now and is enjoying a much-deserved comfortable life at what looks like a pretty nice condo development that has everything.  His wife is in an assisted living facility next door, a mere two minute walk for him to see her as he does every day.

We talked about old times and ex co-workers who are still alive as well as those who have moved on.  He suggested that I write a book of stories about some of the characters we used to deal with in those days.  Well, if only I could find an audience that would find a MEAC funny (or even know what that is).

Most of all though we laughed.  A lot.  Before I left him, he told me that was the most he'd laughed in a long time.  Me too, Dick. Let's not wait until the holidays to get together and do that again.

The Ministry of Silly Walks Clock

In my younger years I was a bit of a fan of the series Monty Python’s Flying Circus.  Not as big of a fanatic as some of my friends, but many of their sketches were funny in the 1970s and to me they’re still funny today.

They brought us “Twit of the Year” and a hilarious soccer match bit between German and Greek philosophers (spoiler alert: Socrates scores the only goal of the match).  And then there was Ministry of Silly Walks featuring John Cleese, which lampooned England’s thick bureaucratic structure.  Rather than try and explain the scenario in this post, you can watch it here.  Even if you’ve seen it, it’s worth seeing again.

I recently saw a “Silly Walk” watch that was being marketed that included Cleese’s crazy legs as the hour and minute hands.  Wondering if there was a corresponding clock for sale, I did some searching but came up with nothing.  So I took things into my own hands and grabbed an unused but functional clock out of the garage.

Using nothing more than Silly Walk images that were on-line, glue, scissors, and some light cardboard backing, I made my very own custom Silly Walk Clock.  Here’s the result:
 

My plan is to rotate it amongst the members of our Plummeting Tortoises Book Group, making it our official clock.  And if anyone knows these guys it’s an extremely appropriate clock.  Whoever is the next book group host will get to take the clock to his residence for the month before and during the meeting, and then give it up to the next host.   Each of us will have the honor of it gracing our living space for three months out of the year.

BowlingWidow has expressed interest in me making another clock to occupy a permanent place in our condo.  She really has no idea what she’s asking for though.  It may inspire me to take up public Silly Walking as my next hobby.

Time Passages

I spend a lot of time thinking about the notion of time.  Perhaps I spend too much time doing this.  I developed a very simple theory about time and why it seems to accelerate as we advance in years.

First, let’s assume that we have no conscious knowledge of any past lives we may have led and the clock starts to tick from the time we’re hatched from our mothers.

When we reach the age of ten, an interval of one year constitutes 10% (give or take) of the length of our lives to date.  Fast forward to the age of fifty, which is near where I’m at now on this journey, and that number is reduced to 2%.

Let’s do some simple math:  10 divided by 2 is equal to 5.  Therefore, I profess that time seems to travel five times faster for a 50-year-old than it does for a 10-year-old.  The good news for us AARP types is that, while time will continue to “move faster” for us, the rate at which it’s changing won’t seem to be as fast as it was when we were younger.  And that’s just about the only silver lining I can come up with on this topic other than to say we’re all wiser or something like that.

What do you think?  Spot on or B.S.?  I’m sure someone else must have thought of this but in the off chance that I’m the only one, this concept is officially copy written, patented, and proprietary so you can send me $20 if you want to use it in a public setting.

In the meantime, I think I’ll spend the next few minutes of whatever time I have left listening to the song that inspired this post:  Time Passages.