A to Z Challenge: H is for HooDoo

HooDoo Brewing Company was the only brewery I visited in Alaska.  I can't judge all Alaskan beers the same but I kinda want to.  I really didn't find any beer that stood out among the rest that I tried.  Most if not all of the beers from HooDoo had this funky aftertaste.  Like if I had mixed up a handful of dirt in with my beer.  I get the same dirt flavor when I have had Budweiser or similar swill.  But I digress, let me move on to the beers.  A flight of 6 is twelve USD.

Sorry about the shitty picture but I was too busy dying of Thai food coma.  But I will list off the 6 we tried (it was what they had available):

German Kölsch: ABV 5.1% // IBU 25

Belgian Saison: ABV: 5.9% // IBU: 19

Scottish Export Ale: ABV: 5.6% // IBU: 26

American IPA:  ABV: 7.2% // IBU: 73

Belgian Tripel: ABV: 8.3% // IBU: 30 

HooDoo Stout: ABV: 5.8% // IBU: 45 

I did have a second helping of their HooDoo Stout, we even took home a growler to share back home.  For a small brew company they do a great job with the selection of merchandise and keep their website up to date with what's on tap.

A to Z Challenge: G is for Garden

When I go new places I make it a point to see gardens because they remind me about the good things in life.  Pretty things.  The settings for many of the gardens are just so serene too.  I could lose myself for hours in a garden if left up to my own devices.

Lan Su Chinese Garden; Portland, OR

Japanese Tea Garden; San Francisco, CA

James Irvine Japanese Garden; Los Angeles, CA

Garden of Eden Arboretum; Haiku, HI

Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm; Kula, HI

World Peace Rose Garden; Sacramento, CA

California Scenario - Noguchi Garden; Costa Mesa, CA

I enjoy underwater gardens as well... alas the closest I have been is when I snorkeled in Maui and going to an aquarium from time to time.  But there is always time to change that.

A to Z Challenge: F is for Füssen

A few years ago I found myself in Füssen.  What for you ask?  I was there to see the famous Hohenschwangau Castle and Neuschwanstein Castle.  The amazing view down toward Füssen from a little vista located just outside the Neuschwanstein Castle can bee seen down below.  I still remember how crisp and fresh the air smelled.  I hope to go back to Germany and visit other parts I have yet to see.

Review: Koa Wood Ring - Offset

So, once upon in my 'About' I mentioned I was not a review site.  But since then I have reviewed a few things.  Some things I have purchased and some things I have not.  I like to pride myself in honesty and when I review something; purchased or not I am quite upfront.

I recently have been given the opportunity to review a Koa Wood Ring, graciously provided by: Altin Place out of Los Angeles, California.  The ring I chose to review was their Offset, I thought it a little smarter than their other rings.  As pictured above it has an etching of the Hawaiian Island, which the Koa wood is derived from.  I thought that was a sweet little touch to the VERY, light weight, titanium ring.  The beauty of the Offset is you can wear it with the wood band close or away from the body.  I would interchange this as well as the finger I wore it on.

Being married, I did not replace my wedding ring with the Koa ring but I did rock it on the right hand on both the ring and index finger.  It was light-weight, smooth around the edges and easy to live/sleep with.  All of those qualities are something that potential wedding bands should possess.  As for wear and tear, here is the break down.  Keep in mind I have worn the ring for only a month.

I am a potter and have removed the ring when throwing pottery (makes grooves in my pieces) to keep the clay from drying out the protective layer around the wood.  But I have used it while trimming, glazing and other pottery related activities... it has held up like a champ (showering doesn't seem to cause problems either).  I also like to travel and had the chance to take the Koa Ring to below freezing levels in the Arctic; the ring stood up like a champ.  As titanium has a tendency to do as it does; scuff.  But as I see it, in a wedding band, it means it weathers the good and the bad just like a marriage does.  If you want flawless go for a lighter on the pocket-book tungsten ring.  But if you want high quality and beautiful shine through the scuffs of life go with the Koa (or gold/platinum).

Like I have said, I have only had the pleasure of wearing the ring for a month and have not seen any defects or downfalls to the ring yet.  This ring, as per the website has an unbeatable warranty, "Not all wood rings are created equal and many just won't look as good 5 years, or even 6 months down the line. But this line of titanium and koa rings and wood wedding bands for men come with a Lifetime Guarantee."  How often can you get that kind of guarantee with anything?!  If the company gets me back in another 6 months or even 5 years I can provide further data.

If I was a gal that needed a matching theme thing to happen I would for for the: bangle, ring, earring combo.  Alas I don't wear earrings and bracelets get in the way of my work.  But as far as a ring goes, this one has yet to get in my way and it looks good.

A to Z Challenge: E is for Einbahnstraße

So as most of my followers know, I can't think straight when I have to pee.  I get lost, confused easily and often times get quite giddy (sometimes drunkeness coincides).  This challenge reminded me of the 2nd time in Germany that I lost my wits to the pee-pee dance monster.

Pics of the day wandering in Köln can be found here and here is an excerpt of that post:

"We got to walk through this really peaceful park when the wandering turned into hilarity.  My sister and I were heading out of the park when I noticed a street sign and mentioned we must have wandered closer to where we were staying.  I blame the urgency to use the wash closet, darkness approaching and beers.  But somehow I managed to confuse the name of the street the hostel was at Engelbertstraße, with the sign posted on the street that said Einbahnstraße.  I knew what the word said but my lazy brain was filling in the blanks, it started with E and ended in straße that had to be the street, right?  We just keep following that street in the direction of the hostel and we will be there, right?  No, not right.  Einbahnstraße basically means one way street.  We had a good laugh over my ridiculousness.  Let's just say the urge for urinating supersedes my keen sense of direction and comprehension skills."

We had been staying at the Meninger Hotel which is located on Engelbertstraße, I am sure you could see where my silly confusion came from, no?  I do highly recommend AGAINST the hostel we stayed at, it was not what I was looking for.  No, I am not picky but damn the bunk beds were half falling apart AND the shower stalls were dirty and pooled up to well above your ankles even if you were water savvy and turned the water off between soaping and rinsing.  No joke -_- all bad... And I won't take the, "You get what you pay for," bullshit because I could have paid less and slept in a church and quick washed in a WC for much cheaper.  Fuck you Meninger Hotel!

A to Z Challenge: D is for Deschutes

Borrowed without asking from their website.*

One of the things I enjoy doing when I travel is to explore local breweries.  Pop in, have a bite and a flight.  And that's just what my sister and I did while we had a long layover in Portland.  I have tried Deschutes' Mirror Pond Ale as well as their Black Butte Porter, time to try a little more!

Makes you thirsty don't it!

We both selected a different flight and shared with each other.   

From the top left to right on the first two rows is the Brewer's Choice:

*Hop Henge Experimental IPA - IBU's: 99; ABV: 9.3%

*Fresh Squeezed IPA - IBU's: 60; ABC: 6.4%

*Double Impact Belgian IPA - IBU's: 55; ABV: 6.1%
*Cinder Cone Red - IBU's: 55; ABV: 5.4%

*Bachelor Bitter - IBU's: 4.3; ABV: 5.0%

*Hoppy Pilsner - IBU's: 41; ABV: 5.0%
Followed by The Classics:
*Deschutes River Ale - IBU's: 28; ABV: 4.0%

*Mirror Pond Ale - IBU's: 40; ABV: 5.0%

*Chainbreaker White IPA - IBU's: 55; ABV: 5.6%

*Inversion IPA - IBU's: 80; ABV: 6.8%

*Black Butte Porter - IBU's: 30; ABV: 5.2%

*Nitro Obsidian Stout - IBU's: 55; ABV: 6.4%

The Deviled Eggs are to DIE for!

And shared some snacks while we enjoyed our beers.

Stout Deviled Eggs and Grilled Washington Pear and Goat Cheese Pizza; oh yeah it was good.  And the food paired quite well with some of our beers.

The service was neither good or bad but the beer and food was good.  I probably don't want to return to Portland unless it was specifically to visit breweries.  Portland did not give me a good vibe and I tend to trust my instincts about places.  I won't discount all of Oregon because I have had great times in Klamath Falls.

*I met an adorable little busker outside of the place and gave him all of our travel snacks since we were on a plane back home.  A bag of pretzels was among the snacks, the busker happened to have a tattoo of a pretzel on his hip.  It was meant to be, he was happy for the snacks and all felt right with the world.

A to Z Challenge: C is for Cockpit

I got to enjoy a cool ride to Coldfoot, Alaska on an 8-seater plane.  I got full view of the cockpit as there was no co-pilot.  I really enjoyed the flight, you could see out both sides of the plane and didn't have to worry about the typical flight problems people are hassled with.  You got the isle AND window seat, no standing room or bathroom so no one would have to disturb your travels.  You just sit back, enjoy the ride and take in the scenery.

While up in the air the pilot was nice enough to point out some places of interest as well as angle the plane accordingly to show us the spots he was talking about.  We flew over a village that has no roads going in and out of it, it's all done via planes.  I got to the the beautiful Yukon River, still frozen but still quite visible and HUGE!  We also got to see several of the different peaks and mountain ranges.

Given the chance I would love to fly in a small plane just for the chance to see the countryside at a lower level than a larger plane and the ability to see on both sides of the plane.  The ride was very smooth as well as the take off and landing.  I expected a rougher plane ride on a smaller plane than one you get on a larger one, I guess it was just a good day for flying.  It was scary when we got to Coldfoot because there was snow on the tarmac which worried me a bit but I guess it was ok.  For some reason I assumed landing couldn't be done on a snowy tarmac.  Live 'n' learn!

A to Z Challenge: B is for Blitzen

Whose head I found on the wall in Fairbanks, not too far was Babe.  No, not Babe the pig.... Babe the ox.  While in Alaska I learned how big hunting is for folk in general..... for food, fur and food heh.  I kinda assumed hunting was a thing but I didn't realize it was such a big thing.  Thought the animal activists would get snarky regarding hunting, it is a way of life.  Some of these people depend and LIVE off of the land.  The land including animals; sea, river and land animals. 

People always assume California folk are all yoga, vegan, gluten free, animal rights activists and look down their hoity toity noses at anyone who is not into all or some of the above.  I ran into one of these people in Alaska.... she was from Brentwood.  God she was obnoxious!  Ya know up in Alaska, they don't have produce going year round like where I live.  I assume being vegan in Alaska is pretty tough. 

Leaving my little world in Santa Maria, California helps me learn how diverse people are.  How people around other parts of MY nation live.  How preconceived notions of how people are, are sad generalizations and often time have some truth and some falsehood to them.

We (my sis and I) have been mistaken for Alaskan gals a few times being here.  I feel proud that I am not looked at with disdain being a tourist.  But at the same time I am sad that so many tourists can portray themselves so poorly that being a tourist, I fear being looked down upon.

A to Z Challenge: A is for Arctic

Two days ago I actually flew into Coldfoot, Alaska.  It is roughly 60 miles north of the demarcation line for the Arctic Circle.  I have never felt cold like this before... and the sad part is, Alaska has had an unusually warm winter.  I hate to think how miserable I would have been IF it was typical Alaska weather. 

Layers:  Top was my supportive undergarment, tank, thermal, tee, light hoodie and the hoodie you see me wearing in the photo.  For the evening... which started really late ( darkness only came well after 10 pm)  I had a snowboarding parka.  I did shit for how cold I felt, in my uncultured mind, I assume Alaska was cold AND windy.  No Susie, only where you live does the wind howl at all hours.  SO yeah the parka was an added layer that did nothing.  Bottom was of course underoos, 2 long Johns, 2 pairs of knee high socks and a pair of ankle socks ( once me feet get cold I am done for).  And at night the snowboarding pants that sound amazing when I walk.  By amazing I mean it sounds like little Munchkins are having a zip tie symphony.  No joke!  Now I know what hefty thighs in cords sound like... well I knew that already but it was more evident since I wasn't boarding, I was walking

I hope to return to Alaska for the endless day light in the summer and the endless night in the winter.  Call me a glutton for punishment but I think it builds character to be subjected to -45 degree (F) weather.  If other humans have done it so can I!  This has concluded my daily ranting before I am off to enjoy a brewery in Fairbanks.... be jealous!

Blogging from A to Z in April Challenge

 

So tomorrow starts this blogging challenge I have accepted.  Click here to check out the challenge.  I wasn’t going to have a theme for my challenge since I was just going to continue blogging as per usual with the added challenge of making it daily (aside from Sunday) and having the titles go from A-to-Z.  Sounds easy enough right?  Yeah I guess it would be if I would just stay on task with my blogging but I have been lacking in the gumption department.  So may be this challenge is what I need to get the writing going again. 

Anyway back to the theme, I am thinking I might make it travel related.  I was thinking of posting about things I have done or seen while traveling and maybe writing about future travels I wish to do.  I will try to keep it to stuff I have done but if I am stumped on a letter I will write on wishful travels.

 

Speaking of blogging, where have all the bloggers gone?  There were quite a few folks I followed who have just stopped writing or all together closed up their blog shop without a peep.  I kinda miss reading some of these people’s blogs but I suppose it leaves me time to write more and perhaps explore the blogosphere and find some other blogs to read avidly.  Any suggestions are welcome!