I know what it looks like

But really I've been busy this holiday season. Aside from throwing together my holiday calendar, I've done 4 Christmas cards for other people which I'm pretty happy with. It started with a card for Techlab where I used to work:

and that turned out so well, the lab manager asked me to do a card for her family:

and that was so good the owner asked me to do a family card for him:

And last but not least, I did a card for a neighbor who has set up a cancer foundation:

I'm slowly getting more used to working in color and that may have some affect on my future cartoons. I just hope it can add some "funny" to the whole thing.

I'm planning on trying to keep the one cartoon a week thing going for the next year, so stay tuned to see if I fail miserably.

It's Live!

For good or ill, the holiday music podcast is up and ready to be downloaded at:  www.filesanywhere.com

Log in using the user name: kszappa and the password is zappa1111 

I'm new to the casting thing and since I have a face for radio and a voice for silent movies don't expect too much. Just try to enjoy and be aware that it was made with love.

Oh yeah, quick downloading instructions. Right click on the HolidayTunes2013 folder and click on the download folder option. It should ask you where you want to save it on your computer. If so, save it to your music folder. If not, it may just put it in your downloads folder. Then you just extract the compressed file and it's ready to play. This is all assuming you're using a Windows operating system. If you're running Mac I haven't got a clue. I'm guessing you just wave your hand over it and it magically appears on your ipod.

Enjoy!

Never Too Cold To Rock and Roll

The weather has turned towards the inevitable winter here so two weeks ago I didn't even bother going out on Saturday to look for garage sales. The weather was cold and snowy and even I didn't want to face that, even if it meant there was a bargain to be had.

This past weekend wasn't too much better weather-wise with cold rain on Saturday and a predicted snowstorm for Sunday. The snow wasn't supposed to start until the afternoon and since the last few Saturdays have not been good, I decided to beat the snow and check out the local flea market Sunday morning.

When I pulled in to the parking lot I could tell that it was not well attended by either vendors or shoppers, but I figured it wouldn't take me long to buzz through it and maybe I could pick up a couple more boxes of apples for the deer at work. I cruised through with my eyes looking out for cds as always and was pleased to come across a table with a few dozen laid out. I asked how much and was told a buck each or 6 for $5. After coming across 3 Beatles disks that I didn't yet have, I knew that picking up a total of 6 wouldn't be a problem.

 The rest of the market was pretty lame, but I did find one vendor who I'd bought stuff from before, and once again he had a big box of cds for me to dig through looking for more treasure. the guy selling this stuff is a bit odd. Id heard him in the past telling another vendor how hard it was for him to get off heroin and how some of the drugs just made him sleepy. Unfortunately, when he's not on his meds he can get a bit testy. In the past I'd witnessed him cursing out people who tried to low-ball him on some of his prices to the point that it was a little scary. I made sure to ask how much for the cds, a buck each, and didn't try to haggle. I walked away with $16 worth and left the cold outdoors happy as a clam at a casino.

Here's what I ended up with. Not a bad haul for December.

What's New?

I haven't been posting anything for a while but that doesn't mean I haven't been "working". I downloaded a 15 day trial of a drawing program called Sketchbook Pro, and I've got to say I like it. A lot. I've even been taking my laptop to work so I can play with it at lunch. This may be the art program I've been dreaming of.

So, with this new development the look of my material may take on a whole new look which could even include, dare I say it, color. Here's a little sample of how I've been wasting my time:

Not exactly the Mona Lisa, but it's got me jazzed. Hopefully there will be more full fledged toons in the near future.

Woopie Halloween

I'm sure a lot of people could have resisted, but when I saw this costume at a garage sale this past summer, I knew what I wanted to be for Halloween. It's a little ratty and worn but what do you expect for a buck? I figured that if we were to go to a costume party this year I could be the cushion and Kathy could just sit on my lap all night while I made fart noises. Alas, there were no parties, or at least none Kathy would join me at. Go figure.

Pfhhhhhtttt!

100 And Still Counting

I just looked back and I found that this is the 100th cartoon I've posted on this blog. A milestone for me  but I'm still tracking way behind getting 300 total posts by the end of the year. There's still time and I may just start throwing out all sorts of gray matter just to reach that goal.

On the plus side, I just need to do 20 more cartoons and I'll have enough for 10 years worth of calendars.

Count Down

Bone Headed

We love our dogs.  It's not because they are particularly cute or cuddly, (they are, to varying degrees, both) But we've never claimed that they were smart. Oh, they have their moments and have been smart enough to train us to get what they want, whether it's a midnight feeding or a car ride and a Slim Jim.

Treats play a big part in our parenting skills which is why, if we ever had children they'd be little porkers (just like daddy). They've learned that the fastest way to a treat is to bark and howl and jump until they get one. Score another one for the dogs. We've discovered that marrow bones (a.k.a. soup bone) will keep them occupied the longest and we tend to use them when we need some time alone. With 3 dogs, after a few years the basement is starting to look like a graveyard. We could throw the used bones out, but even after the marrow is gone and all that's left is a doughnut shaped bone, they can and do go back to them for something to just chew on. Especially Sandy.

Sandy. Sandy, Sandy, Sandy, Sandy. Third dog has been maybe the sweetest yet most destructive, most disruptive dog we've ever owned. He's so goofy and so seemingly unaware of his body that he makes us laugh every day. He's had more than his share of stuffed toys which he takes joy in destroying in record time, not to mention the non toy items he's had in his jaws including socks, hats underwear, bras and slippers. He's the most likely one to go back and chew the old marrow bones that we have kicking around.

And that's what he was doing yesterday morning. Late in the morning Kathy noticed that he was clinging to her which seemed unusual when he had the other 2 dogs to bother. I found him down our bed with a bone in front of him and when I tried to engage him in a game of tug a war, I noticed he already had a bone in his mouth. Not only was it in his mouth, but the nut had gotten his lower jaw through the center of the bone and over his canine teeth. When I saw what was going on I tried to remove it, but I had no success. I could only guess what was going through his mind, "Get this off me, don't take my bone. Get this off me, don't take my bone".

I told Kathy what I'd discovered and after a laugh she tried her hand at getting it off. Still no success. I called my neighbor Shawn who has a couple of big dumb dogs himself and asked what he thought. He said he'd seen this same problem once on the internet and that they had cut the bone off the dogs mouth using a Dremel tool. He said he was going to get a Dremel for himself to grind down his dog's nails, so we went to the hardware store to get the little hand-held grinder and some blades. Before we left, we gave Sandy a dose of some canine pain meds to help calm him down so he would be easier to work on.

In theory this was the answer. We now had the tool but when Shawn tried to cut one of the other bones we have lying around to see how it would go, it turned out to be a much more labor intensive process that we'd hoped. Add to that the fact that the pain meds seemed to have no effect on Sandy's energy level, and we were back to square one. Our regular vet does not keep Sunday hours and the local 24/7 emergency vet charges over $150 just to walk through the door.

Since this didn't seem like a life threatening ailment I figured we'd just go to our regular vet on Monday. Because Sandy is part blood hound he's got these jowly lips that all but cover this latest disfigurement. The only real problem seemed to be he was droolier than usual (is that even a word? Spell check says "no").  I called my boss at the park (she used to be a vet tech) to let her know I wouldn't be in Monday. When I told her why she laughed too. She'd seen this thing happen before and had a few suggestions but unfortunately nothing we'd not already tried.

Bagle Bone

The story ends with a fast and efficient vet visit. It only took an hour including travel time. The vet said that she can usually pull the excess skin tight and just slide it off but because of some minor swelling, she had to put him out to work it off. There was no cutting involved and Sandy was unusually quiet for quite a while after, which was nice. I asked to keep the bone as a warning  but I must be careful to keep it away from Sandy because otherwise he's likely to do it again. My one regret is I didn't get any pictures except for this one from after the vet visit. I'm sure there's at least one cartoon in there somewhere.

Lime Time

Between working in the park and having three dogs it's no wonder I drink.

Nice Ass

I know I'm way behind on my posts, but school and work, blah blah blah... I hope to post at least one more this week. I got a million of them. Just not right here handy.

For the record. I can't check up on that which does not exist.

Casual Swear

A little Star Trek humor for all you geeks out there. Plus I really do love boobies.

Classless

Math class has started again. be prepared for more bitchy cartoons. Chris says I sound like a 13 year old girl complaining about math, and he would know.

An Easy Habit To Break

A couple of weeks ago I picked up almost 2 dozen new in the box Molson pint glasses from a garage sale. . I justified the purchase because of the price ($4.00) and the assumption that they would make great give-a-ways at our next beer tasting. Also my neighbor Shawn just got a kegerator and you can always use more glasses if you have a kegerator.

Yesterday I was out garage saling and I came upon another box of pint beer glasses. I planned on just picking up a few to add to my already cupboard busting collection. Each one one I pulled from the box was better than the last. They were all (mostly) different glasses from craft breweries from around the country and even some from Europe.

I asked how much and the lady said 25 cents apiece. A quarter apiece?! I asked how much for the whole box (like it wasn't cheap enough already) as off the top of her head she said $5.00. SOLD!  I counted them up when I got home and there are 38 glasses from about 3 dozen different breweries. That's about 13 cents each (my new math skills). I spoke with my friend Chris and he said it sounded like someone's wife made him get rid of his collection. I'm sure I'll be hearing more of the same.

Now, there are a few that I do want to hang on to for myself but the bulk of this collection will be up for grabs. I figure I can give a pint glass away with every bottle of homebrew I share. If only I knew of some other enthusiasts who share my passion for all things beer related.

Inaction

I'm not even sure what it means.

Sandy Snacks

This is just an experiment with a hand held scanner I picked up this past weekend at a yard sale. It was only a buck and it seems like it works pretty good (good enough for cartooning anyway). Now I can throw it in my laptop bag and be able to scan on the go.

3rd Dog Is A Poor Therapy Dog

Blood Hounded

Wanna See Something Gross?

It was a week ago today that I had sinus surgery to remove the nasal polyps that have interfering with my breathing for I don't know how long. When I was first examined the Dr (Dr Jean Kim, of the small fingered Kims) she said that one side of my nose was about 90% blocked and the other side had diminished  capacity as well.

Like Kathy, I don't like being the center of attention, but when it comes to surgery I've found that there is no choice. There was all sorts of meet and greets with doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists and residents. My procedure got bumps up earlier than planned since the morning patient cancelled or died or something. Instead of rolling into the OR at 2:00 I was in by 11:00. This was comforting since it meant the team would be fresh and ready.

I was under from the time they put on the oxygen mask to five hours later when I came to in the recovery room. I don't remember a thing about the procedure with the exception of the complete lack of time passing. No sounds, no dreams and best of all no pain. Once time did start back up again, it moved quickly. Kathy came to recovery and before I knew it, it was after 7:00pm and time to go home.

You may not be able to tell by looking at me, but I was breathing better right away. My snoring (something that lead to be getting this done in the first place) is now non existent. This means better sleep for myself and anyone who has to share a room with me. Recovery has been mostly pain free, but some of the meds I'm on do tend to make my head fluffy at times. I should be done taking them all by the end of the weekend and then it will be back to beer to make my head fluffy.

Yesterday they removed the splints in my nose (here comes the gross part) and I can now breath even better. If you have a weak stomach, you may want to stop reading here with the knowledge that it was a complete success, but if you interested in seeing just what they pulled out of my nose on Wednesday, scroll down.
























Are you sure about this?

























Last chance

EWWWWW! It even makes me a little queasy. If the picture doesn't do it justice, just imagine a large bloody slug being pulled from my nose like something out of a horror movie. On my next check up I hope to get some of the doctors photos from the procedure itself, so stay tuned.

Prep Time

In Case Of Emergency Call Gallagher

This isn't something you see everyday.




I just happened to see it when I stopped at the 7-11 for coffee. They were doing a brisk business. All I got was a couple pictures.

It's A Story As Old As Time Itself

Actually, we're not quite there yet but I wanted to get this out in case I didn't feel like drawing with tampons stuffed my nose.

Cut Ups

I have surgery planned for August first. I've been having this dream ever since it was scheduled.

Last Minute Visit To See The Grandmothers

This has been a busy month already and we're just a week into it. It began with my 50th, then the July 4th celebration (more on that later) and Sunday night I went to see a last minute show at the Ramshead On Stage.

First I'd like to thank everyone who remembered me on the first and/or sent cards and emails to drive home the fact that I'm old. On the plus side, when I told someone at work how old I was he said he would not have guessed I was older that 38. I admit I'm immature but he may need to get his glasses checked. Either way I'll take it.

Our annual Fourth of July party went off without a problem and was the first chance we've had to entertain on our new deck and even newer patio.I'll give a full review of it soon with pictures, videos and police reports.

On to Sunday night, July 7th., I was dog sitting for a few days for the woman I usually do dog walking for. She's only gone for a few days and she has a pool so I'm willing to make the sacrifice. She lives just outside of Annapolis and the Grandmothers of Invention show was downtown Annapolis. I didn't have anyone to go with but I figured I fit right in with all the other old guys in the crowd so I'd be okay. In fact I may have been one of the youngest members of the audience (being 38 and all). Sunday night shows at the end of holiday weekends may not be the best draw.The crowd was thin (although most of it's members were fat) but we were an enthusiastic bunch.

Like the last time I saw this band, it features players who originally played with Frank Zappa, some going back as far as the min 1960s. Unlike last time there were only two members who had played with Frank instead of 4. Don Preston was an original Mother in the sixties and Napoleon Murphy Brock, was a member of Franks band in the early seventies, which is one of the eras I like best. Don is 80 and still playing well and seemingly having fun. Napoleon has to be in his mid sixties at least but still puts on an energetic show.

Like last time, the band was filled out with very talented younger players who brought a fresh passion to Frank's music. They played the entire "One Size Fits All" album as well as a number of other well selected gems from Frank's vast catalogue. You can't really have a Zappa tribute band without a killer guitar player and they chose well when they picked young Max Kutner. The combo was filled out with an excellent drummer/singer and a base player who had served some time in another Zappa tribute band, Project/Object.

They did a meet and greet after the show but I didn't stay behind for that since I had an early morning Monday, but I'm glad I went even if I had to fly solo that evening. The guy who I shared the table with was actually recording the show (with the bands permission, but not the permission of the ZFT). He said he was planning to put it up on musicarchives.org. I gave him my email and asked if he'd let me know when it was up there because this was a show well worth reliving time and time again.

It's All Fun And Games Until Someone Gets Naked

Yes, Fred's chest is really that hairy.

Falling behind. Again.

I may be behind, but there's always time for a bike ride.

Golden Oldie

I been going through a lot of old stuff lately and I thought this was funny. At least I thought it was 17 years ago.

Way back when fred still had hair.

Eye Don't Get It

Just trying to play catch up for the few weeks I've missed posting anything cartoonish.

Bathroom Humor

Vacation Time

Best Worst Day Ever

June started with a trip to NY to see my friend Norm. We'd been planning it for a while because it gave us another chance to see The Ed Palermo Big Band play the music of Frank Zappa at great supper club called The Falcon in Marlboro, NY. I'd seen them once before at the same place a couple of years ago and the show on Saturday, June first was as good as or better. Norm has seen them a half dozen times and he admits that every show is a treat.

My trip up on Friday after work was uneventful if you don't count a couple minor traffic jams in Pa that added over an hour to my travel time. I had a good book on CD and although I wanted to get to my destination I was in no hurry. I rolled into Norms about 7:00 and we shared some beer (natch) and went to dinner with his family. We made it an early night because we had garage sale-ing to do in the morning.

Norm lives a little better than an hour north on NYC but the town of Montgomery is actually quite rural. We started out Saturday morning with breakfast on the road, Norm's list of sales and his GPS. We hit a fair number and did some nice countryside driving but neither one of us had completely satisfied our bargain hunting itch. The solution was to visit some local thrift stores which added some more treasure but the best haul of the day came when we went to this local FYE store where we both scored some CDs we couldn't live without.

After all that running around we took it easy in the afternoon, sharing some more beers and listening to some of our purchases. At around 5:00 we got ready for our trip to dinner and the big show. The Falcon is a first rate music venue and provides free live music almost every night, attracting some big name artists form NYC.      Norm has seen lots of different shows there over the past few years and is lucky to have such a hip place so close to home. The food before the show was great and they also have a nice selection of beer. Norm's wife Jane was our designated driver so we could comfortably enjoy a few more brews together.

The show turned out to be one long set, mixing Zappa's music with the Beatles as well as other artists, The band was as tight as I remembered. They are a big band made up of 14 or more players at any one time and I think Frank would have been proud of the skill and respect they gave to his tunes. Like the last time, the young violin player was a standout not only for her playing, but also for the
good looks she adds to the band.


As always, the camera work is a little shaky but it's hard for me to stay still while shaking my booty.

Sunday came way too soon as it often does on these weekend trips. I woke up early because that's what my body is getting used to. I didn't want to wake anyone else up so I drove to the gas station to gas my car up for my return trip. Also, I noticed when I got to Norm's on Friday that the tire pressure light had come on, so I needed air as well. I was on Main Street, about 2 blocks from Norm's house when I passed a cop car. He pulled out right behind me and hit his lights to pull me over, he asked if I knew what the speed limit in town was and I told him I'd just passed a sign that said 50 MPH. He said that the 50 MPH zone started after the sign and I was going 40-42 MPH by the time I got to the sign, The town speed limit is 30 MPH so I was clearly in violation. He asked for my licence and registration and asked if I was just visiting (out of state plates), I told him I was and that I was leaving town that day. He said since it was Sunday morning he'd give me a pass this time, but reminded me what the speed limit was and sent me on my way. Whew!

At the gas station I went to put air in my tires and found that the front passenger tire was almost flat. I filled it with air and it seemed to hold it but since I was driving a couple hundred miles that day, much of it through rural PA (redundant, I know),  I wanted to have someone local look at it before I headed home. I was feeling pretty good about avoiding the ticket that morning so I picked up some cinnamon rolls doe Norm and family. When I went to pay for them and the gas I realized I didn't have my credit card. The last time I remembered using it was to pay for dinner Saturday night. Had I left it at the Falcon? They weren't opened Sunday mornings so I'd have to call them after I'd left for home. Not the end of the world since I had another card, but perplexing none the less.

When I got back to Norms house (driving very slowly) I asked him where I could get my tire looked at and he had a few suggestions. He even volunteered to go with me in case I had some unexpected down time. I told him about the missing credit card and since we had taken his wife's car that night we look in it to see if it had fallen out in there. No such luck. He said that if I had left it at The Falcon he could pick it up and send it to me. Nice guy.

Before getting on the road I cleaned out my car and had a look between my front seats and there I found my missing card. It must have come out of my wallet when I pulled my licence for Officer Friendly. That makes two near disasters averted. I said my goodbyes to Norm's family and he and I headed out in separate cars to find someone to look at my tire. The first place we tried wasn't opened yet so we went to Sears in the mall and they had been opened since 8:00 am and had nothing to do so they could look at my car ASAP. They found a nail in the tire but it was too close to the sidewall so it couldn't be plugged, it would have to be replaced, The tech found that they had the tire I needed in stock and they had it on the rim and out the door in a half hour. From there I bid Norm a final farewell and I was on my way home.

The trip home took me just over 4.5 hours and was clear sailing all the way. I'd had a fine weekend and had avoided at least three things on Sunday morning that could have made it memorable for all the wrong reasons. It's always nice to get away but it's great to be home with my credit card, my new tire and no ticket.

Snore

Business is Business

Early Bird Special

I know I'm a few weeks behind, so there will be more coming soon. I want to wish my beautiful wife a happy birthday today, not that she ever reads this crap.

Tablet Talk

Guess what Kathy is getting for her birthday (besides another headache).

Now We Know

This one is all Kathy. She's a funny one, she is.

Analog Weekend

This weekend was filled with a lot of community yard sales and I did my best to hit as many as I could. I did some advance scoping, looking for signs of coming sales and ads in the pennysaver so I had a pretty good route mapped out that would allow me to use my time wisely since the bulk of the sales only run from 8:00 til noon.

Does anyone need a portable CD player? I added a couple more to my collection this week for a buck each. I've promised myself that I won't buy anymore off brand players and stuck to brand names like Sony, who made both of the ones I bought this past Saturday. I picked up a few more odds and ends and actually passed on a couple smoking deals on audio speakers which I need even less than CD players.

The big buys for me this week were some old school technology. One guy had a couple crates of LP albums. I asked him how much he wanted for each and he said "pennies". That was enough to get me to take a look and I easily pulled out 10 that interested me. I could have grabbed even more but I wasn't sure yet what he meant by "pennies". I asked how much he wanted for 10 and he said a dollar. More that some people would have paid, but a bargain for me.

The other big buy was a Tascam audio recording deck. It was priced at $5.00 and I hemmed and  hawed over it until the lady running the sale said I could just take it. I gave her a dollar for it instead and loaded it up in my car. Now, I don't know anything about audio mixing (yet) but I know what I like, and that's a bargain. One reason the lady wanted to get rid of it was because it records to cassette tape, not digital files. Wouldn't you figure that I have a backlog of blank audio tapes from back in the day, just like I'm likely to have a backlog of blank CDs after they become extinct.

I have a coworker who is into home recording so I'll offer it to him but if he declines, I'll see what I can do with it myself.  There must be youtube videos on how to work this stuff. There is an audio class or two at AACC, so if I like it I may take a few more classes. Anything to avoid math.

'Tis The Season

160 Character Limit

Beer of the World

On my first day out garage saleing this year I picked up a book on making beer. I already have a few books like this but it was full of recipes and I can always use more of those, especially for a buck. It wasn't until I got it home and really looked at it that I realized that: A.) it was a little out dated (it was first published in 1979 and the edition I got was from 1984), and 2.) it was printed in the British Empire (where the sun never sweats).

The first tip off of it's national origin was when I noticed on the back cover that the original price was just under 5 British pounds (sorry, I don't know how to make the little pound symbol). Also most of the recipes are fore English beers which is not a bad thing, because I am a fan. There is a section in the book called "Beers of the World" which features recipes for clones of three American beers, Budweiser, Colt 45 and Schlitz. I've never had a hankering to produce any of these three brews, but if anyone is interested in the recipes, I can hook you up.

There is a lot of good information to make the book useful but they use that quaint metric system of measure so I'll have to apply some of my non-existent math skills to do the conversion. I've just consumed a bottle of my last home brew, which came out okay, but lacks the lively carbonation I was hoping for. Perhaps for my new brew, I'll choose one of the excellent beers from across the pond.

Happy Earth Day

Don't you think every day should be earth Day?

All Set

I'll Show You Mine, If You Show Me Yours

More good news this week. On top of getting a 9 out of 10 on my photographic self portrait project, I had two of my photos accepted into the AACC Student Art Show coming up later this month. This is the second time I've submitted and the seconded time I've gotten in so I'm very encouraged although I think the Judges my have a bias towards old white men. I'm good with that because sometimes that's the only thing I've got going for me.

The one photo is from my second assignment and I must admit, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. It's hard to tell, but this is a color print and my teacher said it has a "sense of adventure".

It was taken in a train tunnel with some friends as we headed for an old abandoned tuberculosis hospital to do some urban exploring. I got quite a few good pictures that day but this was maybe the best.

The second photograph is a photo collage I did in class while I was killing some time. Most of the photos were taken while I was at work so I called this Quiet Waters Kaleidoscope.

Both are for sale since they are looking to buy some work for the permanent student collection. If I'm lucky I may get a little cash to help pay for a new laptop computer since mine is on its' last legs. Say a little prayer.

Can You See The Real Me?

Our last assignment for my photo class was to do two self portraits, one of the inner me and one of the outer me. Not being a complex person, it took me some time to come up with anything that would express the two sides of a one sided coin. After some thought and a little planning, I chose to represent the inner me with my biggest fear:

For my outer self I used my love of music to represent my happy place:

I think I did okay when they were critiqued by the class. The only negative thing the teacher had to say was that they were both "not subtle". Since there was nothing in the project instructions about being sublime, I think I did pretty good. When I showed Kathy the photos and told her what the teacher said, she said "you're NOT subtle", which made me feel even better.

The First of April

Maybe wearing a hoodie sweatshirt the same color of the asphalt we were riding on was not the smartest thing to do, but while following my friend Chris, we were able to log 25 miles on our bikes yesterday, without being mowed down by distracted drivers in the DC traffic.

Chris's new ride

Our goal was, as it always seems to be, a bike ride to visit some of the new micro-breweries that have been springing up in the metro DC area in the last few years. This was also one of the first rides of any distance that Chris did on his new bike. That's not to say that these were the only miles Chris has ridden since the first of the year. He's probably ridden more miles between January and now than I will ride for the rest of the year.

Our first stop was a couple miles from Chris's house. A very nice liquor store-deli called Quench. Good news was they make a really good sandwich. Bad news is they don't allow drinking on the premises. They are in the middle of a remodel that will expand the store to include a bar/cafe which I believe will make it a regular stop for us in the future.

The next stop, after about 12 miles of pedaling was Three Stars Brewery.  They feature a home brewing supply store as well as a tasting room. You can also get 64 ounce growlers filled along with t-shirts and hats featuring the brands logo. Of the 4 beers they had on tap for sampling, I liked the Southern Belle, which is their pecan brown ale. Chris prefered their IPA, but to no ones surprise, we liked them all.

Around the corner from Three Stars is Chocolate City Brewery which was featuring three beers on tap including their flagship copper ale and their dark cerveza  Everything was good but we both prefered the more complex beers of Three Stars. That being said, they were very friendly and knowledgeable and seemed to draw a good crowd.

Our last stop on the bike ride portion of our odyssey was a visit to Chris's wife's place of business, Providence Hospital, which translates to "hospital on the hill". We met Sue there because she needed help rearranging her office. With the promise of dinner and a car ride back to their house, that's what we did. Her office is in a former patient's room so it featured it's own bathroom which includes a sit down shower. Nice. It's her temporary office for the next year and I think the workspace is better used in the new arrangement.

For dinner we chose Shaw's Tavern in DC which we chose because it stocked both Three Stars and Chocolate City beers. Dinner was good and the beer flowed once again. Between the free samples at the breweries and Sue picking up the dinner check, Chris and I did not pay for a single drink all day. That, to me. is an almost perfect day.