Vegas!!!!!

There is a lot to write about our trip to Vegas last weekend, but I don't have the time to do it all now. I still need to recover a bit. Plus, I need to get all the pictures in order. They will definitely shed some light into the kind of weekend it was! I'll update this when I get a chance! :)

Here are some pictures, story to come:

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/tt_tyler2001/album?.dir=/f043

Nantucket

This past weekend was my sisters Fall Break from school, so my parents decided that the three of them were going to go to Nantucket for the weekend, since my sister hadn't been there before. They had gotten rooms at 2 separate B&B's, one as a gift and one at an auction, so they had some room to spare. Well, since I hadn't been to Nantucket either and wanted to go, I decided to tag along. It also helped that I had a plane ticket on FlyI that needed to be changed.

So off I went to Providence on Friday afternoon, then jumped on a small Cape Air flight over to the Island. I had been watching the weather during the week before this, because I know in October, things can be iffy. There was a big storm that came through the mid-Atlantic Columbus weekend, which dampened Oktoberfest. Well, that storm decided that it was just going to hang out over New England for the next week. So flying into Nantucket on Friday evening was not the nicest weather. I could catch glimpses of things out the window of the plane, but it wasn't until we were landing that I could see anything of substance.

Despite the rain, my first glimpse into the island and town of Nantucket was good. We headed back to the B&B that our friends owned to have some appetizers before going out to dinner. We went to a really small restaurant that was named after a character from Moby Dick. It is a pretty weird name and I am not sure how to spell it, but it starts with a Q. We had to wait a bit, but had a drink at the bar, which is where we found out about the Whale's Tale Pale Ale, a Nantucket micro brew. It was good and we decided to make a stop by the brewery on Sat. Dinner was good also, I would definitely recommend the place.

Then we tried to find a good bar to go to, but nothing was really looking good until we tried a place called The Brotherhood of Thieves. We hung out there with the cool bartender and a wedding party that had taken over, and watched the end of the baseball game. Then I went back to my B&B and mom, dad, and my sister went back to theirs. I definitely slept in the next morning, partly because I knew it was raining and partly because I was tired. I even missed breakfast, but I wasn't too surprised since I was the only person staying there! I hadn't even met the inn keeper yet!

Since it was raining, we decided it would be a good idea to go to the Whaling Museum, which had just been renovated. It was a really cool museum. It is amazing what these whaler's went through out on the boats. I had listen to a book on tape last year about the whaling ship Essex, from Nantucket, so it was cool to see the exhibits in the museum. They have big sperm whale skeleton from one that washed up on the beach and died. The film about it was really interesting. After becoming educated, we decided to grab a bite to eat and then walk around town. But right after lunch it decided to pour, not just rain, so we opted for the car and took a little drive around the island.

That was how we stumbled upon the Cisco Brewery/vineyard/distillery. It was this really cool, out of the way place where they brew beer, make wine, and distill vodka, run, and gin. Cisco Brewers There were a bunch of people around, tasting all the different things they offer, so we decided to give it a whirl! We did 1 wine and 1 beer tasting. I thought it was all pretty good, but I especially like the Pinot Gris, which I bought a bottle of. And their pumpkin beer was really good too! I didn't try any of the hard liquor, but some of the people trying it seemed to think it was good. After our tastings, it was getting late, so we made our way back to town to get ready for dinner.

On Sat. night we went to a french restaurant that was supposed to be one of the better places in town. It was a very nice atmosphere and the food was good too. I had a pumpkin soup and a duck dish that were absolutely scrumptious. This was a pretty late dinner and the service wasn't speedy either, so we decided to head back to the rooms for the night. I went back and read more of the book that I had kidnapped from the other B&B and watched the end of the NASCAR race. Go Tony Stewart!!

The weather had started to clear a bit, so we decided to get up earlier and take another tour of the island and see some of the lighthouses. The sky was clear, but boy was it windy!! After visiting the 2nd oldest lighthouse in the US, we stopped to see some friends of my parents, and then went to get some sandwiches for a little picnic. We knew this would be a challenge with the wind, but we found a good spot by the beach that was a little sheltered. After our touring around it was off to the airport for our flights back home. However, the airport was packed because the ferries were not running due to the wind causing lots of chop, so it was a busy day. Fortunately we were able to get out and I just barely made my 20 minute connection in Providence.

I made it home Sunday night by about 8 and made dinner and sat down to watch the Steelers game that I had TiVo'd! Unfortunately, I feel like I would have been better off not watching the game at all. It was awful in a lot of respects. Turnover Tommy was up to his old tricks and the O-line was not jellin like Magellin. Oh well, overall it was a good weekend in Nantucket! I am anxious to go back when the weather is better!!

Off-Roading in the FJ40!!

Columbus Day weekend was supposed to be a weekend in Pittsburgh, celebrating the return of hockey at the Penguins home opener against the Bruins. However, thanks to a lot of people in the burgh excited about the new free agents and the number one pick Crosby, there were no tickets available for me. Instead, I decided I would spend the time in DC.

On Saturday was the annual Shirlington Oktoberfest, which I missed last year. I decided that I would go to that this year, and we found a coupon that was a 2 for the price of one admission. Matt and I couldn't turn down all the good Oktoberfest beer that we could drink until 6 pm for the price of $10 could we? Well, by the end of the festival we were soaking wet from the big rainstorm that was here all day and we had more than enough beer. It was definitely a good time though, and then we went home to watch my free Direct TV NHL Package preview. Even though I couldn't be there, I could watch the Pens lose to the Bruins in OT.

The next morning, provided that the rain had stopped, Matt and I decided to go camping and 4 wheeling out in VA. I have been dying to try out the Land Cruiser on some trails since I had gotten it, and this past weekend was a good chance. I found out where some good beginner trails were, we loaded up the dogs and gear into the LC, and we hit the road Sun. noontime. We were a little bit behind schedule, but we didn't really have a set plan. My goal was to get down towards Madison, VA where there is an area called the Rapidan Wildlife Area. However, on the way there, we passed the really good vineyard that AD and I went to near Culpeper. Matt and I stopped off to try a few of the wines, and he decided to pick up a few bottles.

We finally made it to the trailhead at about 3:00. Without really knowing what to expect, off we went! It started out as a nice dirt road, and then gradually diminished as we went. There were a bunch of stream crossings and the trail was basically paralleling fast running river.


We passed a bunch of campsites as we went and there looked to be plenty of off-shooting trails to explore at another time. There were a number of really rocky sections that really bounced us around. I know the dogs were not all that happy with us for taking them on this crazy ride, but we just felt it built character! At one point we found this cool side trail that had a really steep section that people had been trying to get up. I decided to give it a whirl, but with the wetness and a ditch in one side of it, I couldn't get completely up.


It continued to get later and darker as we went, so I decided to stop at a turn-around point and we let the dogs out to run around a bit. We cruised back down the trail, bumping around like crazy, and then I stopped for gas and we tried to figure out how to get to the camp site. The one thing I forgot to mention was that I had left the directions at home, so we were just using a map and where I vaguely remembered things were! It was getting dark and we were really hungry as we were passing through Luray, so we decided to stop at a pizza place, where our eyes were definitely MUCH bigger than our stomachs. We attempted to get some directions from there to the campsite, which I didn't think was too far away, but we weren't very successful.

Eventually we made it there and only 2 of the 10 tent spots were taken, so we were in luck. It's always a challenge to get things set up in the dark, but we didn't have too many problems. The problems we had were finding any good wood for a fire. We didn't have too much success there, but it was a good fight! The tent was a little crowded with 3 dogs and me and Matt, but we survived and I managed to get a pretty good rest. We were up early though with the sun and the dogs. They didn't want so stay in the tent and let us sleep in, so we were up and had camp broken down by about 9. Some Columbus day off sleep-in... Oh well, we had more wheeling to do!!

This time we headed to a spot pretty close to the campsite in the George Washington National Forest. It was a place called Tasker's Gap and the trail was Peter's Mill. I had heard that it was like a highway going through the woods, but I didn't quite get that feeling as we were on it. It also looks really straight on the map, but is not even close on the trail! I feel like it was a good beginner trail for me!


The trail was about 7 miles long and we saw only 2 ATV's the whole time. It was nice to have the trail all to ourselves. About halfway through, there was a big open area where we stopped to let the dogs run again. I don't think they were getting used to all the bumps, but they were definitely dealing with it better on this trail.

After we finished Peter's Mill, we were hungry for some lunch, so decided to head back over Skyline Dr. to Sperryville to get some good bar-b-q! Then it was time to head home so that we could prepare for the Steelers - Chargers Monday night football! Overall, we had a great time wheeling and camping and I am looking forward to doing it again soon. I am not sure that the dogs feel like I do, but they'll learn to get used to it! :)

Big Loss on the Field...

Not an image that I was happy to see last night. However, I was happy that the Steelers were able to pull out the win "Vinateri style" with a last second field goal. But seeing Ben go down with a hyperextended left knee was terrible. I know he is tough, but that looked painful. I didn't think they played all that well, even though they won. Sometimes that's what it takes though. There were a bunch of penalties, for both teams, that were costly. I was glad to see that they held LT to 62 yards rushing, even though we were just able to get over 100 total rushing ourselves. It will be an interesting game next week against Jacksonville. I am glad that it is at home, and I am glad that Charlie got some playing time that last preseason game in Carolina.

GO STEELERS!!!

**** Update****

The MRI on Big Ben is in and it doesn't look as bad as it was originally thought! And Tommy's injury in practice last week was better than thought also. Things are looking up a bit this Tuesday afternoon. :)

MRI is in

Animation Songs

I used to think that the Moon Song was the greatest thing on earth! But now I have found a new best thing ever: Monkey Beer It combines two great things, beer and singing monkeys. Is there anything else you need in life?

Post-Race time in Dewey Beach

After the race was over, we went back to the B&B because we didn't bring any beach stuff with us in the morning and I wanted to drop off all my stuff from the race. We ended up resting for a little bit before deciding what to do. There were several beaches that we could go to, and since we had a pass for the State Parks from my race in the morning, we decided to go check out Cape Henlopen State Park and try the beach there. Along the coast, they have a bunch of towers that were used as lookouts for ships and determining their locations. One of them was open for us to climb in the park, so we got a good view from the top of that. However, some clouds were rolling in and drizzling looked to be off in the distance, so we didn't spend much time at the beach, just took a little walk on it.

Then we drove through the town of Lewes on our way back to the B&B to change and get cleaned up for dinner. The weather broke a bit, so we went into Rehoboth and walked down the main strip and along the boardwalk for a bit before heading up the road to the Dogfish Head Brew Pub. The place looked like it was going to be fun and they had some good college football games on the TVs. We got a sampler of the beer to start things off. We quickly determined that AD does not like anything dark or really hoppy. I thought I was that way, but she is even more so! They have a Punkin Ale that is really good!! Dogfish Head They have really good wood-fired oven pizza that I had. I highly recommend it. They are opening a Brew Pub up in Gaithersburg, MD, so I am excited about that.

After our great dinner, we decided to head down to Dewey to have some drinks. That weekend was the closing weekend of the infamous bar, the Bottle and Cork. We were a bit early to head there, so we decided to hit up the Rusty Rudder for a bit. This was a great place, right on the bay, with a dock out back and a deck that had a steel drum band and a rock band setting up.


We sat at a bar table behind the band setting up because they had dinner tables on the main deck. Eventually the steel drums went away, they cleared off the table, and the cover band started to play. They played some great music. After the first set was over, we decided that we were going to stay here a little longer and head to the Bottle and Cork later.

Well, we continued to say that until the band had stopped playing and it was time to go home. At one point in the second set, it started to pour and most of the dance floor on the deck retreated to cover, but there were a few brave or drunk souls that stayed out in the rain. Eventually, we saw a girl running across the deck in some boxers and a tank top, which we thought was a little wierd. Then came her friend to join her in the rain, wearing a wedding dress.

Little by little, the whole wedding party was at the bar, but not everyone went out into the rain. It was a very strange sight. The lead singer of the band was a very attractive girl, and there were some guys that the front of the stage that were drooling over her all night. That was definitely amusing. We also saw a guy who reminded us of Matt. But then at one point in the night, he just disappeared. Kind of fitting!

We had a fun night out in Dewey, but headed back to the B&B for some much needed rest. We slept in pretty late, getting right up before breakfast was over and had something to eat. We had to check out of the place by 11, but that was perfect timing since the outlet stores opened at 11! We did a whirlwind tour through the malls buying shirts, shoes, and pants. They had some great prices on clothes and no sales tax!! So much better than buying around here. After our shopping we went back to the boardwalk at Rehoboth and headed to the beach for a few hours since it was a nice day! We swam for a little bit in the ocean, but unfortunately, a rogue wave came up and swamped AD, dragging her along the shelly bottom of the ocean. She had some scrapes that didn't look to great, but she survived.

After that we grabbed some lunch at a place called the Purple Parrot, a really cool place, and then headed out of town and back to the district. The traffic was pretty bad on the way home, but we managed. Then I got to watch my Steelers whoop up on the Texans, since I TiVoed the game that day. Overall it was a really fun weekend and a good way to end out the nice summer weather.