Y’all, I am finally feeling adjusted after Session; well, mostly.

Yeah, I have to start being smart about my time off; save it for later in the summer and, well, the rest of the year. This is the long interim so I’ll have to put in some “full” days (7:30-3:30, no lunch).

Anyway, we had a nice little weekend away. Thursday I had planned to work all day but then a doc appointment became available at 2 and I took it b/c they wouldn’t refill my asthma meds without being seen. Allergies are awful right now due to The Pollening so I went ahead and took it. Well, Ash invited me to lunch (we previously had not planned to go out) so I did that, then went home for an hour and then back to the doc. It was good for catching up, that’s for sure. I even went for a run afterwards and before Brew Club that night, where we had 10 homebrews! That’s a lot. The last month we had 2. So, yes, a long day but it ended well.

The next morning we probably should have gotten out earlier but it worked out. St. Pete – the route we went anyway – is a good four hours 45 mins away. But by the time we got into town, the airbnb was ready so we could go in and change and then Uber downtown. We hit Green Bench brewing first (probably the best brewery we visited), then St. Pete brewing, which was not amazing. We then walked to Cycle, which was pretty decent but a cooler atmosphere than good beer, I’d say. Overflow was better and we even ran into a homebrewer from Daytona there and we’re both going to be at the Hogtown beerfest in April so we friended him. Pretty cool.

By then, it was time to get in line for the concert we were there to see: Less Than jake and Strung Out. (You will see their songs below.) Chatted with some folks in line then entered Jannus Live, which is a cool, 2,000 person standing room only outdoor venue. It was a bit warm down there, admittedly, but it worked out. We took our spot somewhere in the middle, and just talked to randoms around us.

So, Ash introduced me to Strung Out when we first met and I instantly loved this one album of theirs; we both did. We didn’t have high hopes to hear any songs from it but they played three! Then Less Than Jake sounded amazing and played through one whole album and even through in some funny songs like the one I shall share below. Ash was excited for that b/c it was one of his favorites. By the time the show ended, we were EXHAUSTED. Ubered back to the airbnb and just… slept.

Eased into the next day; had some coffee and then got dressed to go to Old Northeast Rally, which is literally just a Shell gas station with the most extensive beer selection I’ve seen not in a specialized store. They have two full rows, multiple coolers, AND a beer cave full of good stuff that they let you take singles of. I think we picked up maybe 22 uniques and went back home to keep them cool.

From there, we went to a lunch spot called Urban Brews and BBQ. Good stuff! I had pulled pork tacos and Ash just had the pulled pork and green beans. They had a good beer list and while we each only had one, they were good! (King State Green Dart – my fave pilsner – and then a Terrapin stout we’d not seen before.) From there we walked around that downtown area and went to Grand Central Brewing, which was probably brewery #2 on our visit. VERY good lagers. A cute downtown area and easily walkable. We headed over to If I Brewed the World, which was a very tiny brewery but they made some good stuff, mainly this wheat ale that was flavored like berry Cap’n Crunch. Pretty good!

We had to head out after that to attend a local brew club’s meeting about 20 mins away at a brewery named Rapp. This was our second brew group meet-up (third for Ash) so it’s always neat to see how other clubs work. Everyone was very nice and welcoming. This group focuses heavily on competitions and they were having an in-club comp that day. Ash and I were conscripted into being judges, actually, so that was cool… and challenging. But I think it convinced me to strive to become BJCP certified. We’ll see; it’s a lot of studying and I haven’t been a student for a long time but I might could do it.

Once the meeting ended, we headed to Bayboro, which the club members all recommended but was nothing special, then walked to Cage and Pinellas Aleworks. Both of which were just ok. We called it a day after that and got back by about 8. You can’t say we don’t fill our days! We left the next morning a little after 8 and got to Gainesville in time for lunch (Chuy’s) then headed home. We got back slightly before 2 so I had time to go to the store, do laundry, cook dinner for the kids, and even take a walk. But by about 8, I was done. SO tired. I could barely keep my eyes open!

I feel pretty good today though; well-rested and clean; I used the sauna last night and got a good sweat in and read a little. It’s all about balance in your life, right?

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OK, I am sharing a Strung Out song and one from Less Than Jake. Happy Monday!