Knoxville, Smoky Mountains & Flat Tires

This is a slightly longer Quick Blog, but this one chronicles the day Deb and I had planned out in Gatlinburg. First we needed to make a detour to Knoxville to take my hat back to REI. Why? Well, the Winter Tilley Hat that Deb got me for Yule didn't fit right. It wasn't her fault I had sized it in the store and thought it fit fine. Well I was wrong. To make a long story short I had to take it back. So I called the new REI in Knoxville and while they didn't have my color but the Sales Representative Carolyn said she could get it from another store.  I just had to bring the one that didn't fit back to the store. So, I decided to do it so I would get my hat. Anyway, when I got to Knoxville Carolyn helped me and they had the hat at my local REI. I like REI because they have the best  customer service. We then made a stop at Mackay Books just down the street. It had been years since I visited this store and it had moved...again, but it was still good as ever.  So it was now on to Gatlinburg. We first had to treverse the construction at Exit 407 on I-40. After passing through Kodiak, Sevierville and Pigeon Forge we decided to bypass Gatlinburg because I wanted to go to the Sugarlands Visitors Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. First let me say the park lived up to its name as it looked "smoky." Anyway, the main reason in coming to the visitors center was to get a Trail Log. We then decided to hike the short flat trail to Cataract  Falls. This nice, well maintained trail led to a small 40-foot cascade that was well worth the mile round trip. It misyted on us the whole way but it was a fun hike. Well, that is where the fun ended. On the way out of the park I heard the car make a loud noise and I told Deb that I thought it was the tire. Right after I said that the tire pressure light came on. We pulled into the gas station across the road from NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center), where we were headed. The gas station was flatter so it was easier to change a tire, which I had to do. It was wet and the tools to change a tire that were provided by Honda were not the best. However, I got it changed but we didn't want to drive home 60 miles in the rain on the "donut." So we decided to take the car to Walmart and get the flat tire plugged. Getting there proved difficult. Traffic was terrible, it took over an hour to travel 12 miles. When we finally got to Walmart it was another two hours before the jpb was done. Anyway, we got back on the road but before heading back to Greeneville we decided to stop and look at the Christmas light display at Tennessee Smokies Stadium. No we didn't pay $20 to drive through, but took them in from the FREE Cracker Barrel parking lot across the street. In the end it was a long day of highs and lows.

Dinner At My Favorite Mexican Place

Tonight, Deb and I had a great dinner with our close friends Glen and Donna at my favorite Mexican restaurant, Costa del Sol in Greeneville. A course I had the Lengua (Beef Tongue) Gorditia and since it was the weekend I had to have the Beef Tripe soup known as Menudo, it is wonderful! The food was excellent and so was the company, a nice evening all-around.

Hiking On The Tusculum Trail

Well, after all the holiday feasting I thought it was time to get up and move. So, after shaking off the laziness of the morning, Deb and I decided to hike half of the Tusculum Trail. Unlike in the summer when we hiked the whole trail, 7.5 miles out-and-back, we headed out from the footbridge over TN107 and walked to the east end of the trail at Green Valley, about four miles.

Wood Booger Top 5: Christmas/Yule Beers

There are many things about this time of year I love; the Christmas songs, the decorations, the lights and Santa, but there is another thing I love and that is the Holiday Beers. While I love the beers of the winter season as a whole in honor of Yuletide this Top 5 will be for Christmas/Yule Beers.

Honorable Mention 1:  Anchor Christmas Ale Series from Anchor Brewing Company. This is the first of my two Honorable Mentions. The reason I am doing two is I like Anchor annual offering and I have been drinking it Holiday releases since 2008. It is always a solid 3.75 to a 4 which means it is a good Christmas beer.  BeerAdvocate Average Rating – 3.75.

Honorable Mention 2:  Bad Elf Series from Ridgeway Brewing. This is a series beer, but unlike Anchor’s offering it is a series that where each beer is a spinoff of the original Bad Elf. This line features five beers in the series Besides the afford mentioned Bad Elf there are the Very Bad Elf, Seriously Bad Elf, Criminally Bad Elf and Insanely Bad Elf. Now I must say I have had three of these; the Regular, Criminally and Insanely. While all the ones I have are good Insanely is probably the best.  BeerAdvocate Series Rating – 4.

Number 5: 2XMAS from Southern Tier Brewing Company. This is double spiced ale brewed in the Swedish tradition of Glögg. But let me say it is better than any Glögg I have had. I really enjoyed it and it is the first of Southern Tier offerings in the Top 5. BeerAdvocate rating – 4.

Number 4: Trader Joe’s Vintage Ale by Unibroue. This is another series beer that I have enjoyed since 2009. While it has Trader Joe’s name on the front, inside it is all Unibroue. This Quebec brewer is IMHO the best in Canada and they show there skill with this strong dark Belgian Ale. While it will differ from year-to-year it is always good. If you need a reason to go to Trader Joe’s this is it. BeerAdvocate Series Rating – 4.

Number 3: Lump of Coal from Ridgeway Brewing. A lump of coal, this is what one is supposed to get from Santa (and the Krampus) if your naughty. However, St. Nicholas may have to rethink this because this is one Lump of Coal I will take, anytime. It embodies what I love about this time of year, thick, rich, dark stouts and this is one. It is not the best stout, but it is one of the best specific Christmas Stouts. BeerAdvocate rating – 4.25. 

Number 2: Krampus from Southern Tier Brewing Company. I think it is easy to see that Southern Tier is the masters of the holiday beer. They produce the twin towers of autumn with the Pumking and Warlock. As seen above they also produce the 2XMAS and once again they have a winner with the Krampus. Now there is not a better name or bottle design for a Yule beer than one that takes its title from one of my favorite Christmas figures in the Krampus. As cool it is on the outside is outstanding where it counts in the bottle. This beer is another reason to love the Krampus. BeerAdvocate rating is 4.25.

Number 1: Santa’s Butt from Ridgeway Brewing. When you see this beer on the shelf it is almost impossible not to stop and take a look, I mean it has a picture of and is called Santa’s Butt. To be fair Ridgeway is an English brewer and a “butt” is a certain sized barrel used for beer. While the name may grab your attention what is in this “butt” should too. This is a winter porter and is everything a dark beer should be. The label on the bottle says “And Santa sat on his great butt, enjoying a hardy brew…” and I don’t think he would be disappointed by this one with his name. BeerAdvocate rating is 4.50.

Yuletide Beard Blog: Week 16

I waited a couple of days after Monday for this blog is the special Christmas or for me Yule edition of the Beard Blog. Well, it has been 16 weeks or  96 days since I startedmy beard and this blog. I have to say I am looking a little more like Santa this year with the beard.  So, from the Wood Booger Merry Christmas & Yule, Happy Holidays or any other holiday that one might enjoy this time of the year!

Day 90 on the AT @ Rocky Mtn.

Day 93 with Big Bald.

Riding Santa's Sleigh on Day 93.

Day 96

Left

Right

Bottom Front

Holiday Drive To Tennessee

Well, today we drove from Georgia to Tennessee for the Yuletide Holidays. We had stops in Dillard, Smoky Mountain Host of NC near Franklin, Trader Joe's in Asheville and the Westside I-26 Metcalf Overlook. The weather was good and so was the trip.