Late night art projects

Friday was an interesting morning. Here's the timeline:

0300--Jack's crying in his room. Too tired to debate him, we tell him to just jump in our bed.

0500--My alarm goes off, I get up....discover sheets sticking to me.

0501--Unaware this may be a problem, I try to pull them off me.

0501:30--I yell out a few obscenities as hair is pulled from my chest.

0502--Discover something sticky all over my back, look in bed for the cause

0503--Notice Jack snuggling a jumbo-sized container of Elmer's glue, which is now empty.

0510--I go for a run, and sweat off most of the glue.

0630--Jack wakes up, Sonya discovered him covered in glue, then throws him in the tub. She asks him why he brought the glue to bed. Obviously annoyed with such a silly question, he responds, "I was working on art projects." After Sonya inquired further he declares that he doesn't want to talk about it anymore.

0635--Sonya discovers the entire bed covered in glue.

1200--Jack finally pulls the rest of the glue off his body.

Jack still refuses to discuss the events, thus we will likely never know what really happened between 0300 and 0500.

"Grinded Up Weiner Bones"

The boys are discussing types of soup to make...they're geniuses.

Alaska Amber

Left Anchorage last night. Was waiting in line behind some dude that obviously had never flown before. He was taking forever, so I looked around...no one was at the first class counter, so the attendant waved me over. Showed her my ID, asked about getting out of the middle seat for my Seattle-Honolulu leg of flight. She tried without success to hook me up w/ First Class. So, I went on my way, got on the plane, was reading my book when the same lady from the ticket counter arrived w/ my First Class upgrade ticket...in her Sarah Palin voice, she asked me if I was still interested in an upgrade. So I took it, and the best part is that I scored a free beer...Alaska Amber. Very refreshing, like the Pale, another good session beer. Grade=A

Alaskan Airlines rocked...never had that kind of service where a counter worker tracked me down. Was good to get a little sleep in first class...I know I won't get the same service on the Northwest flight to Honolulu.

Kodiak Brown Ale

Tonight I cracked open a double-deuce of Midnight Sun Brewing Company's Kodiak Brown Ale. Midnight Sun offered several 22 ouncers. The crazy bear on the bottle caught my eye, so the Kodiak Brown Ale is the one I picked up. If I was going to be here much longer, would've picked up some of the others. Too bad you can't carry the stuff on the plane, or I'd load up the backpack. I suppose I could get a bunch of 3oz bottles, fill 'em with beer and load into a Ziploc bag.

Since there are no glasses in my room, I'm drinking the double-deuce straight from the bottle..gangsta, or in my case, hobo style. It's been awhile since I've downed a 40oz or the less manly double-deuce straight from the bottle. A 40oz is best judged by the swill at the bottom. As I type, I'm about halfway through the bottle. This brown ale is a bit nutty, malty, almost has a coffee flavor. It's drinkable though...goes down smooth, but not quite the "session" beer like the the Alaskan Pale I had last night.

Grade=B
PQ=14.3

Alaskan Pale Ale

Arrived in Anchorage this morning after a long overnight trip through Seattle. I was greeted by 20 degree weather, a foot of snow and Cassius and Cassius at the airport. It was the most Cassiuses I've ever seen at one time.

Cassius took me to get a giant burrito. We followed it up with a trip to the commissary...I have to have my Kashi granola. I also needed to load up on some local beer. Alaskan Brewing Company offers a wide selection....too bad they didn't have a six-pack sampler. With so many choices, I opted for the Pale Ale. Good choice. This is a fairly light tasting pale ale....very smooth, a good all around session beer. In my younger days, a sixer of this wouldn't last long at all. Grade=A, PQ=32.2



After taking a nap, decided to walk over to the gym. 20 degrees is super cold if you haven't experienced winter weather in a couple of years. I made the 15 minute walk and decided to run on the indoor track. 50 laps of a .1 mile track....I really wish I packed some cold weather running clothes.

Recent Beers

La Fin du Monde: When I opened up the 750ml bottle of La Fin du Monde, I knew I was in over my head. At 9% alcohol and 25.4 ozs, I was opening up the equivalent of 4 beers at one time....all on a Wednesday night. La Fin is a very good Belgian Tripel made in French Canada. I really enjoyed the first few sips, but shortly afterwards the taste didn't matter...that's clearly a function of my low alcohol tolerance. At $7.99, this isn't a cheap one. I need to find it in 12oz bottles, because I'm not always down for so much alcohol in such a short period of time. Thursday morning I had a headache. Grade=B+, PQ=10.5

Sam Smith's Organic Ale: Much better than the gluten free swill I had earlier in the week. This is real beer, just hippy friendly...a different sort of hippy, a gluten-tolerant hippy. This wasn't the best Sam Smith product I've had...his oatmeal stout is really good. This one lacked the hoppy, earthy goodness I expect in an English Ale. Grade=B, PQ=10.7

Sierra Nevada Porter: I'm a big fan of all things Sierra Nevada. This was the first time I've seen the Porter in a store. It's been awhile since I've had a Porter. Thursday night it felt pretty cold out, so I thought this would be a great beer to try. Smooth, earthy, all around good Porter. Grade=A, PQ=32

Blue Moon Winter: Saw this the same night I bought the SN Porter...cold night, so a Belgian-style winter beer sounded good. I picked this over the Celebrator, just because I hadn't tried it yet. It's the end of the winter season, so I probably wouldn't get another shot at this one this year...had a low alcohol content for the style (5.6%)...it was a little sweet, but the sugar wasn't overpowering...refreshing, smooth. I liked it....hard to believe it's made by Coors. Grade=A-, PQ=29.6

President's Day Weekend

Weekend started with Jack riding sans training wheels on Friday.

Saturday, did the standard Schofield ride...tough ride due to a lot of wind and fast people making me chase them on hills. Got in a good 50 miles.

That's always a good ride, but had an even better ride when I took both Carter and Jack "mountain biking" on Sunday. We did the nature trail at Bellows, which is pretty hard core for Jack's 3rd day of riding on 12" wheels. He had a lot of determination, riding over roots like a pro and hauling ass when the surface was smooth...pretty badass for being a few weeks shy of 3 years old. After the trail ride, he decided to show us that he could do his old tricks, even without the support of the training wheels. It was a proud moment to have both boys out on the trail.



Today, did a 12 mile run, illegally joining in the fray of 25,000 runners completing the Aloha Run. It was nice to have a traffic free alternate route for awhile. I was wishing I didn't have Plantar Fasciitis, so that I could've ran the 8.2 miles hard...I'll settle for the 12 mile long run in preparation for the Big Sur Marathon.

Realized that after 2.5 years in Hawaii and dropping 30ish pounds, I needed some new winter clothes for my Alaska trip next week. Current wardrobe is great for a gangsta rapper.



Or a model for a diet pill.



Today we finally bought Carter the green bike he's been asking for, a 20" Specialized Hot Rock. We went to the Bike Shop on Saturday looking for it, and had to order it from a shop across town. He's been asking for it every few minutes since Saturday. The bike looks a little big on him, but he handles it well. It's definitely faster than the 16" Hot Rock he's been riding. No more running alongside while he rides, now I've got to ride much harder to keep up with him. He's already asking for shifters and a bike with gears...he just needs to get taller!

Crustacean-free Beer

I was in the beer store Saturday and said to myself, "Why can't I find any crustacean-free beer?" Any why do so many beers have eggs, beer and celery in them? I want a beer that's free of that...and while you're eliminating these ingredients, take the gluten with you. Why does beer need wheat and barley? We need to move past that paradigm....give me sorghum, millet and rice!

Maybe not. Green's Quest is one of the worst non-malt liquors and non-NAs (apologize for the double-negative) that I've tried. Plain awful. There was an apricotish taste, with the mouthfeel of dirty dishwater. The soapy aftertaste lingered for about an hour after I consumed this beerless beer. It does have a high-alcohol content, being a Belgian Tripel and all, but that's not enough to make this worth the $6.99/500ml I paid for this swill. Mixing with a crustacean, an egg, and a stalk of celery wouldn't hurt this one.

Grade=D-, PQ=1.7.

Now give me some gluten!

No Training Wheels

Today we removed Jack's training wheels.

Pinkus Organic Munster Alt and Big Swell IPA

When we were at the gourmet cheese shop in Maui, I needed something to wash down all that cheesy goodness. Since we were buying $49 worth of cheese, I knew King in a Can wouldn't do the trick, nor would a bottle of wine since I can't seem to take as much of a sip of wine without getting a headache. They had a few good beers at this store...many I've tried, many I've seen cheaper elsewhere. I looked in their sale bin and found a 500ml bottle of this Altbier for $2.99...to top it off, it's organic! You can't get organic milk for this price in Hawaii. Organic beer in a yuppy cheese store, score!

The Pinkus was pretty good, light and refreshing with a slight applish flavor. Grade=A-, PQ=21

While in Maui, I wanted to stop in for lunch and a few beers at the Maui Brewing Company, but since we didn't have a car, and it was on the other end of the island, we didn't want to spend 4hours on buses in order to go to this brewpub...especially since I've seen mix reviews on the restaurant. So, I had to settle on a 6-pack of their Big Swell IPA from Foodland. There's no Maui Brewing Company discount on Maui...I paid $10.99 for the 6-pack, same as Whole Foods in Honolulu.

I really liked this one...much better than the other MBC beer I had recently. I can't think of the name right now, so it wasn't too memorable...it was the one with the yellow can, a lager. I also like the can format, and wished more microbrews would bring the can back. Something about sitting on the lanai in Maui at 10am sipping on a cold can of beer, listening to my neighbor try to strum Israel "Iz" Kamakawiwo'ole's rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", is very relaxing. The can is also more convenient...easier to stuff in a fridge, easier to carry to the beach, easier to punch a hole in the side and shotgun. As for the beer, it was very hoppy but not unbearably hoppy. There was also a strong orangish taste, that was actually pretty good. Grade=A, PQ=26

Maui Trip

Went to Maui. Couldn't find a rental car, so we rode the bus. Maui Bus definitely operates on aloha time...not a precision operation. I was also constantly picked on by the bus drivers (you betta put da bag in ya lap, or no drink ya wata) or other passengers that called me a jackass for cutting.



Since we saved money on rental cars, decided to splurge on cheese. Went to a place cleverly named 'Who Cut the Cheese?'...the cheese monger there was nice, and sold us $49 worth of cheese. Well, not quite $49 worth of cheese. There are some $10 crackers in this picture as well. After a long time on the bus, it was tasty.



Went on a whale watching tour.




Sonya's pointing at a pec slap.



We flew Go! Airlines, will never do that again. We were delayed 2 hours leaving Honolulu. On the return trip, we ran into Bryant at the airport. He was on a flight scheduled to leave 2hrs ahead of ours. His flight was delayed...there were no further announcements. We assumed our flight back to Honolulu was delayed as well...no announcements. At 4:40, when our flight was scheduled to leave, a Go! jet pulls up, and folks de-plane. Other people get up and form a line...still no announcement. We jump in line, and find out it was the 4:40 flight...some of the 2:40 people also get ont, but not all of them. We sat on the plane for about 45 minutes...apparently they had to take some luggage off the 2:40 plane and load our plane with the luggage. The air conditioner didn't work...I was sweating pretty bad. We finally leave...it was pretty sunny, so we decided to shut the shade. It was broken.

4 Beers

Keoki Sunset Amber Ale--At $10.40/6-pack, this Kauai brewed beer is a flat out ripoff. This tasted like one of my early batches of homebrew, before I started using secondary fermentation. Amber Ale is a low-end pale ale. There were several off-flavors that popped up...an amateurish brew. I haven't been impressed with any Keoki product. D+, PQ=8.5

Pranqster Belgian Style Golden Ale--Picked up a 4-pack at Whole Foods. At $8.99, this was a steal. Made in California, so it's "Belgian Style" rather than full up Belgian. North Coast Brewing did a great job at convincing me this was real Belgian Beer. This is an "A" quality beer, PQ=21.3

Goliath (Gayusse) Triple--Tried 2 of these. This one is highly carbonated. When I opened the first one, it spewed all over the counter, leaving me with about half a beer to sample. I was prepared for the 2nd one and had the glass ready for the pour. At 9% abv, it has quite the kick. Naturally, there's a noticeable alcohol taste, but not overpowering. It had a robust flavor, but no overpowering fruitiness. A-, no price, so no PQ.

Colomba--Colomba beer originates from the ever-famous beer region of Corsica--the home of Napoleon. It's an odd tasting, sort of unique beer that bills itself as a white ale. I found it a bit peppery, and highly carbonated. When cold, it tasted like Perrier with a pinch of pepper. As it warmed up, it was a bit more citrusy. I don't have the price on this, so no PQ. Grade=C