Independence Day - Guys Weekend

I apologize for my long absence from the Blogging World. I don't really have a good excuse. Life has just been busy for the last bit. Lots of good things to blog about, but not much time to actually write it down. When you wait so long to put it down on paper, you forget a lot of the funny things that actually happen.

Each year on the Fourth of July Weekend, a group of my college friends gets together to create new life stories and pester each other endlessly. This year, Mark Clark, Bill Langston and Reed Stephenson visited Philadelphia, the Cradle of Liberty and The City of Brotherly Love, for Independence Day.

Mark Clark arrived on Wednesday afternoon. After picking him up at the airport, we joined some of my Dow Chemical (heritage Rohm and Haas) buddies at La Scala's downtown for "Center City Sips". Pictured here (L-R) are Jeff Roberts, SMW (who actually reads this blog occasionally), Evan McCaskey and Lucas Kammerzell.

Thursday, I worked while Clark toured the city. Bill arrived Thursday afternoon. We picked him up from the airport and headed downtown for a while. We went to Eulogy, an old pub with a plethora of Belgian beers on tap. We then headed back to La Scala (outdoor seating and nice weather) to meet another group of heritage Rohm and Haas friends.

With time to kill, we stopped at a Bar-b-que restaurant slash Tequila bar on our way back to the car. Of course, Mark Clark, gourmet food expert, could not resist buying a bar-b-que sandwich, despite my protests (there is a reason that Philadelphia is known for its cheese steaks and not its bar-b-que). Mark choked down his sandwich and side items, and then we headed to the airport to pick up Reed.

For anyone who does not know Reed, I really don't have enough space to try to analyze him. All I can say is... he is an absolute riot to be around. You never know what is going to happen. A simple task, such as an airport pick-up, can take on exponential levels of complexity and hilarity when Reed is involved. The story begins with Reed calling us from Atlanta earlier in the afternoon to tell us that his flight is on time. He also informs us that there is a "hot blond chick" on his flight, and he has already introduced himself to her. She is flying to Philly to visit a friend, who works for Dow/Rohm and Haas.

Fast forward - Reed's plane lands in Philadelphia. By this time, he has applied the full court press on his new lady friend. Our group is now committed to attend the Independence Day Parade downtown because she is riding on one of the floats. Reed is convinced that with his new connection, he can get us onto that float. We have also been volunteered to provide taxi service for the young lady from the airport to downtown - No problem; we are all anxious to meet her. We inform Reed that we will pick him up outside in front of baggage claim in 10 minutes. Fast forward 20 minutes. We are now on our 3rd trip around the baggage claim area of the Philadelphia International Airport. No Reed. Bill pulls out his "Sweet Ass I-Phone" and places a call to find out where Reed is. Reed has no memory of the previous conversation where we told him we would pick him up outside of Baggage Claim. Trip 4, we finally pick up Reed at the predetermined location. As Reed enters our car, he informs us that our frequent phone calls ruined his chances with the blond girl. Apparently, we threw off his mo-jo.

Luckily, Mark Clark captured footage of this event on his VLOG. The link for this video is:


When we do manage to pick up Reed, he, of course, is waiting on the other side of the road for pick-up. It didn't occur to him that he should wait where the other 300 people are waiting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFFb32-mHjY&feature=related

From the airport, we headed to The Lucky Dog, where Clark ate his second full dinner of the evening.

Friday morning, we headed to Pottsville, PA, about an hour and 15 minutes from our house, to the Yuengling Brewery - the oldest brewery in America. Yuengling was founded in 1829 and is still run by the Yuengling family. Interestingly, each generation must purchase the company from the previous generation. The family's strong German roots insist that you will take better care of something if you pay for it. The four daughters of the current owner all work for the brewery and are making plans to purchase it from their father in several years.

One of the traditions of Guys Weekend is that we find a local brewery to tour. The first tour was packed, so we headed to a local pub for lunch. Here, we learned about the Pottsville Maroons, a professional football team, that should have won the 1925 NFL Championship. Originally from the independent "Anthracite League", the Maroons joined the NFL in the early 1920's. They had the best record in the NFL in 1925, but were not awarded the championship because they were suspended for playing an unsanctioned game against a Notre Dame All-Star Team, which included the Four Horsemen. Pottsville won that game, too, but the championship went to the Chicago Cardinals.


After lunch, we walked back up the hill to the brewery for our tour. Our tour guide was a young lady, who was obviously ready to go home for the day. She knew all of her facts, which she was able to recite in a monotone, but she was less than enthusiastic in her presentation. She finally warmed up to us about half way through the tour, after Reed threw on the charm.






This is a good shot of Clark and Reed in the bottling operation. This is by far the most complex part of making and packaging beer. Lots of moving parts, so many points where something can go wrong.

Today, Yuengling also brews in Tampa Bay, FL, in addition to Pottsville. It is distributed in over 30 states.

We drove back from Pottsville to Valley Forge, PA and toured the old encampment that afternoon. This is where Washington quartered the Continental Army in the winter of 1777-1778. The site has the original houses, where the officers were quartered, as well as recreations of the barracks where the enlisted troops slept. Some of the barracks are pictured behind Bill. Each would house about 6 soldiers.

Here, Reed is posing in front of Washington's headquarters. Much of the house is still original, and they have it set up as it was during the Revolutionary War. Martha actually came up from Virginia to stay with George in these quarters during the winter of 1777. Although the house looks large, apparently there was not much room, as about 15-20 advisers, staffers and servants also stayed in the house.

After touring Valley Forge, we cleaned up and headed to dinner in Manyunk. We ate at the brewery, which is situated along the river. The weather was great, so we were able to sit outside and enjoy the evening.


Clark at the Brewery.






Reed chilling at the brewery.








After dinner, we walked around Manyunk, which is the Philadelphia equivalent of Chicago's Wrigleyville. It is a trendy part of town where recent college graduates live. It is surrounded by stores, bars and restaurants. Pretty cool little place. The video below is of Reed trying out a new toy at one of the antique stores in the area.



It is a brave new world, as the guys turned over a new leaf this year for Guys Weekend. Rachel and Mark Clark signed us up to run a mountainous 5K on Saturday morning. Part of the Pickle Series that Rachel has done for the past several months, the race was for those who enjoy a little humor in addition to running. Each of us won an award in the race. Our trophies are shown here.

We cleaned up after the race and headed into Philadelphia to observe some of the Fourth of July celebrations. We went to the Constitution Center and saw the presentation there. It was fantastic, as usual. There were a lot of outdoor exhibits, too, to celebrate our nation's birthday. It was a lot of fun.

We cooked out at the house for the evening (title picture shows us all out on the back deck at the house enjoying burgers, corn and lots of other great food). It was a great way to cap off another successful Guys's Weekend.

REFLECTIONS - Kenny Chesney Concert



Rachel and I went to see the Kenny Chesney Concert in Philadelphia on June 27 (thanks Mom). In my opinion, Kenny puts on the best concerts out there. If you go, I promise you that you will have a good time.

One of the best things about the Kenny Chesney Concert Series is that he always has great acts opening for him. This year was no different. Lady Antebellum was the first act. They are one of my favorite new, young groups. Miranda Lambert (pictured here) played second. While I am not normally a big fan of her music, she was very good live.

Next up was Montgomery Gentry. Eddie Montgomery (shown here) is a big-time entertainer on stage. He can spin a mic stand like a UT majorette spinning a baton. Montgomery Gentry is a great opening act because they have some fun songs that really get the crowd going.

My favorite band in country music is Sugarland. They played directly before Kenny took the stage. Christian Bush, brother of the lead singer of the rock band Bush, is the mandolin playing member of the duet. I also posted a video of Bush playing below.

Jennifer Nettles is the lead singer for Sugarland. She is AWESOME!!! I absolutely love her voice (video of her singing is also posted below). The crowd was really into Sugarland during the concert. You could hear the fans singing along with almost all of their songs. Having a band of Sugarland's caliber opening, speaks to how popular Kenny Chesney is.






Near the end of their concert set, Bush and Nettles were zipped into large plastic bubbles. They then rolled out over the crowd. Below is a video of Jennifer Nettles as she rolled over us.



Kenny was the final act. He never disappoints. Rachel and I are always amazed at how hard he performs. Any other concert that you go to, the artist will stop, introduce his/her band, walk around stage between songs, or do many other things to stall and catch his/her breath. Kenny Chesney rocks it out the entire time he is on stage. I have never seen a performer work that hard for 2 1/2 hours straight.

Makin' Sushi and Other Random Acts

In March, Rachel and I took a sushi making course at one of the area high schools. The following Sunday afternoon, we decided to apply our new trade with Tim and Nicole Callahan, who also joined us for the class. The photo above is of Nicole and Rachel preparing the ingredients in our kitchen in preparation of making maki-rolls.

All sushi purveyors know that the key to good sushi (in addition to fresh fish) is properly prepared sushi rice. Sushi chefs in Japan will train on preparing sushi rice for 5-10 years before they are allowed to move on to the next steps of sushi making. If the rice is bad, the sushi is bad. Below is a video of us completing the sushi rice preparation. Nicole is demonstrating the cutting and folding motions of finishing the rice. Tim is adding the proper amount of rice wine vinegar, which is key to giving the sushi rice its stickyness, but not clumpyness. I am fanning the rice as the vinegar is added and the rice is folded. In addition to making me look ridiculous, it serves a very important purpose in the rice preparation. If you don't fan the rice while it cools and vinegar is added, it will clump. "Rachel K" (not to be confused with Rachel Ray) is the narrator.



Once the ingredients were cut into strips and the rice was properly prepared, we rolled our sushi. We made some nigiri sushi (fish strips sitting on an oblong small packed pile of rice. However, most of our sushi was prepared in maki- rolls and cut into slices, such as the ones shown here. As this was our first time, some of our rolls (mainly mine) tended to open. Rachel rolled pretty tight rolls, so hers are shown for display purposes.

In the end, we had an excellent meal and afternoon of socializing - all while watching the NCAA tournament. It was a great time!!! We also found a good Asian food store with fresh and cheap ingredients (we will probably buy some of our produce there from now on, as the prices and quality were good).


Random Crap - Not Really a Reflection
This picture does not really belong with this or any other blog. We celebrated Nicole's birthday (she is 25...whatever) by surprising her for a bowling evening. She is sporting her fratty pink monogrammed bowling shirt, so I had to work the picture in somewhere.



Also in March, I made it to my first Philadelphia Flyers game. The fans are rabid!!! We had a good time, even though they beat the Predators. My buddy, Keith Edwards, went with me to the game. Although not a Flyers Fan (he is from Buffalo), he is one of the bigger hockey fans I know - he is also our hockey expert for trivia. We left the women folk at home and headed out to the Wachovia Center for hockey and $40 worth of junk food.

Finally, I will brag on my wife one more time. In addition to smoking me in the Out-And-Back 4 mile run this past Friday evening in Philly (the second race in a row where she has beaten me), she won the award pictured with her here at her February run, part of the "Winter Pickle Race Series". Awards were given based on who could most closely predict their 5K time. Watches, IPods and other devices that could be used to pace were not allowed. She guessed her time within 3 seconds and won the pickle. Very nice...

The PT Girls Visit Philadelphia

The PT girls (Becky Sexton, Sara Pigg Walker, Jennifer Kain Richardson, and Rachel - pictured above) came to visit us in March.

Becky arrived Thursday night. Rachel picked up Sara and Jennifer at the airport Friday morning, and Friday afternoon, they toured historic Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Flower Show was in town, and the girls were able to get tickets from our friend Meg. The Philly Flower Show is an annual event, and is apparently a very big deal because it significantly increases train traffic the week it is in town. Even the later trains leaving the city are full, when the Flower Show is in town.

The girls visited the Liberty Bell on Independence Mall. They also took a tour of Constitution Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed and the first Congress met. They went to the Constitution Center and saw "The Story of We The People" (if you ever visit Philadelphia, visit this multimedia show; it will make you proud to be an American).









They also visitd Ben Franklin's grave (pictured here). The grave is in a church graveyard near the Constitution Center. People throw pennies onto Ben's grave for good luck. The church actually uses the proceeds of the pennies to fund maintenance of the graveyard. You can see the feet and broom of one of the maintenance guys who collects the pennies. As he told us, "Ben used to say, 'A penny saved is a penny earned.' As we say here at the church, 'A penny tossed, is a penny lost.'"

Friday after I got out of work, we took the girls to Jim's Steaks for an authentic Philly Cheesesteak. The outside world all knows Pat's or Gino's as the king of the Philly Cheesesteak. Many locals would consider Jim's to be king. Rachel and I really like it (plus, they have a Veggie steak for Rachel). It is located on South Street.



The girls enjoying the first bite of their cheesesteak.






Me wolfing down my cheesesteak.





Saturday morning, we took the girls to Valley Forge National Park and looked around. We also had a picnic while we were there.



Saturday afternoon, it was time for a little Guitar Hero. Becky, Sara and Jennifer made up the band. Rachel and I were rotating members. We lacked a good drummer.

Sara "Hendrix" and Becky "Van Halen".



Sunday morning, before we took them back to the airport, we took the girls to the Art Museum so they could run up "the Rocky Steps". This photo is a view from the top of the Art Museum steps.








REFLECTION - The Before and After - Locks of Love Public Service Announcement

Ironically, Bill Langston commented after my last blog on how long Rachel's hair had grown. It was a very timely comment, as Rachel got a haircut the following Friday. When I say haircut, I am not talking about a "trim" or a "shape-up", but a full-fledged cut. To the right is the "Before" picture, taken Friday morning before Rachel went to work.

The "After" picture (to the left) was taken the same Friday evening, after Rachel visited her hair dresser, who removed 11 inches of her hair. We celebrated the event by going out for Asian Fusion food at a new restaurant to us - Fuzion (it is about 1 mile down the road and is excellent).


The "casualty" went to a good cause, too. Part of the reason Rachel had grown her hair out so long was so she could donate it to "Locks of Love". Locks of Love (locksoflove.org) is a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term hair loss from any medical diagnosis. Volunteers can donate at least 10 inches of hair, which is then used to make wigs for these children. So, Rach's hair went to a good cause. For more information, visit locksoflove.org.

The Polar Bear Plunge

Being the romantic that I am, I decided to take Rachel away for a romantic getaway for Valentine's weekend. Where would I go, you might ask... to Sea Isle, NJ for the annual Polar Bear Plunge. Rachel and I, accompanying our friends Tim and Nicole, joined a few thousand other people with questionable judgement in jumping into the Atlantic Ocean on February 14th.

The temperature was in the mid-40's, and the water temperature was not so comfortable. The team pictured here (yes, that is a guy in a Penguin Suit), and led by Tim's uncle Richie, assembled at Tim's parents' condo at noon for a 2:00 PM dive.





At 1:40 PM, we marched down to the beach, where thousands of other "Polar Bears" and observers were waiting to jump. Sea Isle hosts a parade before the plunge, an enormous tent with bands and food afterwards, and a 5K race the following morning. The weekend is a large event, and the proceeds go to charity.



This is a good shot of Rachel and I only moments after exiting the ocean from our plunge. The rule is that you must dive in and get your head wet. Notice the nice red color that I display from the coldness.




Most people ran in, ran out, and threw on their clothes. However, Rachel and I both jumped twice, thanks to Tim's Uncle Richie. (Richie leads the charge each year with his patented, "Alright men, stay close together, but don't bunch up.") Others quickly donned their sweatshirts and pants, but I like to air dry.




CHEST BUMP!!!

















I love Capri Sun! Just had to include this picture because my editor (Rachel) thinks it is funny.











REFLECTIONS - Costumes



Perhaps the most entertaining portion of the weekend was attending the post plunge parties. Several participants were in costume. The Polar Bear King, pictured above, was my favorite. In addition to his Coors Light Trident, cape, crown and crab necklace, he was also sporting a nice set of Homer Simpson Valentine's Day swim trunks. The Polar Bear Queen was also in attendance.

Philly Lobster Guy was another costume wearer. There was also a girl with HUGE orange house shoes. One of the better ones that we saw was a guy wearing a U.S. Swimming jumpsuits, a "Phelps" swim cap, and carrying a 4 foot long bong.

Rachel and I had a great time over the weekend, and we owe it to Tim and Nicole (and Mathias, one of Tim's college roommates) for being such good hosts.

Dayton vs. LaSalle

Several of our friends in Philadelphia are "transplants", like ourselves. Many of them attended the University of Dayton for college (it is a R&H target school for recruiting engineers). Meg Edwards, one of our good friends (and the mother of three pictured above), is "the main squeeze" in their local alumni association chapter. The Flyers came to town a few weeks ago to play LaSalle (one of the Philadelphia Big 5) in an important Atlantic 10 Conference match-up. Having the in with Meg, Rachel and I donned our red and headed to Tom Gola arena for the game. *** Please note that Brian Albright, the guy in the snazzy yellow sweater is a Dayton grad. Also note, that yellow is La Salle's color.***

Pictured above L-R: Brian Albright, Kate Edwards, Meg Edwards,(Me in back), Olivia Edwards (baby), Keith Edwards, and Abby Edwards, who serenaded us with her rendition of James Blunt's "You're Beautiful" on the way to the game.

The Flyers built a significant lead by half time on some hot shooting from the perimeter. In the second half, they cooled off a bit, and La Salle made a run on them to tie the game with just a few seconds left. Dayton held the ball for the last shot. One of the Dayton forwards missed a 17 footer from the lane elbow with 3 seconds left. Their most athletic guard shot down the lane, caught the rebound off of the rim and jammed it home for the win as time expired. WHAT AN AMAZING FINISH!!!

Dayton has a very athletic team but are streaky shooters (sounds a lot like my Vols). They also run the same offense as Tennessee, where the guards circle around the top of the key meaninglessly, without looking to pass the ball inside.

In this photo, Rachel with Brian "I Wear the Opponents Colors" Albright.


REFLECTIONS - The Palestra

For my birthday, our friends Tim and Nicole Callahan, invited us to a Big 5 game at The Palestra. St. Joseph's was playing Temple. The Palestra is the gymnasium for the University of Penn, but many of the Big 5 games are still played there. It is "The Cathedral of College Basketball" and opened in 1927.

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. I tried to take pictures with my Blackberry, but they were blurry. Rachel commented that it was the best arena she has ever been in for watching basketball. I agree. It holds about 8,500 fans, and the seats run down to the court. The atmosphere is awesome!!! The Hawk mascot for St. Joe's flaps his wings for the entire game. I imagine it takes an aggressive training regimen for a person to be able to repeatedly lift his/her arms above his/her head repeatedly for over 90 minutes straight.

Unfortunately, Temple defeated St. Joe's. It was another night to watch Dionte Christmas light up a team, as he did my Vols in December.

If you ever have the chance... go to the Palestra, even if you don't get to attend a game.