BLT Burger

We went to BLT Burger for dinner on Saturday night with our friend Szmodis. It was really fun.





They have delicious shakes, sweet potato fries (a Chris favorite) and awesome milkshakes, both regular and spiked.





I definitely approve of their draught beer selection - they only had a couple but they were good ones. Magic Hat #9, Blue Point Toasted Lager, Sixpoint Righteous Rye, Lagunitas IPA. And one other.



The burgers were very tasty, as were the fries and the milkshake. A close runner-up to the Great Jones burger. Thanks, Mike, for sharing this place with us!

Brother in law Brew and Royal Mutt

We brewed on Sunday, and I also finally got a couple of labels finished so that we can get everything labelled. I hope the printer ink comes soon so we can actually print them out! I have been studying a whole lot lately so the brewing is a nice break. We also brewed two weeks ago, I didn't blog that session but it was uneventful. We've gotten proficient at brewing the batch of beer and rotating the different batches through the different stages. We're about to start making up our own recipes, hopefully with the help of BeerSmith, a computer program. We still have 4 kits coming sometime this week from Northern Brewer so I guess we'll get through those and see where we want to go next.

Last week, we bottled Royal Mutt Imperial Stout.



I can't wait to taste this one. We are probably going to wait 2 months before we even try it, as they all get better after being bottled for a long time, and the higher alcohol beers should be bottled even longer.

This week we bottled Brother in law Brew, which was a gift from my brother in law Will for christmas. It is a Sunshine Wheat (New Belgium) clone.



Can't wait to taste that one either! We brewed Beeriola on Sunday, which was a kit that was a gift from my stepsister and her family. We have brewed this kit before but can't wait to try it with our new and improved brewing techniques.

January 10, Lima to NYC

Woke up at 6:45, after getting much better sleep for a couple hours than I could have on the plane! We enjoyed the delicious spread at the hotel breakfast after a nice hot shower. When we got to the airport to check in, we were very happy to find out that LAN had already paid our $30 per passenger departure tax! Then we treated ourselves to 20 minute massages in the massage chairs - only $10 each. What a treat! Ok, this delay wasn't so bad. We headed to the gate (after a tiny bit of shopping) and boarded right on time. Our flight was half empty, and our seats were in an exit row! We readily accepted the hefty responsibility. The LAN flight had individual TVs (unlike our AA flight on the way out) and free wine (unlike our AA flight on the way out). I am starting to feel like a real moron for being so upset last night. I still miss Lilly, but she would definitely want me to enjoy flying so much. We arrived in Miami and everything went smoothly through customs and passport control. The worst part was the long line to go back through security - but we did get to go to back to our favorite airport bar and enjoy another Sam Adams Cherry Wheat! Flight back to LaGuardia was also smooth. We were very happy once we drove home and unloaded the car - it was good to be home.

So I didn't take any pictures during our travels on this last day, but once we got home, we did get to open our Christmas packages that had arrived just after we left. Chris got a great new shirt from my mom and it looks great.



That's the end of our Peru trip. We picked up Lilly uneventfully the next day. The whole trip was great, and even though it has taken 6 weeks, I'm glad I finally got to share the whole thing with everyone.

Burlington trip

Last week we went up to Burlington to visit friends and also our favorite restaurants! We had a blast, and are so glad we had the fun opportunity to see Curt and Katie and to visit with Zech and Jaina (they are our friends who got us started homebrewing! We are so grateful!), and meet little Cal. I was determined to finish up the Peru posts before posting this one, but I'm almost done with that.

First thing Saturday, we headed to our favorite brunch spot.



We met Zech and Jaina there, and we also got to meet Cal - he was born in December and apparently has slowed down their brewing a bit. :)



That was all we saw of him, he was very polite and let his mommy and daddy chat and exchange 6-packs without interrupting.

We are looking forward to seeing Zech and Jaina again soon.



Lilly got to play with her best friend Sydney. They have their disagreements but love to hang out together. Katie got them both Valentines Day scarves, which they loved.







Syd likes to wear hers like a babushka.



She showed off some of her tricks!





Lilly was a little unsure about the hoop.



Sometimes its hard to tell who's who!

Let me tell you a secret...



Now let me eat your face.



Tully would rather watch the fun from her mommy's arms.



We enjoyed some coffee and watched the girls play.



Then on Sunday afternoon after the car wash (which Lilly did NOT enjoy),



we headed to a brewery.



We had to go to Harpoon Brewery in Windsor, VT, as it was on the Vermont Beer Passport. It was a very cool place, relaxed and cozy atmosphere, and of course, yummy beer.









We had lunch there, too, which was tasty. I had tuna melt with onion rings.



Chris had a vermonter - apples, turkey, onions, mustard. Yum!



And the best part - we finally finished our passports! This was the last stop on our beer tour of Vermont!



Now we get to send in the passport and we'll see what our Collector's Set of Vermont Beer Gear is all about. I'll keep you updated!

On the way home we saw a place we thought was a homebrew store:



Ha ha.

The worst part was the drive home, as always. No traffic, just long. Can't wait to head back up there again, and we're looking forward to hopefully getting a cabin with curt and katie in March!

January 9, Mollendo to Lima - On our way home!

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Woke a little after 7, without alarm. So nice to wake up without alarm. I had a dream that I was a hostage where I worked (it was named Circuit City but it was an outdoor store and also a restaurant). At first it was scary and I almost got killed twice - I stuck my finger in my chest in a bullet hole in case I had to stop the bleeding but it wasn't bleeding that much. After a while a bunch of the employees found each other and it wasn't so bad. I wondered if my family had seen anything about the hostage situation on TV. After a couple of days, they moved us to a Bed, Bath and Beyond. Lilly was there and I was happy to see her. People were sleeping on the display beds and had opened air mattresses and since I was one of the last to arrive I was searching for an air mattress in the store when I woke up. Then I told Chris about the dream and he said he'd punch those hostage takers in the face.

We got ready and decided just to head to the bus station for the next bus to Arequipa rather than try to find something good for breakfast. We got a bus leaving 5 minutes afer we arrived at the station. Don't worry, we had 4 wafer cookies left to snack on for our breakfast.







Once in Arequipa, we took a cab to Plaza de Armas (the main square of the city) and walked (with our backpacks!) to a vegetarian restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet. It was a very yummy lunch and we got some coffee which was also good.



Then we walked around a bit, looking for those last minute souveneirs. I thought the prices were better than Puno. When we had happily found everything we were searching for, we sat at a restaurant on a balcony overlooking Plaza de Armas





and enjoyed a cup of coffee



and a tasty dessert - me, lemon pie,



Chris, banana crepes.





We walked around a bit more. Arequipa is a pretty city with a nicer vibe than Cuzco or Lima, and much friendlier people than anywhere else we went. Maybe they just felt sorry for us - whenever we walked into a shop with our big backpacks, we got some funny looks and giggles. We couldn't have been the first ones to wander around with backpacks! Anyway I would have liked another day there but I enjoyed the short time we had.







Then we caught a cab to the airport for a flight to Lima where we would connect to our overnight flight to the US. We waited 1 1/2 hours (we had arrived 2 hours before our flight, like we were supposed to) and found the flight would be delayed by 1 1/2 hours. Annoyingly enough, the flight that was scheduled an hour after ours (the 6:40 flight) took off on time. I had time to finish my book, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and Chris started it. Good book although I don't know how I felt about the ending. I need to sit on it for awhile, I think. So first they delayed our flight till 7:15, then at 7 announced it was delayed till 11! Our flight to Miami was out of Lima at 1130. I thought I was on top of it by giving us 4 1/2 hours in Lima between flights. So we went back and forth between the customer service line and the phone with American, which was all very frustrating. Initially we were told by a grumpy agent that because we had no proof of our next flight (it was all e-tickets and I hadn't printed anything out) they could not try to get us on an earlier flight. Then we called AA and wrote down every last bit of our flight info (no, there was no internet access at the airport) in hopes of trying to get on the earlier 9:30 flight. So we were on line and I was crying and an employee in a suit came and asked what our situation was. We told him and he took our tickets and said, don't worry, we'll work on it. We stood in that spot for an hour and eventually got on the 9:30 flight. Unfortunately it didn't take off till 9:55 and we weren't sure we'd make it in time for the Miami flight. When we landed, the plan was that Chris would get our bags and I would run to the desk and try to get us checked in. I took off at 11:15 and ran all over the airport. Nobody was at the AA desks. I was told to go to the offices and nobody was at the office. The status of our flight said "boarding" - we were so hopeful for a delay. Of course I started crying again, so I was running all over the airport bawling and creating quite a show for everyone. I wanted to see my dog, I wanted to be in a familiar place, I wanted to go HOME. My biggest disappointment was that I was so looking forward to spending my final day of this long-awaited vacation just lounging, recovering, cleaning up, typing the blog, and resting. Ok, so it would have been a full day, but that's how I relax! Now we wouldn't get to NY in time to pick up Lilly on Saturday, and would spend half the day Sunday driving up and back to get her. No big deal, I know, and of course I felt silly for getting so upset. Luckily I had a wonderful guy with me that just wanted to make me feel better and stayed so calm. Anyway finally the outcome was that we found AA employees and it turns out that since the delay wasn't caused by weather, LAN was responsible for getting us to our final destination, and for lodging if they couldn't get us out that night. They put us on flights the next day, not getting into Laguardia until 9pm! and put us up at the Ramada at the Lima airport. The hotel was super nice. Of course we didn't arrive till 1am, flight next morning at 830, so we didn't get to enjoy the gym, business center, or cable. But they did include dinner for us - a freshly made ham and cheese sandwich and fires. I hadn't realized how hungry I was. Finally hit the hay for a few hours sleep.

January 8, on the beach at Mollendo

Slept in which was awesome! Got up and went to a little restaurant next door for some breakfast. Eggs and toast. The toast was so dry and stale, surprise surprise. Where do they find this stuff? At least I got coffee - it was instant but not bad at all. Then we went up the street and picked up more water - trying to stay hydrated! We went to the hotel and caked ourselves with sunblock, and cruised down to the beach. On the way down, every 20 feet or so we would encounter a young guy who was asking us something - they were obviously trying to sell us something but we had no idea what. We just sort of tuned them out. Then we got to the beach and saw lots of umbrellas with no one under them, and figured out that they were probably trying to rent us an umbrella for the day!



We thought that sounded pretty good. A guy approached us again, and when we asked how much it was, it was only 4 soles for the whole day! About $1.33! And 5 soles for 2 beach chairs. So for around 3 bucks we were very comfortable.



It was also neat that they rented kiddie pools along with the umbrellas, so that would be perfect for little ones to splash around without going into the ocean.



The guy also showed us a menu - they brought you food and drink! We had a fresh supply of beers all day.



And at very reasonable prices.

Later we ordered ceviche which was pretty good but we were both sort of over the texture. Anyway we got to sit, chat, read, and watch people all day.



I got to wear my beach pants which I got in Guatemala last year and hadn't been able to wear yet!



We went in the ocean every so often, but it was kind of dirty. The current was really strong.



Having the umbrella and chairs was really great.



People were walking by constantly trying to sell us something - ceviche, candy, gum, cigarettes, all types of snacks, balloons, stuffed floaty toy rental.







When a lady came by selling churros, I HAD to have some, even after Chris pointed out that they sell them at the subway at home. Its not the same! And he had to agree that they were yummy. We sat outside all day, and really enjoyed the day.

Later we headed out to find some dinner. We weren't up for more seafood, and decided to try the chinese restaurant. We have seen chinese restaurants all over but hadn't tried them yet. I can't speak for the rest but this place was good.





We both ate too much, then back to the hotel, for a good nights sleep.