I Do Stuff…

wave that flag

Last weekend we (Nancy, my dad, Pat, Matt and I) went to Wisconsin for the high school graduation of my cousin David’s oldest son, Andy.  It was going to be a giant party at the park across from Rose’s house as we would need all the space we could get.  We flew out on Friday morning to Milwaukee and from there we drove across the state to La Crosse.  On Sunday we would head back to Madison to visit more family and catch the plane out of Milwaukee on Monday.

I couldn’t wait for the long four day weekend in Wisconsin.  I was looking forward to introducing Nancy to the rest of the family and for her to see were I spent many summers, a few Thanksgivings, and Christmases thrown in for good measure.  Once we landed in Milwaukee the first thing we noticed was the severe temperature drop.  We just left temps approaching 100 degrees in DC and Milwaukee was a brisk 60 and cloudy.  When we got to Rose’s house a few hours later everyone kept apologizing for such cold weather.  I was loving it, I could have used a sweet shirt, but I was not going to complain about the cool weather.  I didn’t complain about the cool temps in San Francisco either.

After getting the rental car it took about three hours to reach  La Crosse.  We arrived at Rose’s house and walked right into a party.  We were offered something to drink and gladly took up the offer.  Not 10 minutes after we arrived others started showing up to welcome us back to Wisconsin.  In no time the house was filled with guests and everyone was having a great time.  Some of these guys I have not seen in five years so it was great to catch up with everyone.  Nancy, Matt and I spent most of our time outside on the deck, even thought it was drizzling.  It was just great to be outside enjoying the company.  Eventually we got the fire pit going and enjoyed a toasty fire with our drinks.  We did eat as well, someone brought authentic German potato salad and it brought back memories.  That and the brats and locally made hotdogs and I was in heaven.  Even had a few local brews from the New Glarus Brewing Company, the Spotted Cow was taste.  Late into the night we bullshitted.

The sleeping arrangements at Rose’s house are limited so us kids shacked up at David and Teresa’s house just down the street.  David came back to pickup us up so we wouldn’t have to stumble, I mean walk in the dark.  On the way back we got lost so we stopped by The Ridge to get some directions.

Five years ago, the last time I was in Wisconsin, turned into an epic and memorable trip.  Not only for me but for my entire family as well.  It was Mike and Roses 40th wedding anniversary so I went up to help celebrate.  After a welcoming house party we headed to The Ridge for a few more drinking.  I really wanted some scotch but they didn’t have any so I got tequila instead.  This was my fatal mistake, Jose and I just don’t get along.  Every five years I need to challenge that friendship and this trip was that time.  I remember my cousin Kenny and I sitting at the bar just knocking back the drinks.  Needless to say the next day, not just the morning but all day, I was feeling rough.  I pretty much missed the ceremony and party afterwards.  I felt so bad, I was ashamed I drank so much.  My family took it all in stride and they have never let me forget about that night.

park where the graduation was held

Nancy has heard the stories over the years from different family members so as we drove to David’s house she wanted to see the now infamous bar.  The place looks exactly like I remember it five years ago.  We bellied up to the bar in the same spot and ordered a round.  For a mere $10 we got four drinks, including the Spotted Cow.  After the round we finally found our way back to the house and headed to the basement for a night cap.  By now it was late and we were all exhausted so to bed we went.

The next morning I woke up and was feeling great, no hangover this time.  All morning we did was we could to help get ready for the party.  From what I heard 200+ people from all over Wisconsin were showing up for this party.  Teresa’s family is rather large and four of the kids were graduating at the same time so they rolled the parties all in one.  The party was held at the local park which has ample space to accommodate this large crowd.  We spend the afternoon mingling with family, drinking a little, and stuffing our faces with pork BBQ.  A friend of David’s spent Friday roasting and entire pig for the party and it was awesome

By late afternoon most of our family was off at church or…..doing something else and it eventually was just Nancy, Matt, my cousin Kenny and I left at the party.  Not knowing anyone else we headed to Rose’s house for a private party, we cracked open some beers and enjoyed the view from the deck.  Ever since I was a kid the view has been the same, an panoramic view of green fields and farms with a blue sky and white fluffy clouds as far as the eye can see.  I was happy Nancy got to see this fond memory of my childhood.  It was amazing but as darkness approached more people migrated to the deck, by 8pm it was full.  We talked, drank, and eventually got the fire pit out to make some s’mores.  Afterwards imagine if you can, 10 drunks walking from Rose’s house to The Ridge.  It was a crazy site seeing us all walking down the street.  At The Ridge we had another couple of rounds and called it a night.

Statue of Ssgt. Raymond P. Olson.

Sunday, our last day in La Crosse.  Teresa cooked a great breakfast of sausage gravy and biscuits which kept us going most of the afternoon.  After we got a tour of the local fire station.  David is a volunteer firefighter and is very proud of his work and the new station they have on the ridge.  Saying our goodbyes to David and Teresa, Rose and Mike, and finally Marvin we headed for Madison through the rolling hills of the back country.  Highway driving might be faster but it certainly lacks the stunning beauty of the state.  On our way we stopped in Coon Valley to visit their recently completed war memorial.  The memorial lists all those from the local area that have fought for our nation starting with World War I.  I got to see my Dad’s name engraved in marble.

When we arrived in Madison we visited with Pat’s sister Eillen and her husband Gerry who cooked a wonderful meal for us weary road warriors.  Same pattern as the previous two days: drinks, food, and then more drinks outside.  It must have been well after 10pm before we called it a night.  There was no spare bedrooms at Gerry and Eillen’s so Kenny and Patti, who live in Madison, offered their place to Nancy and I for the night.  Their kids started summer camp so the four of us had a few more drinks and talked late into the night before catching some zzz.

The next morning was very low key, which I loved.  In their living room is a high square table that Kenny, Nancy and I sat at all morning talking, getting a little work done and generally just shooting the shit till 11am.  Precisely on time my Dad pulls up in the rental and we head towards Milwaukee to catch our flight.  It was a short drive and we made it to the airport in no time, got through security (even with my refusal to use the millimeter wave machine and have some dude feel my junk) and waited for our flight.

Finally got home about 7pm and Nancy and I just relaxed the rest of the evening.  It was a long day of travel and after three days of drinking our bodies craved rest and relaxation.  I only wish we took off Tuesday so we could recover properly from our little adventure up north.  It was great seeing everyone up there for the weekend and we are looking forward to seeing most of my Wisconsin family at our wedding were we will tear it up in a foreign country.

I don’t know how this saying came about, but your 30′s are called the “dirty 30′s.”  I have been in my thirty’s for a few years and there is nothing dirty about them.  I will say that most people have grown up and will continue to grow up while in their 30, becoming more responsible with each passing year.

The last of the 20-somethings, Nancy, had her birthday on Sunday so we celebrated with some friends and family at the house.  I was in charge of cooking and Nancy wanted ribs, mac and cheese, and grilled vegetables for the evening.  For an appetizer I cooked a kick ass brie dish that was completely gone in no time.  The mac and cheese receipt was taken from a grilling cookbook.  For the ribs I was able to use my new rib rack that Matt got me for Christmas and rib cook book that went along with it.  The three racks I purchased fit nicely in the rack and I got to cooking around 4pm.

I was busy in the kitchen prepping food when our guests started arriving about 5:30.  I was so busy getting things ready I completely lost track of the time and didn’t start cooking the ribs till almost 7:30.  We planned on eating around 8 so I blew that time out of water real quick.  In the end there where two 45 minute cooking seasons before the ribs were finished.

To prepare the ribs I used a maple and brown sugar rub and separate maple glaze for the ribs and I must say they were fantastic!  I was a little worried about the time it would take to cook everything and the ribs not coming out good.  In the end the cook time took longer than I estimated but the ribs where cooked perfectly and everyone loved them.  It was a good feeling that for 10 minutes the house was quit.  All evening the the house was filled with conversation and commotion, you could hear a pin drop while everyone ate the ribs.  We ate two racks for diner and later in the evening we finished off the last rack as a late night snack.  The only thing I screwed up was the timing, but that didn’t matter when the food was finally served.

I started the ribs off for 45 minutes of indirect heat on the grill, to this I added a handful of smoking chips to each pile of coil.  After the initial 45 minutes it was time to add more coals and start the vegetables cooking.  I got a second pile of coal going and put the ribs right over the head, flanked on each side by vegetable skewers.  I also used this time to apply a generous amount of glaze to the ribs.  Half way through the basting process while talking to Nancy I see the door open and someone yelling “there is a fire in the kitchen” with the fire alarm going off in the back ground.  I couldn’t believe it and being right in the middle of basting the ribs I couldn’t do much about it.  I asked Nancy to investigate for me and she confirmed that yes there was a fire in the oven.  The mac & cheese was suppose to brown under the broiler and I put the food to close to the burner so the crust caught on fire.  I never panicked, I just calmly put the lid down on the grill and walked in side.

Everyone was gather in the kitchen not sure what to do.  Tracy was desperate to put the fire out, scurrying around looking for a fire extinguisher I suspect.  First job was to stop that damn fire alarm, so I barked at Bobby to pull it off the ceiling and take it outside, now I could hear myself think.  I grabbed an oven mitt and pulled out the casserole dish from the oven, indeed it was on engulfed in fire.  Then as the calm person I am I blew out the fire, crisis over.  The mac & cheese was a little worse for ware but everyone was safe and the house was still standing with no damage.  I looked at Nancy and asked if that was enough excitement for her birthday.  The casserole didn’t look pretty, but I scrapped off the burnt crush, reapplied a fresh layer and put it back in the broiler much lower from the heat source.  After the only emergency of the night was over I went back outside to tend the ribs while everyone else went back to talking, smoking and drinking.

Another 45 minutes passed and it was time to pull the ribs off the grill.  At this point it was well past 9pm and I was nervous.  I had never cooked ribs before and I was not sure how they would turn out.  Would they be cooked enough, burned, taste like crap?  I didn’t know.  When I opened the grill lid to look a quick scan revealed the vegetables looked perfect and ribs didn’t look burn, but I was only looking at the underside so not a good judge.  As I brought the three slabs into the kitchen everyone has assembled to watch, which is typical when someone in the family grills.  I laid them on the cutting board and flipped them over…..they looked amazing!  The next test, doneness.  When I cut into the first one it was perfectly cooked with just a bit of juice.

After eating it was time for a nap, everyone was so full the food coma was quickly setting in.  To jolt use back to life the smokers all had a cigarette in the cold, another round of shots and time for a little dancing.  For Christmas Nancy got Dance Party 2 which we played for almost 2 hours.  Of course the the fellas didn’t fell much like dancing but after I got up there and showed them how it was done everyone loosened up.  We traded off between everyone and had a grate time shacking our booties.  I know Nancy took a few videos and I don’t even want to see what I look like, I probably look like a fool but it certainly was fun.

Another cigarette outside which brought us just past midnight and officially Nancy’s birthday.  A quick happy birthday and some awesome cookies Matt made and it was back in side.  This late in the evening we lost Nicole and Jeff but the rest of use stuck it out for a round of poker.  It is becoming something of a tradition that when the family gets together for a party we get at least one round of poker in.  The stakes are only $5 but it is a ton of fun talking shit.  We killed the last rack of ribs while playing, had to satisfy the midnight munchies and the ribs certainly hit the spot on that.

The next morning the ladies where not feeling well.  Both Tracy and Nancy had a lot to drink, I think it was the jello shots that put them over the edge.  Thankfully Bobby was feeling good and made some kick ass omelets for everyone using the grilled vegetables and left over cheese from the night before.  The rest of the day Nancy and I didn’t do crap.  It was a lazy day spent watching tv and getting a few things done around the house.  I personally couldn’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday

crazy

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Being only 25 miles from DC I was looking forward to going to the city to see the fireworks display on The Mall.  I have seen it several times in the past, last year in fact I made the trip up.  But I have never been able to get Nancy to go with me.  Yeah it might be a small trip and there are a TON of people that attend it each year.  But how often do you get to participate in something as extravagant as this, right in your back yard?

I had Nancy convinced to go to the city to enjoy the celebrations, but not because of my doing.  Her brother and wife were coming up from North Carolina to visit and they wanted to see the fireworks on The Mall.  Unfortunately at the last minute they couldn’t make it because of work so the plan of going to DC got scrapped.  Instead we headed to my Dad’s house to celebrate our nations birthday.  I certainly knew we were going to eat well if we came.  Matt mentioned a week earlier that he was planning on smoking some ribs on his brand new grill.  Yum.

When we arrived Matt was almost finished smoking the ribs, the smell coming off the grill made me want to dive right in.  I had not eaten all day so I was definitely hungry for some food.  After he took the ribs off the grill and let them rest he cut a rib for himself, my Dad, Nancy and I.  Sometimes it pays to hangout with the cook, normally you get to try stuff that “falls off the plate” before anyone else.

With the ribs finished and plated, we headed to a neighbors house in my dad’s culdesac to party it up with a few friends and lots of family.  In fact half the people at the party was our family, we certainly brought the troops.  Walking through their kitchen and out onto the deck we passed a full spread of food, enough to feed a small army.  At least enough to make everyone in attendance stuff with good food.  After the mandatory mingling the hostess opened the flood gates for everyone to grab a plate and start eating.  There was so much food I was a kid in a candy store.  I didn’t get a lot of any one particular things, but I made sure to sample everything that was offered.

Nicolas Cage from The Rock

It was wonderful sitting down talking with everyone and catching up with my family.  Bobby and Tracy brought over both kids so half the time they were chasing Ellie around while the other one had Ty.  Nancy did some baby holding and even I got in on the fun.  He is so tiny and I am so big I was afraid I would cruse him or possible drop him.  But Tracy said not to worry, kids are pretty durable.  I must have held him for 3o minutes, most of the time he was awake and staring back at me.  Cute kid.  Very animated too.  He was smiling and laughing the whole time and I didn’t have to do much.  Tracy was saying he doesn’t do that often so it felt good that I could get him to smile.  You know we bro’s got to stick together, I certainly look forward to him getting older and then we can have some real fun.

After everyone was stuff and desert was served it was getting pretty late and about time for the adults to have a little fun. We didn’t have a large collection of fireworks that shot into the air, to my disappointment.  But we did have more bottle rockets and fire crackers then we knew what to do with.  So for about an hour Matt, Bobby, Nancy and I are firing these things off as quick as we possible could.  We even started to get crazy with them and hold onto them or throw them, crazy stuff that no one should be doing when handling high explosives.  Fortunately by the end of the evening everyone had all their fingers and toes with no extra holes in our body.

yikes!

As the night started to wind down I headed inside for a few minutes to catch A Capitol Fourth on PBS.  Every year in addition to the huge fireworks display there is a concert and big production put on next to the capitol building that is televised.  All I cared about was the fireworks display.  I certainly got my fill of fireworks and when it was over it was back outside for more firecrackers.  The show stopping finally Matt had was a giant roll of two thousand firecrackers.  He set it up in the middle of the culdesac and let things rip.  It took about 60 seconds for the entire roll to go off and it was pretty cool.  What was not cool was cleaning the giant mess afterwords.

After a long day of great food and company it was time to head home down 95 where Nancy and I were treated to more fireworks from people that lived next to the highway.  For a state that outlaws fireworks that shot into the are, there certainly was a tone of illegal fireworks around.  But one day out of the year to do your civic duty and celebrate the birth of our nation, I think the cops can over look.  But if you loose an eye don’t come crying to me, your an idiot.

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With the traditional start of summer comes the traditional trip to the beach.  This year the beach house in Rehoboth was not rented over the long weekend, or for the next one actually.  So we decided to take a family trip to the beach and join the hordes of people enjoying the great weekend.

Rehoboth Beach

My Dad was flying into BWI from a week long business trip and when he got to his house we were hitting the road.  For better or worse we didn’t leave his house till just after 4.  When I was driving north on 95 traffic was stacked going south.  Not only were people trying to head home early from work but you had all sorts of people heading to the beaching in southern Virginia and North/South Carolina.  I could only hope that fewer people were heading towards the Delaware coast like we were.  I must say that getting to Rehoboth Beach, even at 4pm on the Friday before Memorial Day, was easy.  It took just over three hours, about 20 minutes longer than a trip during the off season.

As is tradition on Friday night we went out to dinner.  The last time we were here we had drinks at the Cultured Pearl and absolutely loved the place when we walked around.  It is a Japanese restaurant with a huge sushi bar and an enormous deck outside.  The deck is one of the coolest things I have seen around.  As for the food the sushi was great, even if it was not made by a Japanese man.

Come Saturday it was time to start working.  As much as I wanted the weekend to be about relaxing at the beach, that was not going to happen.  We had a laundry list of chores that needed to be complete before the first tenants occupied the house.  First on the list was that stupid deck.  Over the entire off season we completely broke down and rebuilt the deck.  There is now a composite floor, new railing, and a hand rail down the stairs that looks all jacked up.  My dad and I didn’t have any ideas how to get it installed properly, so with a lot of trial and error we got it installed.  As long as you don’t look to closely, it looks fantastic!

a crowded boardwalk

The other major project was getting a more secure cover over the hole leading under the house.  It was completely paved over in an earlier project and the 1″ board of plywood was not holding up to well to the heavy weight.  So we had to undo all the bricks and jury rig a support structure.  Fortunately I had the brilliant idea of number all the pavers in order making the process of putting it all back together much easier.  It even came in handy on Tuesday when a plumber had to get under the house.

Other projects including painting the ceiling in the family room, mulching the new flower beds, planting two dozen plants, sanding the bench, then painting the bench black, and a half dozen other minor tasks.  Both Saturday and Sunday were filled with work, starting early and not finishing till 7:30 and 7 respectfully.

Not everything about the weekend involved work, I ate very well while I was there.  Not only did I get to eat sushi at the Cultured pearl on Friday, but we had NY strip steaks Saturday and BBQ chick on Sunday with all the trimmings.  Sunday we even took a long lunch and walked down to Whiskey Jacks.  It overs looks the beach and provides the perfect setting for beer and pizza.  I was even able to finish watching the Indy 500 while there.  My dad and I saw the start of the race, I made sure we took a break to catch “the most exciting start in racing.”  Speaking of racing, I was able to catch the Formula 1 race from Monaco at a reasonable hour with an 8am start.  Jenson Button again took the victory, win number 5 for the driver who’s team was in doubt one month before the start of the season.

This little trip to the boardwalk offered my only opportunity to get down to the beach.  The day was a little over cast but that did not stop the hordes of people from enjoying the beach and the boardwalk.  Every were I looked everyone had smiles on their faces.  Plenty of people were walking down the boardwalk and darting in and out of the various shops and restaurants.  The main drag, Rehoboth Avenue, was packed with more revelers as well.  One crazy thing was that even though the water was about 60 degrees and technically closed by the lifeguards, that didn’t stop people from having fun.  I found a group of kids playing baseball, others throwing frisbees, people flying kits, and one old guy doing some surf fishing.

bumper car fun

A great location for people watching was Fun Land right on the boardwalk.  This little amusement park offers all sorts of rides and carnival games, was so packed I could hardly walk around.  The swinging machine of death, as I like to call it, had everyone smiling and loosing their pocket change.  The bumper cars offered a great opportunity to get some pictures smiling and enjoying the afternoon.  Everyone down at the beach had not a care in the world, even if was only for a short time.  I doesn’t matter that we are fighting two wars, we have the worst economy in a generation, the possible bankruptcy of GM and other problems.  People at Rehoboth put all those problems aside for the weekend and were just having fun.

Come Monday morning it was time for me to leave.  After all the hard work and only a little relaxing I had to drive back to northern Virginia and join the throngs of others headed home from the long weekend.  The last time I did this it took Nancy and I five hours to get home, mostly from traffic on 404.  So after a good breakfast I packed my stuff and prepared myself for the long drive home.  I stopped by Starbucks and got some coffee, I figured it would help ease the pain of sitting not going any where.  Surprisingly it only took 4 hours to get back to Springfield.

Once there I got in my truck and did some more driving, yippie!  This time it was out to Nancy’s house.  She was having a BBQ with friends to celebrate the holiday.  I arrived a little later than planned, thanks traffic, and immediately was put to work.  I was in charge of making and subsequently grilling the burgers.  Nancy already procured the ingredients, so I simply had to put it all together and form burgers.  About the time I finished up the heavens opened up and dumped rain on our parade.  For the short run we munched on some excellent guacamole dip that Nichole made and chicken buffalo dip made by Nancy.

swing batter

No matter what rain dance we did the rain never stopped so I had to grill in the rain.  This is how you know I am a hardcore griller, or it could be we were just really hungry.  But I dawned a rain jacked and braved the elements to cook burgers, hot dogs, and sausage for everyone.  When we finally sat down to eat, it was totally worth it getting rained on for the great food.

As much work and driving as I did over the weekend it was still spectacular.  I still got away from home for the weekend and got to spend lots of quality time with my friends and family.  And isn’t that why I work so hard, so I can spend time with the ones I love?  I sure think so.

The cigar shop I work for, Old Virginia Tobacco, has been around for 37 years at this point.  In that time we have built a very good relationship with many of the top manufactures in the industry.  One of those is Ernesto Perez-Carrillo from La Gloria Cubana.  This guy is a legend and everything he makes is a real winner.  Rarely does he do public events.  He is a cigar maker, not an entertainer.  So when we talked to him about doing a release party for his new cigar we were shocked when he said he said yes.

I saw Ernie at this years trade show in Las Vegas and I spoke to him about his new line, the Artesanos de Miami.  We spoke further during the General Cigar dinner at Aureole in the Mandalay Bay Hotel.  He loves to talk about cigars and was telling me about why he came up with it, how different the tobacco is in this cigar, and how exclusive the line would be.  Come to find out only 100 retailers in the country will get it and there will only be 125,000 sticks made.  We were one of two shops to get it first, weeks before it would be released to everyone else.

a serious LGC fan

When the BBQ finally came on Saturday, September 20th everyone was excited.  The customers had been looking forward to the event for weeks and they were not disappointed.  We blocked off a large portion of the lot in front of the store for the event.  Not only so people could sit and mingle, but for the large BBQ grill used to cook the food and enough space for DJ Randy to setup his rig.  The weather that day could not have been better and everyone enjoyed the event immensely.

Ernie holding court

Finally about 4pm the BBQ ended and I had to run.  I needed to get home, shower, and be at Alto Plaza by 6pm when cocktail hour started.  It was a bit of a stretch but me and Nancy arrived right on time.  In fact the only other person there was a long time customer Scott.  Slowly other guests started to arrive and we all just mingled at the bar.  Unfortunately the guest of honor got delayed so everything got pushed back.  Finally about 7:30pm we were seated.  Scott, me, Nancy, Mark, Randy, Mike, Barbara, and one other guy took a table in the back.  Just like in high school all the cool kids went right for the back.

very fashionable

The dinner was fantastic.  Our table had spent most of cocktail hour talking and drinking so all we did was move the whole affair to a table and continued the fun.  Before any course was served Scott had ordered three bottles of wine for the table.  After that it was on like Donkey Kong.

Even after dinner our group didn’t leave.  We must have stuck around for another hour or so while everyone else left out.  Eventually those of us left (me, Nancy, Scott, Mark, Bob, Gary, and Ernie) moved to the head table and continued to talk till almost midnight.  What a wonderful evening.  Not only did I get to enjoy some great food and drink, I got to enjoy it with some very good friends.  What more could you ask for?

As a whole the BBQ and dinner were a smashing success.  Ernie told me it was great to see so many people attend the event and smoking his cigars.  Not smoking his cigars because he was the guest of honor, but smoking them because they actually enjoy them.  We didn’t become the number one La Gloria retailer in the country for nothing.

I would like to thank Ernie for spending the day with us and I look forward to future events with him.  I will see you at IPCPR next year in New Orleans.