This Past Weekend

09/23/2009

Heading toward St. Louis on Southwest #311 and thinking about what a great weekend I had.  The Nancy and I took Friday and Monday off and those two days added to Saturday and Sunday made it The Best Weekend Ever.

For a number of years I have wanted to take The Nancy to Upstate New York to show here where I was stationed as a member of the US Air Force back in the mid-60s.  After a few years of nagging her to make the trip she agreed to go.  Rome, New York is about 400 miles from The Farm.  Knowing what the town looked like seventeen years ago on my last trip there, another life with a different wife, I knew I would have to make it interesting for her.  Together we decided a tour of New England would add to the adventure, so we planned a route to take us to all six New England states for her and added stops for me at a few micro-breweries along the route.

The tour began with a visit to the Appalachian Brewery in Harrisburg, PA – good beer, good food, and three six packs to go.  Perfect!  The second stop was in Rome, New York with the idea of going to the Plaza Restaurante for a pizza.  Unfortunately, the Plaza was closed due to the death of the owner.  His death also killed off the best pizza I have ever had…at least that is my memory of it.

We were only in Rome for one night.  Once there we made quick tour of what was Griffiss Air Force Base and is now an industrial park.  Most of what I remember is torn down and replaced with open spaces or new buildings of every sort.  The old base dining hall is still standing, as is the building I worked in as a “Recreational Specialist,” which is a nice way of saying “fuck up.” It was a job I got by whining my way out of the Air Police unit to which I was assigned as an Air Cop – hated it.  Anyway, the Silver Wings Service Club building is in a complete state of disrepair, as was a lot of what is left of the buildings I remember. 

Nonetheless, we enjoyed our time there (well, I did, anyway).  After a nice Italian dinner at the Savoy we headed back to our hotel room for some good beer from our six-pack stash and a good nights sleep.

Saturday we headed out on our tour and stop one in Bennington, Vermont, and the Madison Brewery for a couple of brews and some lunch. 

Vermont is the Green State and aptly named for the brilliant greens of the countryside.  We were just a little early for the fall colors.  From just outside of the western border to the eastern border of the state we were on a two-lane road that was fun to drive on as it took us into New Hampshire and the Portsmouth Brewery Company in, you guessed it, Portsmouth, New Hampshire – good beer, good food, and lots and lots of people walking around in this quaint NE town.

We spent Saturday night in Wells, Maine about fifteen miles north of Portsmouth.  By the time we got to our hotel and to our room we were almost too exhausted to drink more beer and watch West Virginia go down to Auburn (WVU gave away the victory, Auburn did not win), but we did, and did it until nearly 12:30.

I was up at 6 on Sunday morning, got my hour in on the treadmill, and spent about another thirty minutes trying to arouse The Nancy, so to speak.  We finally left the hotel about 10:30 and headed north toward Portland, Maine on Route 1.  At some points we veered off the highway and got as close to the coast as we could, beautiful coast, I might add.  I decided there are some big bucks people living in Maine’s coastal towns.  One easily can tell just by the massive estates that dot the rocky coast.

We arrived in Portland just in time for lunch, as was the plan, and after a few questions to an interesting parking lot attendant, we found Gritty’s, yet another micro-brewery, and a great beer in a 21 IPA, some good eats of salsa and chips, and a side of mac and cheese, which was excellent. 

After lunch and a walk around downtown Portland (an old seaside town) we headed south and a 300-plus mile drive through New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island and into Connecticut and our destination for the evening, Norwalk.  I had planned another brewery stop, but we were just too wiped out from the drive.  We did find a beer bar not far from the hotel where we grabbed some food and a couple of drinks and headed back to the hotel and some badly needed rest. 

Monday would bring a 379-mile drive to home with only a stop for lunch.  The Lancaster Brewing Company in Pennsylvania provided us with some great beer, a really good pizza and a leisurely break in the drive. 

We finally arrived home about 4:30 on Monday after 1500 miles of fun, The Nancy mildly complaining the car seat now being a part of her anatomy. 

I apologize for the long narrative.  It was a long trip, but it was the Best Weekend Ever.

And that is all I have to say about tha