Virginia

Richmond turned out to be the city that would break our streak of beautiful weather. However the overcast and rainy skies would not hinder our adventures in the historical city. We took a cab from the airport to our host, Matt Austin’s house in what is apparently known as the “Fan” area. Given that we had just taken a red eye flight directly from the Great American Beer Festival, we immediately crashed for several hours. After recharging our batteries we decided to explore the area on foot while we waited for Matt Austin to get home from work, or the “slave cage” as he calls it. Luckily we were able to stumble upon the Science Museum of Virginia and because there was a very nice lady working and it was closing within the hour, we were allowed in for free. After our speedy educational experience we met up with our host and drove to neighboring Charlottesville to spend the evening with Austin’s brother Stuart “Red light” Smith. Stuart has an apartment with a great rooftop lounge area that we spent the beginning of the night meeting friends and enjoying some delicious Pabst Blue Ribbon. After an entertaining night and fully absorbing the Charlottesville nightlife we spent the next day touring the Monticello estate of Thomas Jefferson. Here Stuart sponsored us allowing us to take a guided tour of Thomas Jefferson’s house and grounds surrounding. Once we had acquired the wisdom of Thomas Jefferson, Stuart drove us back to Matt Austin’s house in Richmond where we met up with Matt Hancock who was in town on business, adding yet another Bay View comrade to the group. Matt, Matt, Stuart, and several local friends then guided us through the rainy streets to a local bar where we were able to rub shoulders with the Virginia Tech community and have a great time with good friends. Although we weren’t able to try any local micro-brew beers we were able to try some locally made hot apple cider in the Monticello area. As I write this we are back in JFK terminal 5 awaiting our connecting flight to Chicago where our eager co-host Ben Neithercut is waiting with a calculated plan of exciting things to do during our stay.

Total Flying Time: 40 Hours 15 minutes.

If you donate more than $20, we will do anything that you want us to do in any city, and take a picture of it for you (within reason). More updates and photos to come!

Denver

We arrived in Denver midday on Wednesday. It was one of the quicker cities (less than 36 hours), but it was certainly exciting. The weather was crappy, and we met fellow travelers Chris Minoletti and Sam Anderson and went to Matt and Nicole's apartment and took a much needed mid-trip two hour nap. After that, we went our for some delicious Indian food. Then we picked up a few local beers, went back to the apartment and had a nice relaxing night. This was a much needed low key evening, and it the weather was perfect for it. On Thursday, we woke up, had coffee and dropped off our suitcases at Patrick (my brother)'s office, and then met Chelsea Iacino and her boyfriend Chris for lunch at Tokyo Joe's. After that we drove to Red Rocks Ampitheater and national park. We explored Red Rocks for a while, absorbing the beautiful surroundings and the pictures and artifacts of so many incredible musicians who had played there in the past.



After Red Rocks, we went home, took showers and made pretzel necklaces. We were unaware until that day, but everyone makes a pretzel necklace for the Great American Beer Festival, in order to sustain some level of sobriety in the unbelievably large ocean of beer that is GABF. These proved to be very helpful later on. Then we got a taxi to the Colorado Convention Center and got in line with 10,000 other people. When the doors opened, beer began flowing quickly.



Each pour is just 1 ounce, which seems like a very small amount, but it allows people to try many beers. Also, after 4 and a half hours, the 1 oz glasses begin to add up. We lost count of the beers that we tried, but of the 500 breweries represented and 2100 beers on tap, it is safe to say that we at least put a dent into it. Every brewery that we have visited on our trip so far was there, so we visited some friends we had made in previous cities. Overall, it was probably the most overwhelming experience of our lives, with more beers on tap than there have ever been in one room at the same time in the history of the world.



After the Beer Festival, we got picked up by Patrick (which was very kind of him), and we went straight to Denver International Airport, where we caught a redeye flight. We just landed at JFK, and got great views of the sunrise during our landing. We are now awaiting our connection to Richmond, and it is 7:22 AM.



Best beer in Denver: Ska Brewing, Modus Hoperandi IPA

Total Flying Time: 37 hours 15 minutes

For all photos click here!

We have recieved over $300 in donations to our paypal account, many thanks to all who have decided to give their hard earned money to two kids on a hellbent mission to conquer the US in 30 days! Also, our new offer is this: If you donate more than $20, we will do anything that you want us to do in any city, and take a picture of it for you (within reason). More updates and photos to come!

NYC

We arrived in New York City on Monday at 3 pm. I lived there for 4 months last year, so I am fairly familiar with the city, but Biff had never been, so we decided to just move quickly and see as much as possible. We got on the subway and went straight to Manhattan for a slice of pizza. Then we began lugging our luggage through the booming metropolis. We looked at the World Trade Center, which was very amazing and somewhat emotional. Next we took a brief walking tour of the area and went down to the water to look at the Statue Of Liberty and Ellis Island. At that point it was time to head to Jersey City for our welcome barbecue at Ian Stewart's beautiful brownstone apartment. There were about 15 people at this backyard barbecue (in the photo), and it consisted of a wide variety of delicious food and beer.



Eventually, we went out to the local Jersey City watering hole, deciding that we had a full day and night in Manhattan and Brooklyn coming up, so we didn't need to make the trek that evening. The owner of the bar happened to be sitting at the bar drinking, and was so inspired by our journey that he demanded we not pay for any alcohol. We couldn't argue too much, and before we knew it we had had more shots than we needed, and went home. We folded our laundry and went to bed.



The next morning we woke up, had breakfast and headed to the city. We went into Williamsburg (in Brooklyn) first, to drop off our luggage at our temporary home for night 2. Next we walked through Williamsburg, the hipster capital of the world. We got back on the Subway and went to Union Square. From there we did a walking tour of the city, going to Washington Square, the East Village, Noho, NYU, and Greenwich Village. Then we took the subway to Central Park, took a brief tour and got back on the subway. We went to Rockafeller Center and Times Square, then we walked west to the Colbert Report studio, where we had VIP tickets for the taping.



After watching a hilarious episode of the Colbert Report, we caught the subway down to St. Marks Place. We walked around there a bit, and ate dinner at a small Venezuelan restaurant. Then we walked over to Mcsorley's, the oldest remaining bar in New York City, and had the beer that they brew in-house. Then we went back to Brooklyn, had a beer with my former British roommate, Richard Robinson, checked out the skyline from the rooftop and went to bed.



This morning, we got up at 5:30 and got on the subway headed for the airport. We were very unlucky with our subway connections, and did not arrive at JFK until 7:32, for our 7:55 flight. We rushed through security and ran through the terminal, boarding the plane 60 seconds before the doors closed. Here we are in Denver, for the Great American Beer Festival.

Best beer in NYC: Brooklyn Lager

Total Flying Time: 33 Hours 45 Minutes


For all photos click here!

We have recieved over $300 in donations to our paypal account, many thanks to all who have decided to give their hard earned money to two kids on a hellbent mission to conquer the US in 30 days! Also, our new offer is this: If you donate more than $20, we will do anything that you want us to do in any city, and take a picture of it for you (within reason). More updates and photos to come!

Bienvenido a Miami

Yesterday we woke up, ate breakfast and went straight to South Beach. Although in that brief sentence it sounded like this was a swift process, that was not the case. We were slightly slowed down after the previous night. When we got to South Beach it was raining, so we did what we do in every city when we need to kill time: found a brewery. Microbreweries are not especially easy to come across in Miami, but with the help of one of our hosts, Whitney Roux, we were able to track down the Abbey Brewing Co. Although they are more of a brewpub than a brewery, they make their own beer so it was going to have to suffice. We each had a pint of their IPA, and rated it as meeeaaahh (that's a technical term for so-so).



By the time we were done with our beer, the rain had subsided and it was a beautiful beach day. We got there, set up our towels and spent the next few hours swimming and relaxing in the sun. For dinner we went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries, which was fantastic. The best part about it is that all condiments are free on burgers there, including sauteed mushrooms. Also they have free peanuts.
From there we went straight to the Standard Hotel, where Sunday Night Erotic Bingo takes place, which was a blast. The Bingo announcer has many clever ways of calling out the numbers that were picked, here are a couple of the less risque examples:
B-13: In order to date Micheal Jackson, you have to B-13
N-54: N-Filthy Whore
During the game there is a server handing our free shots constantly. I won the first game, and got two free drinks. Being the crafty guy that I am, I got double whiskey gingers for myself and Biff, essentially doubling the free alcohol. A few rounds later, Whitney got bingo, but she had tied with someone else. If there is a tie in Erotic Bingo, the decision maker is a dance-off, obviously. Because we had come straight from the beach and were all wearing swimsuits, and Whitney was ecstatic to have won bingo for her first time ever, she took off her shirt in the dance-off (only revealing her swimsuit, but still).



Aside from the stripping aspect, she busted out some incredible moves, and the crowd did not hesitate to crown her victor. Her prize was 2 day passes to the hotel's spa, an hour long massage and a $25 bar tab at the bar next door, called Purdy's. So we went to Purdy's, which has board games, a live DJ and a drink special called Happy Meals (A shot of Jager and a beer for $6). We played Jenga and Candyland, drank some happy meals, had a stranger buy us more happy meals and took a picture of a girl dressed like Britney Spears caressing a blowup doll. Then we went home and went to bed. Today we go to New York City. We have tickets to The Colbert Report tomorrow, but no plans besides that. Many thanks to Amanda Rouse and Whitney Roux for hosting us in Miami.

Best Beer in Miami: Dos Equis?

Total Flying Time: 25 Hours 45 Minutes

For all photos, click here!


We have recieved over $300 in donations to our paypal account, many thanks to all who have decided to give their hard earned money to two kids on a hellbent mission to conquer the US in 30 days! Also, our new offer is this: If you donate more than $20, we will do anything that you want us to do in any city, and take a picture of it for you (within reason). More updates and photos to come!

Day 2 in Austin, Day 1 in Miami

After a crazy Thursday night in Austin, we all woke up with a mutual need for swimming. We had been advised by people we met at the bar to go to Hamilton Pool, so that was where we decided to go. After we found out that it was closed we decided to go to Barton Springs, which is a large man pool with water from a natural cold spring. Tyler cooked breakfast for us and we went to the pool. We were there for the better part of the day, finally having a period of relaxation after 10 days of constant movement.
For dinner we went to a local barbecue stand and had huge plates of beef brisket, beans, potato salad and bread for 6 dollars.

After dinner we drank a bottle of Malbec and some Lonestar (Lonestar is the local equivalent of Busch light). Then we went out for a second night of tearing up Austin. This time it consisted of whiskey shots and tall boys. There were no roommate on roommate fist fights. When we got home, we made tacos and went to bed.

Yesterday we woke up and went straight to the airport, and had a direct flight to Miami, where we are right now. We got in at 3 o'clock yesterday and spent the rest of the day watching football. Our host, Amanda Rouse, cooked us dinner and then we played a long yet intense game of Uno. We then went to the bars for some drinking, dancing and other nonsense. When we got home, we went for a swim in Amanda's pool and went to bed. Miami pictures are on the way.

Best Beer in Austin: (512) One Belgian Strong

Total Flying time: 25 hours 45 minutes

Leaving Boston, Arriving in Austin

On our second day in Boston, we first visited Pine Manor, where my mom went to school a couple years ago. With us were Jake Anderson and Martha Datlen. It was interesting to see the grounds where my mom had been living and learning long before myself or my siblings existed. After that, we got lost in a gated suburb, but finally found our way to the Sam Adam's Brewery. This was a much more formal brewery tour than any we had been on before, lasting almost an hour. We learned all about Reinheitsgebot, the German purity law stating that the only ingredients in the production of beer can be barley, hops and water. This law has since been repealed, but many breweries (including Sam Adams), still hold to its rules. The only exception is post-brew flavor ingredients such as spices or citrus rinds.

After our tour and tasting, we headed to Harvard. We watched the Harvard Crew team practicing on the Charles River, and we visited John Harvard's statue on campus. We found a local shop with 4 dollar pitchers of Pabst Blue Ribbon, and were unable to pass that up. After a quick pitcher and slice of pizza, we went back to Jake's house for another home cooked family dinner, this time a delicious stew. We had some Chardonnay with dinner that Jake bought in Australia 4 years ago. After dinner Jake made us lattes, then we went to a Boston College watering hole. Due to bar prices, we were stuck drinking Coors Light for the evening, with the exception of a shot of Jameson.


Yesterday we woke up at 6 to head to the airport. We landed in Austin at 10:45 AM, and went straight to Dan's Burgers. Our hosts here are Will Gardner, Tyler Krowsoski, and Max Van Wagner, all of whom are friends from the University of Montana. I warned Biff that my friends in Austin were characters. I am not sure if I gave him enough warning. First we went up Mount Bonnell, the highest point in Austin. We hung out up there for an hour or so, enjoying the beautiful views of Austin. I nearly killed Tyler when I overthrew a beer to him as he was standing on a cliff. Luckily, he had a picture perfect catch with one foot on the edge of the cliff and his body leaning over the edge at full extension.



After that, we went to Trophy's on Congress for a bit, while we waited for our appointment at the 512 Brewery. 512 Brewery is a very small operation that has only been in business for about a year. It was the least formal brewery tour that we have had so far, but it was very informative. We stood next to the taps in this one room brewery, and talked to the owner about all aspects of his brewery while we tried his beers. He discussed the challenges of being a new brewery trying to establish a name, and he talked about developing new beers with limited time, people and resources. At this point, he is having trouble brewing enough beer to keep up with demand. He wants to grow organically, only investing his profits without taking out loans or receiving investments, so for now he is just trying to sustain business rather than expanding. We let him know that we would see him in Denver for the Great American Beer Festival.



After the brewery, we went to downtown Austin and had some fish tacos at Wahoo's. Then we went down to the bridge for the #1 free tourist activity in Austin, watching the bats fly out from under the bridge at sunset. The pictures didn't come out because it was dark, but we saw thousands of bats fly out from underneath us, and it was mildly exciting. Then we went home, drank some Tecate then went downtown. Within 3 minutes of being in the downtown area, Max and Will, who had been arguing about nonsensical things for the past hour, got into a fist fight with each other. Somewhere between beating each other up on the sidewalk and begging the cops not to arrest them while they both were bleeding, their differences were settled and they were friends again.


6th street in Austin is crazier than Mardi Gras. The streets are blocked off for 6 blocks and every single door is a bar. There were thousands of people stumbling up and down the middle of the street. We spent most of our time at Shakespeare Pub, where they have $4.00 pitchers of whiskey and coke. After drinking whiskey pitchers and mingling with the locals, Biff and I sat on a a balcony across the street and had a beer while watching the drunken people below. After that, or designated driver took us to the house where our hosts used to live, so that Will could jump in the pool. Will and Max got in another fight there, and the girl they were fighting over lost her shoe. Max and Tyler walked home, and we got a ride. When we got home, we made some taquitos and went to bed. Austin is crazy.



For all photos click here.

Best Beer in Boston: Boston Beerworks Mom and Pop's wet hop crop ale.

Total flying time: 22 hours and 45 minutes

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Boston

After arriving in Boston, we found ourselves following one of the underlying themes of this trip, eating burritos. Our host, Jake Anderson, was unaware of the fact that we ate an absurd amount of burritos while staying in the Mission in San Francisco, so he took us straight to Anna's Taqueria. The burrito was very delicious nonetheless. Next we dropped off our bags and headed downtown for the walking tour. We walked part of the Freedom Trail, but blazed our own path through much of the city. We visited Long Wharf (we have been on a wharf in 75% of the cities we have visited). Then we saw the the Old North Church, a statue of Paul Revere, and two parks (Boston Common and Public Gardens).



After two hours of walking, we were felt that we deserved a flagon of ale. Being the tourists that we are, we chose the Cheers bar. We tried the Harpoon IPA and Sam Adams Pumpkinfest. Next we got back on the T train and went back to Jake's house for home cooked lasagna casserole and grilled salmon, complimented with red wine. After dinner we went right back to the city, this time to the Fenway Park area. We went to a bar called Flagon and Cask, and then to Boston Beer Works. Boston Beer Works brews all of their own beer (fifteen of them right now). They don't bottle any beer, so it can only be enjoyed in the restaurant. We tried the Mom + Pop Wet Hop Crop Ale, Grand Cru, Boston Garden Golden, Landsdowne Lager, Buckeye Oatmeal Stout, and Beantown Nut Brown. All were very good, but the jury is still out on the best beer in Boston.



Then we took the T train back to Newton, made the twenty minute walk to Jake's house, took some shots of bourbon, drank a night-cap Sam Adams Summer Ale and called it a night. This morning we went for a 2.3 mile run, along the Heartbreak Hill portion of the Boston Marathon route, and then we had breakfast and coffee. We plan on visiting a brewery today, and are not entirely sure what else is in store for us. More photos and updates to come!



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