edpaffjr.comAfter having mostly disastrous results with a saltwater fish tank in Denver I’m thinking of giving fishkeeping another try. I’ve grown up with a fish tank for most of my life and thought I could handle the more advanced world of saltwater, but I think I’m better off sticking with freshwater tropical fish. I’ve dusted off the tank stand and found a corner spot for it in my office. If I find time this weekend I’m hoping to clean the tank, equipment, and decor items and hopefully get water circulating soon. Trey has loved animals since day 1, so I figure it’s time we get some kind of pet at home.
Late Saturday night I received some saddening news, Evan Bliss had suddenly passed away due to a pulmonary embolism. Evan was the front man of the defunct band The Low Life who broke up in 2005. Since then he has been trying to launch a solo career touring under Even Bliss and The Welchers.
I think I was first exposed to The Low Life in early 2003, though the exact time frame is not clear in my mind. I do know that their album Thixotropic was released late in 2003 and I was a huge fan of it. It continues to be one of those albums I can dig out and listen to all the way through. Back then it received huge play in the summer of 2004 for me.
The summer of 2004 would be the only two times that I ever got to see the band perform. The first time on July 3oth at Peabody’s in Cleveland, the night before O.A.R.’s third annual Feeling Better Than Everfine Festival. I would then travel all the way to Washington D.C. to see them perform on August 21st at the famed 9:30 Club, my first and only time at the historic venue. That performance can be streamed below.
Their live shows were full of extended jams and improvisation. Their first live album, Repossess, was only 7 tracks, but still clocked in at over 67 minutes. It is also another favorite of mine that still gets frequent play. I wish I could have seen them play more shows than I did, but they were primarily stuck in the Mid-Atlantic region of the country.
Though I never met Evan personally, I’m told from friends who were fairly close with him that he was such a caring and compassionate person. It’s really unfortunate that he died at such an early age, but his music will continue to live on for me.
Saturday night was the fourth Reds game of the season for me, and the second time I was in attendance when 11 or more Reds’ strikeouts were thrown. That means free pizza from LaRosa’s as well as ice cream from UDF as part of the Strikeouts for Slices and Scoops promotion. The first time it happened I forgot to trade in my ticket stubs, but I’m not going to let that happen this time.
We met up with my friend Tracey and her boyfriend for the game, who had driven down from the Dayton area for the day. Even though Tracey is originally from the area, she spent a good chunk of time in Chicago after college. The Cubs were in town for the weekend and had a double-header with the Reds on Saturday.
Trey was getting a little antsy toward the end of the game, so I took him for a walk around the stadium. I get to see the game from all different angles, while Trey gets to run around and be a kid. It’s a win-win.
Out In Centerfield
The game was a high scoring affair, with 2 home-runs by Ryan Ludwick. The Reds fell behind in the fourth, and though they tried to mount a late comeback they ended up losing 7-9. Tracey was sporting her Cubs gear, so at least there was one happy fan in our group. And even with the loss, we all had a great time at the game.
Last night we walked up to Ault Park for the last Summer Dance Series night. Soul Pocket was supplying the music, and they appeared to be a huge crowd favorite with tons of people up and dancing the night away.
The highlight of the night for me was finally getting to sample more food from Bones’ Burger truck. Bones used to park his truck in a parking lot close to my work, but decided to move on from that location after poor sales. It’s been over a year since I’ve had any food from Bones, and I was glad to finally see the truck again.
Since I last saw the truck, veggie and turkey burgers have added in addition to the beef and grilled cheese sandwiches. I decided to try one of the veggie burgers, which come directly from the Veg Head in Loveland, OH. I ordered it topped with cheddar and all the fixings. This was definitely in the top five veggie burgers I’ve had. The primarily black bean based burger was fairly firm and full of flavor.
Veg Head Veggie Burger
My wife had the turkey burger and she ranked it as one of the top turkey burgers she’s had. So the quality of food from Bones is definitely still high. It seems that business has been good since moving on from the first location. Bones is a super friendly guy and I wish him continued success. I hope it doesn’t take me as long to find him and the truck again.
After two years of listening to Mumford & Sons, religiously at times, I finally got to see them perform live last night. They played in Denver back on Oct. 27, 2010, but I missed that show due to another commitment. They again played in Denver June 15 and 16, 2011, but I was already back living in Cincinnati at that time. Since moving last year, none of their very limited US tour dates have been within a four-hour drive. So when a date was announced in Columbus, I jumped on the opportunity to see them, even if it meant driving to the show by myself, which I ended up doing.
Setup – photo by my friend Wes
Originally the show was scheduled to take place at the LC Pavilion, a small (6,000 seat) amphitheater that I had only been to a couple of times before in 2002 and 2004 to see O.A.R. Once the tickets went on sale and sold very quickly, they decided to move the show to the parking lot behind the venue and to sell 10,000+ tickets. Obviously, a well designed amphitheater would be a much better place to see a show over a car park, as one of the band members called it. It definitely would have had better sight lines and would have felt more intimate.
Crowd – photo by my friend Wes
However, that is where my complaints on the night end. They actually did a pretty good job setting up the parking lot by providing two large screens to view the performers. They brought in numerous portable restrooms, beer booths, etc. Even with the large crowd, I never ran into any lines to get what I needed.
Dawes
Dawes opened up the show, and I made sure to get in early enough to watch their set. I’m moderately familiar with their latest release 2011’s Nothing is Wrong, and their track “A Little Bit of Everything” was included on last years NOW That’s What Ed Calls Music compilation. That song was the second to last song that they played, following it up with the equally as catchy “Time Spent in Los Angeles.” Marcus Mumford came out before both of those tunes to perform on “When My Time Comes,” which is off of their first album. I’ve never heard the song before, but I really loved the performance.
Mumford
Mumford & Sons took the stage around 9:30 after an introduction claiming that the next hours were going to be full of dancing and incredible entertainment. I had such high expectations going into the show, and fortunately all expectations were completely met. After leading off with “Lovers’ Eyes,” a track off of their soon to be released sophomore release Babel, the band launched into “Little Lion Man” and the crowd erupted. Throughout the 17 song setlist I don’t think the crowd stopped moving the entire time. Even during the quieter moments, the crowd was mostly respectful and silent.
All songs from their debut album Sigh No More were played except for the title track and “After the Storm,” which hasn’t been played this year. In addition five other songs from Babel were played including the first single “I Will Wait” and my favorite of the bunch “Below My Feet.” It is amazing how much sound the four piece band can produce live. All members are multi-instrumentalists, and lead vocalist Marcus plays a kick drum (and often kick tambourine) at the same time as guitar in most songs. He even sat down at the drum kit for “Lover of the Light.” A three-piece horn section was also added to some songs for an even bigger sound. This really stood out on “Winter Winds,” the second to last song of the night. Fittingly, they ended the night with their biggest hit to date, “The Cave,” leaving everyone in attendance wanting to hear more. I definitely will make an effort to see them again soon.
Last Thursday night we attended the Florence Freedom game along with some of Kim’s family. We ran into a brief rain storm on the way to the game and were treated to a full rainbow over the parking lot. It’s impossible to take a wide photo on the iPhone, so I tried to stitch a couple together. Pretty poor results, but you get the idea.
Stitched Rainbow
Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a double rainbow!
Double Rainbow
We had excellent seats to the game, in the VIP section which includes wait service from the staff. To make it even better, it was $1 beer and hot dog night. Plus the Freedom won the game in extra innings and the entire night was capped off with a nice firework display to honor our military.
Freedom Games Are Fun
A little over a month ago, Washington Park was reopened to the public after a $46 million renovation. We’ve been through the park a couple of times over the last month. Here are some of the photos that my mother has taken of our visits to the park.
Washington Park Entrance
Interactive Fountain
Trey Running Through Fountain
Trey Closeup
Music Hall
Swinging With Historic Bandstand Behind
At The Playground
The park’s renovation is outstanding! If we lived closer to it I’m sure we would spend a lot of time there. But that won’t stop us from visiting after mass downtown or hopefully for one of the many planned events for the park.
I’ve written before about Kim’s uncle Joe and his cabin down at Williamstown Lake. On one visit to the lake earlier this summer we all noticed a nearby property that was going to be auctioned off. Even though we have put in a lot of work at Joe’s (plumbing, wiring, dry wall, etc.) and it is looking really nice, it is just a one bedroom cabin. The property for auction was a four bedroom, 2 bathroom house, that definitely needed some TLC, but we soon realized that it could be a great addition to our lake trips.
So when the house went up for auction at the end of May, my father-in-law was logged on to his computer and putting in bids. Kim and I, along with Joe, and another family, decided to chip in on buying the house. When the auction was over we all became vacation home owners! Once all the paperwork went through, we all started working on the new house. First up was ripping out all the old nasty carpeting. Then many holes were patched in the walls, and a fresh coat of paint was applied. Last weekend I started putting down new vinyl flooring in one of the bedrooms.
Prepping Floors
The house is set up for central air conditioning, but the previous owners took the air conditioning unit with them upon their departure. We rigged up a window unit in one of the bedrooms, which has so far just been used as more of a living room, with a large wrap around couch. Although some of the group have slept on the couch, so I guess it is part bedroom too. Anyway, I started putting the flooring in this room. Even with the window unit, it was still a hot and sweaty day.
Installing New Floor
We decided to use vinyl flooring after researching the various types and realizing that this is the most waterproof and should be the most durable in the varying climate changes of the lake house. The floor comes in planks that stick together, but not to the sub-floor, so it’s a floating floor. It was really easy to put down, but all the up and down of left my legs extremely sore for the next few days.
All Done!
I started early in the afternoon by prepping the floor by removing staples, nails, etc. Unfortunately we then realized that we needed to take the baseboard off, which led to some sanding and painting. Once I finally got started on the floor itself it was already getting late in the afternoon, meaning the floor wasn’t finished until almost 9 that night. Hard work, but it is definitely worth it in the end.
Finished Floors
Trey wanted to help out the whole time, as you can see from the last couple of photos. Two photos up shows the door that leads from this living room/bedroom to the dining and kitchen area. The photo just above shows the large closet door on the left and the door to one of the bathrooms on the right. Back by the bath is the utility closet and hookups for a washer and dryer. Neither the washer or dryer are there, so if you are looking to get rid of some let us know. Also note that there is no oven, and the refrigerator is definitely showing its age.
Last Shot
The door in the photo above goes out to a very large deck. You’ll notice that I still need to put baseboard back on the walls, but that will have to wait. Plans for this weekend call for getting the flooring put down in two additional bedrooms. Once done we plan to move some beds in and we can finally stay the night down at the lake. It’s a lot of work now, but it will be so nice to have all of this for many years to come.
Over the weekend I finally made it to Nada. Saturday was my brother’s girlfriend’s birthday, so we all met up on Sunday for lunch.
Outside Nada
Actually I should say brunch, as that is what is served during Sunday morning and afternoon at Nada. They have a special brunch menu that is only available at this time. Honestly, I’m not a big fan of brunch. I don’t like eggs, and that seems to be what the majority of brunch items tend to be.
Salsa And Guacamole
Fortunately their guacamole is still available during brunch, so we started with a bowl of it ($7). Their version of guac is very good, and the chips are equally great. We were also given a couple bowls of ancho chile salsa, which are listed as $2 on the menu, but perhaps they are thrown in when ordering the guacamole? I don’t recall anyone actually ordering them, but maybe we were charged for them anyway. The salsa isn’t very chunky, but it packs a decent spice punch. If I had to pick one, I would stick with the guacamole.
Bloody Maria
Another bonus to their brunch menu is a special area for drinks, in addition to the regular drink menu. I decided to try the bloody Maria – house made mix, el Jimador tequila, and Cholula ($7). As similar as this was to a traditional bloody Mary, the tequila added an interesting citrus flavor to the drink. I think I actually would now prefer this version to the standard bloody Mary.
Mexican Mac ‘n Cheese
My brother, a Nada regular, also decided that I needed to try the Mexican mac ‘n cheese – fresh cheeses, jalapeño, and roasted poblano ($6). This appetizer was extremely creamy, and had the right amount of spice to compliment the cheese flavors. It doesn’t share as well as the guacamole for a large party, but we managed to have enough for the six people at our table to sample a bit.
Grilled Chicken Tacos
For brunch lunch I went with the grilled chicken tacos – marinated chicken, black bean purée, pico de gallo, chihuahua cheese, and guacamole ($11). I wasn’t sure how many tacos I was getting for the price, and when only two arrived I have to admit I was disappointed. While it is true that they came packed with meat, I still feel that the cost is a bit high. With that said the flavor is really good, the chicken is moist and tasty, and you can’t argue with more of their guac.
Pork Green Chili Burrito
Others at the table had the pork green chili burrito ($12), the fish tacos ($12), and the crispy pork belly tacos ($11). I guess at 11:30 only my wife was interested in eating brunch. Her pork green chili burrito combined an egg and potato filled burrito with braised pork in a green chili sauce. The fish tacos are South African hake which is fried “baja style” and served with guacamole, pico de gallo, and fresh cabbage. My brother did have a fried egg added to his crispy pork belly tacos, to sort of brunch up the dish.
Fish Tacos
Overall, I would say the food was very good, but I felt the price was a little high. I’ve always heard that Nada served great food, but it is more of a place to see and be seen. I would tend to agree that the food and it’s presentation are very trendy, not that it’s a bad thing. I would definitely go back for more, but I think I’ll stick to lunch or dinner on future visits.
As soon as our vacation destination was switched from Virginia Beach to Myrtle Beach I was excited about the possibility of stopping in Asheville, NC. We had a caravan of four cars on the way down and drove throughout the night to get there, leaving the return trip as our chance to see it. Since we were checking out of our beach house rental on Saturday morning, we decided that we would spend Saturday night in Asheville.
Originally I thought that it would be an easy place to find a cheap hotel for the night. However what I found were inflated hotel prices, I think partly caused by the Bele Chere music and arts festival taking place in downtown Asheville. Even though rooms were more than I wanted to spend, we figured the festival would give us plenty to do for our afternoon and evening in town. I won the 3.5 star Crowne Plaza on priceline.com for $150. This resort was very nice and I would definitely stay here again, especially if offered at a cheaper price.
Bele Chere Stage
Our hotel offered a $5 per person round-trip shuttle bus to downtown, which we gladly paid for. We headed for the festival in the early afternoon and ended up staying until 8 or 9 that night. There were four stages of music, children’s areas, a Taste of Asheville, along with other standard festival style food offerings.
Mela Indian Restaurant’s Chicken Plate
Those of legal drinking age can buy a wristband for $2, which allows you to have an open alcoholic container. I’m not sure if this means that you can bring your own beer in, but we saw plenty of people doing just that. I stuck to the $4 cans of microbrew that were being sold throughout the festival grounds.
Boca Taco Plate
Besides the scheduled entertainment on the four festival stages, we also ran into a number of street performances. One guy had created his own percussion style using a guitar as his main drumming device. Attached to the guitar were various noise making artifacts, such as a fork and a pack of cigarettes.
Drumming Street Performer
As far as I could tell the festival was well attended. The crowds were pretty thick in the central area of the festival, but since there are so many streets involved, it was easy to find space to spread out. I especially enjoyed getting to see Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band perform. Trey also had a great time at the festival. Below are some pictures from Kim’s iPhone.
