The OOB

Old Orchard Beach Pier

Old Orchard Beach, Maine, known to New England locals as The OOB was a bit of a funny place with its strong hick American vibe blended with a strong influence from French Canada. Being just a few house drive away, the Canadian vibe is not surprising, although it was. We stayed in a very pricey campground for two nights, but it was kitted out,  with pool, table tennis and a fair bit of peace and serenity for a pack spot. The beach was just a 10 minute walk away, along with the amusement rides, right on the side of the beach, with a rickety pier and its shack style buildings all over. The water was deadly cold, seriously, but its was truly just beautiful, with some nice little swells rolling in. Perfect for body surfing, just had to let your head defrost after every few dunks underwater.

Portsmouth, NH

We left early Friday morning after I was done with night shift. Was a bit of a tough day running for 24+ hours with no sleep, but it gave us a super long weekend. We took the interstates direct to the New Hampshire boarder, where we stopped at the town of Portsmouth for a picnic lunch and a look around. Followed by following the Post roads Route 1 North making a few stops along the route at Kittery Fort and the beach town of Ogunquit, which we both noticed were incredibly clean and pristine. The water at the beach in Oqunquit was blue as could be, but the amount of people littering the beach is always a bit of a downer. On route to Portland we also stopped in at the most photographed lighthouse in the country, the Portland Head Lighthouse and yeah its pretty photogenic.

Portland Head Lighthouse

We made The OOB our base for a bit of exploration. We were particularly excited to head to Portland, Maine. After the recommendation by one of the brewers we contract brew for, we embarked on a brewery adventure in the ultra hipster/alternative city of the north. Six brewery's to speak of on our visit, we started at Foulmouthed Brewpub in South Portland. We met the brewer of the brand new facility, enjoyed a flight and some extremely flavorsome bites to eat. Shipyard Brewing Company next, with their ingenious chalk board flights, filled us with good quality beer. Rising Tide Brewing operating out of large roller doors was a chilled location with a great pale ale with rye. Its was a shame we didn't get time to visit the craft distillery next door, because up next was Bunker Brewing Co. Now this place is what a true craft brewery should look like. As if it was put together by a bunch of madmen with welding equipment inside a building that looked like it survive a nuclear holocaust. The beer was great, the prices were as fair as they come and sitting in the industrial wasteland setting on the warm July Saturday afternoon a few beers in, it was just good news.

Bunker Brewing Co.

 A short walk further found us at the Urban Farm Fermentory, which just sets the bar of hipster alternative-ness. Fermenting liquid only of the non-hopped variety and I don't just mean few hops, they mean no hops, e.g not beer. Cider, Mead, Cambucha as well as herbed liquid (beer basically) is their thing. A bold move, far away from the big selling profit making pale ales and pilsners, these guys are going a different route. For what their beverages were, they were good, but I would have loved a pale ale is all. Last brewery of our tour was the oddly named Liquid Riot Bottling Company. Alternative in the general American sense, though for this part of the woods, I guess it was just coming across by the book. Good beer, bistro pub food and right in the heart of the tourist trap of downtown seaport Portland.
 

Ending off the trip we ventured west into New Hampshire aiming for Lake Winnipesaukee. With no expectations, we were blown away with how beautiful this place was. The large clear evergreen lake was set within the tree covered rolling hills. You could nearly even justify some as mountains. We stopped at the lakeside Wolfsboro. A quaint New England holiday spot, perfect for a huge ice cream with your toes in the water, motor boats cruising, flower baskets hanging from shop eves and a relaxed air. We circumnavigated the northern lakeside, driving right waterside some of the time and other times climbing over hills past cabins and mansions alike. At Meridith there was more boat parking than car parking. A huge lakeside bar and restaurant was the attraction. A nice lakeside path which wound into a boardwalk jetty, I was surprised to see no 'No Swimming' signs so I took the opportunity to take a last dip, 'Thomas Style'. The water was absolute perfection. New Hampshire and Maine have a reputation for being green, and they certainly seem to make an effort to protect their waterways, at least in this instance. To cap of the weekend, I headed straight back into work at 10pm after a 30 min nap. 

Thomas and Amy at Lake Winnipesaukee

Rhode Island

Narragansett Beach

Making the most of a four day long weekend, we joined my workmate Steve and his misses Barbara who had booked a holiday house for the weekend in Narragansett, Rhode Island. There were about eight people there, with some more coming and going over the weekend. We had a bed one night and then a couple nights out in the tent in the back yard as well. On the mild nights, it was just perfect, "glamping" like we always do. Sleeping in the outdoors but with all the comforts of a house otherwise, theres not much better than that. Being the 4th of July, it was an all American affair. We grilled, lit off mad fireworks, baked our asses off on the beach along with heaps of glutinous eating and drinking.

RIP ripped shorts

Playing games with the beach officials, we ventured early to the beach to ensure we didn't have to pay a entrance fee. A few got into trouble when they were deemed to have jumped over the wall after the free admittance time of 8:30am. They seemed to turn a blind eye to me and Amy though, not sure they wanted to swim out and get us as  we headed straight for the open ocean on the stand up paddle board and surfboard. Other than having to pay, it is a really nice golden sand beach and we have enjoyed visiting over the years. Unfortunately, the waves were micro at best, and the crowds were unbelievable. But we always enjoy the crystal clear, cool water though.

Fireworks galore, it seemed like it was nearly a contest. As you would let a few off, more would erupt off around you from each and every direction. Which neighbor had the biggest fireworks, I'm not sure. But none would have been legal anywhere other than America I'd assume. Seeking out a real display we went for a bike around the wealthy headlands to catch a glimpse of Jamestown R.I. letting some big explosions off in the distance. Our last morning we even ventured out at some ungodly hour to watch the sunrise back at that same spot, its was pretty beautiful.

With Barbara and Steve

Work, Life and Summer

With the come of summer meant the biggest relief for Amy, that her daily commute to Stamford working at her school was over. The short term position she had taken turned into a full time position throughout the school year. A great addition to her building list of experience working in schools, she was sad to have to finish up after making friends and relationships with teachers and students. But, the 5 minute bike ride around the corner to Knapp's Landing, a local seafood restaurant over looking the inlet, is more her style of a commute. Working events and festivals at the brewery as well she is a busy girl, but that's nothing compared to sitting in your car 10+ hours a week before your work hours even begin.

At the Road Jam festival at Two Roads

Thomas showing Ted the Hopnick, for dry hopping

For myself, as I rotate through my two monthly shift rotations each comes with its own positives and negatives. Morning shifts were busy action packed 6am starts where the day just flew by. We were short staffed and I have never been in a situation when I have managed to multi-task so much at one time and coordinate so seamlessly with my fellow cellarmen. Running the cellar meant 8 hours of controlled mayhem sending and switching over beer to packaging, running the centrifuge, cleaning tanks, assisting the brewers, dry hopping, and basically dealing with anybody's mess ups and problems. By 2:30pm we were deserved of a beer and most days we would head up to the bar or into the beer garden for a fresh pint or two. Second shift and the later start coming at 2pm started off in a similar manor of a shit show as the morning shift however, the evening would slowly progress where all the damage and mayhem of the day was dealt with and taken care of. With the over night shift being much quieter and the most productive in terms of knocking beers out, CIPing tanks and processing beers for the following days packaging.

This rotation creates a varied sleeping pattern and has meant Amy and I would often see a lot of each other at times but then go for a good while where it seemed we were living two separate lives. Once the spring weather finally kicked into gear, we have tried to make the most of the spare time we have had. Wedding planing has been Amy's main past time, but that's another story, literally another whole blog. We have found two local-ish Frisbee Golf courses that are challenging and entertaining. I have played regular golf right across the road from our house. We have taken trips to New Haven to visit my workmates and were left in awe at the super hipster bar scene in the Yale University town. There are also two large rock outcrop parks overlooking the city, good for a drive and a walk. I enjoy stretching the RX7s legs on the stretch of road up the Housatonic River, that also leads to lakes and state parks.

A few other events including a joint Australian themed birthday party for Stevo, Ryo and Tomo on a very unsummery day at the beach. Zinc on the nose still, because we all know the sun still burns through the clouds. We have had a couple good play sessions with the wee man Brady. I try give him a bite of the adventurous life, he has free range with uncle Thomas. 

Aussie mate

We have had two special trips into NYC. The 5 Borough Bike Tour, again on a disappointing spring day, however the 40 mile ride through the five Boroughs of NYC was still incredible. Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten from the Battery to the top of Manhatten. All on closed roads, it gave a perspective unattainable in any other way than cycling. Riding on the motorways and over bridges at our leisure, with 32 thousand others, it was pretty epic. We are also lucky to be among the few to see the hottest show on Broadway, "Hamilton." I felt a bit bad for those that are so desperate to see this show as I was just going along with the flow. It was amazing though and we very much appreciated the quality of performance and writing of Lin Manuel Miranda's masterpiece. Good work Diane for having the connections, beats waiting a year for tickets and paying over a grand each. I guess we are lucky to be right on the door step of the Big Apple.

The end, with the Verrazano Bridge behind

And thank the lord baby Jesus for ESPNs on-demand coverage of the rugby, keeping me connected with home and a good way to disconnect from this part of the world where every person thinks they are the most important and whatever they have going on is priority, and don't get me started on how they drive. Stop signs, traffic lights and the speed limit, I'm sure they have a super legit reason for their complete and utter ignorance of the fact. This just had to be said.

Atop West Rock looking out to New Haven

The RX7

My very own, rough and ready RX7

I always dream to follow in my father's footsteps. More than anyone knows, I just want to be like my cool old man. Back when he wasn't so old and I wasn't either, cool we were as I used to ride shot gun in my booster seat in dad's black 1979 Mazda RX7. From that moment, as an infant, I have always been destined to be a Rotary enthusiast.

Not me, but John and Mum, with dad's RX7. Time to get an RX bro, its in the family blood.

Swapping bills for slips.

Finally fulfilling my dream, I very nervously purchased for a very fair price, my own 1985 Series 1 Mazda RX7. Anxious I was, as I was in the the depth of the Bronx in New York City, handing over cold hard American cash to a nice but stereotypical Puerto Rican American. Sigidfiedo assured me that the car was a gem and had been well looked after, and after a test drive through the industrial back streets, I was happy to find myself not mugged or murdered and now the proud new owner of this classic dream.

As I am aware that Rotary engines come with certain mechanical particularities, I was a tad worried. I am happy to report that the car has functioned well above my expectations, with few mechanical issues to speak of. Any that have come up, I have been able to take care of myself, both cosmetic and mechanical. Learning as I go I have successfully replaced the carburetor and exhaust gaskets while fixing an engine housing coolant leak. Removed the air conditioning components from the engine bay, for increased aesthetics, rolling with windows down at all times now. Replaced the master and slave clutch cylinders, while successfully working with the most difficult to reach bolt on the vehicle. Nervously removing meters and meters of now unneeded wires from the engine bay and an unfortunately disappointing effort repainting the front bumper, however some very successful reconditioning of the black exterior trim. A lot of this maintenance could be seen as unnecessary, that it is, however I have taken a lot of pride in my successes and in what I have learnt.

This car is everything I ever dreamt of. Its quick and nippy, it gives feedback and feel through every gear change and input, it growls and purrs and gets a lot of attention every time I'm out on the road. Thumbs up and toots from passerbys will never get old.

Living the Stratford Dream

Autum Lordship.....

We had stretched out the hospitality of our Colorado host Phil while trying to settle in Breckenridge. So after things unfortunately not falling into place, we had to return 'home' to Connecticut. Fall into place they eventually did though, as we returned back to the East Coast. I had contacted with a local brewery while sending resumes to every corner of the country and following a few interviews, I was now a Cellarman on the brewing team at Two Roads Brewing Co. in Stratford, CT. With Amy taking on a short term substituting role, we could now be considered to be real contributing members of society once again.

and then winter.

A few towns up the coast from Amy's family in Stamford, we were quick to scout out accommodations of our own ending up with a lovely third floor apartment right at the beach in the suburb of Lordship, tagged the 'town within a town'. We have a little balcony overlooking the golf course and out over Long Island Sound. With the weather cooling outside, amenities were under utilized after our first month of December. Cold it was despite it being the warmest winter on record. I still managed to sneak in a few rounds of golf and a paddle-board before the year was out and the cold truly came. Walking on the beach continued through winter, as we are suckers for sunsets and we always had the place to ourselves.

 

We easily accumulated a household of furnishing, all hand me downs or unwanted items from others. This being the first time we have had a place of our own to make our own it was somewhat exciting to decorate with our own true style, with maps, Amy's artwork, framed photos and collected pieces lining the walls. I used some waste structural cardboard from work to build some shelves and a side table and piled cases of beer to make end tables, as well as providing additional beer storage.

A casual walk in the blizzard

Although I have a quick 10 minute bike ride to the brewery, Amy unfortunately has continued to commute back to Stamford. Seemingly along with every other person from the East Coast also heading South West towards NYC. It takes her an hour or more in each direction to get to school as her position as the reading specialist at Springdale Elementary has been continued through to the end of the school year. Seeing small groups from Kindergarten to Fifth grade age children, she really enjoys her job. She has a lot of responsibility and has quickly adapted to the role of creating lessons and finding resources as she works on reading skills with struggling students. 

We celebrated all the holidays in true Sierpina family fashion, with the big family Thanksgiving, Christmas tree farm tree cutting down ceremony, a night into NYC to check out the light displays and the big day of course. Amy hadn't been home for Christmas in three years, so that was very nice for her. I even got my own stocking to hang with the rest of the family's, which Diane handmade made for me. 

Short Beach Sunset

I think this whole town is high...

Phil, Amy, Thomas and Keona 10,400 feet up

It is unquestionable that when living in Colorado in 2012/2013 we had the time of our lives. Since we left all those years ago, we have always longed to return. With our friend Phil now living in the true mountain town of Breckenridge, that's where we headed on Halloween night with a $19 flight from Milwaukee. We knew it was going to be a challenge trying to set up life out here, as we knew all too well that housing is a real issue at the beginning of the ski season. We started out planning and researching early and had some leads. Jobs were plentiful, as the ski season was weeks away. However, to find a place to rest our wary heads was neigh on impossible. We stretched our invitation to crash on Phil's couch for as long as was comfortably possible but in the end, our winter season was to be spent elsewhere. However we did get a great long week in the High Rockies, with a great mate. 

In between job interviews and looking at houses, we got out on a few small hikes and immediately we knew we were back at elevation. With two dogs in tow, Phil led us up Mt. Royal from the town of Frisco. What a remarkable welcome back to the mountains. With perfectly clear and crisp blue skies, we were surrounded by 14,000 foot peaks, lightly snow capped, suggesting the imminence of winter to come. The deep breaths were worth it for the chance to do some clifftop AcroYoga. We stopped in at the Backcountry Brewery for a well rewarded pint afterwards. 

Surprise snow storm in Beaver Creek

With the weather still acting like late summer, we were able to really stretch our legs about town. We would skate and ride bikes from Phil's mountain side log cabin into town for a beer at Breckenridge Brewery, grab some food for dinner or swing by the bottle shop to make sure we kept well lubricated. All accessible by the cycle path along the creek running into town. We we spent two Mondays at the potluck dinner the locals organize at Broken Compass Brewery, and once even slaved over making Amy's family's Greek Pastitsio dish with hopes with winning a prize. No such luck, but we filled our bellies with a plethora of incredible food that ranged from all genres and cultures. Caught out by the changeable autumn weather, after being parked up in a downstairs bar for a few hours our stunning sunny day turned into a a snow covered evening. The journey home was slippery but a memorable, laughter filled adventure. We spent another day driving over the Vail Pass back to our old home in Avon and our beloved ski field Beaver Creek. The area was eerily deserted, but we walked around reminiscing and stopped in to have a few tasters at the newly opened Vail Brewing Co. We sipped our beers while the smells from the marijuana dispensary next door wafted in and snow fell soundlessly outside. 

So the scenery had taken a dramatic change that is nothing short of magical. Witnessing a scene change in such peaceful serenity in such a soft and quiet manner is what really captures us, time and time again. What it made for us also was some awesome scenery to venture through while we had a rental car for a few days. With our temporary transportation being the iconic Suburban, we accidentally entered the interstate headed east only to realize that we just got on at the last exit for 21 miles. So we made the adventure under the continental divide through the Eisenhower Tunnel and then back again, although we had only intended to just go down the road. We eventually made it to the summit of Loveland Pass, and the continential divide. Life is pretty epic from up that high, just walking a hundred metres to the viewing platform at 12,000 ft is a real effort. Over the next couple of days we made a nice trip around the back roads of Summit County. After swapping out the Suburban to something more appropriate, we made it just over the back of Breckenridge to the true area of South Park, where we rummaged through an antique store in Leadville and drive on roads that just twisted around and hung off the cliffs of these mountains we so dearly love. The recent snow fall tested my driving with bare road surfaces on the southern slopes and packed and icy surfaces on the north. Slow and steady I got us there, to Hot Sulfur Springs, where the appropriately named town had just that. We soaked our souls, and got dusted with a perfect evening snow shower.

Turing into winter

With the ski field gates still closed, we had to find ourselves another "ski lift" to get some runs on all that fresh snow. Taking advantage of friendly locals who offer lifts, and baked goods, in spare seats or the backs of their trucks, we lapped a section of glades from the summit of Loveland Pass down to a lower section of road. This behavior epitomizes the spirit of Colorado, away from the stereotype, there is more than one way to get high in the Rockies.

Getting "high" in the Rockies

The Land of Big Sand Dunes - Michigan

Thomas with Lake Michigan 450 ft below

We boosted off from Milwaukee with a rental car for three days for an unexpected gem of our travels. We hadn’t really planned on visiting Michigan and therefore didn’t really know what to expect. But it turned out to be an amazing three days. It was lot of driving, but with some more remarkable American scenery along the way. 

Stunning late autumn foliage and winding local roads.

We set off south on our circumnavigation of Lake Michigan off past Chicago and at some point in Indiana, in a not so sharp looking area, we decided we needed McDonald's. We pulled off the highway and got some 99c cheeseburgers. While we sat and ate, I slowly realized we were the only white people about. Just then, Amy looks at me about to talk, and I say, “don’t say it”. Once back in the car she confirms what she was about to comment. Later, Matt and Sarah claimed that we were in one of the the most dodgy areas possible. It definitely was a tad rough looking, but we had no problems. From there on it was open roads, stunning scenery and we were back among the majority.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore- its a long way down.

Heading north along the Eastern Michigan Coast, tagged the 'third coast' of America, we got off the interstate and drove on beautiful snaking roads through the stunning late autumn foliage. Making a few stops in quaint historic summer vacation villages of Saugatuck and Muskegon along with others and turning off onto the scenic route 22. The weather was a bit rough but it really highlighted the awesome ruggedness and exposure of the wild coastline, a character I love in a true landscape. The wind was howling and waves were pounding. We constantly were forgetting that this was only a lake, but even so, I would have done anything to have had my windsurfer.

We made it that night to Grand Rapids and stayed with Sarah’s mum. We jetted right into town to check out the very reputable Founders Brewery, and I was blown away with how big and shiny it was. It took up a complete block with a purpose built craft beer factory. We grabbed a bite to eat and had a couple of beers in their enormous tasting room. I was particularly stoked with the array of nitro beers. We couldn't resist ordering their famous dip and were in cheese and beer heaven the rest of the night.

A long undulating climb across the dunes

Historic fishing village

Along the whole East Coast of Lake Michigan are sand dunes. The winds tend to blow westerly so over time they have blown all the sand from the now cliffy/rocky Wisconsin side gathering in some absolutely enormous formations here on the Michigan side. You might have thought you were in rolling hills but they are just old dunes that extend a long way inland. Then, in some places, the dunes just drop right into the lake. The dramatic Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was like a Martian landscape and a joyful place to explore. A long dune walk led us over the endless false peaks finally making it to the calm crystal clear morning Lake Michigan.

 

Art's Tavern

We camped for the night at the National Park, with some basic borrowed camping gear and stayed remarkably warm for the weather. That night we enjoyed some tasty local beer and classic American burgers from Art's Tavern in Glen Arbor. A must do recommendation by Sarah in the sleepy off season lakeside town.

Our drive further north over the Mackinac Bridge to the Northern Peninsula was stunning and remote. It was such a pleasure just to pass through this place. With a lot of ground to cover, we didn’t stop much, but just seeing the landscape change as we passed by was great. The drive was very long and we only got back into Milwaukee around 10pm traveling over 1100 miles in the three days. But we can now confirm what they say is true, this state is rugged and dramatic and it sure does live up to its nickname of "Pure Michigan."

Thomas and Amy at Sleeping Bear Dunes