Serious Beer Trip

For a long time, I've wanted to buy some at least a 6-pack of James Boag Australian lager so I could give it a proper tasting. The lager is one of the beers the Outback Steakhouse chain offers. I got to try my first bottle during my first bike road trip to Richmond, Virginia. Unfortunately, James Boag lager isn't widely available in Maryland. I did find one liquor store that sold it and then, I forgot to bookmark the store. This morning, I finally located the store. It's called State Line Liquors in Elkton, Maryland. The name of the store is appropriate as the store is very close to the Maryland-Pennsylvania state line. The store isn't overly large but, it offers a surprising number of international beers. I saw beers from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, England, Germany, Guatemala, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, Scotland and Spain. It was pretty impressive. Price wise, considering where some of these brews were coming from, I thought they were pretty reasonable. Service was excellent. Parking was adequate. The location was located just off of Interstate-95 so easy to get to. The only downside to my trip was I forgot how the state of Maryland likes to gouge people that travel on Interstate-95 going to Pennsylvania. They hit me up for $5. Thankfully, they didn't do that on the trip home. This is one liquor store I plan to visit again in the future once I've finished my now ample supply of brew. If you like to try various international beers and you're in the Maryland-Pennyslvania border area, you might want to give them a look. Their website is: http://statelineliquors.com/index.htm. Cheers all!

Arrived

I managed to hit the road around 6:15 a.m. It was raining. By the time I reached Michigan, it was snowing. Thankfully, the road crews were out and, I was able to make good time the entire way. I was surprised by the toll charges in Pennsylvania and Ohio. PA cost me $10 and Ohio hit me up for $7.25. The GPS unit I bought performed outstandingly. I never had to look at a map. The device would tell me when it was time to turn right or left. It would also tell me how far I had to go till the next major turning point as well as what the speed limit was on all the roads. It only had one hiccup when I-76 broke off and became I-80. I was pretty sure I was supposed to keep heading toward Cleveland vice stay on I-76. About 30 seconds after I passed the I-76 off ramp, it changed and said to keep heading on I-80.

I found it kinda neat to stop to fill up on gas and do a bathroom break. It reminded me of the Globus tours I've been on. I'm still counting the days till Egypt. I can't wait to go.

Tomorrow is the funeral. I'm not looking forward to it. I wish very much my step-mom were still alive. I wish she had told me she was doing as badly as she was doing so I could've come up here before she died instead of after. (sigh) Oh well. There is little point in wishing for such things. I have to deal with what is. She's gone and it sucks. Tomorrow, I'll pay my respects and then, I'll carry on with my life as every one else will. That's how it is. Life goes on.

That's it for this update. Not the most cheerful one but then, funerals don't tend to be very cheerful. There will be some fun things. Tomorrow, I'm going to go to a nearby White Castles where I plan to pig out on their hamburgers. Also, I plan to visit a very cute book shop in South Lyon, Michigan. The owner is pretty cool and, I try to visit there every time I'm nearby. It'll be neat to say hi. Stay tuned for further updates.