A Beer-y Good Time

Have you noticed how popular breweries are these days?  If not, you must not be hanging out with the cool kids.  I know I'm way behind on this trend.  Lately, I have been to several events at breweries and enjoyed each of them thoroughly.  This is saying something considering I don't even really drink beer!  It turns out breweries are fun places with cool decor and a great atmosphere.

Some of the cool kids enjoying a nice "fall" day at Karbach brewery in Houston.

At the end of September I visited my daughter, in Chicago, on my way home from the shore.  When she heard the date of my visit she mentioned she was running in a 5K that weekend and asked if I'd like to join her and her friend.  I'm a sucker for a nice run in some cool-ish northern air with my daughter so I agreed.  I trained (ran maybe 4 times) for two weeks before the run, it was a brutal training schedule!  I did not train for the beer drinking part of the event.  She assured me it would be a laid back, non-competitive run so I didn't feel too much pressure to perform.  I still didn't want to embarrass myself, or my daughter.  She was right about the non-competitive nature of the run.  It was just right for an old timer like myself!  Kelly and her friend were very considerate for the first mile and ran at "old lady" pace and then I set them free to run ahead.  I enjoyed running somewhere I've never been before, on city sidewalks, not knowing where I was or where I was going.  I just made sure there were always people in front of me and behind me....motivation to not be the last finisher!

Look, I see Chicago!  Yes, I was so slow I could take pictures!

The race/run began and ended at the brewery.  I think the main reason many of the people did this was for the free beer!  There were no t-shirts given away, only free beer.  The place was great!  Even I enjoyed a post run cold beer!  

Post run hydration!

The second brewery event was on a lovely Saturday afternoon before my nephew's wedding.  We had a lot of family in town and since the weather actually resembled fall we took a little outing to Karbach brewery for lunch and fun.  They had a great outdoor space which was just perfect for our needs.  We had all ages from Logan at 17 months to ....TJ and me at slightly older than Logan.  The kids could play and the adults could visit, have a beer and play bean bags.  It made for a lovely afternoon!

He is so excited he made the bean bag disappear!

Grampy and John doing some artwork!

The latest brewery event was last weekend at a family wedding in Atlanta.  What a perfect place for a reception!  Great atmosphere, plenty of space, good beer (of course) and I didn't have to run there to enjoy it all!  We danced the night away with some of our favorite cousins and shared in celebrating the marriage of two wonderful young people.  The outdoor space was the perfect place to enjoy the cool evening and recover from all our dancing.  Even though I did not indulge in the craft beer (thanks for serving wine), I hear it was yummy!  Everyone had a beer-y good time!  Who knows, maybe I'll start drinking beer....nah!

A cousin selfie with the bride and a photo bomber!