retirement activity

Roadtirement’s 2021 was one to remember

/ Roadtirementvintage / 51 Comments

January 2021 was the start of the second year of the pandemic. Now  we’re 12 months later and pandemic is still a word we see daily. Sigh…

January 2021 saw us waiting for COVID vaccines to become available for people our age. We did get our first dose of the COVID vaccine in February. With the pandemic raging, we did not go out much. Safer to stay close to home, enjoying our backyard and the occasional trip to a winery or brewery. We did discover the fun of working on those thousand piece jig saw puzzles!

Backyard bird watching

One of our sons got married in August in Columbus, Ohio. That was a fun party! All of our kids and grandkids were able to attend, the first time in a while when we all got together. We did decide that after we were fully vaccinated we would fly out to Seattle and down to Austin to see our long distant families. So we were off to Seattle for 3 weeks followed by a 3 week trip to Austin.

We did have most enjoyable times while we traveled and stayed with our families. Lots of neat restaurants, wineries, breweries and other local attractions. We did not use our RV for these trips not wanting to be on the road for that long a time. All in all, 2021 was a strange year. Hopefully 2022 will see less COVID problems. Maybe we’ll be able to get some more RV travel in!

Have a Happy New Year and a prosperous 2022

 

 

Indy’s Circle of Lights celebration

/ Roadtirementvintage / 27 Comments

Monument Circle, the “center” of downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, is a large traffic circle with the Soldiers & Sailors Monument standing in the center. Each year the monument is turned into an impressive display of Christmas lights. It has been dubbed by some as being the “World’s Largest Christmas Tree”.

Photo courtesy Indiana War Memorial Foundation

Each November the Indiana Brotherhood of Electrical Workers IBEW 481 decorate the Soldiers & Sailors Monument with 52 garland strands with 4,784 LED lights, strung from the top of the Monument to its base. The Monument will continue to be surrounded by 26 larger-than-life toy soldiers and sailors and 26 peppermint sticks.

Last year the pandemic forced the lighting of the monument and fireworks to be on TV only.  This year folks viewed the celebration in person. The celebration started with a talent show on the circle. The lighting of the nearly 5000 colorful LED bulbs signals the beginning of the Christmas Season in the Hoosier State.

Going to see Beef and Boards “Shear Madness” to start the 2022 season

/ Roadtirementvintage / 9 Comments

Tony (Daniel Klingler) plops shaving cream on Nick (Jeff Stockberger) as he prepares to give the undercover cop a shave in Shear Madness

From a Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre press release dated December, 2021: “Shear Madness is back by popular demand to kick off Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre’s 2022 Season! Opening just a bit early, on Dec. 28, this play will have the audiences rolling in the aisles as they help detangle the clues of a murder mystery in a not-so-typical hair salon.”

This hilarious production features madcap improvisation blended with the clues that reveal the person responsible for the murder of the old lady upstairs in the salon. The audience gets to spot clues, interrogate suspects, and solve the mystery. No two shows end the same, leading to repeat customers who enjoy the madcap mayhem. Set in Indianapolis, the play features many funny references to the local area.

Shear Madness has won tons of awards, including “Best Comedy of the Year” multiple times, and has been inducted into the Comedy Hall of Fame, the first stage play to be so honored. It will run through February 5. Tickets range from $58 to $70 and include Chef Odell Ward’s famous dinner buffet. For tickets visit Beef and Boards or call the box office at 317-872-9664.

Sher and I have not been to B&B since October 2019. We can’t wait to get back to our favorite theater!

Special event to support Texas craft breweries

/ Roadtirementvintage / 13 Comments

Yesterday Sher and I went with our son to the Austin Beerworks to enjoy local beers, some great food, and at the same time we supported Small Business Saturday. Sponsored by the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, this event featured 80 small Texas breweries and retailers all over the state celebrating this year’s theme: “Here’s to Gettin’ Back Out There”.

The running can is the ABW logo, on the back of the jacket.

All over the state Texas Craft Brewers Guild encouraged patronizing these small businesses. Each location had really nice beer glasses for purchase. According to the Guild website “$1+ of every glass supports the association of craft brewers advancing the industry through advocacy and education.” We had a fun afternoon at the ABW taproom. And as the picture shows we supported the event by adding glasses to our collection, Maj got a nice jacket, and of course some beers to go. We always enjoy a win-win.

Austin Beerworks Taproom and Brewery

/ Roadtirementvintage / 17 Comments

Today was a great day to visit the Austin Beerworks Taproom. Today was a special event put on by the Texas Craft Brewer’s Guild. The Austin Beerworks was one of many Texas breweries celebrating “Here’s to Gettin’ Back Out There” as the pandemic conditions begin to get better.

Many brews on tap

The Taproom is a fun place to enjoy all of the many craft beers brewed by the Austin Beerworks. There are many varieties on tap, and you can get flights of four to sample or by the glass. In addition to beers, some cider and wine, food is also available. The food is great, reasonably priced, and yes, from a food truck that is a permanently parked on the property.

The flight of four

Cheeseburger, top, and loaded fries, bottom

Brewery machinery and taproom seating

Lots of cool ABW merchandise

We had a most enjoyable time today at the ABW taproom. The beers in our flights were excellent, and Sher and I had a glass of our favorite to finish off the afternoon. Oh, I bought a really cool hooded, zipper front jacket with the ABW logo and name.. We helped support the Brewer’s Guild by buying a couple of glasses, too.

The Hula Hut on the water in Austin

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They serve good Margaritas

The Hula Hut is a Tex-Mex restaurant with, as their website states, a Hawaiian twist. For 25 years it has served delicious meals offering an “island feel” with thatched roofs, bamboo walls and outdoor decks overlooking Lake Austin.

Sher and I went to this establishment with our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter for a Friday night outing. The weather proved to be too cool and windy for an outside table, so we opted for a table inside.

The Hut has a festive atmosphere

Tortillas made fresh daily

 

 

 

 

 

Even the menu items have a flavor of Hawaii. Sher had the “Tubular” taco, vegetarian style. This thing was huge, flanked by black beans and rice. Our daughter-in-law and granddaughter had grilled Hawaiian chicken and grilled salmon, respectively. Our son and I both ordered Five-O Fajitas (get it?). He had the BBQ Tai and I had the Hawaiian beef and shrimp.

Veggie “Tubular” taco

Grilled salmon

Hawaiian beef and shrimp fajitas

Grilled Hawaiian chicken

The service was excellent, our waiter George really took good care of us. This is a very good restaurant, great atmosphere, service, and marvelous food. We all thoroughly enjoyed our choices and this most enjoyable evening out with family.