This might be the first post with more pictures of actual human beings than landscapes.

We finally left New Hampshire and began our crawl across New York State. We got to our Plattsburgh campsite Friday afternoon and promptly started drinking.

First stop was Oval Craft Brewing for some drinks with their outdoor seating. When I went in to close out I noticed a young couple at the far end of the bar. A few seconds later out of nowhere, and to no one in particular, the guy just goes, “yeah, we were supposed to be getting married tomorrow… so, you know…” At which point everyone in the room went “awwwwwwwww!” Talked with them a little bit, they have been together for 9 years, engaged for 3 of them, and their wedding was supposed to be the next day. So clearly I bought them a round and wished them luck.

When I walked out I had the sudden realization that they could have been completely full of s**t. Seemed like a ridiculous plot line, but it was entirely possible the guy was just aiming for some free drinks. However, when we left a few minutes later I saw them at a huge table with what was obviously a bunch of parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, etc. And I realized they were most likely being treated by family the evening before what would have been one of the greatest days of their life. Made me very happy and very sad all at the same time.

Next we went over to Valcour Brewing Company which was right down the road. The brewery is located in what are called The Old Stone Barracks, which is a building with a very cool history, and one Jenny had seen a million times in her time up there but never knew what it was. Unfortunately, it was pretty much a bust on all levels.

Started off well, put in an order for food and drinks, grabbed our beers and went to go sit out in the sunshine. They put a bunch of tables and chairs out on the adjacent field, along with a speaker playing some music.

Downhill pretty quick after that. Sun ducked behind some clouds, wind picked up, and we suddenly found ourselves freezing. Next, the beer was… not great. I wish I could express to you how much it takes me to say I don’t like a beer. Even beers I don’t particularly like I’ll still be like, “it’s good, just not my style.” That being said… I did not like this beer. And not just my beer, I tried Jenny’s (didn’t like it), bought a different one for the second round (didn’t like it), then grabbed yet another in a growler for the camper (like that one least of all). 

I’m not an expert on beer by any stretch, but when you drink beer as consistently as I do, you know what’s good and bad. Hell, I bought this domain name thinking I was gonna start a beer blog. (In my defense… I was drunk. On beer. Obviously.)

Back to the story, on top of that, it took an hour and half for our food to come out. A burger and a sandwich. Hour and a half. At a restaurant running at half capacity. Really guys?

So that wasn’t great. But we still had fun. Because that’s what we do.

The next day we drove back out for a day in Vermont where we hiked a trail to a summit called Devil’s Gulch. It was a cooler day, probably low to mid 50’s, and I assumed I wouldn’t be sweating that much. I wore a cotton T-shirt and a heavy sweatshirt. And within about 3 minutes I was SWEATING MY ASS OFF because I am so fat and out of shape and full of the previously mentioned beer residue. Even worse, my undershirt was so soaked in sweat that I couldn’t take the sweatshirt off… but the sweatshirt was making me that much hotter and make me sweat that much more. So just a horrible downward spiral. Needless to say, I was extremely damp by the end of it.

After that we went to Foam Brewers in Burlington, VT where one of Jenny’s buddies, Bob(by)*, is an owner. We knew we’d get some special treatment walking around with the boss, but holy crap… the men and women who work at that brewery are the S**T. We had some drinks and Jenny and Bob(by)* were able to catch up. 

They have a sister restaurant next door, and after our hike we were understandably hungry, so we ordered some food. I got a burger, naturally, and Jenny got a chicken sandwich. According to Jenny, it is the best thing she’s eaten on this trip so far.

JUST TO REVIEW… we’ve been all across this country. We’ve eaten po-boys in New Orleans, we’ve had southwest Mexican food, we’ve had lobster in Maine… and the chicken sandwich at Deep City in Burlington, VT is the best thing she’s had so far. That’s saying a f**k ton.

Unfortunately Bob(by)* and his girlfriend Ally had to bounce for a dinner date, but we stuck around for another round. Before we left we wanted to PURCHASE some swag. I finally had a chance to buy a trucker hat, and Jenny wanted a T-shirt… plus we wanted to bring some beers home.

When we asked to PURCHASE the above items, we were told by Ainsley, the very kickass bartender, that he was under strict orders to not allow us to pay for anything. UGHHH. You guys are too awesome. Thank you all.

So we walked out with the trucker hat, the T-shirt, and upon asking for a couple of six packs we received four 4-pack pints of beer and a 6-pack of the normal 12oz cans.

Once again, huge thank you to the boys and girls at Foam Brewers. We’ll spread the word of great beer across this great nation. And to everyone else, if you find yourself in northern Vermont at any point, do yourself a favor and stop by for some awesome food and beer.

*Jenny (and I assume everyone from SUNY Plattsburgh) called him “Bobby.” He started a career, became a boss, and now everyone calls him “Bob” which was absolutely ridiculous to Jenny. Who**, by the way, everyone from college calls “Jen”… which is absolutely ridiculous to me. So… ummm… where was I?

** Who or whom? I screw up “it’s” and “its” all the time, but this one I legit don’t know. I actually think it’s “whom” but you don’t want to be wrong that way, right? Like, overthink it and sound stupid trying to pretend you’re actually smart. Ughhh… I should have stayed in school.

The next day we took a hike up to Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain (actual name), a place Jenny had run/hiked back in college. After which we met more buddies from college, Nicole and Ted, for an awesome dinner and drinks. They both went to Plattsburgh and ran with Jenny, ended up getting married, buying a house and popping out a couple of kids. American dream as much as you can imagine one. On top of that, they’re awesome people.

The next day was Jenny’s 33rd birthday, and we spent it walking around Plattsburgh campus and recapping her four years there. I had been to Plattsburgh a few times for various alumni related events… the aforementioned Nicole and Ted’s wedding, a visit with their first baby, and dinner with… well, yeah, Nicole and Ted. So I had never actually VISITED Plattsburgh.

First, I learned about Michigans. Red hots. Whatever you call them, they are hot dogs with mustard, onions, and red meat sauce. They’re delicious, and apparently a total Plattsburgh thing. We pulled a Geno’s/Pat’s debate and tried two places across the street from each other to see which was best. First was Clare and Carl’s Hot Dog Stand…

Followed by McSweeney’s Red Hots (apparently I purposefully told Jenny not to take a picture, and I have no idea why I did that… my bad, but I can say they basically looked the same)

VERDICT: McSweeney’s Red Hots… they sauteed the onions with the meat sauce, so the whole thing worked that little bit better together.

After that we walked around Plattsburgh campus where I got to see the various buildings I’ve heard a million and two stories about over the past ten years. We grabbed ice cream, ate some pizza, took a walk down by the river… great day. She had never been to Boston, and I was able to show her around. I had never (really) been to Plattsburgh and she was able to show me around. So some nice symmetry there.

Tuesday morning we drove out to western NY. I was planning on including our time there in this post, but this just took me about ALL DAY to type out because I’m drunk and I may already be drunk honestly… what?!? Seriously, did you not read that we got like 328 oz of free beer? (check it… my math is probably good) The Shining by Foam is 8% ABV and tastes F**KING DELICIOUS. So there will be a second post to record our awesome days out here.

We leave for Mackinac Island in northern Michigan, another step in our road trip back west. In a week from now we’ll be in North Dakota, so them wheels are a-turnin’. Stay tuned.