Travels in the southeast
You know life has gone moderately well when you spend a week in Bardstown, KY (the bourbon capitol of the world) to attend the annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival. What do you get when you mix good friends and bourbon? In my experience, typically an arrest warrant. Not this time. We were on our very best… Read More Kentucky Bourbon Festival – Sept 2019
Ah yes, back in the hood. At the risk of offending our NH brethren, it feels great being back in the hood. By now, you know the drill. This year’s annual block party was amazing, despite 95 degree temps, led by the Honorable Reza, and his trusty sidekicks DJ and Matt. For those uninitiated, Reza… Read More Block Party – Aug 2019
“Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy; he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! (Hamlet) I have told my wife and kids that the next time I move out of this house there will… Read More Honey, I’m Home! – Aug 2019
It doesn’t seem possible, but at the end of this month (technically a month later for Karen) we will have been retired for 5 years! What the hell have we done? Retirement, for those uninitiated, is when you shovel your driveway down to bare pavement two hours after a major storm. Being anal retentive helps. Retirement is… Read More 5 Years Post Retirement – Mar 2019
No, not the awesome Indie rock group. We are talking about Florence (the hurricane/tropical storm) and the Machine (my truck). Timing can work for you… and sometimes not so much. With tight schedules, we needed to get our truck and utility trailer up to New Hampshire ahead of our closings, and it so happened that… Read More Florence and the Machine – Sept 2018
Even after 20 years living in the south, no one has ever mistaken me for being a good ole southern boy. I’ll say three words, and inevitably the first thing I hear is, “Boy, yarnt from around here, arya.” To which I usually and quite smartly say, “Well, gosh, no I am not!” “Bless your heart.”… Read More Southern Living – Sept 2018
You’re thinking – the Slowsky’s attended another block party? Yup. This year was no exception – a great time in the hood at the Reza Roundup. As I have spoken endlessly before, we live in a great neighborhood, where people actually talk, play, socialize – and enjoy! And really, when the school bus empties every… Read More Block Party – Aug 2018
Bang a gong, smoke a bong – let’s get this party started! Tell me I didn’t just write that! Jeez. I was recently re-reading some of my prior posts and was thinking – who writes this stuff? Some of my comments go careening off the guardrails, while others feel like an errant missile with a blindfold… Read More Summer Kickoff – May 2018
Holy Crap – Frank is 80! I won’t lie – it gets more than a little weird when you actually know someone who turns 80 years old. How can that be? Like my father before me, I am still only 39. Along the Airstream road, we have met many incredible people. Of course Frank isn’t one of… Read More Frank turns 80! – Apr 2018
Not a big story here, just a few pictures from TCPC on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. Spring has sprung! Or maybe not so much. On Monday (happy belated Patriots Day for my peeps in and around Boston) we had just a beautiful dusting of snow on our wonderful (sorry, Airstream only) campground…
Plan B. My original plan (Plan A) after this past weekend was to report back to you my detailed and hugely successful and tasty recipe for smoking a ham. Not so much. You most likely do not recall my post from three years ago (2015) about the ham I prepared and smoked for Easter, but… Read More Easter Ham – Apr 2018
It didn’t take much more than a trip to Austin, TX to inspire me to recommit to the fine art of smoking – meat, that is. While I have greatly enjoyed my Grill Dome Kamado style smoker, it did not have the cooking surface size I wanted, and I was really looking for a wood-fueled… Read More Smokin!!!!! – Mar 2018
You may or may not recognize the name Ivy Green, but you likely know something about Helen Keller. While in Muscle Shoals, or more technically, Tuscumbia, AL, I visited the birthplace of Helen Keller – Ivy Green. Like probably most people, I knew walking in a little bit about Helen’s life, but I was ignorant. What… Read More Ivy Green – Jan 2018
Music meccas… New York, LA, Boston, Nashville, Memphis, Muscle Shoals… Wait, what? Do the names Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin, Percy Sledge, the Black Keys, Etta James, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Boz Scaggs, Lynard Skynard, Duane Allman, or Wilson Pickett ring a bell? They (and many more) all recorded great music – in the Muscle Shoals… Read More Muscle Shoals – Jan 2018
I am going to tell you a story. Mind you, this is really not my story to tell, but I will share it nonetheless. Many of my stories are vicarious views through windows into others lives, served up through my somewhat twisted lens. Few would disagree that my perspective can be awry. Disclaimer: While I… Read More Going the Distance – Jan 2018
Once again we have made the trek to the Florida Panhandle for the annual opening of Crazy Season – the Canopener! For those uninitiated, this Airforums rally, in its 11th year, is a gathering of Airstream-related craziness, food and fellowship. Held on the first weekend in January at Topsail State Park in Santa Rosa Beach,… Read More Canopener – Jan 2018
Recently I had the opportunity to go to the new Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta to see The Atlanta Falcons (ATL Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints). What a great game – and venue! Did I mention the Falcons won? Rise up! The new stadium sits in the shadow of the old Georgia Dome – or… Read More Atlanta Falcons – Dec 2017
Last night as I was about to go to bed, I looked outside at the early part of a snow storm and saw such interesting colors and beautiful new snow. So I schlepped my camera in a plastic shopping bag and walked the neighborhood. Anyone who has ever walked during a snowstorm knows how much… Read More Snowfall – Dec 2017
AMANDA, TURN ON THE DAMN TV! Technology. Jeez. At home it takes me 4 remotes just to adjust the TV. I just turned 65 years old (how did HE make it to 65 you are saying to yourselves). I could be “that guy” on the SNL skit about Alexa. If you haven’t seen it, it… Read More Fort Desoto – Dec 2017
I have posted previously on the Booth Western Art Museum (over 2 years ago) but we went back, and still love this place! At 120,000 square feet, the Booth Museum is the largest permanent exhibition of western art – in the country! Situated in downtown Cartersville, GA, we specifically went to see the Ansel Adams… Read More Booth Western Art Museum – Nov 2017
We have a rich tradition of Halloween celebrations at our corner in the hood. You may remember last year’s Lazy Clowns Festival, FarmersOnly.com in 2015, the Trauma Center & Buffet in 2014, or any number of past dalliances with absurdity. This year was The Villages at Prince Howard – retirement living at its finest! Hosted… Read More Halloween – Oct 2017
We had a blast (once again) at this year’s Alumalina! The Alumalina rally has become one of the most popular Airstream-related camping events held. Somehow Airstreaming ignites independence and an equally strong sense of community. The result? Food, fun and fellowship! Yes, this last weekend we and a couple hundred other Airstreams gathered in the… Read More Alumalina – Oct 2017
Batter batter batter… We recently toured the brand new Atlanta Braves stadium (SunTrust Park), located OTP (outside the perimeter) in Cobb County, a very short drive from where we live. Very cool! Now this is not Wrigley Field or Fenway Park, but SunTrust Park and The Battery have been built for baseball and making the… Read More Home of the Braves – Apr 2017
Almost to the day for me, it has been 3 years since I (we) retired. Oh, how I miss those days of quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily, hourly forecasts… And who doesn’t love a well-placed flaming email distributed to the world. After retirement, one is forced to forego the joys and luxury of business travel: cramped… Read More 3 Years Post Retirement – Mar 2017
Sometimes the cool stuff is right in front of you. If you live in Georgia, or plan to visit at some time, this might be a useful (or not) list of cool things to do or see. This is not an exhaustive list of cool stuff in Georgia – just some places we have been… Read More Georgia On My Mind – Jan 2017
The zoo? Brad went to the zoo? You may be thinking that I have lost my mind. Or maybe you think I am homebound and bored, and need to travel. You would be 100% correct. But you know what? I had an AWESOME time at the zoo! And I will tell you my biggest challenge… Read More Zoo Atlanta – Jan 2017
No jaw dropping mountain vista, fabulous sunsets or rolling surf views here – give me urban decay any day. If Tom Holland, David Byrne and Howard Finster collaborated to create a hiking trail, this is what it might look like. From Atlanta city proper follow Moreland Drive south through Reynoldstown, East Atlanta and a few… Read More Doll House Trail – Jan 2017
In Atlanta, sitting directly under the CSX Hulsey Train Yard and connecting the Inman Park and Old Fourth Ward neighborhoods to the north with the Cabbagetown and Reynoldstown neighborhoods to the south, the Krog Street Tunnel, aside from its’ role as a thoroughfare, is a conduit for local graffiti artists. Decorated from stem to stern… Read More Krog Street Tunnel – Jan 2017
Grits ain’t groceries, eggs ain’t poultry, and Mona Lisa was a man. That has absolutely nothing to do with this post. But the song was on as I drove home from my hike, and I love that song! Have you seen the movie, The Accountant? Like Christian Wolff in the movie, I too am a… Read More Last Post (this year) – Dec 2016
Family, friends, fun…we had nothing but a great time this Christmas weekend. Drew drove home from school in Michigan, Michela came home from school in North Carolina, and her friend Hasan flew in from Nebraska. And the weather could not have been nicer here in Atlanta! Prior to Christmas we had a very nice visit… Read More Christmas – 2016