Man I have been a slacker this year (and who am I kidding last year too - even more so then!) about getting registered and running some half marathons...
I was thinking that I really wanted to do the Hershey Half Marathon (I mean come on - it's Chocolate Town USA!) and so when my slacker self got around to looking to register this a few weekends ago wouldn't ya know... it's sold out! Grrrr! I should have known better. Really I do know better.... so now I'm sitting down to really start hashing out some East Coast Half Marathons that I want to get to work on getting on the calendar... Why especially East Coast? Well because at the end of the day I know we are "short timers" here in Annapolis (meaning we have a finite amount of time that we will be living here) so I ought to take advantage of this geographic location while I can.
Rock-and-Roll Series
As much as I was completely irritated with the RR series after the Vegas half a few years ago it sounds like they've gotten their act together regarding that race and honestly the other races they run have been pretty darn good. Assuming they do this again for 2014 I am considering breaking down and getting the tour pass and knocking out as many as I can with that...
http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/tourpass?icat=rnr-website_marquee_300x200&icamp=
Annapolis Half Marathon - November 23, 2013
http://annapolisrunningclassic.com
I have pathetically signed up for this before and then not run it (was overcome by events) and while November is cold to me I really do have to run one of these that I can walk to from my house!
Divas Myrtle Beach - April 27, 2014
http://www.runlikeadiva.com/Events/Divas_Half_Marathon____5K_-_North_Myrtle_Beach.htm
My dear friend Eve lives in Myrtle Beach so at least I've got a place to crash :) This one looks like fun and fits my East Coast slant that I am working on...
So those are the ones immediately on my radar... am open to other prospects...
Anyone want to join me at any of these? Anyone have any other suggestions? :)
Showing posts with label Annapolis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Annapolis. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Beer Pairing at The Melting Pot
Some of my favorite things in life are beer, cheese and chocolate.... last night I got to really really combine those for an amazing evening!!
The Melting Pot Annapolis hosted a Beer Pairing dinner with their fondue. Let me start by saying if you haven't been to a Melting Pot then you are missing out! It's not only delicious food it's an incredibly fun experience. We've visited The Melting Pot for date night just the two of us but we've also brought large groups of people and had a blast that way too! It's the kind of place that is fun for everyone. (By the way - Guys if you need to impress a gal definitely take her to The Melting Pot! Also if you're ever in trouble some flowers and a night at The Melting Pot will get you out of almost any trouble you've gotten yourself into!)
Needless to say I was super excited when I found out that the Annapolis Melting Pot (http://www.meltingpot.com/annapolis-md/welcome) was doing a beer pairing dinner with Heavy Seas Brewery (http://www.hsbeer.com) a Maryland craft brewery which has some AWESOME beers! Not only was it a pairing but the Brewery Founder Hugh came along for some fantastic entertainment. Plus how can you not love a group that gives you an eye patch with your dinner?!
After a great intro from Hugh we dove into our first course which was of course.... CHEESE!!
The Melting Pot Annapolis hosted a Beer Pairing dinner with their fondue. Let me start by saying if you haven't been to a Melting Pot then you are missing out! It's not only delicious food it's an incredibly fun experience. We've visited The Melting Pot for date night just the two of us but we've also brought large groups of people and had a blast that way too! It's the kind of place that is fun for everyone. (By the way - Guys if you need to impress a gal definitely take her to The Melting Pot! Also if you're ever in trouble some flowers and a night at The Melting Pot will get you out of almost any trouble you've gotten yourself into!)
Needless to say I was super excited when I found out that the Annapolis Melting Pot (http://www.meltingpot.com/annapolis-md/welcome) was doing a beer pairing dinner with Heavy Seas Brewery (http://www.hsbeer.com) a Maryland craft brewery which has some AWESOME beers! Not only was it a pairing but the Brewery Founder Hugh came along for some fantastic entertainment. Plus how can you not love a group that gives you an eye patch with your dinner?!
After a great intro from Hugh we dove into our first course which was of course.... CHEESE!!
1st Course
Red Pepper Stilton Fondue
Paired with: A Small Keg of Pale Ale called Powder Monkey made in collaboration between Heavy Seas & 2 Melting Pot team members (Rich & Greg)
Of course with it being cheese you just know it was good. Honestly I think the cheese course is my favorite - in fact the last time Ken and I went to The Melting Pot we had 3 courses of cheese and nothing else.... but I digress... let me get back on topic! The pairing was a good one and the beer was fantastic!
2nd Course
Strawberry Almond Salad
Paired With: Small Craft Warning Uber Pils
I know you might be thinking that a salad course isn't worth it when it comes to all the options of deliciousness but truly the salads here are fantastic. I am not much of a salad person but this is the one place that I actually eat nearly all my salad. There was great balance between the flavors of the salad with the raspberry vinaigrette and the Pils. I definitely love he Uber Pils and Ken & I get a kick out of it's name! As Hugh said - why the heck would you want a Small Craft Advisory when a Warning is really what's needed!
3rd Course
Loose Cannon IPA-marinated Pork Tenderloin
French Quarter Chicken
Jalapeño-marinated shrimp
Teriyaki-marinated Sirloin
Paired with Loose Cannon IPA
Meat! Very tasty meat! The sirloin is always delicious but the marinated pork was probably my favorite. Naturally Ken also loved the Jalapeño-marinated shrimp. Neither of us were in love with the chicken but we ate it all so obviously we didn't dislike it too much! The Loose Cannon IPA is definitely the Heavy Seas flagship beer if you will and even though I am not a big IPA drinker I enjoy the Loose Cannon. Ken is a HUGE IPA drinker (the hoppier the better!) and the Loose Cannon has become one of his absolute favorite beers. To add to the delight of this course we got an entire pint of the Loose Cannon in a glass that we got to keep! Bonus!
4th Course
Mint Dark Chocolate Fondue
Paired with Peg Leg Stout
Bring on the chocolate! This was an absolutely perfect ending all around. Though I was at first fearful that the mint flavor would be overpowering it certainly was not. It was balanced enough to add to the flavors not overwhelm them. The Peg Leg Stout also delicious! Great chocolate roasted tones but not really any "coffee" taste so right up my alley!
Needless to say it was a delicious and fun night. I personally think The Melting Pot should do one of these a month! We had such a good time I was already on the Heavy Seas website looking for other opportunities for their beer dinners. Lo and behold I found one - April 22nd at Stan & Joe's which is within walking distance. TOTAL BONUS!
On the topic of The Melting Pot in general - if you go to the Annapolis location I highly recommend requesting Rich. He is an absolutely wonderful server. He's attentive, knowledgable, incredibly personable and he really knows his beer. (I had met him a previous time I was at The Melting Pot and was thrilled to see him again at the beer dinner.)
We left VERY happy campers :)
Cheers to beer, cheese & chocolate!!!
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Annapolis Area Bucket List
Updated these quite a bit so I decided to get rid of my colors for the rounds of updates for now... The complete items however are now colored aqua! (Why this color? Because it's one of my favorites!)
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So I realized that there is so much to see here in the Annapolis area (which to me includes DC & Baltimore and other surrounding areas as well) that I better start a bucket list to start to work on. It's not like we are going to live here permanently (and who knows how long we will actually be here... a little less than 2.5 years left on the orders but could be more could be less - who knows!?) so I figure the sooner I get started the better. It's a random assortment that includes things to see as well as places to eat/drink.
I figured I'd blog about it so you (my dear friends and readers) can help me out with anything I may have missed!
DC Area
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So I realized that there is so much to see here in the Annapolis area (which to me includes DC & Baltimore and other surrounding areas as well) that I better start a bucket list to start to work on. It's not like we are going to live here permanently (and who knows how long we will actually be here... a little less than 2.5 years left on the orders but could be more could be less - who knows!?) so I figure the sooner I get started the better. It's a random assortment that includes things to see as well as places to eat/drink.
I figured I'd blog about it so you (my dear friends and readers) can help me out with anything I may have missed!
DC Area
- National Zoo
- Portrait Gallery - Done Once and I think that's enough for me
- White House at Christmas (the inside)
- See something at the Kennedy Center - Saw Book of Mormon - can you say HILARIOUS!
- See the Bureau of Engraving & Printing
- Holocaust Museum
- Stay at the Intercontinental Willard Hotel - COMPLETE! It's amazing!
- Tour Mount Vernon - Complete. It was good to go but once is definitely enough
- Georgetown
- Dinner at 1789 - For our Anniversary!
- Cupcake from Georgetown Cupcakes or Baked & Wired (The cupcake from Baked & Wired were delisious! I am calling this item complete but if I happened to be near Georgetown Cupcakes of course I'd have to grab one of those too!) Oh wait I was by Georgetown Cupcakes and did grab a few of those and have to say I was disappointed. Give me Baked & Wired any day over Georgetown Cupcakes! COMPLETE!
- See the Cherry Blossoms COMPLETE!
- Dinner & Beers at ChurchKey Okay technically it was lunch but it was DELISH! I highly recommend this! COMPLETELY!
(Things I've seen: The Capitol, Air & Space, pretty much all the monuments, National Archives, Natural History Museum, American History Museum, Nationals Game, Old Town, National Harbor)
Surrounding Areas
- Maryland Blue Crabs Game _ went to Bark in the Park and it was such fun!
- Travel to Rohoboth Beach & go to Dogfish Head (Done!! Still no tour but in time..... For now I'll call it COMPLETE!)
- Aberdeen Ironbirds Game
- Potomac Nationals Game
- Frederick Keys Game - (Great game! Great Park! Fun Fans!) COMPLETE!
- Fly to Tangier Island and have crab dip at Lorraines
- Go to Philly and have cheesesteak with Marissa
- Jersey Shore - Visit Nan!
- Wilmington Blue Rocks Game
- Atlantic City - Headed there for the Tonic Concert in early May COMPLETE!
- Take the Train to NYC - COMPLETE! Love the convenience!
- Flying Dog Brewery in Frederick Maryland (Great brewery! Love the philosophy and the beer!) COMPLETE!
- Hershey Park in all it's Summer Glory :)
- Yankee Stadium
- Tour Port City Brewery - Loved the beer!
(Things we've done: Bowie Baysox Game)
Baltimore
- Union Craft Brewing
- Dinner at Brewer's Art
- Tour Heavy Seas Brewery
(Things we've done there: Aquarium, Orioles game)
Annapolis
- Herndon Climb - COMPLETE! Talk about an interesting & entertaining tradition
- Golf at USNA course - COMPLETE! (I was absolutely awful but it was fun!)
- Croquet Match with Saint Johns COMPLETE! And to say it was epic is an understatement!
- I-Ball COMPLETE Had a blast!
I am sure there is a heck of a lot that I am missing but this is my start... I'll add to the list as I think of them. If any of you have suggestions I welcome them!!
Monday, October 15, 2012
Race Calendar Ideas for Next Year (2013)
Okay so this was certainly not one of my "better" years as far as races go... to be honest by the time 2012 is done it's entirely possible that I may end up only having run 1 half marathon! Man does that put me behind in my goal for Half 2 Run. (For those of you who don't know Half 2 Run is a group where you try and run a half marathon in half the 50 states. You know how I like a goal and to travel so this works well for me! Check them out! Half 2 Run Website)
I am signed up for the Annapolis Half in December of this year because I can literally walk to and from the finish line which is a total bonus!
http://www.annapolishalf.com/
It appears there are still spaces available if anyone wants to join me... I think Mel & BJ may be in...
I have decided that next year I am going to work to check off a couple states in my quest....
Nike Women's Marathon (& Half) is bringing their Half to Washington DC on April 28th. Apparently DC gets to count as a state so that's an added bonus :) There are very very few details out there about this race so far but here's what I can tell you... Mel & I have run the Nike Women's Half in San Francisco and there at the finish line instead of a regular medal you get a Tiffany Necklace (complete with little blue box and bag) handed to you by a man in a tux holding a silver platter full of the beautiful blue bags. THAT is enough to make me want to run this event in April. Here's the little bit of info that is available on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/NWM26.2/app_181997151935745
Those of you who know me know I DETEST Team in Training and many many of their runners (oh don't even get me started) but I am willing to tolerate that debacle of a headache at the race for the bling especially given that it's a true Tiffany Necklace. Sadly it is a lottery to get in so I will keep my fingers crossed.
A few pictures from when Mel and I did this run some years back...
In October I am strongly considering the Hershey Half Marathon though the date has yet to be announced..... I mean a half in Chocolate Town USA? Yes please!!
http://www.hersheyhalfmarathon.com/
There are some runs I am not wanting to do next year.....
I am still feeling bitter about my last Rock-N-Roll experience so I think perhaps I will wait til 2014 to foray back into that series.
We have a moratorium on Disney runs for another few years. We've done loads of them and have decided to wait a handful of years and then maybe go back and do a bunch of them again in the same year,,,,
States I want to accomplish before we move out of Annapolis (I am assuming we will be here for 3 years - this list changes if that changes.....)
Of course there are many other states I really want to run like Hawaii and Alaska but the above list is what is easy striking distance from where we are currently living so it does make sense to really work on those while we are on the East Coast.... not saying I won't travel to other places because I certainly will!!
Other races that are of interest as well
The Land of Oz Marathon
http://www.olathe.org/cvb/sports/Marathon/information_registatration.html
but can't do it in 2013 due to other obligations....
The Flying Pirate
http://www.obxmarathon.org/Top_Nav/Flying_Pirate_Half_Marathon.htm
but can't do it in 2013 due to other obligations...
So does anyone have a race they are just itching to run? If so let me know and maybe I'll join you! I certainly intend to have more races on the calendar in 2013 than I've had in 2012! As you can perhaps tell we've had a little fun over the years racing together as friends :)
I am signed up for the Annapolis Half in December of this year because I can literally walk to and from the finish line which is a total bonus!
http://www.annapolishalf.com/
It appears there are still spaces available if anyone wants to join me... I think Mel & BJ may be in...
I have decided that next year I am going to work to check off a couple states in my quest....
Nike Women's Marathon (& Half) is bringing their Half to Washington DC on April 28th. Apparently DC gets to count as a state so that's an added bonus :) There are very very few details out there about this race so far but here's what I can tell you... Mel & I have run the Nike Women's Half in San Francisco and there at the finish line instead of a regular medal you get a Tiffany Necklace (complete with little blue box and bag) handed to you by a man in a tux holding a silver platter full of the beautiful blue bags. THAT is enough to make me want to run this event in April. Here's the little bit of info that is available on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/NWM26.2/app_181997151935745
Those of you who know me know I DETEST Team in Training and many many of their runners (oh don't even get me started) but I am willing to tolerate that debacle of a headache at the race for the bling especially given that it's a true Tiffany Necklace. Sadly it is a lottery to get in so I will keep my fingers crossed.
A few pictures from when Mel and I did this run some years back...
In October I am strongly considering the Hershey Half Marathon though the date has yet to be announced..... I mean a half in Chocolate Town USA? Yes please!!
http://www.hersheyhalfmarathon.com/
There are some runs I am not wanting to do next year.....
I am still feeling bitter about my last Rock-N-Roll experience so I think perhaps I will wait til 2014 to foray back into that series.
We have a moratorium on Disney runs for another few years. We've done loads of them and have decided to wait a handful of years and then maybe go back and do a bunch of them again in the same year,,,,
States I want to accomplish before we move out of Annapolis (I am assuming we will be here for 3 years - this list changes if that changes.....)
- New York
- Considering the Diva Half but not next year because Navy plays Air Force at home
- http://www.runlikeadiva.com/
- Delaware
- There's one in Rehoboth (Hello Dogfish Head) but it's when it's likely cold... hmmmm...
- http://www.rbmarathon.com/
- And can't do it this year because that the day Navy will be beating Army in Philly ;)
- New Jersey
- Never been to Atlantic City so maybe...
- http://www.acmarathon.org/April_Fools/Event_Details.htm
- West Virginia
- Connecticut
- Pennsylvania
- Hershey Half as mentioned above
- West Virginia?
- DC - okay I know it's not a real state but it officially counts in the tally!
Of course there are many other states I really want to run like Hawaii and Alaska but the above list is what is easy striking distance from where we are currently living so it does make sense to really work on those while we are on the East Coast.... not saying I won't travel to other places because I certainly will!!
Other races that are of interest as well
The Land of Oz Marathon
http://www.olathe.org/cvb/sports/Marathon/information_registatration.html
but can't do it in 2013 due to other obligations....
The Flying Pirate
http://www.obxmarathon.org/Top_Nav/Flying_Pirate_Half_Marathon.htm
but can't do it in 2013 due to other obligations...
So does anyone have a race they are just itching to run? If so let me know and maybe I'll join you! I certainly intend to have more races on the calendar in 2013 than I've had in 2012! As you can perhaps tell we've had a little fun over the years racing together as friends :)
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| Cincinnati Flying Pig Half Marathon |
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| Regular Disney Half Marathon |
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| Rock-N-Roll New Orleans |
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| Rock-N-Roll Chicago |
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| Disney Wine & Dine (Inaugural) |
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| Seattle Rock-N-Roll |
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| Virginia Beach Rock-N-Roll |
And for the record yes I do frequently run in a tutu! Just makes it more fun :) Here's a link to some great tutus if you want to join in the entertainment ;)Halloween Purple Organza Adult's Tutu (Google Affiliate Ad)
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| Disney Princess Half Marathon |
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