Bhutan Beers

 

Bhutan Beers

December 2017

I think there are only two beers made in Bhutan.  The lager was OK but I liked the Druk 11000.  It ha an alcohol content of 8%.  My guide told me this is the beer men drink to drown their sorrows when they are dumped by their girlfriends.

Cooking In Haiti

Cooking In Haiti

Jacmel, Haiti

Summer 2013

I was in Haiti for 6 weeks, running a summer program for children.  We fed them every day, over 100 of them.  And a local woman cooked lunch for them every day in her kitchen, on this stove. She cooked rice and beans and all of these kids were grateful for this meager meal.

 

Louisiana

Louisiana

1975, 1991, 1998, 2019

Truthfully, while I've been here four times, I have only been to New Orleans and I am sure there are great things to see in this state.  But New Orleans is always a fun time and a great city to visit.  It's just beautiful. Maybe some day, I will branch out of the city limits.  But so far, I haven't. Here's what I love about this city:

• Bourbon Street
• Great food and restaurants
• The energy on the streets at all hours of the day
• Preservation Hall Jazz Band
• Jazz in just about every bar
• The street musicians
• The other street acts and actors
• New Orleans Brewery
• The architecture and the colors of the homes
• Mardi Gras- my father once told me that everyone should go to Mardi Gras at least once so I went with my sister when we were in college and we were stunned at how wild it was. One of us said to theater, "Dad must not be too concerned about our safety if he recommended we come here."
• The little fried donuts- I could eat them all day long.
• The horse drawn carriages
• The names of the businesses.
• Watching a funeral parade
• when I was younger, I loved the public drinking and the beer containers that looked like KFC chicken buckets.  There was so much beer in these containers that it was an effort to drink all this beer before it saturated the container.  On more than one occasion, these things leaked precious, wasted beer all over me.  
• As I get older, the public drunkenness is not as appealing.
•  The voodoo influence.

The Calling IPA

 The Calling IPA

Double IPA

Boulevard Brewing Company

Kansas City, MO

I always love an IPA but this beer was too effervescent and so I found it difficult to drink.  I like to gulp my beers and maybe this is a sipping beer.  But I don't sip.  So after one beer, I moved on to something else.

1968

1968
Woodbine Avenue

Overbrook

Philadelphia, PA

My age: 12- 13

School- Merion Mercy Academy- 8^th grade.  I hated school. I had lots of academic failure. And I wasn't comfortable being around some many of my rich classmates.  I couldn't compete with their bragging about their social status.

Work: - I began to babysit for the neighbors. Sometimes I would have five or six kids under my charge. I was paid $1/hour.  It seemed like a fortune to me.

Movies

• The Graduate 
• Guess Who's Coming to Dinner - this movie was very controversial.
• Bonnie and Clyde 
• Valley of the Dolls 
• The Odd Couple 
• Planet of the Apes - I never watched this movie.
• Rosemary's Baby- the Catholic Church banned this movie.  I watched it for the first time a few years ago and today, it seems ridiculous. 

Music

• The Rolling Stones 
• The Supremes 
• The Beatles with -- " Hey Jude " 
• Aretha Franklin 
• Gary Puckett and The Union Gap 
• The Grateful Dead 
• The Monkees 
• Simon and Garfunkel -- " Mrs Robinson " 
• The Beach Boys - I was never a fan of this group.
• The Bee Gees 
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience 
• Cream 
• The Doors -- " Hello I Love You " 
• Pink Floyd
• Moody Blues 
• Bobby Goldsboro -- " Honey " 
• Marvin Gaye -- " I heard it through the Grapevine " 
• David Bowie- I didn't like Bowie until much later in life.

News events

• Dr. Christian Barnard performs the first successful heart transplant.
• US Explodes experimental hydrogen Bomb. 
• The Emergency 911 Telephone service is started in the USA which provides a single number for reporting emergencies and is manned 24 hrs per day 365 days per year
• ATM First Philadelphia Bank installs the first automated teller machine in the U.S.
• Martin Luther King Jr. was killed by James Earl Ray. 
• U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, was assassinated at the age of 42 
• President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968.  There were lots of race riots around this time and I was afraid. 
• Anti Vietnam War protests throughout the western world . North Vietnam and Viet Cong troops launch the Tet offensive. Vietnam US soldiers massacred men, women and children in My Lai. President Lyndon Johnson orders an end to the bombing of North Vietnam.  This war was dreadful and shameful. 
• China celebrated 20 years of communist rule by Mao Tse-tung.  And most of the world was oblivious of what was going on with the Cultural Revolution.
• President Johnson announced he would not run for another term of office.  I was from a Republican family so we were pleased with this announcement. The Republican delegates chose Richard M. Nixon, as the presidential nominee and Spiro Agnew as the Vice Presidential nominee.The Democrats chose sitting Vice President Hubert Humphrey as the Presidential nominee and Senator Edmund S. Muskie for Vice President.
• Pope Paul VI banned Catholics from using the contraceptive pill for birth control.  But I don't think many Catholics got the message because families quickly went from 8-10 kids per family to 2-3 kids. 
• Population in Europe reached 455 million.
• Pierre Elliott Trudeau becomes the Prime Minister of Canada.  I think he was the first foreign minister that I paid any attention.
• Aristotle Onassis and Jacqueline Kennedy marred and this moment was filled with gossip.  What did she see in that ugly, old man.
• Hong Kong Flu pandemic begins in Hong Kong.
• Black power salute is seen on Television worldwide after the gold and bronze medalists in Olympics show salute during medal ceremony in Mexico City, Mexico 
• The first Big Mac goes on sale in McDonalds .  I don't remember the first time I went to McDonald's but I remember that I loved the concept. 
• The Beatles create Apple Records and record "Hey Jude" as the first single on the label .  I loved this song but it is too long.
•  "60 Minutes" shown for the first time  and it continues to be popular today.
• The musical Hair opened in London featuring nudity and drugs and the world was shocked.

Family and friends

I had a seizure.  I woke up to find I was in a seated position and my parents were frantically trying to get my shoes on.  They rushed me to the hospital where I spent two days being tested. And then we never talked about it.

Vegetable Garden

 I love to garden. But I never had a vegetable garden, just flowers. And you want to know why I never had a vegetable garden? Because food that looks this damaged is so unappealing to me. 

Road Trip 2021 #8

Road Trip 2021 # 8

In Search of Elk in the Wild

Elk County, PA

December 2021

• VooDoo Brewery- I think I had the best beers I have ever had in this brewery.
• Bank Brew Brewery- these beers were good but not as good as VooDoo.
• Robin Hood Brewery- a great place for a great deal on flights.  Five pours were $9.
• State College- I spent the first night in State College, home of Penn State University and my Alma Mater.
• Ridgway- I was here 45 years ago and I forgot that this is a very attractive little town.
• Elk County- there were tons of signs around, warning of wild elk in the area.  Of course, I didn't see any elk.
• Shopping for damn EDC in Lowes and Pro Bass - because I was in such a heavy hunting area, I stopped at these stores to check on what Every Day Carry (EDC) tools they had which might interest me.
• There were no elk to be seen anywhere but I did see lots of deer hunters as it was the first week of buck season.
• I nearly ran out of gas.  I knew I needed to get gas at some point in the afternoon.  However, I was in such a rural area that there were no gas station options available to me.  I got down to just a gallon or two in my tank and that made me very nervous.
• Damn M & Ms filled with caramel have become my new obsession.
• As I sat in one of the breweries, I set a new beer goal: visit a brewery in every county in PA.

Manayunk Brewing Company

 

Manayunk Brewing Company

Philadelphia, PA

July 2017

I liked this place. There were several great beers and good flight options.  The atmosphere is causal.  There is indoor and outdoor dining.  The food was good.  But the place is busy so there was no time to talk to the bartender about the beers which is something I really like to do.  So this was a bit of a negative for me but I'll get over it.

Spiced Saison

 

Spiced Saison

Ommegang Brewery

Cooperstown, NY

This brewery makes lots of great beers.  So it is almost sacrilegious to say anything less than complimentary about their beers.  But this beer didn't do it for me.  It was light and lacked flavor. It wasn't interesting and I have no interest in trying it again. But I am not giving up on this brewery.

Du Claw Brewery

 

Du Claw Brewery

Baltimore, MD

I like this brewery because they have a lot of variety and something new is always on tap.  In the past, a full flight was 14 beers.  But by the time the server stopped pouring, I had 18 beers in front of me and that was a real challenge. BUT, I met the challenge. My niece was drinking with me. The men at the bar were harassing us and telling us we weren't up to the challenge.  When we finished, they just shut up, finished their beers and left.

10 Things About Traveling

10 Things I KnowAbout Traveling

Around The World

I have had the good fortune to travel around the world.  I have been to all seven continents.  I have traveled to 80 countries.  I have traveled to every state, except Hawaii, in the USA. I have taken a road trip across country by myself.  And I've had many other great adventures as well.  And here is what I have learned.

1- you better have multiple ways to access your money because  your credit cards, your cash and other forms of currency are going to give you a problem at some time in your trip.

2- Be very careful about the water you drink, even the bottled water may be compromised. When I travel, I bring water pills and a small water filtration device.  And I drink light beer as a water substitute because, in some places, this is a more hygienic option.

3- Pack light. Pack your bag and then eliminate half of what you packed.

4- Always be polite, ALWAYS.

5- Be prepared for rain.

6- Don't carry all of your money with you at all times.  When you are out shopping, just bring as much money as you can afford to lose that day. Keep the rest of your money in a secured place.

7- Learn a few key words in the language of the country you are visiting and use them often.  Learn "thank you" and "please" and "hello" and "delicious."

8- Bring an antibiotic with you. Finding a doctor in some areas of the world is difficult to find. And finding medicine can be equally as difficult..

9- Read your travel books before you take your trip.  Map out what you want to see.  But be flexible as you will discover more great things along the way.

10- Check your travel insurance policies, your health insurance policies and your car insurance  policies.  Know what is covered and what is not covered.

1990

1990

Stroudsburg, PA

My age: 34-35

School: I was taking my second of what was to be, several Intro to Computers classes.  I had already taken the Intro to Radio Shack.  Now I was learning how to use the Apple IIE which became obsolete in the next year or two.

Work -Assistant Principal- Stroudsburg High School

Music- every Sunday, I religiously listened to Casey Kasem's Top 40 show.

• "Hold On" Wilson Phillips
• "It Must Have Been Love" Roxette
• "Nothing Compares 2 U" Sinéad O'Connor
• "Vogue" Madonna- I didnt become a Madonna fan until the 2010's.
• "Vision of Love" Mariah Carey
• "Another Day in Paradise" Phil Collins
• "Hold On" En Vogue
• "Cradle of Love" Billy Idol
• "Blaze of Glory" Jon Bon Jovi
• "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" Michael Bolton
• "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You" Heart
• "Don't Know Much" Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville
• "We Didn't Start the Fire" Billy Joel
• "Downtown Train" Rod Stewart
• "Rhythm Nation" Janet Jackson
• "Ice Ice Baby" Vanilla Ice
• "Blame It on the Rain" Milli Vanilli
• "Have You Seen Her" MC Hammer
• "How Can We Be Lovers" Michael Bolton
• "U Can't Touch This" MC Hammer
• "Janie's Got a Gun" Aerosmith
• "Free Fallin'" Tom Petty
• "King of Wishful Thinking" Go West
• "Love Shack" The B-52's- OMG, I loved this song.
• "I Go to Extremes" Billy Joel
• "C'mon and Get My Love" D Mob with Cathy Dennis
• "When I'm Back on My Feet Again" Michael Bolton- I loved this song.

Movies- I love, love, love to go to the movies.  Here are just a few that I watched this year/

• Misery- this movie was so scary that it still frightens me to think about watching it again.
• Dances With Wolves- this is a great epic movie.
• Lord of the Flies- I loved the book and I loved the movie.
• Postcards From Afar- that was one batshit crazy mother.
• Ghost- Like everyne else, I thought this was a great romanitc story.
• Gods Must Be Crazy II- I loved the first movie.  This movie was not as good.
• Cinema Paradiso- this was a sweet movie.
• Driving Miss Daisy- OMG, she was a bitch.

Travels- I went to Italy with my two friends.  They were expecting their first child and wanted to have one more trip together, alone, before they became parents and I barged in on this trip.  We went to Cinque Terra and loved it.

News Events Around The World

• NASA’s STS-31 mission deploys the Hubble Space Telescope during April. T
• The most complete skeleton of a T-Rex was found in South Dakota 
• Nelson Mandell was released from prison and became leader of the African National Congress ( ANC ).
• Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average  2633 
• The demolition of the Berlin Wall began during June.
• The Leaning Tower of Pisa is closed to the public due to safety concerns of it falling over.  I visited the tower in 1973 and i thought the tower was leaning so much then that I wouldnt climb it.
• Saddam Hussein ordered Iraq invasion of Neighboring Kuwait.
• Operation Desert Shield began as the United States and UK sent troops to Kuwait. It was a short war
• Lech Walesa became president of Poland.  I thought he was a strong leader. 
• "The Simpsons " was aired on Fox for the first time.  To this date, I have never watched the show.
• The US entered a Major Recession and I am oblivoius to it because I dont have any damn money.
• A formal ban on the Trade of Ivory was introduced 
• Industrialized countries agreed to stop dumping waste into the oceans of the world. 
• Margaret Thatcher announced her resignation as British PM after John Major was chosen to lead the country and conservative party. 
• East and West Germany reunited, including currency and economies.  Both sides were now free to travel within the entire country. 
• President George Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed a historic agreement to end production of chemical weapons 
• Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to lessen Cold War tensions and reform his nation. This award was well deserved.
• Channel Tunnel workers from the United Kingdom and France met 40 meters beneath the English Channel seabed, establishing the first ground connection between the United Kingdom and the mainland of Europe since the last ice age. 
• Art thieves stole 12 works of art from the Isabella Gardner Museum in Boston. 
• Namibia gains independence From South Africa. I didn't hear this news and in 2004, I traveled to this country that was completley unfamilar to me.
• Boris N. Yeltsin became president of the Russian republic. 
• Depletion of the Ozone Layer was discovered above the North Pole
• Milli Vanilli's producer revealed that the duo were lip synching in the songs on the album which gained them a Grammy award.  I was so annoyed with them.

Family news:

My sister, Patricia, had her first child.  There were complications at his birth and my sister nearly died.  Two weeks after his birth, there were delayed complications and she needed back in the hospital. this birth was filled with highs and lows.

I'm Planning A Road Trip

Facebook Post

I'm Planning A Road Trip

Looking For Suggestions

November 2014

I'm planning a USA road trip. I want to go to Columbia University and meet the young woman carrying her mattress around campus in protest to her rape. Then I want to go to Westboro Baptist Church to talk to some of those church members, then on to Ferguson, Missouri and then to the Texas border where the young Mexican children are crossing the border. Then I want to go to LA to the section of the city where hundreds of homeless live. Then I want to go to Slab City which I think is in NV. Have I missed any other points of conflict in our country?

55Mandy Tao, Debbie Metzgar and 53 others

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41 Comments

• Bobbie Wickline

  Well, Bridget E Kelly, how many square miles are there in the U.S.? That pretty much sums up the situation, in my opinion. You would also need to visit my neck of the woods, where a neighbor told me a couple years back that I had bought into the liber… 

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• Bobbie Wickline

  And I heard that Boner said that the president's plan to take executive action regarding immigration reform would totally mess up any chance of Congress getting on board. LOLOLOLOLOL

  

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• Tom Myers

  I'm thinking you should make a video diary. I would be more than willing to help you produce this project should you choose to do so.
• Chrisy Sorrenti

  Sounds like a wonderful plan!

  Slab city is in California- and I want so badly to take our kids there!
• Bobbie Wickline

  Oh,Tom Myers, this sounds like an absolutely incredible project!!!

  

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• Heather Organtini Laziuck

  Adelanto California - home to one of the California's largest immigration detention center.

  

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• Katie Prible Cole

  You go girl!

  

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• Hannah Ford

  Bridget, this sounds amazing. Please create a video diary to document this & get Robert Ford to help you with a website!

  

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  Bridget E Kelly

  it is my intent to make short vidoes of each place,

  

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• Kris Bakken Mooney

  Points of conflict in our country... Wouldn't that be Washington D.C.???

  

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• Sam Klein

  My god i'd love to be your staff photographer for that. Talk about a dream job!

  

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• Arthur Conquest III

  You should take a religious with you

  

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• Stephanie Serfass

  I wanna go!!! Do ya need a nurse????

  

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• Peter Kallinteris

  Call me when you come to LA!!

  

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• Arthur Conquest III

  See, we can build a B. Kelly detail...religious, nurse etc

  

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• Debra Ward Metz

  God sure is using you for an instrument of His love..

  

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• Arthur Conquest III

  I have said, she would look great in a clerical collar...

  

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  Lucinda Taber

  Just be careful Bridget

  

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• Jackie Reviello

  I spend 6-8 weeks of my summer in McAllen, TX and the Rio Grande Valley each year. You're more than welcome to join me this year!

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  Bridget E Kelly

  Jackie Reviello what do you do there?

  

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  Bridget E Kelly

  I need a name for this project.

  

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  Lucinda Taber

  Not a real good name but here goes What's happening Here? Project

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• Brian Caufield

  Slab city, I think, is in CA outside San Diego.

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• Arthur Conquest III

  The BK principal project

  

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• Jackie Reviello

  I'm do project management for school furniture installations. My whole summer is spent there. I've seen a lot and it's sad:(

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• Karen Carty

  America's Truth....you can feature the conflict as well as the individuals who fight everyday to make a difference

  

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• Jaye Pedante

  You just described my ideal vacation!

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• Kevin Staudt

  "The Roving Rabble Rouser"

  

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• Roger Prudden

  Detroit is always an interesting topic to cover, make it out here and I'll take you out to dinner!

  

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  Ginni Outlaw-Buongiovanni

  Plight of America

  

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• Dennis Higgins

  Let me know when you come to Columbia! I'll make it a point to head into the city!

  

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  Jamie Downs

  Go Bridget

  

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• Jacki Budicker VanGorden

  Congress. Don't forget Congress.

  

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• Brittany Fox-Williams

  That sounds like a wonderful road trip! Please set aside time to have coffee or lunch with me if you visit Columbia/NYC. 

  

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• Maureen O'Reilly Naylor

  "It only takes one person to start a movement"

  

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• Selia Wang

  I remember we were lost in the subways in New York and were never able to find Columbia University. And that arrogant woman at NYU

  

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• Judith Luther Wilder

  Fabulous trip! Every city sadly has thousands of homeless children. Sacramento is a city where runaways sleep under the freeways. When are you doing this?

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• Richardson Jean

  just add little haiti to that list.

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• Alana Brown

  callan and I are going to be roadies! love this idea bridget.....

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• Alana Brown

  when do we leave :>)

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