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Starkweather Beer Company

 When I moved back to Madison to attend law school in 1987, we moved to a crappy little apartment near the banks of Starkweather Creek on the unfashionable east side.  Today, the east side is booming, and one of the newer brewpubs is called Starkweather Beer Company. It was Saint Pat's Day.  While Guinness is a decent light-bodied stout, I opted for Starkweather's dry Irish Stout, named "Jamestown Jackdaw." Coming in at 5.9 ABV, it had a malty chewable backbone.  It's a new favorite stout for me.  Julia had Late Winter Haze, a New England IPA that didn't have as much fruitiness as she likes in a hazy.  It was still well-executed. We walked down the street to the Harmony Bar, where Julia enjoyed a complete corn beef and cabbage dinner.  I opted for the Reuben sandwich.  Mine was washed down with an Edmund Fitzgerald porter from Great Lakes Brewing.  Julia enjoyed her Chaos Pattern IPA from 3 Sheeps Brewing.  Both are great beers. Justin update:   After a long h
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Breaking into Spring


My daughter is home for spring break.  Since we are in Wisconsin, and not South Padre Island or Mexico, spring comes later than what the calendar indicates. I’m still burning 24/7 in the wood stove that heats the house.  The heating season won’t end until close to Memorial Day. This morning, I hiked with Julia, Allie and Elvis on our circle around the Gibraltar Rock Natural Area.




The trail was mostly frozen, rutted mud with a few long icy/snowy stretches in the shade.







With about a week until my big trip south, I took the opportunity to start breaking in my new Salomon Trail Running Shoes.  They were recommended on several backpacking blogs as a lightweight alternative to much heavier hiking boots.  Since I will be truck camping rather than backpacking, I will probably bring along both the lightweight trail running shoes and my heavier Danner boots for comparison/contrast.  As of today, there is a significant amount of snow at Roan Mountain, so I will also be bringing my YakTrax for added traction.

The Salomon shoes feel comfortable to me already, but Allie and I will go on several more hikes in the coming week for some more “breaking in.”  Hiking above 5000 feet in the early spring will be enough of a challenge without worrying about blisters.
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