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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

Stone Island (Isla de la Piedra)

One of the things about Mazatlan that we've needed to get used to is the constant noise.  We live in a very quiet area in Wisconsin, where the loudest sounds are the mourning doves.  Here, there is the constant drone of traffic and other city sounds.  One of the busiest streets in Mazatlan is the one that is next to the Malecon and sea wall.  That means spending time at the beach means constant background traffic noise, until one learns to filter it out.

One of the ways that people around here escape the noise is a short ferry ride to Stone Island.  All sizes and shapes of boats are used as ferries.  We paid our 35 pesos each (a little less than $2) for a round-trip ticket.  Our boat was a small one.  But the water was calm, and the ride was only about ten minutes.





Upon getting off the boat, the beach is less than a five minute walk.  There are no roads along the beach--just a long stretch of restaurants and bars serving the folks relaxing.  Each place has lawn chairs and tables set out to attract customers.  It's free to sit here, as long as one orders something.  Once seated with a beer or something to eat, you can stay as long as you want.


It’s a tough life.


Julia soaked in the rays, while I read a book on my Kindle.  Then we had lunch.


That was a massive “catch of the day” fried fish sandwich with fries. This was not to be confused with what McDonald’s passes off for a Filet of Fish sandwich, but it cost about the same.  Around 3 p.m., everyone headed back to the boats.  The last ferry back to Mazatlan leaves around 6 p.m. (dark), but it starts to cool off in the late afternoon.

I was back at pickleball this morning, burning off the extra calories.


Comments

MFH said…
OMG! The EFFORT required to stay ahead of the calories makes the life ARDUOUS!

There's *nothing* that compares with fresh fish, is there? Except maybe the cook's added magic.

Suzan, recipient of '92 Aerostar van, called the other day with an invitation to Puerto Peñasco. I begged off after she told of the noise. I left Albuq cuz of the noise, but sitting in one spot also gets boring. Nomads have it all!
John said…
I love the fish here. I had red snapper cerviche on a tostada last night for dinner. $4 sitting on the beach watching the sun go down.

We're already talking about where we might go next year. Mazatlan is a long ways drive from us. Puerto Penasco is on our possibles list, as is San Carlos. But the weather there this year has been much cooler than here. Every day, we've seen upper 70's to around 80 with at least some sun. This is the dry season, so it hasn't rained in the three weeks that we've been here. We've met many Canadians who have been coming here every year for 10-15 years, but we like variety.

The cities of Mexico are noisy, and the smells in the air can be overwhelming--sometimes in good ways but other times in the bad ways that developing countries have. Rot comes in many flavors.
greg said…
Yep. I'm sorry life is so tough. I feel for you.
John said…
We will just have to "gut it out."

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