over the weekend i tried two hearted ale by bell’s brewery out of kalamazoo, michigan. this beer was awesome! it’s a well balanced india pale ale that’s extremely hoppy and 7% abv. the hops were citrusy and floral yet not too bitter, it’s quite the refreshing beer. if you enjoy an IPA, give two hearted ale a try, it’s one of the best!.

– ryan

bell’s brewery

355 e. kalamazoo ave.
kalamazoo, mi 49007
269-382-5712

as mentioned in yeterday’s post, we had some great dockside seafood after visiting pemaquid point lighthouse. the restaurant was called shaw’s fish & lobster wharf and was quite amazing! we tried a fried clam roll and various lobster treats, including lobster stew. we also enjoyed watching fisherman unload lobsters off their boats while we ate outside, it was quite the new england experience!

– ryan & gub

shaw’s fish & lobster wharf

129 maine 32
new harbor, me 04554
207-677-2200

another sterritt family tradition when visiting maine is to check out as many lighthouses as possible. a favorite of ours is cape neddick, aka nubble lighthouse, which is close to york beach. the lighthouse is on an island, so you can’t get super close, but it is still gorgeous. the lighthouse keeper travels back and forth to the island on a sky rail type device, you can see it dangling over the ocean in the image above. the surrounding coast is filled with enormous rocks that are fun to explore. one year it was so foggy that we couldn’t even see the lighthouse.

this past summer we visited pemaquid point lighthouse for the first time. this beautiful lighthouse is featured on the maine quarter. we were able to climb to the top for some amazing views of the coast and also walk around the rocky cliffs. afterwards, we ate some awesome seafood at a nearby dockside restaurant that had lobsters fresh off the boats.

we have also been to portland head lighthouse, although we have yet to climb it. the lighthouse offers great views of portland, maine and the rocky coast. ram island ledge lighthouse is also visible from portland head.

another maine lighthouse we have explored is cape elizabeth. the rocky beaches near this lighthouse are amazing, we spent some time taking in the beautiful scenery. we also dipped our feet into the ocean, which was totally freezing!

we have also seen seguin island lighthouse, cuckolds lighthouse, and hendrick’s head lighthouse from reid state park, although they were too far to photograph.

check out this map of maine lighthouses.

– ryan

we recently tried a bottle of 2009 prosecco from terra verus. this bubbly was light and refreshing; perfect for a hot summer evening! we found our bottle at the green’s beverage on ponce de leon. it was part of their 25 great values for $10 or less, what a deal!

for another great bubbly, check out our previous post on rustico. the post also touches on exactly what makes up a prosecco, for those that are interested.

– ryan & gub

with the intense georgia summer heat, our garden has seen better days. but we have had some new bell peppers recently and they’re tasty! here’s to cooler days ahead and more veggies.

– ryan & gub

sterritt family tradition dictates that, when in maine, the annual l.l. bean pilgrimage to freeport is a guarantee. while on such a pilgrimage, we had some delicious fresh seafood at harraseeket lunch and lobster company. we love this type of dockside seafood restaurant found throughout new england and look forward to trying out new places on each trip.

the line was fairly long for lunch, but well worth the wait. your options included maine lobster, clams, shrimp, scallops and more in steamed, fried, or roll form. they even had a sandwich called the clamburger royale, which sounded exciting (ryan) and/or gross (gub). watching the fishing boats bring in the fresh seafood while eating outside on the patio was a great new england experience. harraseeket has been open for over 40 years and is definitely worth a visit if you are ever in the area.

check out the menu.

– ryan & gub

harraseeket lunch and lobster

36 main street
south freeport, me 04078
207-865-4888

we love the cardboard white buffalo we got as a wedding gift! it keeps watch over our kitchen record player and is also fun and eco-friendly. the company that makes them is called cardboard safari and is based out of charlottsville, va. other animals are available, including deer, moose, elephant, and rhino in white or brown cardboard. they also have some limited edition pieces, like a skull designed by noah scalin, of the skull-a-day project.

our white buffalo arrived in a flat box with assembly required. it didn’t take long though to pop out the laser-cut pieces, put together, and hang up our cardboard trophy. it’s definitely been a conversation piece with guests ever since.

we recently bought gub’s brother, cullen, a deer trophy for his dorm room. he moves into his new home at the university of south carolina this coming weekend. gub is still in shock that her baby brother is starting college!

order here.

– ryan & gub

we recently went to community q bbq in decatur and loved it! the food and atmosphere were amazing; we’ll definitely be heading back. with burlap on the tables, a large family-style table for eating, and food delivered on trays with checkered paper, you could easily forget you were in an emory shopping center.

we had pulled pork with mac n’ cheese and st. louis style ribs with hand-cut fries. the ribs were definitely some of the best we’ve had in atlanta! they were tender and smoky, yet not too flavorful or saucy. the meats at community q have a good smoky flavor. we’ve had lots of atlanta bbq recently and we’ve noticed that smokiness has been missing from most meats we’ve tried.

the mac n’ cheese was the best we’ve had! they use rigatoni pasta with sharp cheddar, monterey jack, parmesan and heavy cream and then bake it to perfection. to say the least, it’s amazing! the other sides looked great as well; the baked beans and collards in particular. they also use local and seasonal ingredients and sell a good amount of local produce. we picked up corn, okra, peaches and tomatoes during our visit, all of which have been amazing at home!

community q bbq is the best in-town atlanta bbq joint we’ve tried! there are certain meats or sides we crave from other bbq places, but we hadn’t found a nearby restaurant that excelled in all areas until now. the meats, sides, and deserts were all very tasty here!

community q cooks their bbq fresh every day; any leftovers go in the stew or to the local food bank. be aware that they often run out of items if they are busier than expected. arrive early or call ahead to guarantee your favorites are available.

on another note, we love bbq and we love live music, but we really don’t like them in combination. there’s nothing worse then going out for some bbq and not being able to talk because there’s a loud band playing. (hello sam’s bbq1 and maddy’s!) we appreciated the quiet, laid-back atmosphere and southern feel at community q bbq.

check out their menu.

– ryan & gub

community q bbq

1361 clairmont road
decatur, ga 30033
404-633-2080

on our maine trip this summer we drove through kennebunk and kennebunkport, which are both quaint, beautiful, new england coastal towns. although not big fans of the bush family, we did make a detour to see the bush compound. the estate was on a picturesque little peninsula that jetted out into the atlantic ocean. we were pleasantly surprised to see a windmill on the property.

– ryan & gub

we recently went to the planetarium at the fernbank science center and had a ton of fun! leaning back in those angled chairs brought back memories of elementary school field trips.

the planetarium offers adult and children programs from thursday through saturday. there is also a saturday morning program called the night sky, which takes you through the current constellations, planets, etc. in the night sky. shows are $4 for adults and $3 for children, students, and seniors.

after the planetarium show, we explored the fernbank science center. it was free and totally worth a visit. the diarama’s were amazing and the highlight of the center was the real apollo 6 capsule on display. we were quite impressed!

the fernbank observatory is also free and open for public observations on thursday and friday nights from 9 to 10:30 pm. an astronomer is on hand to position the largest telescope in the southeast and to answer questions. we definitely want to check this out sometime.

for a fun, inexpensive outing, consider the fernbank planetarium, observatory, or science center.

– ryan & gub

fernbank planetarium

156 heaton park dr.
atlanta, ga 30307
678-874-7113