If yer thinkin' o goin' ta Baltymore this weekend...Aargh...

From Moorea Marketing...

Unfortunately I have to attend a grand opening party for the new Gordon Biersch in Rockville for my gig with the Mid Atlantic Brewing News...otherwise this sounds like a blast...

Embrace Your Inner Pirate

Annual Fells Point Privateer Day and Pyrate Invasion

Baltimore, MD – April 25, 2007 – The third annual Privateer Day and Baltimore Pyrate Invasion will be taking over the streets and taverns of Fells Point in Baltimore on April 28, 2007 brought to you by Fells Point Development Corp. and Clipper City Brewing Company. Privateer Day will feature family-oriented activities and will occur from 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. in Broadway Square.

Visitors are encouraged to dress as a privateer, pirate, sailor, wench, merchant, homemaker, or whoever they think they would have been 200 years ago to participate in the pirate costume contest beginning at 5:00 p.m. Privateer Day will feature family fun for the young and the young at heart including live music, demonstrations, walking tours, story telling, treasure hunts, face painting, and Pirate Cruises ($15.00) aboard Clipper City Tall Ship at 1:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.

Hundreds of pirates will invade Fells Point at 4:30 p.m. at Broadway Pier with guns and cannons blazing leading up to a staged sword fight sequence. The official Pyrate Invasion Pub-Crawl ($5.00 registration fee) will occur from 6:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. featuring drink and food specials at participating bars including Kooper’s Tavern, Slainte, The Admirals Cup, John Steven’s Ltd., Ale Mary’s, Woody’s Rum Shack, Shuckers, Max’s, Lulu’s, Duda’s, Dog House Bar (aboard the Clipper City Tall Ship), Cat’s Eye Pub, Waterfront Hotel, Whistling Oyster, Greene Turtle and Fletcher’s. There will also be a Pyrate Party Cruise later that night (9:00 p.m. - midnight) aboard Clipper City. Tickets are $20.00 or $35.00 including beer & rum punch for the 3-hour cruise.

Be sure to pre-register for the Pub-Crawl and Clipper City Cruises at BaltimorePyrateInvasion.com or ClipperCity.com. Space is limited, so sign up quick! So get your best pirate costume out of your closet and join the invasion if you dare, we guarantee you’ll get hooked!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you MOM

This weekend My Organic Market in the Westview Promenade will be holding a grand opening celebration.

Also, zombie fans should call the Hagerstown 10 for details on whether or not the locally shot Deadlands will continue through next week.

This weekend there will also be a run in Frederick to benefit the women of the Congo. I was intending to take part, but was getting involved way too late. Rather than a registration fee, they are asking participants to raise money through pledges, ala the March of Dimes Walk-a-Thon. I will post more details regarding this cause tonight.

Caught my first Keys game last night with the family - a few quick things...

The field looks to be in better shape than I have seen it in the three previous years I have been here. This is the first season that they are offering Barley & Hops beers at the stadium in addition to the traditional Brewer's alley offerings. And this year's Maryland Brewer's Festival will be held there on Mother's Day weekend. If you haven't been (for a game, or to the festival), I highly recommend the experience.

Shake baby, shake baby 1, 2, 3, 4...

I know that in Towson the Bel-Loc Diner's milk shakes were named Best of Baltimore by the Baltimore City Paper in 2005, but you don't have to travel that far for a pretty damn good shake (and I'm not talking about Ben & Jerry's or Coldstone). For a proper shake that's going to take you back to when you were young, try the shakes served over at Beef n' Buns in Paradise on East Patrick Street. Not only will it remind most anybody over 30 of the shakes they got when young and the old soda fountains could still be found in your local pharmacy (I know they're still out there, but it seems that it's a rarity at this point), but the large tattooed man who took my order knew the proper names of my favorite type of shake - a black and white, also called an old fashioned.

The black and white is a vanilla shake with chocolate syrup and is very refreshing on a hot summer's day. Also, I highly recommend the pulled pork sandwich - it's excellent.

If you're looking for the full lunch counter in a pharmacy experience, head on up to Patterson's Drug Store located at 134 South Queen Street in Martinsburg, WV. They don't necessarily remember the old terms (which I suspect may even be regional), but it is a pure slice of nostalgia for anyone that used to eat at places like this when they were young.

Martinsburg is less than an hour away, is home to Mountaineer Brewing (which is owned by Barley & Hops) which I believe holds tours, and a couple of small shops and restaurants to pass the time in. If you do head up that way, keep in mind that the town is working on revitalization efforts and does not currently offer a whole lot for a day trip, but is within an easy 20 to 25 minute drive to Hagerstown and Shepherdstown.

Imponderable for the week...

Riddle me this....

If the Lone Ranger was indeed "lone," defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as follows; • adjective 1 having no companions; solitary. 2 lacking the support of others: a lone voice. 3 literary unfrequented and remote - then how do you explain the sidekick? Imaginary friend, maybe?

Discuss...