Martin Guitar Factory Tour

I went on a tour of the Martin Guitar Factory in Nazareth, PA today which is about 20 miles east of where I live.  I was there about 30 years ago to interview one of the members of the family involved in the business for a college paper I had to write.  I don't remember it being anything like this.  The tour is free and lasts about one hour.  As you go throughout the tour, you can see the amount of money and time the business has invested in the factory just for the tour which amazingly they do not charge for admission.  While there is quite a bit of automation in the factory, I was amazed at the amount of hand crafting that is still performed on these instruments.  The museum, alone, would be worth the price of admission.  I didn't spend as much time as I should have going through it.  It seems pretty incredible by itself.  I learned it takes about 2.5 months to make their standard line of guitars and 6-9 months for a custom guitar.  They finish close to 200 guitars a day.  I thought the tour gift was a nice touch (after all the tour was FREE).

The Old Factory about 1 mile away from current facility.  Old one is used by a guitar parts reseller and as chamber of commerce for the town of Nazareth, PA.

Current Factory

Mural painted by a cousin of the Martin family depicting the 200 year history of the company

First part of the tour explaining type and source of wood and the cutting processes prior to parts arriving upstairs for assembly

Giant size guitar replica.  I learned the style, size, and shapes of the braces on front and back panels impact the sound of the guitar

Hand craftsmanship

Guitar #2,000,000

An exhibit in the museum

Museum map

Tour gift made from the wood cut out from the sound hole of the front face of the guitar and digitally engraved

My Italian Beef Tour

Well, it has been almost three years since I posted anything on here.  I have started up a new blog specific to eating Italian Beef sandwiches in the Chicagoland area.  Check it out: https://italianbeeftour.blogspot.com/

I plan to have several other theme specific blogs.  I will post links to them here as I get them started.

Catching Up

I need to start posting here again.  I am currently in the middle of a vacation in Mississippi where I have been touring the Mississippi Blues Trail Marker Tour www.msbluestrail.org.  I will be posting pics from the trip here or on a new website.

2014-10-21 Flyers vs Blackhawks

Earlier this week, I was lucky enough to be able to head to the United Center to watch the Flyers play the Blackhawks.  We had great seats thanks to my buddy Dave.   Unfortunately, the Flyers didn't bother showing up, and were down 3-0 pretty quickly.  Bad game.  Great fun.

Oktoberfest Beers

This is my favorite time of year.  College football, NFL, NHL, MLB playoffs, European Soccer, cool weather, my b-day, my anniversary, and my favorite style of beer is on the market.

Here is what I have had the last two years.  Let me know if there are others that you have had that I should try and what state the brewer is from.

Beer	Rating	ABV
Abita Fall Fest	3.75	5.40
Atwater Bloktoberfest	3.25	6.30
Ayinger	3.75	5.80
Beck’s	3.50	5.00
Berghoff	3.25	5.60
Big Bay	3.50	5.70
Big Eddy	4.00	8.50
Breckenridge	3.50	6.70
Capital	3.75	5.50
Duck-Rabbit	3.50	4.60
DuClaw	3.50	5.80
Erdinger	3.25	5.70
Firestone Walker	3.25	4.60
Flying Fish	3.50	6.00
Gluttony (Saint Francis)	3.50	?
Goose Island	3.75	6.40
Great Lakes	3.25	6.50
Hacker-Pschorr	3.75	5.80
Harpoon	3.50	5.30
Hinterland	3.75	6.00
Hofbrau	2.25	6.30
Horny Goat	3.50	6.00
Lakefront	3.75	5.70
Lancaster	3.50	5.20
Left Hand Brewing Company	3.50	6.60
Leinenkugel’s	3.75	5.10
Matt Brewing Dark-toberfest	3.50	6.00
Matt Brewing Saranac	3.25	5.40
Milwaukee Brewing	3.25	6.00
New Glarus	3.75	6.25
O's	3.25	5.90
Paulaner	3.50	5.80
Penn Brewing	3.25	5.60
Point	3.50	5.15
Revolution Brewing	3.50	5.70
Rivertowne	3.50	6.60
Samuel Adams	3.75	5.30
Schell’s	3.75	5.50
Shiner	3.50	5.80
Sly Fox	3.50	5.80
Spaten	3.25	5.90
Sprecher	3.75	6.00
Stoudts	3.50	5.00
Summit	3.50	6.60
Susquehanna	3.25	?
Thirsty Dog	3.50	6.00
Tighthead	3.00	5.20
Two Brothers	3.25	7.70
Tyranena	3.50	5.50
Upland	3.50	6.80
Victory	3.50	5.60
Weihenstephaner	3.50	5.80
Weyerbacher	3.25	5.40

Pork Shoulder Sammich

Thermoworks Collection

 

Wolves v Admirals 2014-02-15

A few weekends ago, we went with our neighbors to see the Chicago Wolves vs Milwaukee Admirals. Before the game, we went to the RAM Brewery and Restaurant.  We like that place.  The food is pretty good and they have great beers.

The hockey game was pretty close throughout.  Unfortunately, Chicago blew a lead late in the game, and then lost in OT.

Philadelphia Flyers vs Minnesota Wild 2013-12-23

While I was back in PA for the Christmas holiday, I went to catch a Flyers game with my cousin Jody.  I was amazed out how cool the Xfinity Live was.  We had a beer at each bar in the place before we headed to the arena.  We headed back there after the game too.  I could go to a hockey game and be satisfied watching it on TVs there without having a ticket for the game. Had a chance to drink some good micro brews too.

It was a great game too.  The Flyers came out of the gate strong.  Wayne Simmonds had two goals and it was the first of three games in a row that he did that.  Got some decent pics too considering we were in the last row of the arena.

Brisket Chili

Last night I made some Brisket Chili out of some leftover meat I had in the freezer from a cook this Fall.

leftobver sliced brisket
leftover burnt ends
leftover pepper stout pulled beef with mushrooms, onions, peppers
diced tomatoes
tomato sauce
rotel
kidney beans
2 cans Guinness
Cholula chipotle sauce
chipotle pepper powder
jalapeno pepper powder
cumin
smoked bittersweet paprika
dry mustard

Cooked it on medium heat for about 3 hours stirring about every 30 minutes.

I'm Shipping Up to Boston

I'm leaving on Friday afternoon to meet up with Earthdog.  He is picking me up in Providence.  We are going to see the Welch Boys and the Blue Bloods on Saturday in Boston.  Looking forward to drinking some Boston beers and listening to some Boston punk rock.

Viva Las Vegas

Mets vs Cubs 2013-05-18

Today, I went to see the Mets play the Cubs at Wrigley Field with Mario thanks to some tix from my pal Dave.  The tix were great - row 2 behind the Mets dugout.  The weather was great - sunny with a lite breeze and 75-80 degrees.  But the Mets were horrible.

A panoramic view of Wrigley Field from our seats.  The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS19 has built in functionality to create these beautiful shots.

David Wright warming up and at the plate.

Catasauqua's own Anthony Recker the backup catcher for the Mets.  My cousin Jody played baseball in high school with him.

Pork Shoulder Nachos

What do you do with leftover pork shoulder?