Somewhere New: Bru / North High Brewing

I was up a few minutes ahead of 530am after a very restful night of sleep. It didn’t hurt that I started dosing off the night before around 830-9pm. Downstairs I quickly whipped out calisthenics then headed to my PC with my first cup of coffee. It was just after 540am. I played around online until 605am when I headed upstairs to wake Mindy, taking her a cup of coffee, too.

The weather forecast called for moderating temperatures with the day’s high expected to reach well into the 40s. At the time it was somewhere near 30 degrees. I did a thorough meditation and stretch which carried me through until about 635am. It was near 645am by the time I headed out for a run.

I ran the full 4.1 miles comfortably. The ice is slowly but surely becoming less and less of an issue with each passing day. Still, I set my gaze on the next 10-15’ in front of me so to help pick out a path when the rare but dangerous patches of ice come into play.

Mindy was preparing to depart soon after I got back to the house. I quickly leashed up the pug and headed back out for a walk. Mindy was gone before we got back. Ate breakfast with Bella, who was having cereal. She reminded me that I was supposed to take she and Makayla to school early for their Wellness team meeting. Oops! I had otherwise forgotten about it. I stepped on the gas a bit. Bella said they needed to be there by 830am.

After my shower, I suggested she call Chrissy to let her know to send Makayla down. I hurried through packing my lunch and headed to the Accord around 815am. By then it was raining lightly. Makayla came down while Bella and I waited in the car.

Made great time. Had them at school by 825am. Headed into work, arriving about as early as I have in months. Surprisingly, I had to park in the deep lot. An unusual number of employees took the up close spots presumably due to the rain. Lucky for me, I had my handy-dandy umbrella in the trunk.

The halls were largely dark and quiet. I was one of only a few working from the office. Looked like my boss was either out sick or working from home. Didn’t see him online until much later in the day. I stayed busy working on yet another quarterly report. Spent most of my day pulling it together. Didn’t bother taking a lunch. Work, work, work!

Mindy sent a text mid to late afternoon letting me know that she met with the school superintendent. Unfortunately, he refused to overturn the personnel director’s decision to disallow her two additional days off. Too bad! I suggested a couple other tactics, but she wasn’t sure it was worth further pursuit. Back to square one.

I left for home early, somewhere close to 435pm. That might be the earliest I’ve been able to leave for home in several months. It was a Jimaken night. Mindy and I were planning to have dinner out. I suggested we visit Bru, a new brew pub in the short north. She liked the idea. I was home even before 5pm. Before heading inside, I grabbed an old broom from the garage and took a few minutes to beat the remaining snow pack off the bows of the large boxwoods out front. They’ve been crushed under snow for two+ weeks. They snapped right back into shape once the snow was removed.

Jimaken showed to get the kids around 515pm. Mindy and I made quick work of prepping to depart. Left the house right around 530pm. We opted to take 5th avenue all the way from Riverside to High St. The Bru is located on the SE corner of 6th & High St. I was a little worried that it would be packed. They were opened but still don’t have their signage out. We me the two owners, Tim and Gavin. Talked with both, and Tim at length. He’s the one that is friends with the guy we met at BJ’s at Tuttle Mall the weekend before TG that told us about Bru.

Tim shared that this is still their ‘soft’ opening. Only had three beers on tap: an ESB, Porter, and Belgium Pale ale. Promised to have their IPA and a milk stout on tap by Saturday. Also shared his enthusiasm for skiing. Loves Brighton. Shared that they’re already in the process of a name change after another company using the Bru name threatened litigation. According to Tim, they have had their name registered longer, but the other company has much deeper pockets. Not worth the fight. Changing to North High brewing soon.

Mindy had their porter while I had the Belgium pale. Both were decent. Mindy raved about the porter. She bought a Bru t-shirt with the promise that they would give her the new North High Street brewing t-shirt free once it comes in. They plan to add bar-type appetizers soon, too, but as it was, they had no food. Mindy & I were both hungry. We stayed for just the one beer, tipped well, then left.

Heading west, I asked Mindy where she wanted to stop for dinner. She offered no particular venue. I opted for Barleys. Arrived around 640pm to a more than packed lot. It was even more packed than a typical Friday. We parked with several others out in the back 40.

A couple stools freed after standing for a few minutes. We sat next to Kent, one of the twins. April wasn’t in. Katy/Janet advised that she did NOT get the engagement ring she hoped for during her Xmas holiday trip to Australia to meet her boyfriend’s parents.  I ordered a Double Dog Dare IPA. Mindy stuck with only water, though she sampled my DD IPA. We ordered food. She went with a burger while I went with the special, a gourmet deli sandwich served on a warm pretzel bun. Pretzel bread/buns must be the new fad. Everybody’s got ‘em now.

Stuck with just the one beer, though really wanted another. Itwas a work night and I needed to feel good come morning. My sandwich was fantastic. Loved it! Left for home at 745pm. The kids called just as we were standing up to depart. Said they were already at the house.

Home before 8pm, which is the unofficial time the kids usually get home. Not a problem. Jimaken left a minute or two after we got home. We changed into our PJs and Mindy asked that I rub her lower back. Had a knot on the lower right side. We weren’t up very late at all. Headed for bed well before 10pm.