Seventh Heaven

Allowed myself to sleep in until almost 630am. I'd be working from home so any time lost to sleep would easily be recovered since I didn't need to account for any drive time. After exercise, I poured some coffee then settled down at my desk for work and pleasure. Took care of a couple recurring Friday work tasks before breaking away for a stretch and run.

Mindy was up earlier than usual. She, Bella and Makayla were Ohio State fair bound. I opted to trim my Friday run to 3 miles like a weekend day. It was gorgeous, sunny and in the low 60s. If all went as planned, I would knock off from work early - around 1pm and spend the afternoon on the lawn.

Mindy and the girls left for the fair midmorning. Mindy figured they'd be home around 4pm. Meanwhile, I was looking forward to a quiet day working from home. Stayed busy up until the noon hour. Headed out to mow the lawn expecting to come in and do a little more work throughout the afternoon. Took me 1.25 hours to complete all the mowing - push and tractor. Despite it being cool for early August, I still managed to work up a pretty good sweat.

Spent another hour or two through the afternoon working but also enjoying music from my iTunes collection. Later in the afternoon switched to Pandora. And while I kept a loose eye on work for the rest of the afternoon, I was for all intents and purposes in weekend mode. Headed out to put the finishing touches on the lawn - trimming, edging and blowing. Got a shower after all of that.

Mindy got home sometime between 4-430pm. Said they had a good time. Of course, Bella brought home some cotton candy. Makayla soon headed home and Bella got ready for a weekend alone with her daddy. They were heading to the Dublin Irish Festival that evening. During the afternoon, I strategized how our evening might unfold. I Googled one of the newer micro breweries in town, Seventh Son located in Italian Village on 4th & 4th. I believe it' used to be an old gas station. I was also craving seafood, and more specifically, crab legs. Pulled up the Mitchell's Fish Market menu. Thought we might go there Saturday for dinner.

Once Bella left with Jimaken, Mindy and I discussed our plans. She like my suggestion, heading to Seventh Son Brewing. Thought we still might end up at Barley's, though, where we could check out their recent remodel. Mindy said she needed a shower after a day at the fair. I gave her about 45 minutes then headed upstairs to freshen up too.

We left for Seventh Son near 6pm. Still wanting to limit driving the rental, we opted for the Pilot. Cut through Grandview and Victorian Village. Took about 20-25 minutes to get there. Italian Village is east of High St, south of campus, but north of say Buttles. Still a little seedy, and even outright scary on some corners. Still, a cook little establishment. I especially like the gas station doors all opened on this occasion to lots of outdoor, community type seating. Just outside and across 4th Ave there was a portable pub parked there. Cool idea. Essentially a trailer attached to a pick-up truck equipped with 8-10 bar stools with a beer tap in the middle. Nice!

They don't serve food but allow a food truck on prem. This night it was a Mexican food wagon. But first and foremost, I was there for their beer. I opted for their Strong Ale while Mindy opted for their five flight sampler. And while there was decent crowd, we were very pleased that no one had opted for the leather sofa by the fireplace. That's where we sat.

Hungry, Mindy eventually caved and marched over to the food truck and soon returned with a chicken quesadilla. Not bad. I very much enjoyed my Strong Ale. Mindy like three or four of the five flight sampler. Didn't care much at all for the nut brown. I ended up finishing it. She really liked the Saison. Spent about an hour or so at Seventh Son Brewing Co. We'll definitely go back. We had designs on checking out the Barley's remodel.

In route, Mindy learned via Facebook that an old high school pal, Linda Kennedy, who now resides in San Diego was having dinner at Third & Hollywood. Said she hasn't seen her since HS. Via Facebook she quickly sent a request to meet up, either there or at Barley's. I agreed to stop there reluctantly. Turns out, though, we didn't have to. They were just finishing dinner and preparing to depart. Instead, they agreed to meet us at Barley's.

And while there were more than a few open parking spots in Barley main lot, I opted for one in the back 40 where we're used to parking.

The remodel is even nicer than I expected. Especially like the new community tables, lighting fixtures and stools. All new taps too. Sweet! Not too big of a crowd, though. We hadn't even had a chance to sit down when Mindy's pal, Linda and her partner showed up. His name is Jim, too. While those three chatted, I shared conversation with Bib Bob and his wife, Lisa. They had apparently been there for a while already and were about to depart. I asked how his pursuit of his PHD was going. Wasn't happy with the progress. Nothing left to do but the dissertation. Burnt out though. Said he may not finish. Interesting.

Once Bob & Lisa left, I got a chance to meet and chat with Linda and Jim. They joined us at our community table where I bought them both a beer. Old pal Lee showed up shortly thereafter. Bought him a beer as well. It's all good.
He didn't stay too long.

I eventually ordered a 2nd 20oz. ZIPA. Yum! Ordered some sauerkraut balls, too. Figured our friends might like them. Was surprised to learn that Linda is in Telecom sales, especially after Mindy said she was really shy. Her beau, Jim, is apparently an attorney. Not really sure if he's actively practicing though. In fact, I kind of hot the impression that he wasn't. He loves to golf though. Said he's played most of our upper echelon courses in and around Columbus, including Muirfield & Scioto C.C. Had an early Saturday tee time at Longaberger. Mindy and Linda exchanged phone numbers for another potential hook-up later. Sounds like they may be moving back to the Columbus area soon.

We hung out at Barley's until close to 930-10pm. Certainly not any later. Mindy was tired. In fact, she was quickly off to bed as soon as we arrived home. I stayed up for another 30 minutes or so playing around online.