Oldest Brewery in PA? Move over Yuengling!

Well last week I had the opportunity with some friends to visit one of the oldest brewery's in Pennsylvania and even the United States. It is called Bube's Brewery. You pronounce that "boobie's", yup, tits folks! That is the best way to remember how to say it and t-shirts in their gift shop play off of this as well. Follow me as I take you for a tour.

Main entrance

Bube's Taps on the original bar at the hotel attached to the original brewery.

Original bar at the hotel attached to the brewery. It was a Men's only bar. The hotel was also used a brothel. 

The pictures below are the original beer barrels used to hold the beer during fermentation. They are no longer used, it is just a room with about 4 of these barrels. They have access doors at the bottom, that little children or small men were hired to get in there to clean. Whoever was hired to scrub the insides of these barrels during rotation, was always sent home for the rest of their shift due to the fumes of the alcohol. So, basically everyone knew you were drunk and you got paid to go home and sleep it off. Where is this job now!! ha-ha! Sign me up!

Now follow us down into the caves. The cave area is where the beer was stored at a cooler temperature. I honestly do not recall how many feet we were under the street. Once you follow the stairs down to the caves, you see that it is basically a dinning hall now. It is a really large space, and the venting for the caves is still there. There use to be a tunnel that led out from there that was part of the under ground railroad system, as well as prohibition. Occasionally it was your get out of jail ticket too when the brothel was rated by the police. 

After going underground we were taking outside to the courtyard. What a beautiful set up. It was raining when we were there, so we did not get a chance to enjoy it.

The brewery bar. 

Well friends, that is Bube's Brewery. The food wasn't the greatest, and they ran out of their own beer, but it is a staple in beer history and I recommend you go.

Cheers! I got the last of their Pineapple IPA! 

First Ride on the CSC RX3 Zongshen Cyclone

After about 2 weeks of waiting on the DMV in Pennsylvania to send me tags I finally got them in order to ride the bike. For those that have not been following along on my social media rants, PA refused to give me temporary plates at time of registration. Stating that some "special ops" unit in Harrisburg had to review for approval. Whatever! Considering that 2 other RX3 owners in PA walked in to register their bikes and walked out with tags. Another example of inconsistent policies. Okay, enough about that because I feel like that is all I have talked about. I have been dying to ride this damn bike that I have been staring at in the garage and yesterday I finally got my chance! Here is how it went.

First I had to get gas. The bike shipped with "some" gas in it. I do have a one and half liter Biltwell fuel bottle that I did fill up in order to add a bit more fuel. The gas station was a further away than the gas in the tank would have been able to accommodate. Don't worry, I bought a center tank protector to replace the silly warning stickers.

Nonetheless, once leaving the gas station my first journey officially began and WOW was I blown away. I have a 600+ pound Harley Davidson Dyna, and this RX3 was just so light and nimble. The clutch was so smooth, and the exhausted just rumbled in my ears. I may need to wear ear plugs. Since it is higher sitting on this bike than my Harley exhaust is on my Dyna, I feel that it is just louder. It was also crazy getting use to the front end fairing not moving when turning the front wheel. On my Dyna the whole front end moves with each turn. It was just a different thing to get use to. The seat sucks, just like I have been reading on the forums. I confirmed that only 20 miles into my ride. 

                     

 

After enjoying some twisties and a bit of light gravel, I had to make my way to show off the bike to my family. Of course everyone asked to sit on it, my nieces and nephews loved it. Although one of my nieces says she still likes the Harley more. Here and I spent lots of saddle time on the Harley together, so I don't blame her for her comment. Hopefully this bike will just allow her to realize that liking different bikes makes motorcycling more fun.

Another positive thing that came with this bike, is my husbands new interest in riding. He has recently passed his permit test and is signing up for an MSF class. In addition, I've picked him up some safety gear to get him started. This bike just changed my life. Even if he's riding it and I'm on my Harley, it is a win win. I look forward to looking at my right flank position and seeing my husband right by my side. Now that friends is a great beginning to a new moto chapter.

Ride safe friends, and ride far!

Appalachian Trail- Hawk Mountain PA

What did you do on Independence day? Well, instead of preparing for a BBQ or fireworks my boy friend Luke and I decided to do a 7.5 mile hike on Hawk Mountain along the popular Appalachian Trail and then ending on the Skyline Trail.   It was a sunny wsadday, but thank goodness it was not humid out. 

Almost to the look out!

The first part of the trail was pretty easy. The path was well maintained. You could tell someone had laid rocks in certain spots and cut fallen trees out of the way. We walked over small bridges that someone had built over creeks and some of the larger washes. We finally got to a part of the path that made you hate your decision to hike that day. It was a slope that completely killed my legs for the following 48 hours after the hike. For someone like myself that hasn't done much hiking in the last 3-4  years, it was a challenge. The whole time I was thinking to myself, why am I not home having a beer and barbecuing. When I finally made it to the top I saw a sign that said look out 2 miles. At that point, I felt that I was threw the worst part and with some motivation from Luke we were on our way. 

Years ago Luke had hiked this trail with his boy scouts club. Oddly enough, he did not seem to remember the killer slop that we had just completed. (ha!) Luke had planned our days hike around the idea that we would eventually get to the Skyline Trail and walk the ridge of Hawk Mountain. Well that is what we did. Only we found ourselves walking most of the Skyline Trail on a path that was less traveled on. 

No path, just following painted markers.

A path! 

Needless to say, it was one of the best days ever! We made it to many different look out points along the way and stopped to admire the views of nature. The landscape makes you think about life, love and what the true definition of happiness might be. In the end, we need to see beyond the beauty in order to get to the core of our own salvation. Stepping away from our day to day lives seems impossible for many folks. It truly is sad that we get wrapped up in the daily grind so much that places like this we may never see and feel the emotion they bring to us. With that being said, I challenge you to take the path less traveled on. Break your own norms, step outside of your comfort zone and try something new. Let it change you, inspire you, and feed you with the energy you need to take on life.  

A top Hawk Mountain.

Pure Zen

Waking up this morning was a little different than waking up previous mornings. I actually feel good. I feel like I slept well and ready for the world. I thought to myself, why am I feeling like this? Hump day? Nah! Well after going through the morning routine, brushing my teeth and hair, I walk in the kitchen to brew up some coffee. The kitchen window was glistening with the morning sun. Beautiful, warm and as I look out I see its warmth melting the frost still left on the grass from last night.  As well as a bunny out to sun bathe. When my coffee was complete I had to go outside and drink it. The sun drew me to it like a dog that couldn't get it's eyes off the bone. As I sit in the sun, drinking my coffee, I realize this is pure zen. There is only one thing left to do, GO FOR A MOTORCYCLE RIDE!

Be safe today my friends. May you all find your zen in the power of the sun while on your motorcycle.

#payitforward

The Zen of Riding

Today was really an interesting day. My ride in to work was probably one of the best rides. One of those days that the mind was free of clutter and focused. I passed by lawn guys cutting grass, PennDot workers just hanging out by their trucks (do they ever work?), squirrles running around (almost ran one over) and the best part of all, a groundhog sun bathing on rocks between two waterfalls. It was pure zen.

I was thinking to myself all day that the outdoors are calling me. I mean I spend time outdoors already, but not really doing stuff I enjoy. I don't know about you but I've had it with yard work. See there's something called routine and we all get caught up in it. We need to find time to maintenance our own souls. What really got to me today was the patch of rain I rode through on the ride home. I actually saw a full rainbow once through it. I couldn't stop looking at it in my mirrors or even turning my head in disbelief. It truly was a full rainbow. A sight these eyes haven't seen since I left Arizona and another reminder to occupy zen!

So friends remember to take time out for you cause life is too short. Too short to not enjoy daily.