They have sticks and they know how to use them

One of the reasons that we wanted to move back to a university town was to take advantage of the athletic and cultural events that universities offer. On Sunday, we went to our second Syracuse University sporting event when we watched the SU women's lacrosse team play Stanford University.

Neither James nor I know the first thing about lacrosse except that the object of the game is to put your team's ball into the other team's goal, and that a lacrosse stick is used to catch, carry, and pass the ball. I still don't know much about the game except that it is fast, and great fun to watch. The players were practically a blur as they ran full speed up and down the field, which is why I have no clear action shots of the game!

Here is the SU team just prior to the start of the game:


We were very pleased to see the Orange win:


Did I mention that this afternoon of great sporting spectating fun was free? Admission was free, even parking at the Carrier Dome was free. And you can't beat free with a stick, even a lacrosse stick.

Hot dogs and beer

We continued our eating and drinking exploration of central New York today. Our first stop was Heid's of Liverpool, a hot dog restaurant that has been in business since 1917. It is not much to look at:


The line was out the door but the wait was not long nor was it unpleasant to wait outside:

The man ahead of James in line was in town on business, from Phoenix, and had been told to go to Heid's for lunch. A woman ahead of him was sharing 2-for-1 coupons with anyone who wanted one.

At the first stop in line, we ordered beverages and sides. James and I had ginger beer - yum! - and we ordered french fries and onion rings. At the next stop, we picked up kosher dill pickles, received our fries and rings, and then ordered our dogs: dog with sauerkraut for James, plain dog for Aidan and a chili dog for me.

We found a table in the tiny eating area and soon discovered that one napkin apiece was not enough! We happily dripped kraut, chili, ketchup, relish (both sweet and dill) and mustard as we devoured our delicious grilled hot dogs.

From Heid's we drove into Syracuse to the Middle Ages Brewing Co. It is located in a non-descript industrial building and unfortunately they are not offering tours of the brewing operations right now. Something about renovation or construction and lots of mess. But we were happy to go into the tasting room to sample some of the brews on tap. While we sampled, Aidan met Bubbles and Lefty, two of the brewery's three cats. Bubbles was napping on a desk while Lefty was monitoring the fax machine.

James and I first sampled ImPaled Ale, which is an India Pale Ale. I am not usually that fond of IPAs but the ImPaled Ale has great depth of taste and is quite hoppy. Next I tasted the Syracuse Pale Ale, a yummy golden ale, and James tasted the Wailing Wench, a darker, hoppy ale. My last sample was the Winter Wheat, a hearty wheat beer - oh so delicious - while James had Wizard's Winter Ale. We left with a mixed six pack of brews and two logo beer glasses.

Hot dogs and beer - although we didn't consume them together, it was a great combination for a fun and tasty afternoon!