The Great Philly Cheese Steak Tatse Test

Last month we were looking for something to do during the week. We wanted a one-day event and did not want to spend big bucks. We talked about it for a while and then remembered something we had seen on TV. That was what we needed to do while we are still here in Maryland.

We often watch the Travel Channel and the Food Network. Both of these have run programs regarding the continuing competitive battle over who has the best cheese steak in Philadelphia. Two cheese steak provisioners in South Philly, Pat's King of Steaks and Geno's Steaks, have been battling out for the title of "best cheeses steak" for many years. We decided to take the taste test ourselves.

It was an overcast day and quite chilly, but the excitement of actually doing this taste test made the 2 hour trip well worth it. Guinness loved the city and the excitement on the streets, although, he did not participate in the taste test. No human food in his diet.

The video following is a record of the test:

Polar Plunge

While we were in Florida over the Christmas holidays, we gave Guinness his first experience with water while we were on an outing to Camp Blanding's Kingsley Lake. He had just turned 2 months old (almost 9 weeks). There were no waves at all on the lake and the water was quite warm. He was very wary to get close to the water, at first, but after a lot of coaxing he did venture in. He seemed quite frightened of it and did not stay very long. Remember,though, he was very young.

The next attempt was two days later at Kathryn Hanna Park in Jacksonville . This was different in that it was the Atlantic Ocean and there was sand and waves. The waves were not big, but they made noise.

He would not even get close to the water this time. The noise of the waves and the water going in and out troubled him. He loved the sand though.

Three days later we took a day trip to Daytona and were able to get onto the beach. The waves were a bit bigger and noisier and his fear of the ocean was more evident. Again, he would not go close to the water. The sand was his only interest. This was very disappointing to us for he is part Labrador Retriever and he is built for the water i.e., very muscular and web feet. But, as mentioned before, he still is a puppy. Time would tell.

This past week we took advantage of a rare warm, sunny day and went to the family park at Aberdeen Proving Ground here in Maryland. The park is located on the upper portion of the Chesapeake Bay. The water is slightly brackish and very clear. This particular day the temperature was hovering in the mid-sixties with a slight breeze blowing keeping the waves to a minimum. Even though the water was still, it was quite cold (about 48F/9C), however, this did not seem to bother the mighty Guinness.

Although there was relatively small amounts of sand, he found what there was and went crazy in it. He then went up to the water and became enthralled with it, however, like before, did not go in. After a few moments, I found him a stick and began playing fetch with him. He loves this game. Playing for a few minutes I then threw the stick into the water far enough from the shore so he would have to go in to retrieve it. He did, warily at first, but each time afterward he did not hesitate. This was a good sign.

Once we returned home, he was drained (as we were) and took it easy for the rest of the afternoon. Can't wait to see what his next adventure brings.

Phase Two

We have been trying to sell our home since 2007. We all know the economy, especially the housing market, is crap. Our retirement plans have been on hold because of our non-ability to unload this place. We chose to "Sell By Owner" due to the higher cost of realtor fees. Now it is time to suck it up and get the H-- out of Dodge.

So who do you turn to first when you have a problem? Family, of course. Our daughter, Christine, is a real estate agent here in Maryland. She gave us a great deal and, last night, we listed it with her and her company, Keller-Williams. Hopefully, this will move the situation along so we can get on with our second life instead of being here in purgatory. We'll keep ya'll updated.

Old Friends

About 25 years ago, I met Dave and Rocco at work and we quickly became close friends. After retiring several years ago I had not had the opportunity to meet with them and chew the fat, shoot the bull, etc., etc. We have kept in contact though through email, our blogs and the occasional phone call. This past Friday we made the opportunity and met for lunch. We had a great time and I am sure we will get back together soon.

Between us, Dave, Rocco and I have close to 100 years of service to our country. We are proud of that service. We would not have had it any other way.

Then and Now

There have been several requests to show how Guinness has grown. I found a picture I had taken on December 22, 2008 and compared it with one taken today (March 3, 2009). Seventy days and 24 pounds later(32 pounds now)....and still growing. But not much more. We expect him to be 35-38 pounds.

A Day In The Snow

A Guinness Update

Guinness was 16 weeks old on this past Saturday (Feb. 14th). He has been growing like a weed (28 lbs.) and his personality is slowly changing from a puppy to an adolescent. He is constantly showing us how intelligent he is by learning new requested tasks (my termi-nology for tricks) and figuring things out for himself like opening his crate door when it isn't locked and digging through his toy box for that certain favorite toy and then, when he can't find it, thinking about it for a minute and remembering where he put it. Really amazing. He so wants to please and seems put out when he doesn't.

His vet visits, from the start, have gone extremely well. Because we travel so much, he has been to three vets since we adopted him into our family on December 11th. All three vet offices have fallen in love with him (as everyone who meets him does). He has been extremely calm, even with some of the most indigent procedures. Not once, in all of his shots, has he ever whimpered. This has impressed everyone. His fourth vet will be visited next week for his pre-operative exam. This operation will be the one where he loses his ...well ...you know ....OUCH!!!! This will put him in a slow and easy mode for about a week.

As mentioned before, he loves his toys as well as his playtime. We truly hope this is one thing he will never outgrow. His favorite exercise is, what we call, "fetch". I believe he relates to it as retrieving the downed game and bringing it to his hunting partner. He is part retriever, remember? As many times as we can, we will bring him to a small field in back of our home and throw a ball. He runs as fast as he can to retrieve it and runs lickety-split back to us with it. He then drops it in front of us and waits for another throw. This will go on for about 30-45 minutes until one of us get too tired. So far, he gets tired first, but we are very tired also. Another favorite is his bedtime playtime. This is where I get on the floor and play with him like another dog. No toys. Just him and me. I growl and pinch and grab and roll with him, just like a play partner would do. I do this to replicate doggie-on-doggie playtime. He has learned not to bite and to play easy. I did this by "yelping" if he bites and then stopping play for a few seconds. If he gets too rambunctious, I will grab him by the scruff of his neck (gently of course) and shake him a bit and growl in a very low tone. His instincts kick in and he tones down. Never, never have we punished him or hit at him. Dogs do not do that to one another and neither should we. During this playtime, I have had to teach him how to bark and growl. We even howl together. Maybe one night he and I will go out and howl at the moon. Our patience and raising techniques seem to be paying off. Guinness is a loving and gentle dog to everyone, especially us.

Now....he still is a puppy....remember? He still has some biting problems.... well...not really biting, just mouthing and nipping. He has, however, stopped the biting quite a bit. This is very obvious. He still has a mistake every now and then. He has learned to ring the "Potty Bell" when he needs to go out, but when he gets too excited, he forgets and "dribbles" before he can get to the bell. No problem. From day one, he has been better than we expected with his house breaking. He is still afraid of the dark, somewhat. We are trying to reassure him of this phobia. Lastly his biggest problem is separation anxiety. This is our fault. We did not leave him alone enough early on. We are working on that.

Our favorite trait is his sleeping habit. Every night around 9 PM, like clockwork, he will get up from where ever he is and go to the bedroom door. If the door is closed, which it usually is, he will return to wherever we are, lie down and go to sleep. After a few minutes one of us will ask him, " Want to go night-night?" He then gets up and follows us to the bedroom where his soft crate is, gets in, plops down with a slight groan and goes right to sleep. The next morning around 6 AM, again like clockwork, he will start to wake up. It takes him a while to wake up and he really doesn't start to get active until after 9 AM. Not a morning dog. Neither are we. Fits right in.

All-in-all, Guinness is doing great and has brought a new light into our lives. We understand he is a dog and treat him that way. We do our best to give him the direction a dog needs. In return, he gives us the unconditional love that he is most capable of. A perfect match. Some trials and tribulations, but absolutely no regrets. Ever.

Busy Weekend

This was a weekend of many events. Most notably, it was Valentine's Day on Saturday. Besides it being Valentine's Day, it was also Joyce's birthday. It was an open house weekend for us. It was the weekend that heralded the opening of the NASCAR season with the Daytona 500 on Sunday. And our youngest daughter, Veronica visited us.

The weekend started out not-so-good with Joyce very ill with some sort of a stomach bug on Saturday. Happy birthday, Honey!! We canceled the open house for that day. Veronica came in during the afternoon and we steamed some shrimp for dinner. She brought her dog, Gizmo, and he and Guinness visited. Gizmo is not a puppy and was not in the mood to do puppy things like Guinness wanted to do. Guinness learned real quick to give Gizmo his space. He did real well.


On Sunday we set up for the open house and Veronica headed back home. No visitors on the open house, the Daytona 500 was cut short by rain (Matt Kenseth won it), and we were exhausted...all three of us.

North to...not Alaska...Massachusetts

Our first away time since we returned from Georgia this past Sunday through Wednesday. We decided, on a whim, to run up to Massachusetts to visit our daughter and her family. We left Sunday morning and visited my Army buddy, Jeff, in New York. Jeff and I go way back to this month in 1968 when he arrived in the
Philippines and became my roommate for almost two years. We have been great friends ever since.

Monday morning we continued our trek to Massachusetts and arrived at Heather's home mid-morning. What a warm welcome. The biggest event was her dog, Bear, a two year old Golden Retriever, and Guinness. They were both extremely excited about each other and hit it off tremendously. The only down-side to the trip was Guinness had developed car sickness and we had to stop several times both Sunday and Monday to clean up. Hope he grows out of that.

Heather arranged a casual dinner that evening and both of our grandchildren were there as well as our great granddaughter. To make things more homey, our newly found niece and her children attended, also. What a grand time. We are so blessed.

Guinness and Bear were awesome with their socializing. It took a day, but by the time we left Wednesday, they were playing and acting like they were life long puppy mates. Guinness whined when we left. He missed Bear.

Even though the trip was short, we had a great time and were saddened when we departed.

I'm a Woodsy Sorta Dog....