Brew City Beatdown & Friendsgiving in Minneapolis

(Cheeky the tagged speaking)

Let me start by saying I'm thankful for all my great family and fronds - err, FRIENDS!

Over the past few weeks, Ross and I have gone on a couple adventures - check it out:

Brew City Beatdown (LINK)

Brew City Beatdown is 48 hours of friends, food, and fragging - computer nerds in their natural habitat! Tom and Jess did a great job getting the lounge ready for the action, providing grub, and hosting the event for the second year in a row.

After popping up all the tables and running all the cables, the players arrived with their gear, and we got to it. We played several games - PUBG, Destiny, Fortnite, Xonotic, and Company of Heroes. Just like last year, Ross (BAKERCO) took second place in the Xonotic tournament - again failing miserably to dethrone the GOAT. Folks also tested their skills with the classics (Joust, Ms. Pac-Man, Rampage, Dig Dug, Track & Field, more) on SOB's Retrocade machine - awesome! I, of course, took first place in all pineapple-related challenges

We're looking to make the event bigger and better every year, so if you're a computer gamer in the Milwaukee area, and you want in... get in touch!!!

Friendsgiving in Minneapolis

Ross and I took a road trip to visit Rich and Cindy at their new digs up in Minneapolis. We left straightaway after work, and the road trip proved to be quick and easy. They have a nice apartment surrounded by giant pine trees, so I felt right at home. As always, they are wonderful hosts and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

While in town, we went on numerous adventures!

We met up with Rich's sister Jess and her family, in the famous Han's Bakery for some breakfast and one of their famous Bienenstich ("Beesting") cakes. It was a sweet, honey glazed, cream filled magical wonder that you would need to taste to believe.

We spent a day at the Mall of America, where I saw a giant pineapple that must've been 50 feet tall, and met up with the Vikings Cheerleaders (not Ross' idea, I swear!) This was the first time Ross or I have been to the Mall of America, and were blown away by its size!

We also paid a visit to the Herbivorous Butcher - America's first vegan butcher shop! We all enjoyed different sandwiches: Turkey & Dill Havarti, Italian Cold Cut, and a hot-pressed Brie, Bacon, and Pear panini. Very tasty, and an interesting take on the deli meats and sandwiches we're used to. If you're in the area, I definitely recommend checking it out!

Of course, we also had a traditional friendsgiving dinner while there: Taco pie, Roasted brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, and stuffing! OK, maybe not exactly traditional according to what the Puritans and Pilgrims might tell you, but I don't see any of them around here complaining!

We spent an afternoon at the Excelsior Christmas market, which had vendors, foods, and plenty of good times. A young boy scout was putting on an unbelievable show to get people to buy Christmas wreaths: singing, dancing, and generally stealing all attention away from all the other vendors. You go, dude! We walked away with some Salsa, and some fancy salt... not very Christmas-y, but oh so tasty! (Note: the salsa is already gone by the time of this blog posting. NOM NOM NOM!)

It was a great trip, and we look forward to going back again soon!