Sunday, October 12, 2008

Oktoberfest in October

St Peters Village

Hey Ya’ll!  Right now we should be exhausted and counting the minutes until bedtime, but due to the uncooperativeness of Mother Nature, our Camp-Out and 75th Anniversary celebration of Kellem (Campbell) Field has been postponed until next weekend.  So with nothing planned, it suddenly became a wide-opened weekend.  Hearing this, the first thing out of Beth’s mouth was, “Honey, we’re gonna have to get some running in!”. DAMN!  SLLLLLLLLAP! I should’ve faked an illness before I’d read aloud the postponement message about the Camp-In, but I hadn’t thought quickly enough. 

The news about the Camp-Out cancellation came on Friday afternoon just a few minutes after I got home from work.  Prior to that, I’d stopped by to pick up some ribs to cook on the grill so we could cook extra and bring some with us to Virginia.  I quickly changed into my bbq’ing attire (shorts, flip-flops, t-shirt,  and Zune) and lit the grill, grabbed an SB (Scrumpdidlyishus Beer), and cranked up the tunes.  As all the other fella’s in the neighborhood do too (I’m sure), I was hoping that the smell of the ribs sprinkled with garlic powder was visiting every house on the block and making everyone curious where the expert chef was.  Certainly, whomever that bbq’ing Sensei is, he should be on tv.  ME?  YAY?  Naw, just kidding’…. 

After consuming the required couple of beers to ensure the proper cooking time had been met, we ate dinner and I managed to get bbq sauce from my navel to the top of my head, including in my left eye.  Boy it was good though!  After choking down what must have been 40 ribs, we started chatting about what we would be doing since our weekend unexpectedly opened up.   While flipping through the newspaper, Beth came up some garage sales in the area and we decided that this is how we’d spend our Saturday morning; searching through other people’s junk to find something that I absolutely positively had to have.  I’m a techno geek so if you can glue a flashing light on a stick, I’ll give you top dollar for it!  YAY! 

Since we’d eaten early, Beth decided that I’d go for a long walk with her to settle our food.  I quickly changed into my shorts with many pockets but just before we left the house, she made me take the hidden beers out of all my pockets.  Damn!  SLAP!  Damn Slap!  D! S! just testing.  I put the beers back and walked out the door with my front lip hanging down and both shoes still untied. 


Good Saturday Morning!  We walked about 600 miles Friday evening and now, on Saturday, we’re going garage sale huntin’.  This is gonna be fun.  We brought along our new camera so we could continue to get used to it by taking 400,000 pictures and picking out the 2 that came out.  I’m hunting for anything that has “as seen on tv” cause I know that’s gotta be some cool stuff!  Beth is hunting for the not fun stuff like china and doiley’s and pretty stuff; not the fun stuff I need.  ooooh oooh, I just thought about something, perhaps I can find one of those contraptions that you hang upside down from. 

This is Lola *(The Bull Mastiff)  and her younger brother beside her.  Po thang, she weighs over a hundred pounds and is very shy and nervous.  We wanted to pet her but as soon as she came jogging out of the front door and saw us standing there, she nearly shat a live puma.  We left her alone but she was a cutie for sure.

With GPS in hand, we set out hunting for treasures.  The first stop Beth selected was St Peters, which is about 30 minutes that way.  We got there and were greeted by a Bull Mastiff and her younger brother of type I don’t know. 
It took a lot of bartering, but I was able to talk the lady and Beth into selling me a work out bench and work out pad to add to our collection of other unused gym items that decorates the whole downstairs. I almost got permission to buy a stationary bike, but since it had neither wheel on it, Beth put her foot down on that one and I didn’t get to get it.  I did get to see the Bull Mastiff up close though and bless her heart, she was afraid of her own shadow. 

Lola The Bull Mastiff

On the way into St Peters, we drove through the center of the village and thought it was beautiful.  We’d noticed a pretty waterfall up the hill and decided that after we finished shopping, we’d stop back by for a closer look.  After all, someone may have bought that weight bench out from under us if we’d delayed our initial shopping! 

DSC_0533

We thought this was a really pretty place to come back to for a picnic perhaps, or some other girl stuff.  SLAP!  I meant, bring you, my lovely, picnic’in which is one of mans favorite sports.  yeah! 

We looked around the village and there is lots of work going on to make this a tourist/shopping area.  That’s when we noticed that tomorrow (Sunday) there would be an Oktoberfest here. We’re definitely coming back! Yay

After taking a few more photo’s of St Peters Village, we got back in the car and Beth found a close by (ahem) yard sale 30 minutes on the other side of home, that way! We drove down and through Skippack and saw signs for another Oktoberfest celebration also taking place on Sunday so we put that on our Sunday to-do list too.  Our free weekend was filling up fast!  We went around to a few other yard sales and I tried to buy some VHS movies of James Bond but Beth wouldn’t let me all on account that we don’t have a VHS player. So.  She did buy a antique jar though; no flashing lights on it so it didn’t mean much to me. 

We decided that since we’d be visiting so many Oktoberfest celebrations on Sunday, we’d better attend Church this evening instead, to ask forgiveness before hand; kinda being proactive I’d say.  Also, for those skilled in Oktoberfest Beer Drinkin’ know that the real Oktoberfest, held in Munich (Munchen) Germany, is the last two weeks of September celebrating the arrival of October.  Anyway, we would be celebrating in the middle of October and would be partaking in German beer and food so as far as I’m concerned, they can have Oktoberfest in March as long as we’re invited!

Beth made me bathe before Church, but afterwards I put my shorts and flip-flops back on and we cooked big ole Pork Chops! Hmm Hmm they were good.  No wonder she makes me run and walk and ride bikes all the time, if I ain’t exercising, it sounds like I’m eating! Well, maybe I am.  0    Speaking of exercising, I forgot to mention that after garage sale visiting, but before Church, we did go running and I’m happy to say that Beth is fine.  She pulled a muscle in her, uhm, behiney whilst running so that means I don’t have to run either until it’s all better!  YAY. I mean, I honestly don’t want her hurting, but I don’t have to run for a long time I bet!


It’s Sunday now and I just got back from Running! Son-Of-A-Bi  SLAP!  Honey, I wasn’t gonna really say it. 

Map picture

Beth decided that since she’d awakened early, she would go for a long walk and as I took the first step (walking) with her, she said, “Oh honey, please feel free to go running, have fun, be safe, buh-bye”.  As long as I started jogging before I started cussing, she wouldn’t be able to catch me I said silently to myself…  As I jogged along the Perkiomen Valley Trail that meanders along side the river, I looked for places to hide until Beth walked by and then I could lounge until she returned, but something inside me kept saying how I’d get caught and be in big trouble; I jogged on cussing.

After 30 or 3 miles (whichever sounds more believable), I had jogged to the 3rd bridge, turned around, and was heading back to the car, that would lead to the Oktoberfest, that would enable the German food and beer to reach the front of my head.  I met up with my Honey and homeward bound we went.

After we cleaned up it was still way too early for Oktoberfest so I acted like I was working on the laptop but was really playing Command and Conquer Generals.  I had to keep a work look image on my face even though my army men dudes were getting blown up and set on fire by the bad guys.  I thought my story was working until she commented that I’d got beat up pretty badly by the opposing forces and laughed when I looked dazed and confused on how she knew.  Seems I didn’t plug the earphones all the way in and not only was the sounds of war coming in through my headphones, but it was coming out of the laptop speaker as well, except I couldn’t hear it; Beth could though.  Busted!  I then got to vacuum the entire house. She’s 0.

Finally it was almost time to go and I knew it was almost time cause Beth came out to the car where I was sitting to avoid having to do windows and said, “It’s time to go”; so I knew it was almost time to go.  By the time potty breaks were done, hair was straightened and re-straightened, make up adjusted, shoes changed 7615 times, and complete wardrobes swapped out, a half-hours time had passed.  NOW, it was time to go.  We first drove over to Skippack cause it’s closer to Phoenixville, but left soon afterwards on account that it was a hotrod car show and not Oktoberfest.  I didn’t see one schnitzel nor one beer tent.  Time to go to St Peters!

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When we first arrived at St Peters, we knew there was fun stuff going on just cuz we had to park about 1 mile down the road and walk to the village since the streets had become a giant walkplatz. I did feel kinda weird wearing Lederhosen,  just kidding.  I think I would wear a kilt before wearing those things.  To make things easier all around, the only way to buy things (beer and food and more beer) was to find the ticket tent and buy tickets to make those purchases.  That way, there would be no need for change and pick pocketers, and stuff like that.  We bought enough to have lunch (Bratwurst, cabbage, and hot mustard) and washed it all down with beers. YAY

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We started hearing a few dogs lose their minds and start barking repeatedly and was curious what it was.  We couldn’t hear it initially from where we were, but as we were walking around we discovered the cause of their lost minds.  A local balloon operator was heating up the air in his balloon to give static line rides to anyone who wanted to float around tied to 50 foot rope – all for the one time low fee of $10.00 a ride.  We’re guessing dogs can hear the roar from the gas torch thing-a-ma-jiggy  in the higher frequencies and perhaps it even hurts their little ears.  I just made up the high frequency bit, but it may be true.  I know something drove those dogs crazy and none of them were looking at me!  Hello.

balloon

walkplatz

 

This photo (to the left) was taken just as we were entering the village. Down around the corner is probably 2000 crazy people shopping, eating, drinking, listening to the live bands.  There is a new band that performs every hour beginning on hour for forty-five minutes. The outgoing band and the incoming band have a combined 15 minutes to setup before the concert is expected to continue.  Standing there drinking beer watching them setup and tear down was quite fun.  This whole village is receiving a face lift so if you are in the area and want a nice fun day, think about stopping by St Peters Village (near Elverson) in Southeastern Pennsylvania.  There are coffee shops, chocolate shops, knick-knack shops, a waterfall, picnic areas.  It’s a really nice place.

Beth had gone into the chocolate shop for a looksie and I was standing there looking like a tourist with my camera so I walked on the side porch of the chocolate shop and discovered this little creek running right behind it.  It was really pretty and the quiet soft sounds the water was making through the rocks could have quickly put me to sleep. Luckily the dogs minds were still lost because of the balloon and they continued to bark and bark, keeping me awake.  We’ll definitely be packing a lunch in the future to come back up and spend a few more hours up here.   My patience was rewarded because when Beth returned, she was carrying two chocolate pretzels with toffee melted on top of the chocolate.  I think mine was good but ate it so quickly that it could have tasted like corn-chip smelling feet and I wouldn’t have known it.  Let’s just say it was delish!

creek

The late afternoon was arriving and we hadn’t eaten in, oh, 45 minutes, so we thought we’d head home to finish watching the football games and act like couch potatoes for the rest of the day.  We walked the mile back to the car only to find some crazy lady walking up and down the street writing license plates down and hollering at people saying “the police are on the way to arrest everyone”.  I thought she was a bit funny because nobody that had parked there was on her property (we parked in a church); nor was any sane police officer going to drive all the way out the St Peters Village to listen to some crazy lady hollering about mashing her grass down with car tires.  We stood there and watched as others walked up to their cars laughing at loopy lady and driving away.  I couldn’t believe that people were laughing at her so loudly, and then Beth told me to quiet down and get in the car.  I did and homeward bound we drove leaving mashed down grass in our wake.  Beth phoned the pizza place just up the street from home and by the time we arrived, the pizza was just coming out of the oven.  Now here we sit on the couch, eating pizza, and watching football.  We had a pretty good weekend considering we thought it would be a wash due to our flying plans getting cancelled.  We’re planning on flying down to Virginia next weekend if the anniversary fly-in is a go.  The weather is forecasted to be iffy for the moment but we’ll see.  Until then, ya’ll be safe and don’t drive in the grass.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

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