Free Beer!

Missy, John, and I discovered the Atlanta Brewing Company for the first time last night. This brewing facility is located about 2 miles from where I live, and they have "tours" every Wednesday night at which visitors can purchase a souvenir glass for $7. With the glass, you get 6 bottle caps, each good for a full glass of freshly tapped beer. The beer itself is free because it would be illegal for the brewing company to sell their beer at the manufacturing facility. And they are not trying to con people into buying the glasses, because they also have plastic cups available for free if you'd rather not buy a glass. And there was a DJ there playing music the whole time for a little entertainment. We could not believe that this place has been right under our noses for the last two years, and we just found out about it a few weeks before graduation. I am not a huge beer drinker myself, but it was a great time and I really liked a few of the brews that they offered. If I ever actually redeem 6 bottle caps during the 2-hour time frame that the "tour" is open, it will be a bad night... But a couple of glasses for $7 is still a great deal. I discovered that I like hefeweizen, which means something about wheat beer, so I even learned something new. I have been writing tour in quotes because noone actually went on the tour. The little sitting area around the bar was full of tour patrons, but when the tour was announced we all chose to sit around and enjoy the beer instead. Maybe next week we will make time for the tour.

Spring

As is typical for me this time of year, I am basking in the wonderful joys of Spring. The warm weather (except for the last few days), the sun shining, the trees blooming, and everyone generally finding excuses to be outside and active. Winter simply encourages me to huddle up, move as little as possible, stay inside, and pray for Spring.

So praise God for Spring and for all the newness, warmth, and energy that it brings every year. I took the photo below at a Georgia Tech baseball game last weekend against Miami. GT lost pretty badly, but it was a beautiful night. It was also a somber night, because one of the GT players had died the day before this game. As far as I know, noone knows why or how he died yet, but it was sudden and very unexpected. Under the gorgeous Spring sky, as the sun is beginning to set behind the camera, the field and the players appear as usual. But if you look closely in the foreground, along the 3rd base line, you will see the number 40 painted onto the impeccably maintained grass. This was in honor of the boy who just a few nights before was in uniform with his friends and teammates. It was kind of strange for me as a disconnected spectator. I can't imagine what his teammates and family were going through.