Thursday, July 29, 2010

A Visit, A Meal and Blueberry Wheat Beer

Yesterday was a rare treat for Scottie and me. Our friend Holly, the one who is the reason that Scott and I met, was visiting along with her parents, her two boys, her sister Heather, and Heather's two boys. Unfortunately, Heather and Holly's husbands were unable to join them on this trip.

Scott met Holly and Heather way back in 1987 during their first summer as Walt Disney World cast members. I met Holly and Scott the summer of 1988 during my first summer at Disney. Needless-to-say, we have a fun and happy history and have made it a point to keep in touch despite living in different states.

We all met for lunch at Top Of The Hill Restaurant and Brewery in Chapel Hill, where our good friend, George (whom I also met at WDW in 1988 and was best man in our wedding) is a brewer extraordinaire. George and Gwen, George's wife and my dear friend, and their two boys joined us as well. Unfortunately, our children were in school and were unable to join us, much to their dismay!

Anyway, let me stop here and tell you that it is no secret that I am not a great lover of beer. However, I asked George to suggest something he made that I might like.

Oh my.

If you are ever in Chapel Hill, NC, please make a point to visit Top Of The Hill and try their award winning beer. The Blue Ridge Blueberry Wheat just won a gold medal and apparently blew the doors off Samuel Adams and other "national brands." I am here to testify that is delicious and I even took some to go!

But back to our visit. It was really nice to eat and chat with friends with whom we have such a fun history. And although we only see each other in person about every 4-5 years, we are able to fall right back into our comfortable rapport and enjoy our short time together.

Jacob, Isaac and Gwen. Jacob is showing how
big a fish he caught on a recent trip to Michigan.

Scott towering over Heather (L), Holly (R),
the Colonel (Holly & Heather's father, R. background)
and Holly & Heather's boys.

George gave us a quick brewery tour.

In front of a huge mural of Franklin Street and Top of the Hill
after yet another UNC-CH basketball championship :)

(L to R: Holly, Jacque, Scott, Sam, Josh, George, Gwen, Jacob & Isaac)

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hey, Q...I finally realized the thing on FaceBook was a link to your blog. Thanks for the complimentary write-up! When I got home with George's beer, Murray was very happy to taste test it with me. It was so good that I'm inspired to get back to Chapel Hill for another visit as soon as possible. We opened the second bottle with Ricky and Susan Tayloe as part of a birthday celebration for Susan, and I sent her home with some sunflowers in the pretty brown Top of the Hill bottle. I think that beer would be perfect with something grilled on Scott's smoker-contraption.