I am going to steal an idea from a fellow Disney blogger and mention all the firsts I experienced on my last trip but to repay her I am going to add a link to her page so you can go visit her site at Fairytale Journeys by Nicole.  Be sure to tell her hello and that Mouse Host sent you!

• First time staying at All Star Movies.

• First time attending Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.

• First time eating at Yak & Yeti (counter service), Columbia Harbour House, Pizza Planet, Paradiso 37, Big River Grille & Brewing Works, and House of Blues.

• First Nutella waffle from Sleepy Hollow and cupcake from Starring Rolls.

• First time seeing Festival of the Lion King

• First time taking boat from Hollywood Studios to Epcot.

• First time doing Animation Academy

• First time doing pressed pennies.

• First time seeing part of Fantasyland expansion.

• First time at Food and Wine Festival

• First annual pass.

Another tapping party coming up for Big River Grille & Brewing Works at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort.  Saturday, September 15th, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., they will be celebrating their “Oktoberfest  Bier”.  This tapping party will feature $2.00 bratwurst sandwiches and pretzels, $3.00 pints of the Oktoberfest, music and a raffle.

Some of the proceeds from this event will go  to the “Sound of Silence – Kissimmee Autism Initiative”  charity,  so head on out, have a beer and do some good at the same time.

Motorco was great- full of friendly people and a delicious beer selection. Bonus- the night I showed up, !!! (chk chk chk) was playing in the main room! Anyhow, it’s a fun find if you’re in Durham- definitely check it out. The next day, Oates showed me around town; we started with an amazing lunch at another newer Durham locale called Bull City Burger and Brewery.

In addition to their fun pub ambiance, delicious beverages, and commitment to locally sourced food, I enjoyed the best burger I’ve ever eaten, no joke. It was the perfect ratio of burger to topping to bun and every aspect was cooked to perfection. I’m drooling just thinking about it right now . . . I loved it so much I would even consider being a part of their tattoo program . . . if only I lived closer.

Durham is also home to some great old signs and the old Lucky Strike factory/water tower- naturally, I spent some time with my Polaroid cameras and Instagram app documenting my favorite aspects. I included some photos here- you can check out more on my flickr.

After lunch and a short tour, I continued westward to see my friend Shawn in Knoxville, TN. I arrived kind of late, so I didn’t get to see much of the town that night. We did enjoy dinner at Soccer Taco in Market Square, a bustling downtown square in the heart of Knoxville. The next morning, Shawn’s rescued boxer Bob didn’t want to see me leave:

After some forlorn pets on the head goodbye, I headed back into downtown Knoxville. One of the major reasons I stopped in Knoxville (other than saying “hey” to Shawn) was to visit Yee Haw Industries, one of my favorite letterpress companies. They travel to many of the shows I do, but also have a storefront in Knoxville; I knew seeing their home-base would be a totally unique experience! My timing couldn’t have been better- just a week after my visit, Kevin Bradley and Julie Belcher scheduled to shut their doors after 15 years on South Gay Street and work on their own, separate, endeavors. While in there, many locals came in to express their sympathies- it’s nice to know that despite their closing, the town really did appreciate the work that they did. Their storefront was awesome:

Look at all that type in the window! There’s more where that came from . . .

The Yee Haw store was an amazing visual print-nerd overload. I got to spend some serious quality time with their racks and racks of prints. I fell in love with some of their monoprints, but they were way out of my price range- so I settled on these uniquely shaped carved guitar prints. I can’t wait to frame them!

After spending wayyyy too much time in Yee Haw, I headed back to Market Square to check out a store that had piqued my interest the evening before. Bliss Home (and the Bliss boutique across the way) were my shopping dreams come true. Bliss Home was akin to an independent Anthropologie, complete with mini home settings, unique wall art, and other funky domestic finds. I fell in love with their reclaimed wooden furniture- I snapped some photos with my phone, but they didn’t come out great. I did come home with these adorable owl planters- they are now homes to my basil and chive plants:

The “Mr. and Mrs.” card came from their sister store across the way, simply named Bliss. It’s made by smock. a letterpress company based out of upstate New York. The pack of thank you cards to the left came from a cute custom design studio I happened upon, just outside of Market Square. I met Ty Pattison, one half of the studio The Happy Envelope, and he told me all about his and his wife Sarah’s custom invitation endeavors. The work they had hanging throughout the storefront was beautiful- very inspiring. Check out this diagram about typography they had displayed:

I didn’t get to take any photos of it, but I also checked out a great store packed with handmade goodies called rala - the store was also just off Market Square. It seems Market Square is definitely the place to be in Knoxville!

After a morning of retail therapy, I hopped on Route 40 to head to Chattanooga. Google maps recommended taking the interstate all the way to Chattanooga, but I decided to head down a state route to see if there was anything cool to document. My route took me through Rockwood, TN, a small town bursting with antique stores. I checked out a few and happened upon some amazing finds- how cool are these vintage designs? The last photo is of a collection of holiday cards by a crafty family named the Colburns- each card is a handprinted block print featuring a holiday image.

I came home with another fabric calendar, some sweet old photos (you can see some if you click on the flickr link I mentioned previously in this post), an old window for my booth, and a sewing ottoman that I’ve also begun using in my booth setup.

After my antique-ing adventures, I rolled into Chattanooga just in time to set up for the Chatty Crafty show- Lynda Buckels, the organizer, allowed all the vendors to set up the night before the sh0w. Amazing! The show was held right on the waterfront, next to the state aquarium. Setup went off without a hitch, so afterwards I headed into town to find dinner. I ended up at the Big River Grille & Brewing Works. One of the perks about traveling alone- no waiting in line at restaurants! I got to sit immediately at the bar and chowed down on an amazing pasta dish. Afterwards, I enjoyed a cupcake dessert across the street at GiGi’s Cupcakes, a mobile cupcake bakery. Onwards to my hostel . . .

The Chatty Crafty organizers recommended The Crash Pad hostel to the out of town vendors. I’ve generally had great luck with hostels, home and abroad, so I was optimistic- The Crash Pad managed to exceed my expectations.

Located in the Southside neighborhood, this pristine lodging facility boasts an outdoor fire pit, full kitchen, individual bunks in addition to private rooms, a six-toed cat, and the majority of their fixtures are locally sourced. The location is ideal- ample parking, yet close to Chattanooga’s free downtown electric shuttle. They love to cater to the rock climbing community in the area, but are super friendly and welcoming to any traveler passing through- most of their staff even came to Chatty Crafty! This was where I stayed- a private bunk, complete with a lamp and a fan.

Alright, time to end post one- post two will be all about my experience at Chatty Crafty and all of the talented artists and crafters I encountered! Stay tuned- part two of my trip to Tennessee will be published tomorrow; it includes features on many of the participating artists at April’s Chatty Crafty event!

Another day, another Big River Grille & Brewing Works tapping party I won’t be in town to attend.  But hopefully some of you will.  This one is for their Maibock, and the event is on Wednesday, April 4, from 4:30 to 6:30.

Only three reviews of this beer over at Beer Advocate, with mid-range scores.  If you have a chance to try out the Maibock, let us know what you think.

Big River Grille & Brewing works at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort is getting ready for another tapping party, this one for their Irish Red Lager, on Wednesday, March 7th from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.  This beer will be available from March 6 to April 1, 2012.

Only a couple of reviews over at Beer Advocate, which give it an average rating.  If you have a chance to try the Irish Red Lager, we’d love to hear what you think!

From their Facebook:

SOLEIL IPA TAPPING PARTY Sat 1/28/2012 12:00 pm-2:00pm
Come in and enjoy $3 pints of our Brewers Select “Soleil IPA”…….
“A copper-colored, American-style India Pale Ale with a pronounced hop aroma due to the time-honored tradition of dry-hopping.” See you there!

Took a quick look at this beer on Beer Advocate, and while  there are only three reviews so far, they were all high scoring.

If you have a chance to stop by and try it out, let us know what you think!

Big River Grille & Brewing Works at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort tapped Iron Horse Stout today, which presumably replaces the Winter’s Nip which was scheduled to end its run December 24.

From the official description:

A two time medalist, this opaque black stout is boldly aggressive with a roasted flavor stemming from rich UK malt. Iron Horse Stout was awarded the top medal in the 1998 World Beer Cup Competition in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, and the bronze medal in the 2000 Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado.

No word on how long they’ll be brewing it so if you’re a fan, be sure to stop by soon.

Big River Grille is providing some holiday savings this season with a “12 Days of Holiday Cheer” promotion running from December 13th to December 24th.   Items ranging from a free appetizer to a buy one/get one deal on entrees to free gift cards with purchase are available.   All coupons must be redeemed on the actual date for that promotion, but in the case of the gift card offers, the free gift cards can be used well into March 2012.

You can find all the discounts available on their website via this link “12 Days of Holiday Cheer”

We usually end up staying around the resort on the day we arrive to recoup from the trip.  It’s nice to get familiar with the resort grounds and amenities, find a nice place to enjoy lunch if we haven’t already eaten and then relax by the pool.  John and I are really looking forward to the pool at this years resort too, it’s huge and has so many different things to enjoy.

For dinner we either end up dining at the resort or heading over to Downtown Disney to enjoy dinner and the nightlife, depending on how tired we are.  LOL  This year I think we are going to try to have dinner at the Boardwalk Resort, there’s a restaurant I want to take John to called The Big River Grille & Brewing Works; stay posted for our review.  The Boardwalk is also within walking distance of the Beach Club Resort so it won’t take too much effort to get there.  I would still like to get to Downtown Disney that night, I’m really eager to checkout all of the new Vinylmations at D-Street! We’ll see what happens.

Manda’s Tip: The Disney Magical Express is available to transport you to your resort from Orlando International Airport (which we have yet to use, but it sill sounds like a great service)  Disney comes up with some really unique accommodations like this, I’ve come to  expect nothing less from them though.

My son thinking about my advice

I stated in my post, “Go to the Pub”, that I had given my son the following words of advice, “If you want a really good burger, go to a brew pub.” I don’t know why, but brew pubs seem to have the best burgers. I have had many over the years and from all of “research” I have done on this matter, I have found that 99.9% of the time, this has been true. In Walt Disney World, there are a few places to get a burger, but if you have the opportunity, make sure you get one at the Brew Pub. There’s a Brew Pub in Disney World? Yes, there is. It is located on the Boardwalk and is an Unknown Magic that is very appetizing.

The Big River Brew Pub is located on the Boardwalk, between Thimbles and Threads and the Disney Vacation Club Preview Center. It is open Daily from 11:30am until midnight. This Big River Grille & Brewing Works is the only one of the four Big River Grilles, to be found outside of Tennessee. It is owned by the Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant Group, Inc which owns and operates brew pubs in 29 states and two in Taiwan. It is not a really big place to eat or have an adult beverage, but it is never really crowded and there is outdoor seating when it is.

The food menu is very good, the menu starters include dips and nachos, while the main courses offered range from chicken, fish and meat to pastas and sandwiches. There are salads, everything from a Greenhouse Salad to a Grilled Salmon Caesar. There is also a kids menu available. Big River is also on the Disney Dining Plan as a table service meal. We have had many of the different menu items at Big River, the Caesar Salads are good as are the Nachos, and the Blackened Mahi Mahi Sandwich, but I am partial to the burger. One note here though, they do not fry anything at Big River, which means all meals are served without French Fries. All Sandwiches come with homemade potato chips.

If you have read the blog before, you know by now that I do not consider a restaurant an Unknown Magic just because of the food or location (Although this one is helped by its location). Now, you know for it to be an Unknown Magic, the ambiance has to be as good as the food. Big Rivers food is good, but the Magical Experiences here are created by the fact that you can sit on the Boardwalk and enjoy you meal. Either during lunch or dinner sitting outside and watching the Friendship launches and people walking the Boardwalk is a very relaxing thing. And at night you can sit outside and see the tops of the fireworks from Illuminations in Epcot, helping you to have a Magical Experience. Another thing about this wonderful place is that if you are sitting outside enjoying your adult beverage, the kids can go over to the store or the Boardwalk games and enjoy themselves and you can keep an eye on them.