We hope you had a great holiday. The holidays were slow for reviews, but here’s what’s happened with the TFBA in the last month.

Cook the Blog

Backwood Bistro – $15.95 for a pasta dish at lunch is a bit steep, but it won’t stop Joe from going back for seconds.

Kristoph’s K-Time

Metro Deli of Tallahassee – The bread was odd, but the Metro “Box” is a great value overall.

Somewhat Gourmet

Country Kitchen – Don’t avoid Country Kitchen, but be ready to avoid your scale the next day.

Miller’s Ale House – What rhymes with Miller? Filler, which is what SG thinks about Miller’s Ale House.

Sweet Tea & Bourbon

Prime Time Sports Lounge – Plenty of beer choices and good food left Sweet Tea & Bourbon thoroughly impressed with Prime Time.

Miller’s Ale House- Orlando, Hunter’s Creek locale, 13536 South John Young Parkway, Orlando, FL. More locations.

Luscious ice cream pie from Miller’s Ale House in Orlando, FL. The pie crust was insane, made out of Nutter Butter cookies. I’m going to use that crust for myriad of desserts! 2 layers of vanilla ice cream, a layer of peanut butter filling and a pb and chocolate swirl top. Chocolate syrup and warm pb cream design the plate with a Nutter Butter cookie on top.

http://millersalehouse.com

A dreamy, creamy mad crazy dessert.

4.25 sweet smiles out of 5

On Sunday September 23, 2012, in Orlando, Florida, Miller’s Ale House joined forces with Meals of Hope to pack 100,000 meals for Florida’s families in need. The effort was inspired by the success of a similar event sponsored by Miller’s Ale House and held in conjunction with the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association’s 2012 Summer Board Meeting where volunteers from Florida’s hospitality industry packed more than 46,000 meals.

Miller’s Ale House Employees Participate in ‘Meals of Hope’ Event

“We have grown our businesses by feeding others. It seems only natural that those of us in the restaurant industry would be moved to participate in solving the problem of hunger in our communities,” said Dave Reid, Miller’s Ale House VP of Operations, and former FRLA Chairman. “To know that over 800,000 children in Florida are food insecure, that 49,000 are homeless, and more than half of the children in this state need free or reduced lunch, compels me to use the resources we have to help.”

Employees from Miller’s I-Drive Ale House were on hand to help out and encouraged the community to participate by entering a team in the charity team challenge, where teams of 8 – 10 people race against the clock to build as many meals as possible.

Sherman Hankins, NBA Player, Nick Anderson &  Christopher Adams

United Healthcare and the Orlando Magic provided all participants with a complimentary ticket to attend an Orlando Magic home game. Former NBA Player Nick Anderson was there to support the event and interacted with participating employees and families.

“Fighting hunger in our communities is just one way we can help people live healthier lives throughout Florida,” said David Lewis, CEO, UnitedHealthcare Employer & Individual of Florida. “We are proud to sponsor an event that not only sparks the spirit of volunteerism in our communities but also helps thousands of local families in need.”

“I am elated that my peers in the hospitality industry have decided to raise the bar and more than double last year’s total of packaged meals,” said Dave Reid, Executive Vice President of Operations for Miller’s Ale House Restaurants. ”Not only does this event benefit the Central Florida Community, but packaging the meals for area families has to be one of the most fulfilling events I have ever worked.”

Miller’s Ale House Restaurants is a casual dining/sports restaurant chain with 59 locations in eight states and expanding to include 65 locations in nine states by the end of the year. Meals of Hope is a Florida-based charity that positively impacts local need for nutritious meals by joining forces with charitable organizations to host food packing events.

- Vikki Hankins

I was meeting my brother and his girlfriend for lunch today. It takes about 15 minutes to get to from my office to the Ale House, so I asked him to order for me. Thanks to my food allergies and lactose intolerance, when I go out to eat I almost always get a salad; at the Ale House I prefer their Chinese chicken salad. My brother accidentally order the grilled chicken salad for me, which because of the cheeses and ranch dressing, I can’t eat. When I arrived, I spoke to the server and asked to correct my order to which he replied “Can they just take the cheese off?” I explained that I also can’t eat other things in the salad and would really prefer the Chinese chicken salad. He said that wouldn’t be a problem.

A few minutes later our food arrived. I’m glad I looked at my dish before I took a bite, because under the chicken breast the entire salad was covered in cheese. He didn’t bring the salad I ordered; the kitchen covered it in dressing and was hoping that I wouldn’t notice. Um hello, I have taste buds…I kind of know when I taste cheese. It was lunchtime, I was hungry, and I just wanted my salad; it was time to get the server’s attention, which proved to be an impossible task, as he was busy socializing…with his back to us…at the bar.

Finally, I got the server’s attention and told him that I didn’t want to be rude but I couldn’t eat the salad and I explained why again. After another 10 minutes, I finally had food that I was able to consume without getting sick. Victory! I scarfed down my meal, because I had to get back to work, and waited on my check. And then I waited some more. And I waited a little longer. And then I waited even longer, until 15 minutes had passed. I was tired of waiting on our server to stop (you guessed it) socializing…with his back to us…at the bar… and start doing his job, so for the first time in my life I sought out a manager.

I explained to the manager the situation and that I’d had my first bad experience at his restaurant. He wasn’t exactly apologetic. He simply offered me a coupon for free zingers and told me that if it happened again to get a manager sooner. Umm, how about it should have been something like “I’m sorry, it won’t happen again, it will be taken care of”? What the hell happened to good customer service? I’m paying to be a patron at your restaurant and you don’t care that your employees are lazy, unfriendly and unattentive? Well then, sir, you can take your coupon and shove it. Millers Ale House is a place that I will most definitely not be going back to.

The proof:

But the highlight of lunch had to be seeing The Mystery Machine. I know, I know. I get excited easily, but how often do you get to see a childhood cartoon come to life. It could have only have been better if Daphne had stepped out of the passenger side. Given the choice between meeting the talking dog and the redhead and… Well, it wouldn’t even be a choice for me. But anyway, there’s my highlight of the day.

Any time I visit a restaurant that offers sweet potato fries, it is basically a guarantee that I will order them.  I don’t buy sweet potato fries to make at home all too often but that is really just because I love them so much.  Rather than purchase them and gorge myself on an entire bag, I opt just to order these mystical creatures when they are presented to me on a menu.  My most recent run in was via Miller’s Ale House.  I believe these were added to the menu a few months back, but, Saturday night was my first time trying them.

As much as I like Ale House, they always manage to mess something up with their takeout orders.  So, it was no surprise to me at all when I arrived home to find that rather than giving me an entire side order of sweet potato fries in addition to my rice & beans (as I specified), they subbed out one for the other.  Okay, whatever.  I should have known that asking 3 times for a side order of sweet potato fries in addition to the rice & beans really meant subbing one for the other.

At first look, these sweet potato fries looked like winners.  They were all good in size and none seemed to be too thick or too thin.  They also smelt great.  These were served with a cinnamon-butter which I did not have.  I like my sweet potato fries just plain.  If done right, they produce all of the flavor you could even need, want & desire. 

Ale House produced sweet potato fries that were right at the middle line marker.  Most of the fries were cooked up to the perfect level which provided just a slight exterior crispiness and a sweet, soft inside.  I found that most of the fries hit both of these markers and the overall flavor was perfect.  You could taste the sweet potato in each fry however, not to the point where it was overbearing. 

I did find that some of the fries were a little too soft inside which produced a much more starchy taste and flavor.  It was almost like some of them had chopped sweet potatoes inside.  The end taste of these particular fries was not good at all.  It wasn’t the fact that the sweet potato taste was overbearing – it was the fact that I felt like I was eating fries with the interior consistency of thick baby food.  The thought of baby food alone makes me want to throw up so feeling as if the interior of these fries was baby food-like, was enough to put me over the edge.

I’m not sure why most of the fries were cooked up perfect and some were not.  Even the fries with the baby food-like interiors, had a nice & crispy exterior.  If all of the fries would have been the same – the good ones that is – then, these fries would have been true winners.  The fact that there was such inconsistency brings them down from the pedestal back to the average ground.  In the fries that were good, the taste was spot on.  Each fry had plenty of flavor all on its own and simply melted in my mouth.

I am glad that I finally tried the sweet potato fries at Ale House and will certainly give them another shot.  Perhaps ordering the fries in restaurant rather than takeout, will help each and every fry be just as good as the next one.  Sweet Potato Fries should gain a spot in the normal side item rotation at all restaurants.  They simply are so basic & divine in taste.  Until all other restaurants catch on to this fact, Sweet Potato Fries will hold their spot in my heart as my favorite Mystical Creature.

While I had seen Zingers listed on the Ale House menu, I first discovered Zingers via Taylor.  When we visited Ale House (many, many years ago), Taylor would order the Zinger Mountain Melt.  This consists of Zingers on top of an order of loaded fries.  Taylor likes to order his Zingers with Mild Wing Sauce and I really just don’t care for this sauce.  So, I never thought about it and stuck with my order of fish tacos while visiting Ale House.  Then one night, I decided to try something different.  After further review of the menu, I found that one of the available sauce options for Zingers was honey mustard.  Ahh.  It was time to try these.

The Zingers are served with your choice of either blue cheese or ranch dressing.  I always opt for mine to be served with blue cheese dressing.  The number of Zingers you receive in each order vary.  I have received orders of 6 Zingers and orders of 9 Zingers – it always varies.  The chicken in these Zingers is all white meat and is so moist.  The chicken is not seasoned with anything and relies purely on cooking and the tossing of sauce to provide all flavor.  Each piece of chicken is a fairly good size in both length and width.  The chicken is so juicy and the consistency is simply perfect.

I really appreciate the fact that these Zingers are served with barely any breading.  Unlike your typical chicken fingers (bit of chicken and tons of breading), these Zingers are chicken with just a light coating of breading.  The breading is simple and not overly fried.   While the breading is not overly crunchy, there is a slight bit of crunch provided.  It works well with the moist interior of the Zingers.  There is not one particular flavor that stands out with the breading but, this is really because of the fabulous sauce they are tossed in.

Once these chicken tenders are tossed with honey mustard, they become Zingers.  The honey mustard is really what sets these Zingers apart.  What brings them from good to fantastic.  The honey mustard used is a thicker honey mustard sauce and is not too sweet.  The honey mustard sauce sticks perfectly to the breading.  While they are coated in honey mustard, they are not dripping in it.  When you pick up the Zinger and bite into it, the honey mustard meshes with the breading and chicken.  The result – love.  Every bite provides ample amounts of chicken, breading and honey mustard.

Once you dip these Zingers into the blue cheese dressing, oh my.  They go up another level all together.  Blissful.  Just a small bit of blue cheese is needed to really amp up the Zingers.  The blue cheese is basic and is really not too strong.  This allows the Zingers to do all the work and the blue cheese to be a great sidekick.  Also, the coolness of the blue cheese in combination with the very warm Zingers, provides a lovely mesh of temperatures.  I find more and more often that I really enjoy this mesh of temps.

Even though I don’t order Honey Mustard Zingers every time I visit Ale House, I do always think about them.  I also really enjoy the Honey Mustard Zinger Tacos – with the Zingers being the star component.  I normally am not a huge chicken tender fan but the Honey Mustard Zingers are just something special.  Everything about them, but really the simplicity of them, makes them just so amazing.  If you live close to an Ale House (and haven’t yet tried Zingers), go and get yourself an order.  For under $10 you are going to have a great meal & overall experience.  When you use good, moist chicken, simple breading and a honey mustard sauce that’s killer, the result is Zinging Love.

*Side Note:  While this post did go up, I don’t really love it…it is lacking the usual ikciN factor.  Any feedback is always welcomed.*

In Naples, the choices are pretty limited.  I find that some of the places that do offer them, only serve them with Fried White Fish.  I prefer my fish tacos served with Grilled Mahi Mahi.  While I have had some really bad fish tacos (Bokampers, Cheesecake Factory), I have found one restaurant that consistently serves up some great fish tacos.  Miller’s Ale House is my go-to location for fish tacos.  For only $8.95, you receive 3 fish tacos served up with Grilled Mahi Mahi, fresh Pico de Gallo, lettuce, shredded cheese and chipotle-cilantro sauce.  Plus, you get a huge side of rice and beans.  All for $8.95!  Schwing!

I prefer to order these tacos while dining at Ale House but, last week, we decided to get take out.  I took a chance and ordered them for take-out and while they were good, they were not quite as fantastic as they are when you eat them there.  I’m sure this can be contributed to the fact that they sit in a container for the 10 minutes it takes to get back home before consumption begins.  Even so, they were quite yummy.

While eating these tacos, I apply sour cream and cocktail sauce to each taco.  Not a ton of either but enough to taste and appreciate the flavor.  I also mix together the heaping serving of rice and beans and sometimes will dip my fork into the sour cream or cocktail sauce prior to scooping up some rice and beans.  Okay, enough on my weird eating tendencies, let’s get to the food.

The taco shells are basic flour tortillas that are warmed up.  They have a crisp exterior and a chewy interior – a good flour tortilla.  Grilled Mahi Mahi is one of my most favorite types of fish to eat and Ale House does a great job on theirs.  Each taco includes around 3 good sized pieces of mahi mahi.  The mahi mahi has a nice chargrilled exterior and is perfectly cooked.  The fish is moist and not dried out at all.  The mahi mahi has such a great flavor on its own, that it really does not need any additional seasonings.

In addition to the tortilla and mahi mahi, these tacos include the variety of toppings I mentioned above.  The pico de gallo is fresh and very good.  I enjoy the flavor the pico puts out from the simple & fresh ingredients.  The lettuce and cheese are also fresh and tasty.  On each taco, I always seem to receive a different amount of the chipotle-cilantro sauce.  Sometimes it’s just enough and other times, they put way too much.  On this batch of tacos, I received a decent amount.  The flavor of this sauce is a good mix between chipotle and cilantro – it is neither too spicy or flavorless.  The sauce is usually right on top of the mahi mahi or on the tortilla itself.

All of the fillings in the fish tacos really come together as one.  I think this is what makes these fish tacos so great.  While the mahi mahi is warm, the toppings are cool and the sour cream/cocktail sauce are cold.  I really love how the 3 temperatures come together with each bite.  Beyond the fact that Ale House serves up great mahi mahi, they also serve up great toppings for the taco.  Add in that bit of sour cream and cocktail sauce and Bam! you have some great fish tacos.  I love to pair these with the rice and beans served by Ale House.  You always receive a large scoop of rice and beans…more than enough to go with each taco.

For the rice and beans, Ale House used wild rice.  The rice is not ‘sticky’ and is flavored with salt, pepper and cilantro.  The beans are black beans and are pretty large.  The black beans don’t have a ton of flavor on their own but mixed with the rice, and the tomatoes they add on top, they taste quite lovely.  Even though these are not your traditional rice and beans, I do really enjoy them quite a bit.  Pair these with the fish tacos and I am set.

Even though Naples is on the Gulf of Mexico, it is extremely hard to find good fish tacos.  Don’t ask me why…it makes no sense.  I am very glad that I have the fish tacos at Ale House as a good, go to option.  Perfectly grilled fish, fresh toppings and the side of rice and beans, make these fish tacos a real winner.  Quality fish tacos, at a quality price…what could be better?  Perhaps if rather than 3 tacos, you received 6 tacos for the same price.  Yeah…that’s it.

Saturday night started with a new recipe Cameron and Lauren made for us called “SKIRT STEAK”, A great new recipe that we are going to add to the cook book. The night continued on to a surprise birthday party at Millers Ale House with a bunch of close friends of mine. I thought my amazing dinner was the only thing planned.  We had an amazing time connecting with people we care about but unfortunately the night had to end, much later than we expected but well worth it.

Sunday morning started with Paleo pancakes, eggs and bacon. I love Sundays!!! A full day of relaxing with football, football and some more football, not summers favorite day but she’s beginning to warm up. The night came quick and that is when the fun really started, well at least for Cam and I. We have been talking over the phone prior to his arrival about our new cameras we bought, and have been itching to play with them at night up in the caves by my house. We spent about 2 hours taking night shots of the caves and trying ghost tricks with flash lights. Monday came and it was time, Cameron and Lauran had to leave.

The whole weekend was a blast and we couldn’t have asked for better guests.

We have provided a map link, so no matter where you are, you can obtain directions to your chosen destination.

Be sure to enter Hotel Ranola’s exclusive Facebook Fan Contest – the “Date-Night Get-A-Way Contest!  Click here.

7.  Miller’s Ale House
Address: 3800 Kenny Drive
Sarasota, FL
Map/Directions
Phone: (941) 378-8888

Great food, service and all the sports you can possibly handle. Home of the famous Zingers – boneless chicken wings. If you are looking for a place to hang-out, watch the game and eat good food, Miller’s Ale House is the place to go.

8. Gilligan’s Island Bar & Grill
Address: 5253 Ocean Boulevard
Sarasota, FL
Maps/Directions
Phone: (941) 346-8122

With a great tiki-bar and awesome bands in the house, Gilligan’s is a popular night-life destination in Sarasota. Planning a special group event? Book your next banquet at Gilligan’s.

9. Sam Snead’s Tavern
Address: 1860 South Osprey Ave #100
Sarasota, FL
Maps/Directions
Phone: (941) 906-7771

Sam Snead’s Oak Grill and Tavern is located at the corner of Hillview and Osprey nestled in the heart of Hillview village in Sarasota Florida. If you live and breathe the game of golf, you’re bound to hunger for more than a few birdies. At Sam Snead’s Tavern, you can feast on your passion for the game, as well as great food.

10. O’Leary’s Tiki Bar and Grill
Address: 5 Bayfront Drive
Sarasota, FL
Maps/Directions
Phone: (941) 953-7505

Have your cocktails in paradise! Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. A great place to listen to good music, have good food and enjoy the tropical area.

11. Findaddys Sports Bar
Address: 935 North Beneva Road #601
Sarasota, FL
Maps/Directions
Phone: (941) 953-6356

With happy hour 5 days per week, pool tables, video games and lounge area both indoors and out, Findaddys is a hot spot for fun.

12. McCurdy’s Comedy Theater
Address: 3333 N Tamiami Trl
Sarasota, FL
Maps/Directions
Phone: (941) 925-3869

Sarasota’s premiere comedy club. Come and enjoy cocktails, dinner and be prepared for hysterical laughter.

Delicious Honey Mustard Wings!

Tampa Yelpers also happened to recommend the Captain Jack’s Buried Treasure (my friends favorite) from the dessert menu, so we decided to have a moment of gluttony and indulge in dessert.

The Captain Jack’s Buried Treasure (homemade ice cream cake with Oreo cookie crust, caramel, chocolate fudge, and heath bar crunch) was the best part of our visit. Every bite was an enjoyable as the last. The chocolate taste was there, but not overdone. You could taste the cake and ice cream well without a strong contrast from the rest of the dessert. It mixed together perfectly and this has to be one of the best desserts I have had (and certainly the best in a pub). It tasted so good that waiting for someone else to have their piece made me a little anxious…next time I really want to try their other version which has Nutter Butter cookies inside.

A good dining experience…now I want to check out the one in Brandon.

Restaurant Name: Miller’s Ale House

Cuisine: American

Address: 14803 N Dale Mabry Hwy. Tampa, FL 33618

Neighborhood: Carrollwood

Phone Number: (813) 969-0020

Website: http://www.millersalehouse.com/

Terra chips, one of the many fun features of flying Jet Blue!

My husband Mike and I took off for a week’s vacation in Florida this morning. We flew Jet Blue so I had a fabulous flight since I watched TV the whole way to Florida. I don’t get to watch much TV so it was a real treat to watch episode after episode of “Thintervention.”

We waited for my sister-in-law Betsy and her husband Phil (Uncle Phil of the “Housewives of. . .” fame on this blog) in the car rental building. Well, actually, since we landed about 30 minutes ahead of Betsy and Phil, we got the car rental agreement taken care of. The good thing is that we were upgraded from an economy car to a compact car. The bad thing is that I seem to remember that Betsy travels with BIG suitcases. When I mentioned my thought to Mike his eyebrows shot up to his hairline and he excused himself to go out into the rental area and scope out the compact car with the largest trunk. He returned in record-quick time with a smile on his face; the rental agent said if no compact cars were parked outside that we could take a midsize car. Score! No compact cars were parked in the spaces. And he grabbed keys to a Kia Forte. Two free upgrades later we hung out and waited for the relatives to arrive.

Waiting in line to get our car.

Mike's fav watering hole near the Ft Myers Airport.

After we left the airport we headed to lunch at Mike’s new favorite near-the-airport watering hole: Miller’s Ale House We ate there last October when we visited and Mike has mentioned it a fair amount since then. He wanted to introduce Betsy and Phil to the chicken zingers and cheap, good beer. P.S. The food was as great as Mike remembered and Betsy and Phil enjoyed the chicken zingers and pulled pork sandwiches. I had the zinger salad.

We’re off to a great start.

P.S. Betsy’s suitcase was pretty huge, but Phil managed to stuff all the luggage into the trunk. Atta boy, Phil!

What a trunk! And Phil packs trunks really well.

P.P.S. When we reached Coconut Plantation our condo wasn’t ready so we had a drink at the poolside bar. Take a look at the video of our bartender David flaring on “My World and Welcome to It.” Gotta say, I’ve watched flaring on TV and David is pretty good. Take a look!

We got there by around nine o’clock and the back security guard gave us a hard time trying to get our kids in on our Exhibitors pass.  He claimed they didn’t get in yesterday when we know they did.  So, we took the bus around to the front and we were let in there.  We got into the con and I realized I had some issues with my Imperial Officers boots (the sole had come loose and was bothering me), so Heather contacted Gary and he got me some soles for my boots on the way in.  We took some more fun pictures this morning and managed to run into some Mercs who were interviewing Jeremy Bulloch for their site.  We also ran into some other friends and had a fun time looking at all the things around.  Heather even bought a shirt from the “Her Universe” booth and showed me all the other shirts she would like to get sometime.

At about ten o’clock or so, Gary, Austin, myself, and Tara headed to an overflow room to watch the George Lucas interview at the Con.  The first forty-five minutes of the interview was kind of a waste of time.  It was all things that all these Star Wars fans already knew and there were some humorous moments with Jon Stewart, but other than that, it could have been skipped.  The last half hour or so was interesting.  They showed some footage of the new Clone Wars character Savage, who is Darth Maul’s brother.  Then we found out that George plans on releasing Star Wars on Blu Ray in 2011.  Many people were disappointed that he had NOTHING to say about the “Live Action Series” , but I have a feeling that it is at a stalemate.  Many believe it’s not happening, but I disagree.

We got done watching that interview and came back to the Mercs table where Heather was run-in trying to help the Mercs with their Bounty Hunt.  They were extremely busy and that was a good thing!  I then quickly left with Austin and got into my Makili costume and rushed over to get into the Slave Leia Picture.  I acted as security for a little bit and ended up taking pictures for Albin Johnson and Steve Sansweet as well.  Then I got into the Slave Leia pic for a few minutes and then they left.  I tried to find Austin and for a few minutes we were panicked because we couldn’t find him.  But he was a smart Boy Scout, called us on my cell phone and stayed put and we finally found him.  After that, I changed back into Imperial Officer and then headed over to the reveal for “Season 3 of the Clone Wars”.

I have to say that Season 3 looks just as exciting if not MORE exciting than Season 2.  They plan on bringing back Death Watch, it looks like they’ll introduce the Sith Witches, and more importantly, we saw a scene with Delta Squad which could be really cool.  Filoni revealed that there may be a run-in with an original series character AND he also let us know that the main build-up of the entire season would lead to a battle on Kamino where the clone facilities themselves would be attacked.  All in all, a good season.  We got done there and as I was about to race my kids over to the “child picture”, Heather revealed they had already taken it.  So, I then raced over to the 501st picture and managed to make it just in time.

I hung out for the 501st pic for about an hour and when we finished, we then raced back over to get in line for the “One Man Star Wars Trilogy”.  Heather wanted to leave, but I urged her and the kids to stay and said it would be worth their while and they reluctantly got in line.  We each left the line and changed out of our costumes two at a time and then waited.  We went in and saw the show and Heather said it was the best thing of the whole Con.  I kind of have to concur, other than meeting George Lucas.  It was funny and he had some very moment-specific jokes that fit only this moment.  We got done watching that and then went back to the hotel room and dropped the kids off.  They were making dinner themselves and hanging out at the hotel.

Heather and I left and went over to “Miller’s Ale House” and had dinner with the Mercs.  Heather was upset and I don’t think she wanted to be there, but I had a ton of fun and had a great time having some face to face time with guys that I would only normally see on the boards.  A lot of them were the same guys I would see at Dragon Con when I would head down there every other year.  Overall, it was a nice dinner, but it took them FOREVER to get us our food.  Ironically, they were playing Episode II on Spike TV in the background and of course the Mercs could not help but cheer for Jango Fett.  We left the dinner early and went back to the hotel.  We got ready for tomorrow and even packed quite a bit of the hotel room up.  Gary came over and stayed in our room tonight and we didn’t get to bed until midnight, but we weren’t getting up until eight o’clock tomorrow morning.

Okay, let’s talk about the Prologue of “Star Wars – Republic Commando – Triple Zero” by Karen Traviss……Prologue:  Republic Commando R section on Fest in the Atrinis Sector ten months after Geonosis – From the Private Journal of RC-8015, “Fi”:  You have to see the humor that exists in Defense Procurement.  I asked Darman how long ago he put in for black stealth armor and he said seven months as their gunship was flying through freezing cold, white snow.  And of course they issue them to us NOW when we’re invading Fest in pure white, unadultered snow.  The pilot offers for us to borrow his white clone armor.  Yes, we are now in some nice black Katarn armor that can take quite the beating, but sometimes camoflauge just can’t be beat.  Atin’s laughing, but Niner (who likes to think he’s Sergeant Kal) is not as he thinks we may run out of luck.  Of course that may be because we’ve lost half of the Republic Commando forces in just the first year of the war.  Today we’ve been ordered to blow up a Seperatist Factory that is deploying some new supermetal called phrik…..

The time we arrived at Liberty International Airport this morning.

My husband Mike and I left our home this morning at 6:30 am; it takes a lot to get us moving that early. But I can assure you that it was worth it. . .at least so far. We arrived at Liberty International Airport in good time, endured airport security with nary a hiccup and had breakfast together while waiting to board our plane.

Yes! Our good friend Margot is staying with our daughter Tory and we are now in Florida:  It of the 80-plus degree weather, clear skies and humidity reminiscent of our home state of NJ in August! No pollen. No rain. Just us!

First order of business on landing was to secure our rental car.

The line at Avis in Ft Myers Airport was the slowest moving of all the rental car purveyors.

Avis is our friend. Well, to be honest, Avis is our friend because of its competitive pricing on Priceline.com, not because of its speedy employees. We were in line almost an hour while folks rolled up to Alamo, Budget and the like well after us and left with car keys in hand well before us.  No matter.

We left the airport with Mike behind the wheel; for those of you who know us well, you know that I usually do the driving when we’re together, but today he had an ulterior motive. We stopped to visit two competing hotel properties; Mike is likely doing a loan for the owners of one of the hotels.

It was crowded so we tried it.

It didn’t take long before we pulled into Miller’s Ale House  in Ft Myers for lunch;  it’s located in the huge shopping center near the Bass Pro Shop, hard by the Ft Myers Airport. Perusing the menu for something ‘local’ I saw the ‘Zinger salad.” Intrigued, I read further: boneless wings tossed in your choice of one of nine different sauces and served over a tossed salad. Yum! I ordered it and wasn’t disappointed. Mike ordered a pulled pork sandwich that he labeled “average.” But his Blue Moon beer was pronounced, “Icy cold and tasty.”

Tasty, but NOT low cal!

We're baaacccckkkk!!!

We checked in to the Hyatt Coconut Plantation, a Hyatt Vacation Club in Bonita Springs, just a little while ago and got settled in the condo. Mike headed for the adult pool and I am cooling down here in the condo before I venture out to meet him.

Team Culo Majado is "Muy Divertido"

BOCA GRANDE, Fla. — In a day of tarpon fishing that exceeded expectations, Team Culo Majado and Steve Kocsis topped out with the biggest surprise.  The Miller High Life Professional Tarpon Tournament Series presented by Century Boats held Week 1 of its five-week regular series events this past weekend in Boca Grande Pass, Fla.

A sold out field of 50 four-person teams competed in the three-hour event which awarded a new Century 2102 Inshore powered by a Yamaha F150 four-stroke motor and Continental Trailer for first prize.

Strong East winds and dirty water usually means less than ideal Tarpon fishing conditions in Boca Grande Pass, but conventional thinking was proven wrong. Twenty-one fish were leader released, with 13 fish making it to the Miller’s Ale House weighboat.

Team Salt Rock Grille/Salt Life, led by Cody Chivas, weighed in the first fish of the year at 128 pounds. The 2008 Yamaha Team of the Year and winners of Week 1 in 2008 were hopeful the fish would hold up.

“I thought he was 135 pounds, and with the conditions, and the fish we had been seeing, I thought it may hold up,” Chivas said.

Chivas’ hopes were shattered when Team MGD 64, led by Captain George Greene, hooked a fish just after the halfway point.

“When he jumped, I knew it was a big one,” Greene said.

He was proven right. When MGD 64′s fish hit the Tires Plus scale, it weighed in at 155 pounds to take the lead. Shortly after, Artie Price’s Team Miller’s Ale House showed up to the scale with a big fish.

“I thought we had it,” said Price, whose Tarpon weighed in at 155 pounds as well.

By rule, MGD 64′s fish held the lead based on the time that the fish was leadered. Adding more drama was Nick Winger’s Team Angler Boats Corporation coming to the weighboat with a 154-pound fish.  MGD 64′s hope for victory were shattered near the end of the tournament when Team Culo Majado, led by Steve Kocsis, came to the weigh in a fish that tipped the Tires Plus scale at 170 pounds. It was caught using a live crab.

“The fish fought hard,” Kocsis said. “It took us in, around, and under the phosphate docks. It was crazy! No one in the tournament thought that big of fish would be caught because of the conditions.”

The favor was almost returned to Team Culo Mojado, as Team Yamaha, led by Capt. Troy Sapp, hooked a fish just before the end of the tournament that took them into overtime. The Yamaha team was able to land the fish before the sudden death overtime ended, and it registered 167 pounds.

Team Culo Majado has been fishing the Miller High Life PTTS since its inception 7 years ago and has had four Top 5 finishes, but this is their first victory. With the win, Team Culo Majada took the lead in the Yamaha Team of the Year Race with 570 points.

Rounding out the rest of the Top Five was Team Yamaha, Team MGD 64, Team Miller’s Ale House, and Team Angler Boat Corporation.

The Miller High Life Professional Tarpon Tournament Series presented by Century Boats is the largest and richest live-release tarpon tournament in the world, featuring five regular season events and one championship event all held in Boca Grande Pass, Fla.  Teams may weigh one fish daily and obtain points towards the Yamaha Team of the Year Race by weighing and releasing fish.