Turner FieldToday was the first, and hopefully not last(!), Bark in the Park at Turner Field. Wag-A-Lot — Why wag a little, when you can Wag-A-Lot?! — was the sponsor. We take the "kids" there for doggie day-care and for boarding when we're on vacation. So when we received the invite a few weeks back, we figured it would be fun to have a day at Turner Field, watch the Braves and play with all the dogs.

We took the dogs for a long walk this morning on the new Whetstone Creek Trail, a part of the PATH Northwest Atlanta Trail system, which runs very close to our house. They were tired when we got home, so the plan was working. Wear them out before the game, otherwise, they'll wear us out at the game.


Braves FansThe game was at 1:05 P.M., so we headed down to the stadium around noon. They had a special check-in for all Bark in the Park people and pets to receive our tickets. After entering the stadium we walked up the stairs to the Coke Pavillion nosebleed seats which were blocked off for our convenience. On the pavillion they had hoses lined up to hose down the dogs and keep them cool, a vet station, "ice-cream" treats for the dogs and many kiddie pools filled with ice water for cooling baths. There were dogs EVERYWHERE! Java and Lucy made quite a number of new canine friends as we sat in the stands and watched the Braves beat up on the Nationals. They also got to sniff all kinds of nasty stuff left behind in the bleachers from previous games. Ewwww.


Atlanta Skyline Everyone had a good time with a lot of very well behaved animals. The only part of the day that sucked was the limited access to vendors to buy food and beer. I know I'm a beer snob — no, really, its true! — but the lack of anything other than American piss-water beers in the vicinity of our seats was a real bummer.

Speaking of beer... I bottled the dry Irish stout last night. Of course I had to do a taste test and it was GOOD! Nice roasted malt nose, rounded body with a lot of roasted malt flavor. It could be a little drier and its a bit on the thin side for a stout, but it will be very drinkable. Now I just have to wait a few weeks for it to carbonate.

Icewater Bath I also picked up a lot of malts yesterday to make two beers next weekend, a dunkelweizen and an Imperial porter. I'm going to use my 4 day weekend fully and enjoy myself greatly while I begin to make some heavier beers in anticipation of cooler weather in the fall.