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spencer-is-amazing · 5 years

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Salvation (Michael Langdon x OC)

Pairing: Michael Langdon x Original Character

Length: 2.5k~

Warnings: Smut

Chapter 1: The Beginning (x)

Chapter 2: The End

May 15, 2017- 3 years before the Apocalypse

“-And remember class, that paper on Huck Finn is due next Thursday, beginning of class and not a moment later. I’ll be out of town this weekend so any questions you have will just have to wait until Monday. Have a good weekend kids!”

Julie smiled to herself and packed up her folder and thick binder, stuffing them in the black backpack and hitching the heavy appendage onto her shoulder with a huff. She made her way out of the now empty classroom to give a warm smile to Chloe, her friend of only a year but really her only friend.

Chloe was nothing like Julie; Chloe liked to talk about all the things she liked to do with boys in the locker room and Julie liked to spend time with her mom at the Hotel Cortez, checking the book records of old inhabitants and walking through the empty halls.

She thought it was fun; it was exciting to touch the old wooden doors and feel like the queen of her own castle.

“Hey Chloe, how was class?”

Chloe flipped her hair over her exposed shoulder and smirked; “Got a B+ on my Chem paper and Mr. Johnson promised me some extra credit later this weekend.”

Julie had stopped trying to talk her friend out of fucking teachers, seeing as she would typically run to the principal and get them fired/arrested. Chloe saw it as justice and Julie couldn’t say she was wrong.

Though Julie never knew how Chloe always seemed to know which ones were the creepers; just luck she guessed.

Chloe inquired Julie about her weekend, which included doing absolutely nothing aside from staring out her window and wishing she had more friends. It only sucked sometimes to have close to no friends, but she just needed to be out of high school before she could really bloom.

“Well, my dad is picking me up, sure you don’t need a ride?”

Julie waved her off, “Nah, I’m good. It’s always fun to catch up on new music on my way home.”

She’d never tell Chloe the real reason why she enjoyed her walks home. She’d come across the famous Murder House a year ago, and she loved it. It was a big luxurious house that was something out of the story books and it made her feel like a princess.

And the stories were true; there were dead people in that house. One of the girls, Violet, told her that if you died there, then your spirit was trapped forever, that you could never leave.

Violet had said the house killed her and her family, a ghost boy Tate had been responsible for her pain and suffering and that he too was still there. Julie had asked if the house was going to kill her, and a grown man had stepped forward and said she would never be hurt under his watch.

So every so often, Julie found herself at the steps of the Murder House, just like today. It was cloudy and she enjoyed the feel of the wind on her skin.

There was a kick to her step as she opened the doors, frowning when there were no ghosts in sight. Usually they would see her coming from the windows and come to greet her, so this was odd.

“Violet? Mr. Harmon? Hello?” There was no answer. “Tate? Anybody?”

Julie stopped in the living room, eyes widening at the sight of the dead woman on the couch, and the identical copy sitting right next to her.

“Ah, so you return. My children have told me much about you.”

Julie tried to take a step back but something kept her in place. She couldn’t run but she refused to back down. She was a ghost; she couldn’t actually do anything to her- well… she could kill Julie, but Mr. Harmon said he would protect her.“I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“No, we haven’t. I’m Constance Langdon, Tate’s mother.” Constance turned to look at her corpse, “I couldn’t live in this world anymore Julie. So I came here, where I can live on and be the mother I was meant to be.”

Julie watched her pick up her amber glass and down it in one gulp, “Now tell me child, why are you here? Hm?”

Julie had no reason to lie. “Nothing in particular. The ghosts are kind to me and it makes me feel less lonely.”

And that was the truth, they were like friends that actually found her interesting and were always there.

But Constance clearly disagreed. She threw her glass against the wall and stood on shaky legs, stumbling towards Julie’s frozen form and gripping the smaller girls shoulders with her sharp nails.

Julie should’ve been able to smell the alcohol on her breath but then again, Constance was dead, but she could sure as hell feel those nails digging into her shoulders.

“You need to get out of this house and never come back.” Constance shoved her away and sprawled Julie on the floor. “I see the same evil in you that I saw in my grandson.”

Julie watched as what looked like realization entered the old woman’s eyes and suddenly her old aged face was much too close, though instead of anger, her eyes were full of pain.

Those nails lifted up Julie by her dark thick sweater and whispered in her ear, “He will find you, and you must run. Save yourself Julie March.”

She didn’t understand what she meant, or what she was supposed to do. Who was her grandson? And what kind of evil was in him? Or better yet… what evil was in her?

There were so many things she wanted to ask but both women froze at the sound of footsteps.

“Grandma?”

She was there, on the floor of the living room with Constance leaning over her, and in the next moment she was outside the kitchen door, watching it slam shut and lock her out. She wasn’t stupid enough to wait around and see Constance’s grandson; that was an evil she was better off not knowing.

She sprinted to the street and the whole way home, hiding away in her room and curling up on her bed.

Julie wasn’t going to lie and say that hadn’t made her scared. Her hands splayed out in front of her eyes, tracing the lines that were meant to tell your future. Did her lines say anything about an evil in her life?

A ding from her pocket had her fingers scrabbling to get her phone, a message from Chloe reading ‘you home?’

She texted back a quick ‘yeah’ before stuffing her phone under her pillow and gazing out the window. The house next door had been empty so long, she hoped no one bought it anytime soon, they’d think she was a creep for always watching.

But behold, two months later the house sold, and instead of having the view of a dark empty room, there was a boy in there now. She never really got a good view of him, and she never saw him leave the house. It was like he didn’t exist.

“Hey mom?”

“Hm?”

“Have you met the neighbors? I think there’s someone my age in the room across from mine. Have you seen him?”

Jessie March looked at her daughter with a smile that could rival the beating sun, “Of course I have dear. His name is Michael and his Aunt is Miriam. Lovely woman Miriam, bit hard on the face but I think I might invite her to Lydia’s book club this weekend, you know, really show her the neighbors. And if she says yes then maybe you and Michael can get to know each other. How does that sound?”

Julie picked at her eggs and ignored her mom’s questioning gaze, “What if he doesn’t like me? Or what if I say something stupid?”

Jessie March scoffed and bit into her crunch toast square, “Well, just thinking that he wouldn’t like you is quiet stupid, and I swear to you Julie, that boy will adore you.”

“Whatever you say mom.” Her mother took a sip of cold OJ, “I’m just saying baby, you can’t just sit around and wait for Chloe every weekend to drag of to do something ridiculous. You need other people in your life.”

Her daughter was silent as she finished off her fluffy white eggs, “And who knows, you may need him just as much as he needs you.”

“Whatever you say mom.” Jessie stood up and patted her Julie on the head, ruffling the already messy strands of brown hair. Her heels clicked as she took both of their plates and put them in the sink, and made a sneer at the overflowing trashcan.

“Before you go can you empty the trash? Don’t want to get rats like last time.”

Last summer when Jessie March had left town for a week on a Business venture in Seattle, Julie had had the house to herself and had not once taken out the trash, leading to an infestation in the basement and kitchen cupboards. They’d had to call an exterminator and Julie had been grounded for a week.

“Sure thing.” She stood and stretch, rubbing her full belly before grabbing engorged trash bin and hauling it out the front door, groaning at the bright rays of sun that hit her skin. She hated the warmer months, wishing that the world would stay cold.

A huff of gratitude left her lips when the bag was officially dropped in, the lid closing with a slam. Her eyes watched the empty streets, finding no one out and not a single car in any driveway. A thought that perhaps there was a farmers market close came and went, it was odd.

“Would you be a dear and get me some lemonade?”

“Yes Ms. Mead.”

Julie March turned in time to watch the front door to the neighbor’s house close, leaving her eyes to turn to the short stout dark dressed woman who was without a doubt Miriam Mead.

She looked mean, the dark lipstick and pitch black hair made her think of everything dark in the world packed into one woman. Miriam Mead raised her hand in a wave, “Hey Neighbor!”

Julie gave a shy wave and sprinted as fast as an Olympian into the house, shutting her own door just as the sound of the neighbors door opening echoed through her ears. Her hands shook, her ears were ringing and she ignored her moms questioning look as her legs carried her to her room.

The lock on the door clicked shut and her body shook, but instead of any fear or uncertainty it was a hot burning desire that rang through her lower half.

She groaned and moaned “Are you kidding me?”

Masturbation was such a Chloe thing; her friend had given her a bright pink vibrator last year and said she needed to loosen up once in a while. It was still in its original box in the closet on the upper shelf, hidden from sight.

But out of sight yet not out of mind and Julie scrambled to her closet and thanked the heavens that it came with batteries. She scrambled to get off her sleep pants and panties- shirt and bra as well cause her nipples were crazy sensitive- and placed herself near the headboard.

The pink vibrator was thick and short and the box mostly talked about clitoral stimulation, and she clicked the power button onto the lowest setting. It was a nice hard buzz that had her biting her lip, running the vibe along her hardening nipples and letting out a soft moan. Her soft fingers pinched the other one with a groan.

She would never tell a soul that she wished a man would lean over and suck her tits until they were raw and her voice was hoarse with pleas for him to stop but he would never give in, taking everything she had to offer. She wondered if Michael would suck her tits till they bled.

The vibrator skimmed her love handled tummy and along the thin stretch marks, eventually reaching her glistening pussy. There was very little hair; Chloe had gotten her into shaving.

Julie never did this and she should’ve taken it slow, but instead she placed the head of the buzz right on her clit, arching up at the buzz of pleasure streaming down her legs. It was electricity, the power of the gods were striking her very core and making her weak. Would Michael feast on her as if she were his last meal?

Why was he in her thoughts, why could she see behind her eyelids a man with hair as gold as sun but eyes as dark as night, watching her with a lust she’d never know? Was this Michael? Was he a sinner standing before a sin?

Her finger clicked to the next setting and she tried not to scream; it just felt so fucking good.

Her eyes closed once more and he was there again, closer this time, close enough to touch. Her hands wanted to reach out and feel him, but her bones were stuck in place, her thighs wide and open for him to take.

“Please, touch me.” He smirked at her and moved like wind, his touch being all too real. Her eyes opened and a scream nearly left her throat at the blonde haired boy looming over her, mouth suckling her nipple as if she was his last meal.

He was real- he had to be- and his hand ripped the vibrator from her pussy and moved down her body, gazing at the glistening wetness before him. It was his to taste, only his.

This time she did scream when his tongue circled her clit, nibbling on the sensitive bud as if it were a pesky grape attached to a vine. He hungered for her sweet cunt, wanting her juices to flow into a cup that only he could drink from. He craved her.

“Mich-Michael, please, please.” He didn’t relent, feasting with a fury that rivaled a rabid dog, hands holding her plush thighs in place as he took everything she had to offer.

She was nearing her release when he pulled back, forcing a sob from her throat, why was he being cruel when she was so close?

Michael crawled up her body and gazed at her red bitten lips with lust in his eyes, wishing this would never end. But all good things did.

She came with a scream as he bit into her left nipple with a pain blossoming across her chest. Tears fell as her body collapsed on her sheets; bleary eyes watching the golden haired boy wipe away her watery cheeks.

He placed a kiss on her cheek as her eyes shut, hand caressing her soft warm cheeks with an adoration she would soon come to crave with every breath.

According to her clock, Julie awoke 3 hours later, fully clothed and under the covers. A gasp echoed the room as the memories came back; Michael had been in her room and he’d touched her in ways she’d never been touched.

But had that been real? It couldn’t have been…

“Ow…the hell?” Her hand pulled down her sleep shirt, eyes widening at the massive bruising surrounding her left nipple.

It had been real, and the worst part was, she craved more.

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lokilickedme · 6 years

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Okay so I promised a bunch of pics from ScotFest 2018, and I’ve been stuck posting from my phone for the last two days so - sorry for the delay, but here we go with the good stuff. It’s long, but stay with me, you’re gonna enjoy this mad trip.

First, let me say this.

FUUUUUCCCCCCCKK. I knew I was gonna be having McClary flashbacks the whole time but it started out ridiculous and just got worse as the day went on.

The moment we pulled up the first thing that stepped into view was a dude in an anarchy tee shirt with a kilt and Docs and long black hair strutting down the sidewalk. If Chem!Tom was Scottish...oh wait a sec, didn’t he say at some point that he was a bit, on his mother’s side? Works for me. So anyway, we arrive at ScotFest and walk the long way to the shuttle bus pick-up with a bunch of kilted guys and an elderly couple dressed in ancient clan clothing (they looked awesome). And before we even get off the bus at the festival grounds, we’re blasted with bagpipe music as a full regalia marching pipe band parades past the entrance. Something smells REALLY.GOOD. and off to the left of the entrance is a field where two Mol-pups are chasing sheep around while their shepherd whistles commands loud enough to split your head open. Yep, McClary flashbacks, right off the bat. And big Scottish athletes are throwing things that don’t look like they were meant to be thrown, though the biggest and most impressive athletes on the field are the females who are using pitchforks to hurl big bags of sand backwards over their shoulders over a bar that’s about 20 feet above their heads. Big is looking at me like “What the hell, mom??” so I tell him the ancient Scots were farmers and they made games and competitions out of their farm chores. He’s like “No, I mean why are you breathing so hard?”

No comment. Did I mention that the females were really impressive? Good start to the day.

So we move on past the games into the main festival area and everywhere are man-knees. I’ve never really paid much attention to man-knees before, but to be honest they’re kinda...hot. I don’t even know why. And there were so many of them...hundreds and hundreds of man-knees on open display, it’s almost like I shouldn’t be looking but they’re RIGHT THERE all over the damn place and I feel like a pervert scamming peeks. And calves. Man calves. Not normally a fan, but there were some good ones on display.

The first thing we did was hit the tribal music tent and it was over for me before it even got good and started...because on the stage inside the tribal music tent was THIS Scottish god:

Don’t worry, the picture quality will get better. So we settle in to enjoy the music and this guy is eating up the stage and spanking the shit out of that drum, and then he starts blowing on a flippin’ didgeridoo (yeah, a nine foot long Australian horn, don’t ask me why but omg that man’s lung power was making the ground rumble under our feet and all I could think was how that skill might carry over, if you know what I mean).

Suddenly I’m really interested in nine foot horns.

A really cool thing about hitting the afternoon shows was the fact that you could go right up to the side of the stage and nobody cared. So I did.

Physically painful, let me tell ya. I could just almost look up his skirt.

That horn is vibrating the ground where I’m standing and I’m actually relieved when he switches back to the drum because all that vibration has shifted my panties about two inches to the left and it’s getting uncomfortable. The drum isn’t much better though, and neither is the view from where I’m standing - he’s a big stout bull and I’m three feet away from him while he beats that drum to a whimpering death. I could reach out and tickle his bare knee if I felt like getting divorced.

So I go back and sit with my guys again and he starts doing this:

KNEES. I mentioned man-knees before, didn’t I? Well here, have a pair. I’ll post a video later of what he did to this poor little drum, and to his own thick neck - because I can’t even describe it, and you know words are my thing. He played his freaking adam’s apple or something, I don’t even know.

There were actually two other musicians on the stage with him, but I sort of forgot they were there.

There were also lots of adorable father/son kilted combos present - and yep, a bagpiper rounds out the onstage trio. But again...man knees. The ones on the left specifically.

So the show ends after a lot of insane drumming, war cries, didgeridoo blowing, bagpiping, and a really nasty little ditty about a girl who’s been touched so much she’s smooth as a stairway bannister (followed by an anthem to an unhealthy relationship that proclaimed “I’d rather be drunk a thousand years than be sober one minute with you”). Nice, guys.

As soon as their set is over we leave the tent to go wander around, but most everyone else stays because it is as hot as the freaking surface of the sun on this day and the tent is like an oasis on Mars - which means when the band comes out to let the next band hit the stage, we’re pretty much alone outside with the bull and his two stagemates (sorry backup drummer and bagpiper, you guys were awesome and I loved you but didgeridoo guy vibrated my panties two inches to the left, you know how it is).

Anyway, we’re outside at the merch tent and Husband is buying something and I look up and nearly slam bodily into this:

Drummer/didgeridoo guy. I vaguely recall yelling to Husband during the deafening noise of the show that he looked like Aquaman, and when I end up face to face with him it’s confirmed. I think it’s the cranky eyebrow.

I also get to ogle the piper’s bagpipes up close and personal, which was hard to do as didgeridoo guy - whose name is CJ - is standing right behind me while I ooh and ahh over this weird thing, and he’s laughing at me for reasons unknown:

Maybe it was the stupid comment I made about squeezing the bag?

And then the three of them pose for a pic:

Goobers. At this point Little walks up to them and they all sort of huddle around him and start laughing (Little has light-blindness and has to wear special shades outside so he was half blind and I think he rammed right into the guy with the hat), so I hand my phone to Husband and go to get him. When I get close, didgeridoo guy puts an arm the size of a tree trunk around me and hugs me up next to him while the other two are tickling Little. Husband starts snapping pics with my phone, but no, I’m not sharing them because 1) my face, 2) Little’s face, 3) shellshock at being touched by this stud ox without having initiated it myself, and 4) the look on my face clearly says MY PANTIES ARE CROOKED AND HIS SWEAT IS SOAKING THROUGH MY SHIRT AND PHEROMONES PEOPLE OMG PHEROMONES I’M IN PAIN HELP I MAY BE PREGNANT

Yeah, he was drenched in sweat from jumping all over that damn stage schlepping a drum that probably weighed more than me. My hand was on his back and it came away soaked. You can consider that a euphemism if you want, it works both ways.

Also - red boots. Urgh. And then he goes like this:

Boy was solid as a whiskey barrel, let me tell you. We came back later to listen to another band and he was out there again, and the girls from the face painting tent had lured him over and braided his hair. He looked flippin cute. And by cute I mean Jesus Wept.

So before this turns into an exclusive didgeridoo guy fest (too late, yeah I know) let’s move along to this fine specimen that I found at the blacksmith tent:

Ladies and gentlemen, meet King McClary’s work kilt.

Dude was nice from the front too:

Definitely an Auchinleck, for those of you familiar with The McClary Chronicles. Check out the tattoo. And he was making maille battle armor, which I got to touch. It didn’t shift my panties quite as hard as the drums did, but there was definitely a quiver.

This guy was at the tent next door to the armor tent, making I dunno, bong pipes or something and he was hilarious:

And then there was this guy, listening to ballads in the historical folk music tent and looking all angsty and authentic, like his love just died of a fever and his crop failed so he joined a ships’ crew to find his fortune in a faraway land but the damn boat sank fifteen feet from shore and now he’s just fucking stuck in Scotland and contemplating becoming a villain:

And he was glaring at my child, I don’t know why. Prissy prick. I was hoping to see his dick but he was so anal he tucked his kilt under his ass from the front. Definitely a villain.

After a couple of teary ballads about wailing winds and failed crops or whatever, I dunno, I wasn’t listening because I was too involved in trying to see Prissy Prick’s ballsack, we wander over to the Highland Dance competition and walk in on this:

We’re in there for all of about twelve seconds before Big starts giggling, then Little starts giggling, then I start giggling. We promptly leave the Highland Dance competition tent, because these girls really worked hard and I don’t want to get arrested for being a dick.

We go watch the Mol-pups chase the sheep around, because nobody cares if you disrupt the proceedings in the middle of a field full of sheep.

And then we watch some more of the Highland Games, in which guys threw stuff while making the best faces I’ve seen since that time Husband wanted to try setting the mirror next to the bed:

Yeah, we giggled.

After that we went back to listen to some more music, because damn. Scottish rock is da bomb. Heard a punk band that Husband immediately fell in love with, so I guess we’re evensies on the lusting after Scottish musicians thing now:

Dude on the bagpipes grinned like that through the whole set, I think he was puffing something out of one of those tubes.

And then we walked out into the big freaking middle of about four billion of these:

Noisy effers. And they don’t stop for anybody - we literally had to jump out of the way because when they paused in front of us, they went into this formation thing and backed up right into where we were standing. Had to grab Little and yank him up off the ground before he was trampled by some dude wearing a dress and giving an octopus a blow job.

Turned to look at a woman sitting next to us a little later and watched her pull a dagger out of her sock and shine it on her kilt like she was getting ready to go assassinate someone in the crowd. We left soon after, so I didn’t get to see it go down. I hope it wasn’t the didgeridoo player, he was cute AF.

All in all it was an 11/12 day, marred only by the outrageous heat and the fact that I’ve been off my supplements and medications for a week in prep for surgery on Tuesday, so I was exhausted and my blood’s gone back to being water again. We didn’t stay as long as we would have otherwise, but we had fun and experienced a lot of weirdness - I ate haggis on accident, Husband sat down with a plate and I thought it was meatloaf (it was good and I didn’t die, so bonus) - and I got to spend the day surrounded by all the clans that tried to assassinate Thomas The Fucking Marauder.

We’ll be going again next year. Husband is a descendant of one of the border clans, so he’s heavy into this...and of course you all know what my connection is to it :)

Let me leave you with a picture of a guy about to bullrush a scarecrow. I don’t know why, I didn’t ask. Scotland’s weird, ya’ll.

#ScotFest 2018 #long post

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livelikebrent · 7 years

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Stop 5: Syracuse, NY

“She just has such a natural beauty. She’s one of the prettiest girls I know.” Brent adored Amanda and said this about her on multiple occasions. Brent adored Drew too. They were some of his best friends from back home in Wilkes-Barre. I adore them too.

Originally, Stop 5 was supposed to be Acadia National Park in Maine...but I simply did not carve out enough time for the trip (oops!). So, with that trip being postponed until the spring the obvious second choice was Syracuse to visit 8 month pregnant parents to be, Amanda and Drew! The last time Brent and I stopped through to visit Syracuse (rather briefly) was after we had gone camping in the Adirondacks in July of 2015. I remember we parked the Jeep at Forked Lake Campground and hiked maybe about a half mile to our spot which was right next to the lake and was picture perfect (until it rained later that evening). The site came with a picnic table and benches and whoever had the site before us, placed several tree stumps around the “fire pit”. So we set up the tent, hammock and walked around the area a bit.

I started dinner while Brent went to get more firewood from the car. Then hopped in his hammock with a Bells Two Hearted Ale. Brent came back with firewood and flowers he picked along the way for me. After we ate we enjoyed the fire and beers before it started to downpour. We didn’t mind though as we planned on waking up with the sun the next morning to go on quite the hike.

Pictured above is us a smidge tired and sweaty after an upwards hike for 3 hours and 4,626 ft. at the top of Giant Mountain in New York. I like hiking but I like to work towards something. That something could be a killer view, waterfalls or anything to keep me motivated. This was quite the view and I remember that the camera couldn’t truly capture the depths of the mountains and how beautiful the view actually was. I also remember Brent struggling a bit during the hike...at one point (I think we were about a third of the way to the top) I looked at him and told him we didn’t have to complete the hike and could just turn around. I could barely even finish that sentence before he looked at me and said, “I didn’t just beat cancer.” When he said the word “just” he drew out the “uhhh” in an annoyed voice. He said that if he could beat cancer and he could get to the top of the mountain. Did any of you just chuckle while hearing him say this in your head? I did. He was a determined and smarty-pants at times. That’s what I liked about him. Not only did he have motivation but determination.

Brendan and I pulled up to a cute little house with a Blazer in the driveway marked with a “LiveLikeBrent” sticker on the back windshield. Amanda, belly and all, came out from the garage led by Bear, their puppy. Bear is a gorgeous mix of German Sheppard and who knows what else and has the softest coat I’ve ever felt. Drew and Amanda gave us the tour of their home and property. During said tour, Drew said he was sold on the house just by the backyard. Their home sits on a decent sized lot with a backyard that backs up to the woods. There’s a slight up slope towards the back of their property where they have Adirondack chairs in front of a fire pit. I originally thought it was a pizza oven due to the fact Drew isn’t a stranger in the kitchen. Turns out that’s what he eventually wants to do with it. So obviously I’ll be back but only when that’s completed.

After we got settled we hopped in the car and went to Emipre Brewing Co. for a late lunch and some beers. As we pulled up I didn’t realize how massive of a facility Empire was...I suppose the name is fitting. On the other hand, Drew couldn’t get over how packed it was. I mean, it was a Saturday afternoon. In October. In Syracuse. With perfect weather.

“Empire Farm Brewery, est.2016, is the largest Farm Brewery on the East Coast. Over 22 acres were developed for educational and beer production purposes. Boasting a new 60 bbl automated brewhouse, the Empire Farm Brewery is producing kegs and bottles for regional, national and international distribution. Bottled lineup includes 3 time consecutive Great American Beer Fest gold medal winner; Skinny Atlas Light, White Aphro, Slo Mo’ IPA, East Coast Amber Ale, and World Beer Cup gold medal winner; Black Magic Stout. Located in Cazenovia, NY, the property also grows hops, lavender, vegetables, herbs, and fruits for use in the brewing process and to support the needs of Empire’s downtown brewpub.

The agricultural component was designed in conjunction with Professor Matthew Potteiger and the graduate student body from the Department of Landscape Architecture, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry. The Empire Farm Brewery was the class project for ESF’s spring 2012 semester.”

Reading that makes the place sound somewhat dreamy, right? It kinda was. The inside was nice, still smelled somewhat new. The place was jammin’ and as we were ordering our beers and a lemonade for the mama to be, a table opened up. What was neat about the place was that they had long communal picnic tables and “round” tables made out of tree trunks which is where we sat. There is a patio out back with tables, a bar and several corn hole sets. I kept looking around not being able to get over the size of the place. We ordered some food and caught up with one another. Drew knew Brent from back in the day in grade school and had been friends ever since. Amanda met Brent through mutual friends later in life in high school. Brent mentioned to me the first time Amanda told him she liked Drew. It was at a concert of sorts (most likely moe. or something along those lines) where she said it and Brent’s reply was something similar to “Yeah, me too.” ... but she corrected him on what she actually meant. They’re a super sweet couple. The first time I met them was New Year’s Eve 2014. They were staying the weekend at Brent’s apartment in East Falls. I remember Drew cooking dinner for all of us at Danny and Dana’s place. He made quite the meal with nice steaks. The following day I remember learning that apparently eating pork on New Year’s Day is a Polish tradition. I think we even had some venison if my memory serves me correctly. At that point in time, I just knew Drew as the friend that could cook and Amanda as “the most naturally beautiful girls” Brent knew...and his best friends of course.

We ate, drank and tossed around baby name ideas. After Empire we decided to do “fall things” (with the rest of the state of New York) since the weather was so beautiful. We drove to a place called Tim’s Pumpkin Patch. Why did we drive close to a half hour and pass maybe half a dozen orchards and pumpkin stands just to go to Tim’s? Well, first of all it has a 4.4 star rating on Google...so there’s that. But in addition to pumpkin picking they have a brewery, bakery, animals and well, Amanda insisted. When we arrived, I bought everyone some farm feed along with beers and ciders before going to visit the animals. After we cooed over the baby goats, pigs and cows we stopped for some fresh apple fritters before heading into the corn maze. The maze was so difficult we ended up coming out where we began and probably didn’t even touch half of the maze. If the sun wasn’t setting we probably would’ve given it another shot. But at that point we wanted to pick our pumpkins, snag a quick photo of the parents to be and hit the road.

When we got back to Drew and Amanda’s home we were greeted by Bear who quite honestly Brendan and I could not get enough of the entire visit. By the way, he is SUCH a good boy.

We hung out for a while. Amanda and Drew then ended up taking us to a place called Seneca Street Brew Pub where I had a Cider Creek Smoked Up Cider. I thought it ruled and was very much alone on this. Give me anything and everything smoked and I’ll consume it...meat, cheese, beer and ciders. This brew pub was in the basement of a renovated church with a bottle shop on top. It truly didn’t feel like a church by any means but was still a cool spot. The bottle shop had dozens and dozens of locally brewed beers, ciders and some wines. I did fail to take a photo of this place. (I actually forgot to take a lot of photos over the weekend!) After we had a drink we walked down the street in downtown Manlius to IronWood Pizza for some dinner. It had a cool vibe inside and an extensive craft beer list. It had an alternative atmosphere with some cool graffiti on the wall in the main dining room and had somewhat industrial touches around the place.

After we ate we went back and the boys built a fire. There was a meteor shower the night before so we hung out in hopes to catch a meteor or two. Drew said he had been listening to some of Brent’s playlists and suggested that we throw one on. So we did. We played some of Brent’s music from Spotify and enjoyed the night. You can view and play Brent’s public playlists on Spotify right here. Note: I’m not sure if they will disappear once his subscription is not renewed. So please download or screenshot the playlists for future reference if you wish!

Sunday morning was a treat. Amanda and Drew have their Sunday ritual which is checking out the Central New York Regional Market. Brendan had already had his eye on visiting this place. The market has been there for YEARS and has Sunday flea markets, Saturday farmers markets and even serves as a live music venue occasionally. The market has several “sheds” which are extremely long structures with garage doors along the sides where vendor after vendor set up for the day. You can find pretty much anything there. Some people bring their junk, some have brand new items with price tag stickers still on them and then people who have some neat odds and ends. I walked out of there with three silver candle stick holders that just need some polish that I bought for a whopping $2. Amanda and Drew found a metal tub type bucket, kitchen tools and some Simpsons books...yes, as in the TV show. According to Drew the place was “empty” and gets packed in the summers. But I actually thought there were a decent amount of vendors there...but I would have no problem making the trip back up in the summertime. I LOVE flea markets, antique shops, thrift stores, indoor markets, outdoor markets, whatever sort of place that has potential for cool finds.

Speaking of cool finds, we “found” some barbecue too. It was just about lunchtime and before Brendan and I even got to Syracuse that weekend, we decided we would go to Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. I actually had no idea this place originated in Syracuse but had been to a location in Brooklyn several years back. We made it right before the Sunday afternoon rush and got a table in a booth. Amanda had mentioned a couple of times that they had solid bloody marys. She ordered a virgin and I told the waitress I’d take Amanda’s vodka. It was a really good bloody mary. It was spicy and whatever dry rub of their’s they rim the glass with was spot on. We started with their fried green tomatoes to share and then ribs, pulled pork, corn bread, mac and cheese were ordered...but I don’t even think that was half of what was order for the table.

This photo above it definitely one of my new favorites. I’m full again just looking at this picture. After I ate my sandwich I could hardly touch the rest of my sides. Or even think about them. Everything tasted so flippin’ good but I felt as though I was busting at the seems. I remember telling everyone I needed to lay down to digest and slumped over in the booth. I have no idea how the boys pack it away.

Just like every trip I take, I find at least one worthy spot for a #LiveLikeBrent sticker. I think that most people would agree that Dinosaur was more than worthy. I spoke to the bartender and gave her the revised version as to why I was there and why I wanted this sticker in their establishment. She gave her condolences but was super touched to hear what I was doing to honor Brent. So if you ever find yourself at the bar of Dinosaur Barbeque in Syracuse a sticker for Brent is there just to the right of the tap system on the back ledge of the bar.

We made our way back to the house to try and digest for a bit.The boys relaxed in the basement (which is massive by the way) and watched some of the Sunday football games. Amanda, Bear and I got in the car and went to Green Lakes State Park for a walk. It was a pretty drive and as you enter the park you also pass through what looked like a nice golf course. We parked the car and started to walk. Turns out the lakes are actually green. The two glacial lakes in the park lie at the base of a gorge. I learned that they are rare meromictic lakes meaning their layers within the water never physically mix. We walked a bit over a mile which made me feel better about the amount of food I had recently inhaled. As we walked we talked about losing Brent, when Amanda lost her father and how the boys have been back in Philadelphia. Ps. Philly Friends - This is the part where I tell you she misses you all and Drew wants me to tell everyone Syracuse isn’t that far...so you all need to visit them.

When we got back, the boys were snoozing in front of the television. Then Brendan showed up in the kitchen and made some coffees. Drew and Amanda’s home is decorated with flea market finds, family heirlooms and pieces they have found along the way. It’s got this farm house vibe but nothing that seems like you can just go and pick-up from the home decor section at Target. (P.S. - There is NOTHING wrong with Target, by the way. I basically live there myself.) But I started asking about an antique cabbage slicer Amanda had hanging above the kitchen sink. I didn’t know what it actually was until she told me but see them all of the time now when out at antique shops. It turns out it belonged to her grandfather back in the day. They also have a couple of letter trays on the walls that hold little knick knacks. I think at their previous apartment they held stones as well. As I was asking about items around the house, Amanda pulled out a stoneware crock which held kitchen tools...and some actual tools. I didn’t realize it until Brendan started asking about the crocks but there are several around their home. Some for decor and others serving a purpose. They were really cool and completely Amanda’s style. Amanda also collects retro kitchen tools with the green handles. She actually just bought the one dead center in the photo on the counter at the market earlier that day. I think we decided it was a pastry/cookie cutter that you roll along dough. It had the shapes of suits in a deck of cards: heart, diamond, club, and spade. It was kinda neat. Amanda pulled out almost every tool and told us about them. She likes the way they look mainly but said when she’s out at the market a lot of people will try to paint the handles green to make them look like antiques and she tried to avoid the replicas.

We finished up our coffee and played with Bear one more time before packing up. Drew woke up from his slumber but claimed he was awake the entire time. We said our goodbyes, packed up the car and made our way back south.This is the part where I remind everyone that even though Amanda and Drew have a little one due literally any day now...they still welcome visitors. This is also the part where I tell you Brent told me Amanda and Drew are having a boy (even though they don’t know the gender of the baby). Maybe Brent was having a “chemo brain” moment when he told me confidently that it’s a boy or maybe he just knew or maybe it’ll just be a coincidence. Or maybe...they’ll just have a little baby girl. Either way, I’m excited to see the little bundle of joy the next time I go to visit them upstate. Thank you so much for having us for the weekend, Drew and Amanda. We love you, Bear and the little one on the way!

#LiveLikeBrent #Syracuse #New York #Adirondack Mountains #Adirondacks #Hiking #Camping #Seneca Street Brew Pub #IronWood Pizza #Manlius #CNY Regional Market #Dinosaur Barbque #Dino BBQ

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