Category Archives: Bronder Luck

CAF: Scavenger Hunt

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This past Saturday I participated in the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s 2nd Annual Scavenger Hunt which took place in the Loop and South Loop neighborhoods. There was a group of six of us with Julie and I participating on separate teams. The scavenger hunt consisted of a map with 23 buildings listed A through W, a set of 23 pictures listed 1 through 23 and then a set of 23 clues (one for each building). Finally there was an answer card to enter all of your answers, one letter from each answer then made up a final question. So the idea was to find the picture of the building, which led you to the clue, then to the building to locate the answer and write it on the answer card. Once the answer card was complete it would spell out a final puzzle. Once you had the final question you returned to the starting point and then had to answer another question that was similarly complicated. My team got a late start but as seasoned competitors we were able to make up lost ground and more or less ran away from the field. I believe our total time was about an hour and thirty minutes, though this was not a timed event. Out of our three teams we placed 1st, 2nd and 4th.

Motor Row Brewing
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After the event we headed to a new brewery in the Motor Row District which is just south of the South Loop near McCormick Place. I believe Motor Row Brewing opened in January of this year. It’s a small place but they will be expanding their tap room to a second floor that will hold 60 people later this summer.

Breakroom Brewery
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After Motor Row we headed to Breakroom Brewery for dinner which is just Southwest of Ravenswood on the Northside. Breakroom is connected to a Heineman Bar Company which is a craftsmanship that specializes in the construction of bars. Quite a bit of a wait for a table but the food was worth it. Plus the Montrose Saloon is across the street.

Montreal CAN/AM Hockey Trip – 2015

Montreal CAN/AM 2015
Toward the end of April I headed up to Montreal for my first CAN/AM Hockey Tournament. The tournament consists of teams from all over Canada and the United States at various levels. We ended up playing against teams from New Jersey, Boston and Ottawa, losing 4-1, 2-0, and 4-1 respectively. I managed to score a goal in the final game. We had a solid time though the international ice was a challenge.UntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitledUntitled
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To travel to Montreal we flew Porter Airlines Turboprop Bombaider planes with a quick stopover in Toronto.  As you can imagine, Porter is experienced in processing customers with hockey gear.  One checked bag consisted of two hockey sticks and an oversized hockey bag for $20.
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I spent the better part of my last morning in town walking around Old Montreal which has the feel of a small old European town. Considering that the city was founded in 1642 this makes sense.
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After our first day of game(s) we stopped at a couple of the brewpubs including: Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel, Benelux Brewpub & Café, Le Cheval Blanc and Vices & Versa. We had some good beer at all of them and some decent food at Vice & Versa and Benelux. Le Chevel Blanc was probably my favorite place because they played actual rock and roll music. Quite possibly the only bar in Montreal to do so.

New York – 2015

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As my travel in April continued, Julie and I went to New York for the weekend. We managed to see some family, meet up with some friends and catch a ball game. On arrival I spent the better part of an afternoon in the East Village; first at McSorley’s Old Ale House then checking out the Alphabet City Beer Company.
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ABC Beer is one of the new store/bar setups but they don’t allow you to drink the bottled beer that is for sale in house. They do have a rather diverse tap selection that is kept up to date on their website so you know what’s available. After ABC Beer I met up with Julie and her friends for some Playoff Hockey at Fools Gold.
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UntitledUntitled After Fool’s Gold and some hockey we finished off the night at The Meatball Shop which of course is open until 3am.

Mets Game
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On Sunday we met up with Julie’s family at Citi Field for the Mets – Marlin’s game. Matt Harvey was pitching and the stadium was packed. I believe the stadium was completely unprepared for the size of the crowd. In the 5th inning I attempted to get some food and ended up walking the entire lower level of the concourse looking for a line that wasn’t 10 deep. On our way out of the parking lot, there was no one directing traffic and it ended up taking us over an hour to leave the lot. It was nice to see a crowd (and a win) but the Mets should probably put a little more effort into handling the amount of people their ballpark was built for.
Side Notes
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I managed to swing by the NHL Store when they had Playoff Bracket Bars available.  The matchup would have been ideal.