Monday, November 6, 2017

T Stand for Hockey Season

Happy Tuesday folks. Today is the day we stop by Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog  and share a little drink fun. And sometimes  we even share some food or other adventures.
After all T is for Tuesday.
I have a little road trip fun for you today.
My T Day post is all about what the hubby and I like to do in the winter.
We like to watch hockey. Our favorite team is our college team, The University of Maine Black Bears.
Our college  used to have a strong and competitive team that was hard to beat. Lately they've gone downhill. In fact, they hadn't won an away game since January of 2015. 
But last Saturday they were playing the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Lowell is about 1 1/2 hours away from out home (half the distance of going back to our alma mater) so we got tickets for the game.
We were meeting my husband's sister and her husband (he's an alumni also) as well as my husband's cousin and his wife who just wanted a day out.
The game was at 4PM so before the game we met for lunch and a couple of pre-game beers, plus we had a little walk around the city of Lowell.
Lowell is an interesting place.  It began in the 1820's as an experimental factory city. Since the Merrimack River ( a large New England River) runs through the city, it made a good place for many early textile mills to be built. It was the first planned  and highly successful industrial city in the United States. After mills went out of business, the city suffered, but now there is a US National Historic park where you can learn about those mills and the lives of the mill girls back in the 1800's. The city has made a comeback and is actually an interesting place to visit.
Here's a few photos from my walk. 

 Here's an old trolley station and also a mill canal. I believe there were 6 miles of canals built throughout the city.




 And this is the arena where we went to watch the game. I will say it is one of my favorite venues. It is called the Tsongas Center, named after an influential Massachusetts legislator who hailed from Lowell.
I wish I had more of the historical mills to show you, but we didn't walk into that neighborhood. I visited the Mill Museum back in 2007 and maybe it's time to go back again. Here's a link to the National Historic Park Site if you are interested: Lowell National Historic Park. Maybe next spring or summer once they open up for another season I will make a point of going back.
Part of the reason we only had so much time was we were all meeting for lunch at an Irish Pub called The Old Court.

It certainly had some personality. And some cool wall art . I should have taken the wall art photo before the place got crowded.
But they did a a good beer selection.
My husband and I both had a Southwick's Red Ale which is made by Guinness and imported from Ireland. It's a nice drink.
And 4 out of the 6  of us had fish and chips for lunch.
I substituted onion rings for my chips. It was delicious and not greasy at all.
And after lunch we walked back to go to the game. Our team actually won, 6-2. Wahoo.
So a good time was had by all.
Thanks for visiting.


20 comments:

Linda Kunsman said...

what a perfectly wonderful day-and especially that your team won! Great history and photos about town. And your Irish lunch sounds perfect to me-even the Southwicks which I have tried before at our local Irish pub/restaurant.
Thanks for sharing and happy T day!

CJ Kennedy said...

I've driven through Lowell, but have never visited. I'm not a big sports fan. I watch the Red Sox and Patriots because Himself does. Pub looks like a fun place. I love the knotwork on the wall. Looks like you got a healthy portion of fish, and what good sports your friends and relatives are to have their picture taken. Love the name of your alma mater team. I love Black Bears. Here's to a short week. Hope yours is going well.

kathyinozarks said...

I really enjoyed reading about the history and the photos from your walk. Hockey sounds like a fun event for the winter. mmmm the food looks delish and the beer is my husbands favorite.
Happy T Day kathy

Valerie-Jael said...

Looks like you had a fun time at the hockey game and seeing the town. I love it when old industrial places get upgraded and shown for viewing. The place where you ate looks great, love the wall art. Glad you enjoyed your food and beer. Happy T Day, hugs, Valerie

Meggymay said...

It looks like you all had a lovely day out, your team winning the match must have been a perfect end to the day.
Your fish and rings, looked delicious, Guinness is a favourte drink of my OH's as well.
Happy T day wishes.
Yvonne xx

froebelsternchen said...

Congrats - great that your team won!!!
Looks like it was super to meet up with family and friends - the town is very interesting but the star of this post for me is this fish and onion chips meal - that makes my mouth watery - especially since we have lunchtime here and I am really hungry-
I have to visit the kitchen now, my tortilla wraps are waiting to be filled.

Happy T-Day my friend - thank you for sharing your weekend event with us!♥♥♥

oxo Susi

johanna said...

may i dare to say i never saw a hockey Play in my life?
but i would gladly join you for the guiness:)
happy t-day!

Let's Art Journal said...

What a fabulous day out with your friends! I love ice hockey and have seen the Portland Pirates a number of times 😁. Spending time with friends, a ice hockey game, fish and fries/chips, and a pint of Southwick Red Ale would be my perfect day out, count me in next time ...lol! Thanks so much for sharing, your post brings back so many wonderful memories of our visits to America 😀. Wishing you a very Happy T Day! J 😊

NatureFootstep said...

I like the pub and the dark beer :):)

jinxxxygirl said...

Erika ... hockey and beer would not be my kind of day but the food looks yummy and the company fun and i love the history and old buildings... Thank you so much for sharing and happy happy T day!! Hugs! deb

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I have to make this quick because I have to vote today (for school board and other things). I really enjoyed seeing the town of Lowell. Your buildings are really quite different from where I live. Everything is old and beautiful, except the Tsongas Center, of course.

Thanks for taking us to the hockey game. I know you and hubby love it. Glad your alma mater won, too. The bar where you ate was lovely and that wall art was great. I want a Guinness STOUT, please. I can't believe you get Guinness on tap there. We get bud and bud light (grin). Thanks for sharing your trip to Lowell, your meal, and your beer with us for T this Tuesday.

Lisca said...

I assume you mean ice hockey. In Europe hockey is played on grass. But in America it is played on ice. I have seen short videos of it and it seems quite rough to me if I am being honest. But you enjoyed it and that is all that matters. And a great day out with good company.
I was very impressed with the town. Lots of old buildings. And you know, it looks so English! Especially that church. No second guessing where those settlers came from. I shall look forward to more potos when you visit next time. In the mean time I will follow that link and have a good look.
The fish and chips (well, onion rings) made my mouth wáter. I'm not too keen on chips either and I always order a substitute. It looks like a really good pub to visit. Thanks for sharing.
Happy T-Day
Lisca

Divers and Sundry said...

Hockey isn't big around here, and I know nothing about it except what I've seen in passing on tv. It's nice to have a team you're connected to that you can see in person and root for. :) Happy T Tuesday!

Eileen The Artful Crafter said...

Lowell does look like a lovely city now. How nice to get our and meet friends there for a day trip. And how about that - your team even won! That put a nice icing on the cake :D

Happy T-day, Erika! Hugs, Eileen

Carol said...

That certainly looks like a city that you could spend a whole day touring and have a grand time. Thanks for stopping by and offering your kind support ♥ It really does mean a lot .

pearshapedcrafting said...

Lowell looks a great place! Glad your team won! Happy T Day!Chrisx

Kate Yetter said...

Looks like you had fun! Those old brick buildings are amazing. And I love fish and chips...Yours look so yummy!!
Kate

Krisha said...

Lowell looks like a photographers dream place! So rich in history and fabulous buildings.
Bakersfield, CA also is a hockey town.............yep, right here where we get snow about every 10-15 years...LOL!
Fish and chips are one of my favorites too!
Happy T-day

Jeanie said...

What a fun trip! Hope your team has a good season.

Eons ago, I went East with a friend when she was looking for a job as a rep for a yarn company that was based in Lowell. It was an interesting town, though mostly what I remember are the yarn stores. I do love that territory and it's been a long time since I've been that way.

Your dinner looks yum!

Dianne said...

Looks like you had a great time. Thanks for sharing the views on your walk and the yummy looking pub grub!