The Best of 2011

We did this last year and it was more popular than I would have guessed so here we go with another “best of” list in the form of a Top 10. Again we’ll start with number 10 and work our way up to the number one post/memory/action of 2011. The list encompasses my personal favorite memories, posts that were well commented on or saw more than average traffic.

10. Def Leppard – possibly the best part of this concert was the solemnly sworn agreement that we would sit “front row” the next time they came into town. The post also let me pull up this picture from when we met the band in 2006.

09. Charleston, SC – with a mandatory stop at South of the Border. We were there for Thanksgiving and while the trip was short it was fun and much like Savannah, GA this is a place I would like to go back to with a lot more time to explore. The weather was great and it was easy to capture some great photos. Best of all – it wasn’t crowded.

08. Caffeinated Wild Turkey American Honey BBQ Sauce was #5 in an article titled “8 Fantastic Delivery Methods for Caffeine” on Topless Robot. What started as a joke of sorts (yes – I really made the sauce) took off to become one of the most viewed pages of the year. Traffic was high for almost a month after TR ran their article with a daily spike of over 1000 visitors.

07. New River Camping Trip – I’m not sure how this made the list because I am fairly certain it didn’t really happen. There is no way we would go camping in the rain (again). Do you believe in golf cart Jesus? They really did leave that in the store and the New River Campground has already ordered four cases for next year. We’ve quit our hooping and hollerin’ and yes your picture will just end up on my damn website.

06. Another brick in the wall? 2011 brought us LegoPalooza, Brick Magic, Lego Kidsfest, and Mystery Bricks. It was a good year to be addicted to bricks because the Triangle had more than a few opportunities to see some awesome Lego displays. Thanks again to BobG for finding and grabbing the now oldest bricks in my collection and the only ones made in the United States (by Samsonite).

05. In the Kitchen with Nick (I, II, III) if the world were a fair place we’d have a cooking show based on the premise of Nick going in and taking over kitchens at weddings and bar mitzvahs. The world is a cruel mistress and we’ll probably never see the concept come to life. I blame the camera guy and the intro music. And since imitation is the most sincere form of flattery we should mention this In the Kitchen with BobG created at his 40th birthday party.

04. Maine – we took a vacation to Maine and it resulted in a few posts. My favorites? Lobster (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner) and Whale Watching – there were a lot of highlights from the trip but I would go back for either one of those experiences.

03. NCAA Tournament Charlotte – yes Raleigh > Charlotte but we ventured down for Rounds 2 & 3 of the NCAA Tournament to watch two Triangle teams dominate their respective fields. Highlights included a glimpse of Micheal Jordan in his box and Charlotte’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. If we had known we could have had the crew down for a second run in the Queen City. I mean we had already won one parade – why not try for two?

02. NHL All-Star Weekend in Raleigh – I skipped the game but didn’t miss the party. It was awesome to have the NHL All-Star game in Raleigh and great that Southern-fried Hockey got stellar reviews. Thanks to BobG for live pics from the game and behind the scenes and yes that is the Stanley Cup.

01. St. Patrick’s Day Vikings – if you haven’t ridden a rocket, the S.S. Minnow or a fire-breathing dragon down Fayetteville St. then you might not understand how this is better than the NCAA Tournament, the NHL All-Star game and really anything short of a shuttle launch. It is something you can’t understand until you’ve done it and once you’ve done it you are unable to explain it. It is like being dead or famous – once you are there it is too late to explain it to anyone else.

So how are we going to raise the bar on 2011? Check back next year.