Stories I Tell My Friends, "The HONK"

As the big 18 wheeler passes, I hear a “HONK HONK.” This occurs daily at as I walk into work. I park in back of the building which happens to skirt the busy highway. The number of trucks significantly increases as new construction of a hospital is underway.

“HONK HONK.” Another 18 wheeler passes by.

At first I’m embarrassed for as I know those honks are for me. I'm the only one outside. I hear the honk and look down and walk faster towards the back door of work.

“HONK HONK.” Again.

Several weeks go by. A hundred more honks, or so it seems as the 18 Wheelers go whizzing by.

I think about the honking and  change the way I feel about it.  I decide to embrace the noise of a honk that honors my appeal. I must be something to look at, even tho I’m past the age of 22 and feeling old…er…older. I decide I am going to relish those honks, and appreciate the compliment. I wave back and grin. I have it going on.

“HONK HONK.” With my new attitude I turn to face the 18 wheeler and wave. “Thanks buddy,” I shout out knowing he can’t hear me.

“HONK HONK.” Another wave, another feeling of euphoria. Two thumbs up.
A couple of months pass. I am thrilled the trucks are still honking. I wonder if it’s the same truckers. Maybe. A two handed wave, a big grin on my face as I continue to shout back. Gosh, life is good. I feel fabulous.

Then one day, I’m sitting in the back conference room with floor to ceiling windows facing the busy highway waiting for a meeting to start. It’s just me another staff member. We sit quietly waiting. A 18 wheeler rolls by and I hear the HONK HONK. I smile and give myself a mental high-five. Gosh, the truckers can see me sitting in the office. I feel great! I must really have it! I am never skipping another Zumba class ever.

At which point, the staff member turns to me and said, “I must really get my car alarm fixed. Every time those big trucks go by my alarm system honks back."

So much for 'having it.'

I'm changing my name to Dunkle Weissbeir

I want to change my name to Dunkle Weissbeir. It German it would be: Dunkle Weißbier.  But heck, finding that funny B key on your keyboard (its a special character) is too much work so I’ll spell it the American way.

Dunkle Weissbeir means Dark Wheat Beer. And I’ve been known to drink a beer (or two) and I’m quite fond of the idea of having the word Beer in my last name. (My parents mis-named me.)

Dunkle means dark and could be applied to any dark beer.  Many Lagers are also called Dunkle as well as the more tradional, European Wheat & Mircobrew Wheat beers.  All lagers were Dunkle beers until the 1840’s (and all brewed in the Czech Republic by Pilsen.) Today, Dunkle implies a darker, roasted been with more malt.

Dark Wheat beer, my future name sake, is brewed not only with more malt but more yeast. Both of more means a unqiue blend of flavors that often include toffee, chocolate and coffee. Yes, even some have all three flavor profiles. And that is why I love Dunkle Weissbier.

My husband believes the word “Dunkle” or Dark will make a lot of people to stop and ponder or create a bit of confusion. So he suggest I change it to Helles Weißbier, or Helles Weissbeir.  Maybe because Hellas sounds a bit more girly, or maybe Hellas sounds like a rebel. Now, that I like. 

In case you are wondering, Helles means light and yes, a chocolate coffee wheat beer can also be white in appearance. Not often, but it can.


At this moment, I haven’t landed on a decision, Hellas or Dunkle Weissbier. I better pour another and do more taste research.



What do you think??



Prost!

Beer Can't Kill You

Sampling beer at OSU Campus

The good news is I can’t kill anybody.  At best, all I can do is have bad tasting beer that my friends don’t want to drink.

This is the best beer news I’ve heard all day about beer, beer making process and homebrewing and I heard it at OSU brewing science center.

Yes, Oregon State University has a brewing process on campus however, the primary goal is not to make beer (what a pity) but to try out hops, and what hop goes best with what flavor profile. OSU is responsible for engineering most of the hops grown in and around our state & region. If the hops has an Oregon based named, it was engineered by OSU.  Other large scale mircobrews use OSU facilities and graduate student to do test brews with new hops for their beer. Bridgeport Beer (Portland Oregon) was doing just that.

To make Brandy in.

The Senior class project one year

The brewing center is expanding at OSU. The students are looking at art of making Sprits, particularly Brandy. They have a new cooper kettle system and the hands on instructor Jeff is back from a trip across Scotland sampling Brandy. (Now that is my kind of research.)

A few years back, the senior project for the engineering students was to design and fabricate a mini-malter. It is a fully programmable automatic malting vessel for barley. I’m not quite sure of the science of the vessel, but once the grain is loaded it’s a one step, one vessel process for stepping, germination and drying.

After that mini-lecture I skipped back over to the pouring of samples of beer. (NO worries, OSU has an OLCC License to serve beer on campus) and tasted. I may not understand all the science behind malting to milling; to making lagers.  But what I do know is taste. And the student beer tasted great.

But be cautious, you can actually kill someone with canned tuna. Better drink beer. Prost!

Bonus Days! 2 for 1 special…. Review of Alsea Falls & Mary’s Peak

If you find yourself in Waldport, and Central Oregon Coastal town and you want to take a bypass road to the Corvallis area, I have a couple of stops for you.

Top of Mary's Peak on a HOT summer day

The highest Mountain Peak on the Oregon Coastal Range is Mary’s Peak. It’s about a 40 minute drive from Corvallis or about 40 minutes from Waldport. Near this area is a sleepy little town called Alsea and they have a BLM waterfall/camping area named after the town; Alsea Falls.

To prepare for your day of viewing the coastal range and hiking the falls, pack jackets, rain coats and layer your clothes. Don’t forget your picnic lunch, camera and disappointment. Okay, you don’t be disappointed with the scenery but don’t set your expectations too high.

The day we drove up to Mary’s Peak, it was sunny and hot in the valley with temperatures approaching high 90’s. As we meandered up the windy road and wishing I had taken an anti-sickness motion pill; the clouds rolled in. Or is that called fog when you are above the clouds?? And the higher we got the colder it got, naturally. We parked at the trail head to walk a bit to the highest point to take photos and the first we did when we jumped out the car is put on more clothes. The temperature must have dropped 30 degrees. My husband was smart enough to bring a jacket. Me, who would have thought of bring a winter jacket in the middle of a sunny, summer day to access a short trail head for Ocean views? Not I. Being a little bit quicker on the uptake, I grabbed his jacket and put it on before he could say “what the…”.

We walked up the wide trail, neatly groomed to the picnic table on top of the mountain. The hike up took a mere 20 minutes. The view was of fog. Other people were hiking the numerous trails up there; we however could not manage the cold on that hot summer day. We left.

Alsea Falls was a similar experience. It was still hot. Over 90. We found follow the signs to Alsea Falls. Again, another windy road about 15 minutes out of that tiny town. Another anti-motion sickness pill I wish I had taken.

Once we arrived the falls, I was thrilled to get out of the car and breathe in that fresh mountain air and even more excited when I saw two women walking on a trail in swimsuit and holding swim noodle. Most excellent! A swimming hole; something I didn’t expect.

We found the falls by once again, following the signs. Just a few 500 yards (or so) from the parking lot is the falls. Such a pretty sight with layering colors of blue with the backdrop of the multi colored green trees and moss. We took a gillizaon plus one photo of each other. Such fun! And then we looked for the swimming hole. Never found it. Luckily we stumbled upon a Park Ranger and asked him where to look for the swimming hole. He chuckled a bit and said no such place existed up there. I wondered for a moment where those two women disappear too, but I suppose I didn’t want to know.

We found a perfectly lovely picnic table that my daughter picked out right next to the port-a-potty for lunch. Yes, there were plenty of other tables but she wanted that one.

We ate our watermelon, played a round of Yatzee in the cool temperatures of high 70’s before heading back to the valley to the hot and sun.

In the end, I recommend both these places as an escape from the hot summer sun. But don’t take your water noodles and don’t expect an Ocean view; that’s what beach front hotels are for.

Brewery Tour Reviews

I love brewery tours.

What's not to love, you get to see your favorite drink being processed while gather free swag (the noun and not the verb) and beer (hopefully.) Oregon is crazy for it's Mircobrews. In fact there is more breweries in Oregon than anywhere in the world. Anywhere. Oregon outshines Germany and Czech Republic (the country that gave us Budweiser.)  And it seems mircobrewers love to share their craft to passing tourist who love beer.  I don't bore you with the details of how beer is processed; after all that is what a tour is all about.

I've given you what I think are the best brewery tours based on overall tour experience, swag and what kind of swag.

Without further ado, here is sample of tours in the State of Oregon.




Rogue Ale, Newport Bay Front.

Famous for it's dead guy ale, Rogue Ale has a great free membership plan (see other blogs) and plenty of beers for a wide assortment of tastes.

The beer tours at the bay front are often, three times a day and they are usually packed. What you get for standing in a massive crowd of tourist in a tiny gift shop waiting for the tour to start is.......wait for it......nothing.

The tour is unimpressive. Oh sure, you get to the see the original beer making vessels that are converted milkers (serious) and it's kind of neat to see stacks and stacks of beer just waiting for shipment (if you consider that fun) but that's it. The tour guide does not give a complete picture of how Wort is made into beer or any other sort of science based fact on the beer making process. What the tour guide does give you is the complete history of Rogue Ale, the brewmeister and all the locations you can buy Rogue Ale (including Japan.)

The tour is about 45 minutes and no swag, no beer given out as tasters at the end. Not even a drop. The tour ends back at the gift shop. There you get your name on the list to get into pub. If everyone in your party is over 21 go straight to the bar. Either sit at the bar or at the bay front window and watch fisherman hard at work. To them, raise a toast.



Deschutes, Bend Oregon.

It's a beer making machine and they are serious about their beer. Following your google maps, the building is impressive and you can see the silos in which is made. (You'll  learn later those were purchased in Germany and the freeways had to closed at night to move them to this site. Yes, the are impressive and huge.)

You first walk into a bar. Yeap, a bar. The bartender will tell you the next tour time and then get you started on your first of five samples of beer. He (or she) will describe each beer, IBU and profile. If you are still drinking your free beer when the tour starts, no worry you can take it with you.

The tour guide then shows you the complete steps and process for making beer, and you even get to see the bottling part. You walk past the taster room, oops I mean quality control where employees can sign up for additional duties of tasting beer to ensure quality. (Sounds like my career path has taken me in all the wrong places when I could be tasting beer and get paid for it.)  Anyway.

The tour ends back at the bar about an 75 minutes later where you can either finish  your free samples or fill your growler for later. No swag but the beer tasting and the atmosphere makes up for it. The pub is about 1/2 mile away. So I highly recommend you fill your growler to take the beer with you on your great outdoor Bend area adventure. I recommend the Pauline Lake area. (Just in case you needed to know.)


Widmer, Portland Oregon

Tours are Friday and Saturdays only by appointment. You will not get a tour a few days beforehand. I highly suggest you call more than week to make your arrangements.

The tour starts above the bar in a big room. The tour guide brings up four pitchers of beer and the participants line up for a free sample of a beer. You sit back at your table, make new friends and then stand in line for another beer. (Heck, you need to try them all.) You then watch a video about Widmer and the tour starts about 20 minutes later. No drinking on this tour so bottoms up.

The Widmer tour is the most comprehensive of the tours I'm profiling today. You get the complete history of Widmer, how beer is made and a complete visual process of how that works. You walk around all the equipment and wind up at the bottling process. About an hour later you get swag (Yea! Finally) which includes a plastic cup and a choice of key chains.

Walk across the street back to the pub, drink another beer and order the pretzel and beer cheese soup. The best beer cheese soup around. Trust me, I've tried them all.


Full Sail, Hood River, Oregon


Tours are almost daily and you just show up and wait in a long-skinny hallway that always serves as the entrance to the pub.

The tour guide promptly takes the group to a table with visual aides....all the ingredients needed to make beer. You get to touch, taste hops and make jokes with the entertaining and funny tour guide. He talks about the process and also how Full Sail recycles what they can from the process. (The left over wort goes to the cows to eat. Lucky cows.) You walk a few feet, see some of the equipment and that's it. The guide then takes you back to where you start and gives you a free pint glass. (Yea Swag) but no beer.

The tour ends about 40 minutes later.  Don't worry, you won't feel cheated. The tour guide has such a quick wit and vast knowledge of beer you will feel as he's your long lost beer drinking buddy.

Afterwards, walk a few feet to the crowded pub. Drink more beer and have a burger. I recommend you sit on the outdoor patio and watch wind surfers.

Prost.

My Favorite Harvest



Hop Plant!

 Hops are a binding plant, not a vine.

Hops grow best on the 45th parallel and Oregon used to produce 45% percent of the worlds hops but that number drastically decreased after WWII to a mere 5%.  The primary growing regions are now Germany (which grows more hops than any single country), then Washington State and then Oregon.

Hops are a cone shaped, and are a bitter, tangy plant used primarily to flavor beer. But it's the yellow stuff inside the hop called Lulupin that the Brewmeisters desire.

Shall I go on with the Hop Trivia???



A mountain of hops



Or better yet, attend the Rogue Ale Farm tour. You'll learn all about Hops, see them grow and harvest. You'll have a chance to see fields of hops, hops drying and hops in bundles. You'll see mountains of hops. You'll dream of all the beer you will drink. And you will learn all this hop trivia and best of all, see it in action.



I have been on a lot of beer tours, but seeing how the primary ingredient for beer is grown was interesting and peaked my interesting in the whole process of beer.

The tour lasted over an hour. And best part, it was free. No swag was given out at the end. No free pints of beer afterwards. However, the knowledge I gained all for the love of beer was priceless.

The end product!

What are you waiting for??? Go visit a hop farm today and get drinking.

Rocking the Paradise

Rocking the Paradise

Albany Art and Air Festival made a calculated decision to book only Rock Bands to play at the venue. The reason is because this area is saturated with Country Music. Sweet Home has the Jamboree, Brownsville the Country Music Festival; Benton County Fair tends to book country acts as well as Albany River Rhythms.



With that decision, Large…. Really large (and in half the population of the city) attend the Art and Air Festival music venue. Last year, it was Joan “I Love Rock and Roll” Jett with approximately 23,000 people. It’s a crazy venue in that, the stage is in a pond (yes, you read that correct) and the crowd sits on this dome shaped mound that is slopped for stadium seating provided you have your own chair. And 23,000 people in that space tends to make no room for movement. No way to reach the beer tent. Did I forget to tell you the music is free?? As in no-cost.



This year, it’s the Music of Styx. You know, the 70- 80’s rock that your parents didn’t allow you to listen too solely based on their name. (Styx is the river that leads into Hell. The band made a quip about how great Albany was for putting the stage out in the water just for them. I’m sure most people missed the reference to their name. Anyhow.)



The city anticipated a large crowd, the same as Joan Jett. In order to maintain a safe environment in which someone could go get a beer, the city gated the venue and had two entry-exit points with the gates opening at 10 am. Yes, I was in line. Many people were scared away. There was no guarantee you’d be allowed back in the venue, even with your hand stamped. It was a pity really, since getting in and back in seemed to be no issue. I set up my chair at 10 am and returned around 6 pm for the 8 pm show. I heard they closed the gates at 7:10 pm however that is unconfirmed.



Styx rocked the house. Some the music sounded really 80’s. However, the audience stood the entire time and sang along to “Blue Collar Man” and “Too Much Time on my Hands.” They didn’t play Mr. Roboto the song in which many American’s learned how to say Thank you very much in Japanese. (In case you forgot its Domo Arigato.) Maybe because Dennis DeYoung who wrote and sang that song left Styx’s in 1999 and then sued the band. (He lost.)



After the show, fireworks. Yeap, a good 15 minute show of fireworks to ooh and awe over.



I’m looking forward to next year. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for ZZ Top.

Rafting Adventures....and a Child Guide

The dirty, old looking van with broken door handles didn’t worry me as much at the 12 year-old looking kid who stated without much enthusiasm he was going to be our guide for the day.




If I wasn’t a bit nervous about white water rafting before; I am now.

Our driver looked to be…oh about 17 years old. He had to be a teenager since in between sticking his head out the door in the steep, rough not-made-for-driving-on road to make sure the tires stated on the loose gravel and instead of over the edge (to which I thought I’ve had a good life and it was sad it was going to end this way) he would text. (Now I’m convinced my life is going to end in a dirty, beat up rusted out van.) As in, take out the cell phone and text and not have his eyes on the road all the while our “tour guide” slept. He must have been at least 13 because that is what teenagers do; sleep and nap for long periods and 12 years old would make him a child. None this is behavior was lead to my eagerness to raft.

My rafting mate for the next four hours was a mother-daughter team with whom I was camping with for the weekend. (Along with eight other women, camping in tee-pees.)

The other three rafters were Korean. A father and two nine year old children. The father spoke English although his listen skills were not keen. The child/teenager/river guide would command us (okay maybe command is a strong word for his soft spoken, non-authoritative voice) to paddle three strokes forward. I took these commands seriously. No way did I want to end up in the icy cold river in class four/five rapids. Our Korean man would paddle until someone told him to stop unless he was keeled over in the raft. Yes, he had a tendency to fall inwards often going over the least powerful rapid. The kids; well were kids. They did not do anything that assembled paddling. Nor did they understand our child/teenager guide since they did not speak English. This left three women and one child/teenage guide to steer, move and get the raft safety downstream.

It’s a wonder I lived. But I did. Next time I raft, it will be with a guide that is older than 12; and it will be on US Federal lands. And if a rusted out, beat up, broken handle van comes to pick me up I’ll know to walk away.

Zumba Classes OR How my Belly Dancing has Paid Off



Over 50 pounds gone

Finally my Belly-Dancing lessons have come in handy.



“Why don’t you blog about Zumba?” My Zumba friend inquired…and friend is a loose term since she lost over 50 pounds in seven months. (Like who can be friends with someone who can lose weight that quickly??!) She says it’s not all because of Zumba but attributes some of it to Weight Watchers. Whereas me, I celebrate losing a pound and mourn when I gain 10; both events without any significant effort. However, that would be a boring blog. Back to Zumba.



The Zumba crazy was started by an immigrant in Florida when asked to sub at his local gym the Aerobics class. Having never taken an Aerobics class he did what he didn’t know….and did a dance routine to Latin Music. And thus, Zumba was born.



The wave of Zumba first hit my area several years ago. Back in “those days” each class was $7.00 and you had to commit to 6 weeks at a time. Not for those pitching pennies no matter how much weight you wanted to lose. My partner (the gal with whom I’ve been working out with 5 times a week for the past 15 years) and I went to the free preview Zumba. Can’t say we were sold. Maybe it was the price. Maybe because we felt like uncoordinated fools. And no doubt we looked the part.



Almost a year ago, my partner wants me to try out Zumba with her again. This time, it’s at her church and it’s only $2 bucks a class. Since she is my partner, I said yes without any zest or zeal, vin or vigor. (Whatever that is supposed to mean.)



This time, I still felt like an uncoordinated fool, however I could figure out the routine and I liked the instructor. I purchased the punch card and made the commitment.



Zumba has a lot of core body work. Lots of moving of the waist and abs…and making me grateful I know how to do belly rolls thanks to my year worth of lessons of Belly Dance. The moves area always the same to whatever song they play. The moves in the chorus is always the same and always to the beat of the song. If you can move your feet, you can Zumba. Mind you, you might feel like Jim Carey in Pet Detective running around in a tut-tut looking like a fool but you will feel as good as Jennifer Beal in Flash dance. (Sorry, could not think of an Belly Dance references.)



Zumba is the only time I look forward to hearing a Justin Bieber Song.


Will I be seeing you in class soon????

Beer time!

Variety of Mircobrews

• Check.

BBQ Pork.

• Check.

Live Music.

• Check.

Plenty of shade trees.

• Check.

Lawn Games.

• Check.

Friends and family.

• Double check.

Looks like this picnic had it all. Five brewers on tap and a ciderhouse. The breweries are local beer with a passion for brewing. Participating breweries included Block 15 Restaurant and Brewery, Calapooia Brewing, Flat Tail Brewing, McMenamins on Monroe, Oregon Trail Brewery and 2 Towns Ciderhouse.  Block 15 did the BBQ’ing and that pig couldn’t of tasted any better with the bean or potato salad. For the non-meat eaters there was a tofu option (which actually looked good to this pig-bacon-loving-meat-eater.)

The setting at Alton Field Farms was as near prefect as you could get. Plenty of grass with rows of pear and apples trees to sit underneath surrounded by might Oak trees for the complete blanket of afternoon shade.  Plenty of room for people to set up blanket, lawn chairs and we played UNO while sipping suds.

Thinking of everything, the event was set up with a dozen or so picnic tables for those without lawn chair and hay bales facing the live music. Three different (or was it four) bands played through the afternoon. In between band breaks, a raffle for swag in which you had to be present to win. 

The picnic was in honor of Craft Beer Month as celebrated in Oregon. Oregon has more mircobrews than anywhere in the world with over 80 today. And that number in increasing. Last year we attend the Craft Brew Festival in Portland Oregon. It was packed. Wall-to-Wall people. Beer lines were 40 minutes. And this blogger was not a happy camper after waiting in a hot tent with thousands of people in a line for beer just to have them run out.

My experience was not like that in the least bit. The line was short, and never waited more than 5 minutes for a beer.  And the event was not overwhelmed with people that you couldn't walk or more about. Unlike the Portland Festival held the very same weekend.

Local Reporter with our neighbor.

People at work asked me if I had a good time; indeed I did. So-much-so I hope the Craft Beer Picnic is an annual event. And then I could be "one of those people who have been to them all." I'll never go back to the Portland Brew Festival. I think.

PROST.

Bacon & Eggs Farm Style.

Damn Dam

Where is the Dam tour???!



Hoover Dam

Nothing is more exciting than a Dam tour.

Hoover Dam is worth the damn drive outside Las Vegas. And yes, you can still tour inside the Dam no mater what other damn people have to say.



The Turbines.

You can buy Dam tour tickets online but those tickets are limited for as you only get to see the giant turbines. If you spend twice that amount, you get to stick your hand (or small head) outside the Dam for a picture of the Dam plus you get too see the exit stairwell. Serious.

Tickets to the full Dam tour go on sale daily at 9 am, and it's a first come, first serve bases. Since Vegas can be damn hot, walking about the Dam with a zillion tons of concrete it's damn hotter. Much damn hotter. Therefore I highly recommend you plan on starting your Dam Day at the Dam tour at 9:00 am. Plus its cool inside the Dam. You want the more expensive Dam tickets just for that damn reason.



The view outside the Dam looking up...if your head fits.

 Once you buy your Dam tickets, you'll see a Dam video on the construction of the Dam and the Dam details. Afterwards, you get ushered into a damn small elevator for the Dam tour. The first part of the tour there is a lot of damn people. Some of those people have the half price Dam tour tickets. After 20-30 minutes, the cheap ticket people get escorted out the the Dam and the rest of the group wonders deeper into he Dam. The best stop is the place where you do get to stick your hand (head) out of the Dam and take a dam picture. Don't worry, there is Dam safety and the holes are not that damn big.

Then you walk inside more damn narrow hallways to see other Dam sights including the exit stairs. (I agree, they were not that damn exciting.) To exit the Dam tour, you will get escorted out the original elevators for the Dam tour. Look at them. The brass and the Dam artwork is quite impressive. And then the Dam tour is over.

Once you leave the Dam tour, head back to where you started. You'll have to go through Dam security (impart thanks to 9-11) and bypass the damn maze of a people and totally ignore the lines. (Don't worry, those lines of people are for the Dam tours.) Head for the stairs. You paid for the entrance into the Dam museum and it's worth visiting. You get to see more Dam details and Dam facts and see Dam artifacts. After all the Dam viewing head up one more flight of stairs to the rooftop for the golden view of the Dam. Almost golden. It's worth the picture taking of your loved ones with a damn Dam in the background.

Once you've had your Dam fill of the Dam, drive a half a mile or so, and park at the lot that allow you to cross the new bridge. Don't let all those damn stairs or the damn heat scare you way; it's damn with the Dam photos you will get.

Have a Dam good time.

http://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/service/index.html

Entertaining yourself at 21,000 feet

The promise of a flight.......entertainment with a view.

Flying. Booking your ticket to travel to some distant land is always so exciting. You start planning what to pack, what you'll do and then it hits you ...you'll have to spend a whole day in flight just to get there. And then you'll wonder if the airline will have any sort of entertainment package. Don't worry, I have created this list just for you. To help you pass the time and for very little cost, here is my 10 ten list for in flight activity.

10- Yoga. That stretching and such is suppose to be good for you, keep you young and limber. You'll have plenty of time to learn poses. Start now.

9- Write a blog. Heck, forget the whole writing concept just write a book and be done with it. Who knows, it could be a best seller. Now that would make your travel miles really pay off.



Yum, Airline Food.

8- New York Times Crossword.  Requires thought, intelligence and asking your neighbor what the synonym of acquiesce is. Sounds difficult and time consuming already. I'll pass on this one.

7- Exercise. Lunges to the bathroom. Jumping jacks while waiting. Front toe touches on the way back your seat. Repeat 100x.

6-  Write a love letter. Sign it as seat 22c and have the airline steward deliver it to seat 10b. Sit back and watch either the sparks fly or sparks that really fly.

5- Mediate. Clear your mind. I think you are suppose to close your eyes and say UMMM out loud, really loud … a lot or until you fall asleep and then you won’t have to worry about mediating once you are asleep.
4- Be sociable. Just push that little button above your seat. The airline attendant will come to you to talk. Isn’t that great??!! You can talk about the weather, what’s for dinner, etc. And when they leave just push that little button again & again. Ta da! New friends at the push of a button.

3- Sing in the bathroom. “We Are the Champions” by Queen is always a good tune to start with. Remember, the louder you sing the better you sound.


Will you be my seat mate???

2- Read. Riffle through the seat backs of fellow passengers. See what they are reading. Take what you’d like.

1- Start a new hobby like making model airplanes. Test it out. I hope mine will fly.

I hope you are my next seat mate!

Until then, Prost.

Room Without a View, or Ghost

Room Without a View, or Ghosts

The bar with rooms above

An urban adventure is what we were seeking to escape, even if for the night. If I had the cash, and didn’t need to work, I can picture myself living town Portland in the Pearl District among the who-you-should know people. However since my budget is more of a Coors light instead Sparkling white wine (commonly known as Champagne) so I booked us a room above a bar on the wrong side of the river of downtown Portland.


Rooms are available above the White Eagle Care Rock ‘n’ Roll hotel in which people like ZZ top played. The hotel opened its door in 1905 and said to be haunted and once connected to the Shanghai tunnels.

The Spirit detector

And keeping with the Spirit of this hotel (meant to be taken literally) I also booked us a haunted tour entitled “Beyond Bizarre Ghost Tour.” The Internet information promises to scare us with tale of the undead and the chance to see orbs.


Both were a bust. Can’t say Epic Fail since I was spending the weekend with my husband and daughter; however if I was with people I didn’t care about it would've been a Epic Success and I maybe not of ever seen those people again. The skinny just in case you don't desire to read on: No we didn’t see any undead, not scared by any tales, didn’t see any orbs and didn’t get any sleep in a room in which a bed barely fit and the public bathroom doors didn’t lock, and walls paper thin.




The hallway is about as wide as a room.

Our tour guide

The positives, the room was cheap, as in cash. The beer at McMenamins is always good and the outdoor patio area is one of my favorites even tho it lacks any sort of view. The positive with the Bizarre Ghost tour is we had a Voodoo Donut break and we didn’t have to stand in the hour long wait line. And the tour guide was friendly enough.....but....that’s about it. I think she seriously believes in the undead walking among us and she even talked to them at the end of tour in a unlit basement below a pizza parlor. She called the ghost by name. The tour started at 10 pm in downtown Portland. The tour participants was my family and a couple from the Seattle area. That's it. We walked a couple miles around building and she pointed out where "bad" once happened and how haunted the streets of Portland still are. Yes, that I believe however those who are haunting the street today are alive and well and making money.

Something I believe in...Voodoo Donuts

In short order, I did not become a believer. I already believe in Voodoo Donuts and deliciousness. A maple bar with bacon on top would turn you into a believer as well. Oh wait I have already blog about that.

After the tour, we caught the last Max to the other side of the river at 1 am to attempt sleep above the bar. Impossible. The band was still playing and our tiny room directly above. In stead of sleep, we shared a plate of tator tots and drank a beer at the table closest to the door and furthest way from the band as possible. We wondered up to our room near 2 am. Sleep did not find me. I heard the people in the room next to us snore. I heard the people in the room across the hall from us. (And that's all I'll say about that.)  Once dawn cracked, my husband and poured ourselves out the room and walked to a bakery worth the 1/2 mile walk called Grand Central. There we had coffee and a smiot similar to what we ate in Turkey.


When you look for your urban adventure and if you plan on getting to bed before 2 am and sleeping past 7 am, I recommend you look elsewhere than the White Eagle. I can only recommend sleeping about the bar if your favorite local band is playing that night. And you are a heavy sleeper. And you have ear plugs.

The real urban adventure..the max ride.

http://www.mcmenamins.com/469-white-eagle-saloon-home




http://www.portlandwalkingtours.com/tours/beyond_bizarre.php