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

How my Tequila was saved by Michael Anthony

How Michael Anthony Saved my Tequila


Alaska Airlines said my carry on was too big and I’d have to check it. This upset me for three reasons:

1- My husband’s carry on is the exact same size and why isn’t his bag being targetted?

In line, like the rest of us

2- Michael Anthony (formerly of Van Halen, currently in Chickenfoot) is checking in beside me and I want to be a fan and snap photos.

3- Michael Anthony is checking in next to me!!!

My husband, forever the diplomat, tells me to calm down, take a few items out of my bag so it’s not so big and then he whispers to me not to be a fan, don’t take any photos. Oh man! That’s exactly what I want to do...take photos. So I sneak off a picture before re-packing my carry on. After this much-to-do-about-nothing, I get selected to have my bag search. Naturally. Following instructions of the screeners (I’m not one to argue with them) they have me stand next to Michael Anthony. Yeap, right next. Appears as if his bass guitar case is being open and search by security. This is better than snapping fan photos while standing in a airport check-in line. Taking advantage of the situation I make small talk.

Playing Cabo Wabo the day before.

“So, what’s your case being searched for?” I inquire.

“Don’t have a clue” Michael Anthony says to me. “How about your bag?”

“They are looking for my Tequila. I’m sure I’ll lose it,” I tell him.

Michael Anthony then turns to the security guard who just pulled the Tequila from my bag. While she exams my Tequila he pleads with her, “let her have her Tequila, it’s the National Drink.” She looks at Michael Anthony, looks at my bottle and places it back in my bag and nods at him. She tells me I’m free to go.

A Prost to Michael at Cabo San Lucus for saving my tequila.

I grab my bag and tell Michael Anthony “thanks man” and I proceed into the Airport lounge at Cabo San Lucas. I forget all about my picture taking. I forget to thank for him the great, week-long concerts with Sammy Hagar. I forget all but the thrill of having my bottle for Mexican Vanilla Flavored Tequila with me. We were going drink the tequila as the traditional after Thanksgiving Dinner drink.

It’s sitting on my TV stand unopened.

And oh, Thanks Michael Anthony for saving my tequila. I forgot to thank you.

Bacon-Free Birthday Day

Free Beer and Free Tee Shirts


“Hey Birthday girl” the bartender says to me, “take these beers to the table behind you.”
“Okay boss” I respond.
“Birthday girl.”
“Yes boss.”
“Deliver these beers to the table two off to your right.”
Joyfully I deliver the beer and tell them it’s my birthday.

If you are a Rogue Ale card-carrying member, take your card and Driver's License on your actual Birthday for your Free ½ liter of beer (your choice) and a tee-shirt (your choice of the short sleeved ones.)

What’s the catch???

None. Membership has it’s privileges.

The cost to me, however is higher.

I was at the second Rogue Ale in Newport sitting at the bar with my husband. Shortly after we arrive the flood gates open the place is packed. That is when the bartender put me to work. I’m such a naturally shy person this really take me out of my comfort zone. (And for those who know me you should of spit out your beer just then.) With zest and zeal I worked for my second-of-day free beer and tee shirt.

We arrived promptly at the Bay Front Rogue Ale the designated opening time of 11:00 for the first of four anticipated beers. The menu looked good and heck, it’s my birthday so I had Mac & Cheese before heading across the bridge to Rogue the Brewery and pit stop #2.

After the fun and interaction with the patrons and bartender we took off two hours later for the Rogue Farm near Independence Oregon. The farm is, well quite frankly in the middle of farmland surrounds by Hops and Hazelnut trees. I had my next pint of beer, tee-shirt # 3 and played lawn games. The weather was warm and after all that beer I was feeling...well...I was feeling not so fine and I had to call it a day. My plan was to finish the day at Rogue Ale in Track Town, USA (or Eugene Oregon to you non-Oregonians.)

I know, it’s lame I didn’t drink the entire day on my birthday. But to my defense I did have to work the next day and I’m no longer in my terrible twos (22.) I suppose you slow down a bit when you turn 29 again.

Until next year, Prost.

And oh, if you haven’t done it yet go get your FREE membership so you too can gather up all the free tee shirts as you roam from Rogue-to-Rogue. And oh, take a DD. (Designated Driver)

http://www.rogueales.com/

Top 10 Reasons for NOT blogging

 My top ten list of reasons why I haven't been blogging.

10- Cat ate my homework. Can’t blame the dog since I don’t own a dog. however, if you’ve seenmy cat, you know this could be true. My cat is a rescue from the local no-kill shelter. He lived atthe shelter for 6 months and in that time the only exercise he got was eating. Hey, I admire thisguy. So I named him after beer, Kona Lagar. Kona brewing company is located oddly enough in Kona, Hawaii and they are in the Craft Brew Alliance with Widmer which makes the beer widelyaccessible in the main land. I suppose I will blog about my visit to this brewery later.

9- I don’t own a ipad or iphone or a iproduct. Not true, I own an ipod because ….well....because. Doesn’t mean I actually like itunes.

8- I can’t multitask, so instead of writing another gem of my beer travels while watching Survivor is absolutely out of the question. And the tribe has spoken.

7- I don’t want any negative comments. Well, not that I’m particularly fond of negative comments; any comments would be fine.

6- My grammar and spelling errors landed me in the witness protection program. Yeap, all those errors are my own. Nobody’s else would claim them. And to my defense, word pad doesn’t not have spell check and my internet connections are spotty and unreliable which makes running spell check when posting almost impossible. I have thought about correcting them; but nay that would take too much time. (space check doens't workeither.)

.5- Writers block. Can’t think of what else to say about that. (Think about it.....it’s high level humor.)

4- Beer. Need I say more? Prost

!3- I need glasses and other signs of aging. Oh wait, this is a real reason, should it be on mylist???! Please skip this item.

2- I’ve been busy traveling the world and haven’t had the time. At least in my mind this is true but my reality is another matter.

1- What’s a blog?????!!!!

Welcome back! Nice to see you again and thanks for your patience as I get back into the swing of the blog. I do enjoy sharing my adventures and looking for humor in all. It’s been a crazy year but let me tell you.... I’m back!!!