You don't win friends with salad.

Said Lisa Simpson.  I didn't care, I got it anyway.

And it was amazing.  Podnah's Pit BBQ is always a fave.  It's an obscene amount of food.  And then, once again, we were all ill.  But it was worth it.

Cold Brew and Distilleries!

Brett and Chris judged this morning - yay.  The conference has started.  🙄

So Lynette and I headed out for our day of adventure!

First stop - Tasty & Son.  I had a cold press coffee.  Um, yeah.  I could get used to those.  Holy hell.  We also split the Dutch Baby and the Chilaquiles.  NUM NUM NUM.

We then headed to two distilleries - Bull Run and Aria.  Bull Run was super good!  Aria was good but Bull Run was the winner of the two for sure.  We then stumbled around for lunch and ended up at a pasta place - it hit the spot!  After that - we were cooked.  And came home. 

Dinner at Toro Bravo

So on the advice of Steve at Brick House, we hit Toro Bravo for "the best burger in Portland."

Chris said it was good - I couldn't taste anything with my cold.  BLEH.

However, it seemed good.  Really good.

God damn cold

Well Wednesday was a lazy day. 

I had coffee with my contact at Nike to stay in touch, and then came home.  I now have a bad cold that I've been fighting off for two weeks.  So Brett and Lynette headed out to lunch with a family member, and I took two naps.

Having a cold sucks.  You can't sleep and all you want to do is sleep, and you just cough and blow your nose like a fiend.  I hate it.

It could be worse.  I know.

But it sucks.

Dinner at la Moule

Always a favorite.  Always get the same thing.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Winery Day #2 - the mayhem continues!

Well.  Another winery day.  Another day of craziness and crazy good wines.   And somehow my credit card is not yet maxed out.  I really don't know how.

Stop 1:  Sokol Blosser

We are in the wine club and they were so lovely to us - lots of additional wines for whole group of 11 of us.  Great tasting.  Lots to drink - good way to start the morning.

Stop 2:  Domaine Roy & fils

New one for us!  It was very good.  Our tasting host, Jake, looked 12 years old.  No lie.  But he was very accommodating, and then I asked Brett what they were getting and he said, "Ask Lynette, it's up to her."  Well that was a recipe for credit card disaster, I can tell you.  I hope the wines are good when they come...

Stop 3:  Lemelson

So this one was fun, but we were in a hurry and essentially chugging wine.  I liked it there, but would have liked a more tailored sit down experience.  Good wines.  No pictures.


Stop 4:  Patricia Green

WOW they are wonderful.  Caroline did our tasting - she is so great, and we had a fab time.  We had a few barrel tastings, and even more great wines.  Everyone had a great time.  One of our friends...unfortunately...didn't pace and had a little bit of a barfing episode in the van...and in the bathroom...and back in the van.  Twice.  Poor thing.   But you know what?  I am an EXCELLENT barfing friend.  I had Kleenex at the ready for the clean up.


Recap:  such a fun day.  However, for our next wine day, here is what I would do: 

• Brick House
• Beaux Freres
• Patricia Green
• Maybe Sokol Blosser

Only 3-4 and spending more time at each to really soak up the experience.  I'll have to remember this.

Wine Day #2

Today we are doubling down - 11 people, 4 wineries (including a barrel tasting), and lunch at Red Hills Market again.  Here are our wineries:

• Sokol Blosser
• Domaine & fils
• Lemelson
• Patricia Green

More later.

Starting with beers at 11? I'm too old for this shit.

So at 4pm, once we were done with all of those beer stops (5 if you count Lardo at lunch), we were all just done.  We came back to the house, and chatted for a while, then at 7pm, we all went to take a nap.

Yep - 7 PM.  NAPS.  But we were just resting for the pièce de résistance:  Lynette's birthday cake!

Pink Champagne Marionberry cake from a little bakery near us.  WOW.  JUST WOW.

And happy birthday again to the lovely Lynette!!

Another Beer Day

First stop - Beermongers, this great little beer store/taproom/buy a bottle and for a dollar you can open it and drink it here joint.  Had beers, watched the World Cup (who knew that could be so exciting??), and started our day.  I have no idea what we had, but it was good.

Next stop - Apex, my favorite taproom/beer place in Portland.  We had a couple of beers here, including a Hamm's for Brett.  It was a BEAUTIFUL day in Portland - about 70 degrees, just a bit cloudy, and a nice breeze - perfect for sitting outside and relaxing with a pint.   

Waffles the cat was no where to be found, which is a giant drag.  The guy inside said he hadn't seen him for a few weeks.  I hope the little guy is OK.  😮

Then we walked to Lardo, more on that in a minute, but we walked by this amazing house - it was a historic home, it was for sale (!!), and holy shit - the price was only $849K!!   I think we should buy it with Brett and Lynette.  There are 5 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and a basement apartment for either Charlie or Alyssa - it's a good passive income stream.  😉   But seriously - it was amaze-balls.

OK, now for Lardo.  This place is outstanding.  They have a great selection of sammies, beers, wine, fries, Chicharrón (who the hell know fried pork belly would be this good???).

I had the pork meatball bahn mi, Chris had something else that he said was good but I think mine was better.   It really didn't matter because it was delicious!!!

After that it was Cascade Barrel House where I fell asleep on Chris's shoulder for about 4 minutes, but it was a good rest and well needed.   I don't love their beer here, but everyone else really did.  So it was a good time for a nap.

Finally, we went to the place that used to be The Commons.  I was really sad - like more sad that I really thought.   That's all I can say.

pFriem

We stopped at pFriem for beers in Hood River before heading back to Portland.

We had one of everything - cuz that is how we roll.   They were good and we brought back some bottles.

I got into a funny exchange with the guy pouring beer when he turned Rick Springfield "Jesse's Girl" off and turned on another song.  They were super funny and sweet, and the girl working there had never heard the phrase "know where your bread is buttered!"  See?  Learning all the time.

If you are ever in Hood River - try them.

Trip to Hood River

We started the morning with breakfast at home - breakfast tacos with chorizo, eggs, cheese on tortillas.   After sitting around for a while going "OOF" and breathing heavily while feeling ill, we set off for our trip down the Columbia River Gorge scenic route and to Hood River.

We started the drive down the gorge, stopping at one scenic overlook and the Vista House on Crown Point.  The Vista House was apparently built in the early 1900s for the ladies who just couldn't seem to make it without a bathroom stop as they wound their way down the Columbia River Highway.

How come Chris won't build me a bathroom as pretty as this one?

We then headed off to the Bonneville Lock and Dam and the Bonneville Fish Hatchery - it's super cool!  A quick stop, but fun - AND educational!!   We didn't get to see the big salmon, but we saw some small fry, rainbow trout, and a huge sturgeon named Herman.

Then on to Hood River and beers at pFriem!

Happy Birthday Lynette!!

Happy birthday to my amazing friend!  We are going to enjoy the hell out of the pink champagne marionberry cake I bought this morning. 

Wayfinder, Ex Novo, Inter Urban, and Prost

Well what a night.

Snacks in the blazing sun at Wayfinder - tasty beer and delish apps:

Then after we ate we didn't want to talk to Lynette:

Then beers at Ex Novo:

Then the most fantastic dinner at Inter Urban.  Got my oyster fix, and the boar burger and the smoked trout BLT were to die for.  There were drinks for the nephew and PLINY THE ELDER ON TAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Then we went to Prost where this shit happened.  I'm not sure what to say.  Use your imaginations...