2017 Pacific Northwest Fest

After Portland, we headed south to Salem to see our friends Mike and Martha.  They used to live in Denver but moved last year and haven't looked back.  They love it in Salem.  It's close to beautiful beaches, great beer, and spectacular silent forests. We arrived at their lovely house, settled in a bit, and struck out for Santiam, a local brewery they like for food and beer. About 15 beers and a delicious lunch later, I did a bit of recon and discovered a nearby brewery that even THEY had not heard of.  We trotted off down the street in search of Salem Ale Works (SAW). SAW is in a lovely space, albeit right next door to a guns and ammo shop/range. From SAW, we went to Gilgamesh, yet another nearby brewery with good food.  It was definitely time to call it a day.  We headed back to the house and gave up the ghost. The next day, we explored three beaches.  I always picture craggy, rocky coastlines in the PNW, but I was proved w...

The Rose City is awesome.  We were braut-, blues-, and beer-soaked...but it was the Fourth, and we were bound to maximize our time here.  If you know anything about us, you know this: our motto is Go Big Or Go Home.  And we're not ready to go home. The morning of the 4th, we were a little groggy, but ready to hit the blues fest just across the street.  We took a quick tour of the food offerings and the various stages, then dug in.  Joe chose an enormous braut, and I chose a corn dog (it wasn't a Fletchers, but pretty dang good).  We also took a deep breath and started sipping beer.  It was Deschutes.  It was good.  It was cold.  We listened to a couple of bands, had a couple more beers, and walked/shopped our way through the merchandise kiosks. Time for ice cream.  Technically, it's always time for ice cream, but in the moment, it seemed like a fabulous choice.  Mint Chocolate Chip and Rocky Road, if you must k...

We arrived yesterday and were able to check in early at our hotel.  This trip, we splurged a little because for half of our vacation we're staying with friends = no hotel costs.  So for the part we ARE in a hotel, we booked on the waterfront. The Downtown Waterfront Marriott in Portland overlooks the Willamette (rhymes with dammit) River and the Tom McCall Waterfront Park.  The Park happens to be the location of the annual Fourth of July Weekend Blues Fest.  And just as we walked into our room and flung open the balcony door, a booming voice rang out: R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me.  Hellllloooo Portland. A bonus view - Mount Hood We danced around the room a bit, got settled in, and hailed Uber to take us to Deschutes Brewery.  Yeah, I know, Deschutes is a big brewery, and we have soooo many others from which to choose.  But it's great beer, the food is fabulous, and it's right in the heart of the Pearl District, which inc...

First of all, there are TWO Deschutes rivers...one in Washington and one in Oregon.  Of course the one in Oregon passes through Bend and is the one honored by Deschutes Brewery.  The one in Washington empties into Budd Bay in Olympia.  The city of Tumwater, Washington (a suburb) is home to the river's falls. I tell you this because we walked the falls park today.  It's home to a salmon hatchery, a hydro-electrical plant and a beautiful forest. The original Olympia Beer Brewing Company staked its claim alongside the river back in 1933, Giant ferns Strung between two rails of a split rail fence, this web was actually only about 4" wide. If I were a salmon, and saw this, I'd be all, "fuck that shit, I'm going back to the ocean."  Fortunately for the salmon, the hatchery built ladders to help them jump upstream. So lush and green...and beautiful. Tomorrow morning we hit the road for Por...