Newport is the home of Rogue Ales and a cute little bay community. I had high expectations considering Rogue because they are one of most innovative breweries in the NW. The Rogue tour was normal, their facility is small, relatively, but they have a community that is unparalleled. You can sign up to be a Rogue Nation Member, which is free, and then you receive benefits of discounts on beer and merchandise. Yearly, they petition the UN for statehood; they are rejected yearly. They are not only a Brewery, but a Distillery. I was interested in the distillery because Spirits have an almost mythical quality to me. They are like the mysterious older sister of beer. Many Spirits are made out of grain, especially barley, like beer. I couldn't wrap my head around how a beer like product is turned into straight alcohol.
So, I was excited for the tour - only to be disappointed. The head distiller walked out of the small adjacent room with the still and sat down behind the bar. I was expecting a long discussion on distilling, similar to the beer tours, but he just poured shots of the different spirits. I asked about the four o'clock tour, and he waved his hand toward the still and said, "that's the still." Upon further discussion of home-brewing vs. moon-shining, I decided not to be a moon-shiner. Alcohol burns without a visible flame so your batch could be on fire, burning the house down, and you wouldn't know until something else was torching - like the carpet, or the walls.
I had to really work to get this guy to talk, but as he took a smoke break and I left he spoke his mind. I asked him about the best way into the industry and he said that I should try to win some home brewing awards. This was a good idea that I had heard of other brewers doing, but I hadn't considered for myself because of cost. He said that I should try to home brew 'to style' instead of trying new creations to show that I understand how the different styles are made. Good advice from an otherwise jerky guy.
Later, I went to Rogue's Public House for dinner and a beer. I sat down at the bar next to a couple of guys and we began talking. They both were travelers. One was up from SoCal, the other from North Carolina. In a strange twist of fate, a local came by, patted us on the shoulders, and said, "Bingo in the back room in 10."
I was intrigued. Bingo? like old people? like gambling? ooh! I was wrong. It was the raunchiest, lewdest, dirtiest bunch of locals who were passing out free boards to win prizes. The caller had to have been a stand up comedian at one time in his life. If you won, you had to come up and tell a joke - some of you may have gotten texts from me asking for one. After three or four winners, there was a challenge between the group for a prize - drinking from a frisbee without hands, Wii bowling, straw swallowing, etc. The other classic part of the night was the calls. For a large number of the balls, the caller would say some irreverent or funny anecdote to remind the players what the ball number was. "Thank God it's ... B9." ; "Our favorite ball on the board... O69." ; "They are finally legal... I21." etc.
And some were made up during the night. Tom was one of the other travelers and somehow the caller found out that he was 43 years old, so when N43 was called he would say, "The Tom-Tom... N43." Once, when it was called, Tom was no where to be found. The caller guessed that he was out in his mobile home having a snack or going to bed. We all ran out there - a 'Tom-Tom break' - and shook his mobile home to almost tipping over. Tom eventually made it to the door, took the joke well, and came back inside to finish the night.
I can't recall all of the hilarious events of that night, but I can say that it was worth playing Bingo with a bunch of strangers.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Further Bend Fun
Just keepin you updated...
Bjorn came to Oregon via Minnesota where he grew up. He is an intense Twins/Vikings fan. Providentially, I have been able to enjoy big games in these teams' seasons in the time that I have been with Bjorn.
Sunday, the Twins beat the Royals to force a playoff with the Detroit Tigers. That playoff is in an hour.
Go Twinkies!
Last night, Bjorn and I watched a great Monday Night Football game at a local Theater, yup, and watched Brett Farve thwart his former team and heated rival, the Packers. It was joyous and epic.
He loves the game!
I love sports.
Bjorn came to Oregon via Minnesota where he grew up. He is an intense Twins/Vikings fan. Providentially, I have been able to enjoy big games in these teams' seasons in the time that I have been with Bjorn.
Sunday, the Twins beat the Royals to force a playoff with the Detroit Tigers. That playoff is in an hour.
Go Twinkies!
Last night, Bjorn and I watched a great Monday Night Football game at a local Theater, yup, and watched Brett Farve thwart his former team and heated rival, the Packers. It was joyous and epic.
He loves the game!
I love sports.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Bend OR break
get it?
Bend has been exceptional. I drove through the mountains of Oregon from Eugene to Bend on Saturday morning with the sun shining through the trees. I saw some unbelievable landscapes. The river followed me most of the way, but there was a section of visage where it looked like the highway crews had taken a backhoe to everything but a few trees. I asked myself, "how did they get so close to those trees and miss their roots?" I learned that the landscape had been torn apart by Volcanic rock and not a backhoe. When the landscape looks like it is in conflict with itself, I love it. I had this experience is Ireland and somewhere else, I can't remember.
Bjorn was waiting for me. He had a whole day planned for me.We had lunch at Cascade Lakes Brewing Co which was great except we saw Minnesota fail to make the comeback and Michigan bomb in overtime. Good beer, pub beer and an IPA on Nitro - great. Bjorn took me on a tour of the Deschutes Brewery. It was a large brewery, but they make a lot of great beer. They reminded me of Odell in their business model and New Belgium in their commitment to green brewing. We went to The Old Mill district to a Mc Menamins and smoked some cigars in the gentle snow. Yes, the snow! I was not ready; I came to the NW to get away from Fall, not speed it up! It was beautiful, though. The highlight of the beer day was the Deschutes Public House. It was in a different location from the brewery, but had a smaller brew setup and made some beers for the pub only. They have 20 of their own beers on tap. TWENTY!!! This is astounding. Four of them were IPA's. I had some beers that hadn't even crossed my mind as a possibility. 1) A Black IPA. Dark in color, but not deep in mouthfeel. Full of Hop aroma and bitterness, but smooth. 2) A Wheat IPA. Surprisingly, the wheat shows up. This is the type of revolutionary brew that could make a Kansas (wheat state?) brewery if I find the balance and uniqueness of hops and wheat. Write it down, this is it.
That evening, Bjorn, his wife Elise, and I went and listened to Shawn Mullins. You may know him from the popular song from a few years back, "Rockabye." He is a classy, singer-songwriter, storyteller.
Sunday, I got to go to Bjorn and Elise's church, Nativity Lutheran Church. It was a classic liturgical church. But they have found a passion for Social Justice, actually giving to and serving the poor, environmental stewardship and having an invitational community to groups not normally invited into the Church. In church, these themes dominated because it was St. Francis of Assisi day, but afterward, it seemed to me that they were good at community. I was invited to an afternoon meal with close friends of diverse ages within the church. I was impressed with the way that they discussed what was actually going on in their lives and planned on creating webs of support for each other. It was a beautiful example of a possible progression of our House Church in Lawrence.
I am going to try and stay another day because it is really fun to hang out with Bjorn and Elise. They are great hosts and giving with their time and home.
Bend has been exceptional. I drove through the mountains of Oregon from Eugene to Bend on Saturday morning with the sun shining through the trees. I saw some unbelievable landscapes. The river followed me most of the way, but there was a section of visage where it looked like the highway crews had taken a backhoe to everything but a few trees. I asked myself, "how did they get so close to those trees and miss their roots?" I learned that the landscape had been torn apart by Volcanic rock and not a backhoe. When the landscape looks like it is in conflict with itself, I love it. I had this experience is Ireland and somewhere else, I can't remember.
Bjorn was waiting for me. He had a whole day planned for me.We had lunch at Cascade Lakes Brewing Co which was great except we saw Minnesota fail to make the comeback and Michigan bomb in overtime. Good beer, pub beer and an IPA on Nitro - great. Bjorn took me on a tour of the Deschutes Brewery. It was a large brewery, but they make a lot of great beer. They reminded me of Odell in their business model and New Belgium in their commitment to green brewing. We went to The Old Mill district to a Mc Menamins and smoked some cigars in the gentle snow. Yes, the snow! I was not ready; I came to the NW to get away from Fall, not speed it up! It was beautiful, though. The highlight of the beer day was the Deschutes Public House. It was in a different location from the brewery, but had a smaller brew setup and made some beers for the pub only. They have 20 of their own beers on tap. TWENTY!!! This is astounding. Four of them were IPA's. I had some beers that hadn't even crossed my mind as a possibility. 1) A Black IPA. Dark in color, but not deep in mouthfeel. Full of Hop aroma and bitterness, but smooth. 2) A Wheat IPA. Surprisingly, the wheat shows up. This is the type of revolutionary brew that could make a Kansas (wheat state?) brewery if I find the balance and uniqueness of hops and wheat. Write it down, this is it.
That evening, Bjorn, his wife Elise, and I went and listened to Shawn Mullins. You may know him from the popular song from a few years back, "Rockabye." He is a classy, singer-songwriter, storyteller.
Sunday, I got to go to Bjorn and Elise's church, Nativity Lutheran Church. It was a classic liturgical church. But they have found a passion for Social Justice, actually giving to and serving the poor, environmental stewardship and having an invitational community to groups not normally invited into the Church. In church, these themes dominated because it was St. Francis of Assisi day, but afterward, it seemed to me that they were good at community. I was invited to an afternoon meal with close friends of diverse ages within the church. I was impressed with the way that they discussed what was actually going on in their lives and planned on creating webs of support for each other. It was a beautiful example of a possible progression of our House Church in Lawrence.
I am going to try and stay another day because it is really fun to hang out with Bjorn and Elise. They are great hosts and giving with their time and home.
Eugene - Go Ducks!
PUNCHED! That was what my time in Eugene was like, jk.
Eugene was a great relief. If you had to have a conversation with me during my post-robbery, slow-car-fixing, dealing-with-insurance-from-MIZZOU, bs time, then you would know how frustrated I was. If not, I was frustrated. Stuck in the muck of Eureka. So, Eugene was wonderful. I got a place at the Eugene Whiteaker Hostel.
It is a hip, clean, comfy hostel in the middle of downtown Eugene. It is a diverse area - I'll take pictures when I go back later this week. I was able to have a good whole day in Eugene. I planned on restocking my closet because Eugene has so many thrift stores, but I only got 2 shirts by 2 pm. I shopped through all of the Good Wills and was planning on hitting other stores, but gave up to despair. The two shirts I got, you'll like, but it is hard - I am picky.
Then I went beer-ing. I decided to check out Ninkasi Brewery, but their power had gone out. They were scrambling around their parking lot trying to get things that needed chilled into portable chillers. I didn't get to talk to anyone, but I will swing back by. I also went to Steelhead Brewery, but they don't get a hyperlink. I was really excited walking into the brewpub. I saw the brewers working behind the glass wall and I thought, "I'll drink a flight of trials and then have something to start the conversation over." But when I finished each trial beer, I was less impressed with the brewers than before. I walked out disappointed with their beers - all were at or below average. After drinking, I couldn't have lied and told them that they were great.
I spent my evening watching "The Fifth Element" with the roomies in the Hostel. It was a green evening, super green.
I am excited to head back to Eugene. It is a cool town.
Eugene was a great relief. If you had to have a conversation with me during my post-robbery, slow-car-fixing, dealing-with-insurance-from-MIZZOU, bs time, then you would know how frustrated I was. If not, I was frustrated. Stuck in the muck of Eureka. So, Eugene was wonderful. I got a place at the Eugene Whiteaker Hostel.
It is a hip, clean, comfy hostel in the middle of downtown Eugene. It is a diverse area - I'll take pictures when I go back later this week. I was able to have a good whole day in Eugene. I planned on restocking my closet because Eugene has so many thrift stores, but I only got 2 shirts by 2 pm. I shopped through all of the Good Wills and was planning on hitting other stores, but gave up to despair. The two shirts I got, you'll like, but it is hard - I am picky.
Then I went beer-ing. I decided to check out Ninkasi Brewery, but their power had gone out. They were scrambling around their parking lot trying to get things that needed chilled into portable chillers. I didn't get to talk to anyone, but I will swing back by. I also went to Steelhead Brewery, but they don't get a hyperlink. I was really excited walking into the brewpub. I saw the brewers working behind the glass wall and I thought, "I'll drink a flight of trials and then have something to start the conversation over." But when I finished each trial beer, I was less impressed with the brewers than before. I walked out disappointed with their beers - all were at or below average. After drinking, I couldn't have lied and told them that they were great.
I spent my evening watching "The Fifth Element" with the roomies in the Hostel. It was a green evening, super green.
I am excited to head back to Eugene. It is a cool town.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Old things that I wrote down and meant to blog, but didn't have time.
From San Francisco:
The prevailing answer to questions about my time in Alan's apartment is, "Don't ask..."
From my first drive up the coast:
My old pseudonym was Charles Dubois, but I have found a new fake name: Newton B. Drury. Drury received praise for his leadership as director of the National Park Service and "for his courage, resourcefulness, and adherence to high principles." He was out to save the Redwoods. I think his name is awesome.
From Saturday, when I couldn't find a place to camp and I watched the sun set in Trinidad Bay:
The song that I have been listening to all night, on repeat, speaks to some of what I am feeling tonight. It is "Wayside (Back in Time)" by Gillian Welch but the version I have been listening to is performed by Chris Thile. It is a faster version of the song and it speaks tonally to the speed of my trip.
The lines that really feel like they are hitting me are:
Wasted on the wayside, wasted on the way
If I don’t go tomorrow, you know I’m gone today...
Peaches in the summertime, apples in the fall
If I can’t have you all the time, I won’t have none at all
Oh, I wish I was in Frisco in a brand new pair of shoes...
Back babe, back in time
I wanna go back when you were mine...
Finally, from today because I have time to write my random thoughts:
When I first visited Eureka, CA, I thought that it was a cool town like Lawrence. Now that I have spent more time here, I like it less. It really reminds me of Manhattan.
Oh, slam!
The prevailing answer to questions about my time in Alan's apartment is, "Don't ask..."
From my first drive up the coast:
My old pseudonym was Charles Dubois, but I have found a new fake name: Newton B. Drury. Drury received praise for his leadership as director of the National Park Service and "for his courage, resourcefulness, and adherence to high principles." He was out to save the Redwoods. I think his name is awesome.
From Saturday, when I couldn't find a place to camp and I watched the sun set in Trinidad Bay:
The song that I have been listening to all night, on repeat, speaks to some of what I am feeling tonight. It is "Wayside (Back in Time)" by Gillian Welch but the version I have been listening to is performed by Chris Thile. It is a faster version of the song and it speaks tonally to the speed of my trip.
The lines that really feel like they are hitting me are:
Wasted on the wayside, wasted on the way
If I don’t go tomorrow, you know I’m gone today...
Peaches in the summertime, apples in the fall
If I can’t have you all the time, I won’t have none at all
Oh, I wish I was in Frisco in a brand new pair of shoes...
Back babe, back in time
I wanna go back when you were mine...
Finally, from today because I have time to write my random thoughts:
When I first visited Eureka, CA, I thought that it was a cool town like Lawrence. Now that I have spent more time here, I like it less. It really reminds me of Manhattan.
Oh, slam!
The Robbery and Evidence
If you aren't reading chronologically, you may miss the full depth of this post. Check out the last post to get a glimpse of how joyful things were. Oh, how innocent and virginal.
I drove north from Fortuna, CA to Orick, CA to hike into Redwood National Forest and see the Grove of the Tall Trees. At one time, this grove had the tallest tree in the world, but sometime in the past decade a wind storm blew the top off. These trees are so impressive and I am not sure if the pictures do them justice. There is something so crazy about the width of the base and then looking up 320 feet or so to the top of a gigantic tree that has been around longer than Christianity. The hike was exhausting. I don't know what made me think that I could quickly hike through the forest for 7.7 miles there, a mile loop of the grove, and 7.7 miles back. It was bear and cougar country and I was constantly on guard. I was dreaming of getting into a fist fight with a bear and ending up on The Colbert Report recounting my adventure to Stephen. At a particularly dark part of the wood, I kept thinking that I saw Sasquatch around the bend. I didn't know how I would knock him out, but I hoped I could use my Judo moves on him.
Finally, I made it to the grove and had a good hour sitting, reflecting and calming down in the presence of the old trees. The trip back was psychologically faster, but I was more exhausted. When I saw the parking lot, I was overjoyed.
But only for that moment...
The first thing that I noticed was that there was no reflection from the rear window of my Fit. As I got closer, I saw that it was busted out and there was glass scattered in the parking lot. My thoughts went straight to the stuff that I had left in the car. I saw that the vandals took my bags of clothes, my tent and sleeping bag, my guitar and other things that had been in the 'trunk' part of my car. Luckily for me, the villains were not able to unlock the doors from the back. These horrible thieves cut themselves on my back window and must have given up trying to get stuff through that window. The evil doers took the rock they had used to bust the back and went after the driver's side window. The pictures show the evidence. They threw the rock 3 times and bled on the door, but couldn't get in. Something must have spooked the criminals and they gave up; also, their window-breaking rock broke.
I saw that they left my laptop, my books, my food and some other random things. They didn't find the cash secretly hidden in my car. I called 911 and they transferred me to the Forest Service. A ranger came out and helped me calm down, take evidence and explained the situation. He said that they have been having trouble with two groups of criminals. The locals have been breaking into cars that are parked over night at remote campgrounds. Homeless people living in the park have also been smashing and grabbing from tourists. He believed it was a homeless person because my clothes and tent were taken, but I believe it to be a local. Using my CSI skills, I noted a trail of glass from where it was scattered on the ground away to another parking spot. It would seem that the guilty took my stuff from my car to their car and trailed the glass on the way. The Ranger and I decided that it would be no good to take blood samples.
I drove back to Eureka, CA to try to get the windows fixed.
One positive note: I am now clothes-less and I get to buy all new clothes. My first purchase was some new jeans from Target. They are the hipster style, dark, slim and cool. I got advice from the Target employees, don't worry. Also of note, new boxers are uncomfortable.
So, that is the drama, and here are the pictures.
http://picasaweb.google.com/yourfriendtyler/TheRobbery?feat=directlink
The culprit
I drove north from Fortuna, CA to Orick, CA to hike into Redwood National Forest and see the Grove of the Tall Trees. At one time, this grove had the tallest tree in the world, but sometime in the past decade a wind storm blew the top off. These trees are so impressive and I am not sure if the pictures do them justice. There is something so crazy about the width of the base and then looking up 320 feet or so to the top of a gigantic tree that has been around longer than Christianity. The hike was exhausting. I don't know what made me think that I could quickly hike through the forest for 7.7 miles there, a mile loop of the grove, and 7.7 miles back. It was bear and cougar country and I was constantly on guard. I was dreaming of getting into a fist fight with a bear and ending up on The Colbert Report recounting my adventure to Stephen. At a particularly dark part of the wood, I kept thinking that I saw Sasquatch around the bend. I didn't know how I would knock him out, but I hoped I could use my Judo moves on him.
Finally, I made it to the grove and had a good hour sitting, reflecting and calming down in the presence of the old trees. The trip back was psychologically faster, but I was more exhausted. When I saw the parking lot, I was overjoyed.
But only for that moment...
The first thing that I noticed was that there was no reflection from the rear window of my Fit. As I got closer, I saw that it was busted out and there was glass scattered in the parking lot. My thoughts went straight to the stuff that I had left in the car. I saw that the vandals took my bags of clothes, my tent and sleeping bag, my guitar and other things that had been in the 'trunk' part of my car. Luckily for me, the villains were not able to unlock the doors from the back. These horrible thieves cut themselves on my back window and must have given up trying to get stuff through that window. The evil doers took the rock they had used to bust the back and went after the driver's side window. The pictures show the evidence. They threw the rock 3 times and bled on the door, but couldn't get in. Something must have spooked the criminals and they gave up; also, their window-breaking rock broke.
I saw that they left my laptop, my books, my food and some other random things. They didn't find the cash secretly hidden in my car. I called 911 and they transferred me to the Forest Service. A ranger came out and helped me calm down, take evidence and explained the situation. He said that they have been having trouble with two groups of criminals. The locals have been breaking into cars that are parked over night at remote campgrounds. Homeless people living in the park have also been smashing and grabbing from tourists. He believed it was a homeless person because my clothes and tent were taken, but I believe it to be a local. Using my CSI skills, I noted a trail of glass from where it was scattered on the ground away to another parking spot. It would seem that the guilty took my stuff from my car to their car and trailed the glass on the way. The Ranger and I decided that it would be no good to take blood samples.
I drove back to Eureka, CA to try to get the windows fixed.
One positive note: I am now clothes-less and I get to buy all new clothes. My first purchase was some new jeans from Target. They are the hipster style, dark, slim and cool. I got advice from the Target employees, don't worry. Also of note, new boxers are uncomfortable.
So, that is the drama, and here are the pictures.
http://picasaweb.google.com/yourfriendtyler/TheRobbery?feat=directlink
The culprit
Pictures...
from after I left San Francisco, my time with Mike, the Avenue of The Giants and the hike to the Tall Trees Grove.
http://picasaweb.google.com/yourfriendtyler/MikeAndCostalRedwoods?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/yourfriendtyler/MikeAndCostalRedwoods?feat=directlink
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