The Adventure Continues

I am sorry for the huge delay in the completion of this blog post. There are too many things to blame but I will save you the task of having to listen to a long list of excuses. Instead I will merely continue on with the story and make a better attempt at consistency moving forward J.

So where was I??? Oh yes I remember!! We had just gotten off the tram and were attempting to track down a place called Dig a Pony. Shannon remembered it from when she was down in this area for her Bachelorette Party where her and a group of girls (and guys) took over the town rocking “Wedding is Coming” t-shirts sporting the, now unmistakably, Dire Wolf sigil of House Stark, which anyone who is a fan of the ultra-popular book series (or for some the HBO series) Game of Thrones should be ashamed if they cannot recognize. I had my qualms about how reliable her memory would be from that weekend considering the stories that I heard, but I thought “meh” even if her memory is not spot on it’s still better than someone who has never been there before (me), and worst case scenario I am always up for an adventure!

Adventure I wanted, adventure I got. Things started out well enough since Shannon had a definite direction in mind. So that is where we went. Approximately 5 minutes later we re-evaluated the location in which we were heading and decided to double back to where we started and head in the opposite direction. Well, unfortunately that didn’t seem to be the way either, so once again we went back to where we started and chose yet another direction to head in.

A humorous anecdote was how the confusion of the situation seemed to be contagious. There was a group of rough looking drunks hollering at us from a bus station. We noticed them when we first got off the tram but paid little attention to their hollers and did not waste much time evacuating the premises to create some distance between us. But, then we came back and they started to holler again and we spent little time pushing past them in the opposite direction. But then once again we were back and of course despite their confusion they did not miss the opportunity to continue to holler. It was amusing if nothing else.

At this point we forged ahead in a more promising direction and for a short period of time it seemed like we had finally gotten it right. But, once again, it was not to be, and once again we were back where we had been at the start. It felt like a very confusing level in a video game where you get so lost that you decide to kill yourself so that you can just go back to the beginning and start again rather than go through the effort to get yourself un-lost.

At this point, the earlier pints had worked their way through our systems and it was time to find a place to answer nature’s call. Luckily, there was a Burger King right next to the place we got off the tram, so we did not pass up the chance.

It ended up being a smart call because not only did we get a chance to relieve ourselves, which took away our sense of urgency to find our destination as quickly as we could, but it allowed us access to WIFI and get Google Maps opinion on which way we should try next. It was at least comforting to know that our senses were right that in our previous attempts, if we had continued, we would not have found our way to Dig a Pony...we would have been very very lost indeed!

All in all, no harm done, but it was nice to be headed in the correct direction finally. Despite looking like prime targets for a mugging with smart phone out in front of us and our eyes looking down to read the map, we were able to get where we wanted to go efficiently and effectively. We had arrived!

I cannot say that it was a place that blew my mind with coolness but it was a place I was glad I had visited. The beer selection was vast, the prices were fair, the music was suitable and the atmosphere was inviting. It started to fill up soon after we arrived but we were able to nab a patio spot on the street which I gotta say it is nothing less than a luxury to be able to sit outside on a patio in shorts and flip flops.....in October! Nothing short of amazing!

Our time at Dig a Pony (http://www.yelp.ca/biz/dig-a-pony-portland) was enjoyable. We were able to sample a number of selections from their extensive line of taps and all met our approval. Good times were had but once again in Portland the night life experience is restricted by their early closing hours. We knew it was the case and we planned our activities accordingly but it still does not make it any less disappointing when you have to wind down your evening before you are feeling ready to do so.

Seeing that our time was running out we had to make our move to Robo Taco (http://www.robotacopdx.com/) a short stroll down the block. I did not participate in this portion of the evening but I knew that Shannon had a mean craving for this place ever since she got her first taste a year back. Knowing Shannon and her love for food I would not dream of getting in the way of that just because I myself was not hungry at the time J.

The fun thing about Robo Taco is their selection. I, myself, am not much of a taco connoisseur but I can see the appeal of having such a large selection to choose from. Instead of one big taco they offer a large selection of smaller taco so you can mix and match and create your own meal. I saw one guy with an entire table full of different tacos! Shannon kept her order to only 3 with enough sauce to coat her entire arm with drippings. It reminded me of something that I heard my Aunt say once that stuck with me ever since. She said “I do not usually use butter, but when I eat corn on the cob I use enough butter that is drips down to my elbows.” I really enjoy when people love what they are eating so much that they do not care about making a mess. That is true love!

Funny story from our Robo Taco experience, since I was not hungry I instead opted for two beers instead. Well, they must have gone through some kind of crack down because we had noticed that they were IDing much more often, and now at this place the guy seemed very confused why we were ordering 3 beers for two people. I would be surprised if a place like Portland was unaware that sometimes people like to buy more than one beer at a time. He was like “oh....ok where is the third person?” and we just looked back at him confused and said “what do you mean? She wants the tacos and a PBR and I want two PBR’s...” It was at that point that he said he could not do that, and though a bit disappointed I understood. Really, all he had to say from the beginning was “sorry, you can only order one at a time” he did not need to make us feel like idiots and alcoholics for trying lol.

All in all it was a good experience. The decor was fun and I enjoyed the buzzing atmosphere that accompanied it. I usually am not a fan of places being super busy, but I think when you are travelling and you end up in a place like that, you appreciate the experience for what it is because it means that you have found one of the spots that is the “place to be” and you embrace the popularity. Also, the taco and the extensive sauce selection was enough to make my lovely wife cry from the spice....not a feat that is easily achieved!

From there we caught the bus back to the area of town we were staying. We kept our eyes peeled for the tram station that we started our journey from. Being hyper aware despite the time in the evening, I was able to recognize our stop...or at least what I thought was our stop. In reality it was not the stop that we were looking for but rather one that merely had a small resemblance to the one that we were looking for. This is not new for me. My experience taking that bus was not very efficient. Because of a fear of missing my stop I unintentionally have made a practise of getting off the bus one stop to early. This has resulted in significantly more walking than there needed to be. Don’t get me wrong I have nothing against walking, in fact most times I would prefer it, I am only pointing out that my bus riding trips are not as time effective as they could be.

The end result of this was a long walk home. It sounds bad, I know, but it worked out just fine. It allowed us the opportunity to check out the Portland Trailblazers arena, the Moda Centre. It was really cool! Lots of fun lights and water features, exactly the type of things that I would take notice of and appreciate! So we snapped a few pictures, watched the show at the water fountain and then continued on our way back, as we walked through the deserted streets in the industrial part of town....exactly the type of place where bad stuff seems to always happen in the movies.....

But alas, our lives are not the movies and we were met with nothing but empty streets and closed for the day factories. The view was interesting but far from beautiful. The walk though it was lengthly, but did not take very long to complete. In fact, we even made it back to the Widmer Brother’s Brewery (http://widmerbrothers.com/) just before last call! When something like that happens it is no coincidence....it’s a sign...a sign that your night it not yet over!! So in we went!!

Not only did we make it there before last call but we were also able to place an order before the kitchen closed. I was not hungry before but that long walk back had me running on empty. So we ordered a couple drinks and plate of sausage fondue and oh man it was good!

Shannon and I have a love for brie cheese. We love to bake it alongside a plate of deli meat and a loaf of baguette. We have been enjoying it this way for some time now and have never thought about different ways to do it. It was not until we tried the sausage fondue at Widmer Brother’s that we realize how hot of an option it would be to have cooked sausage in place of deli meat to accompany our baked brie.....MIND BLOWN!! Things have not been the same since!!

As far as recommendations go I would definitely recommend the sausage fondue, and when it comes to beer I would say try them all lol. Their beer selection is constantly changing from season to season and batch to batch so all I can really say is they have so many options that I would be floored if you did not find one that you liked.

I would give Widmer Brother’s Brewery a 4.5/5 for no reason other than I want them to keep working on ways to improve the customer experience....I don’t want them getting lazy thinking hey we got a 5/5, our work here is done, now all we have to do is sit back and let them come enjoy our brewery for what it is J.

So finally you have the end to the first night of the Dirty Thirty Portland Extravaganza!!