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!!
