An Oregon Adventure: Geocaching, Breweries and Some Disc Golf

I was itching for another adventure catered to filling in my Fizzy grid. I saw there was an event down in Troutdale, so I constructed a trip around it.  I knew we haven't been down there in a while, so I checked the map and found some virtual caches, Fizzy grid fillers and some other ones with a lot of favorite points.  I added a brewery in Vancouver to try as well.  I told Ben about the adventure, and he wanted to do some disc golfing too, so we found a course where we were going to be and added it to our list.

That Friday, I had our itinerary done and told him when he needed to be up the next day by.  Of course, we stayed up way too late and had a hard time getting motivated in the morning.  We were up and moving by 7:30, got dressed, made a quick sandwich, grabbed some snacks and drinks, shoved them in the cooler and then I ate a light breakfast of yogurt, and a bagel and Ben had a muffin.  We piled our stuff into the Escape and off to I-5 south we went.  We left home around 8:15.    

Along the way, we chatted about random things and Ben fell asleep a few times through the journey south.  I listened to my music.  We got closer to Longview, got off at the exit towards Hwy 30 and drove over the Lewis and Clark Bridge into Oregon.  I had my Nuvi set to a virtual cache, Welcome to Halloweentown (GC9P3XA) in St. Helens.  If we waited until fall to do this cache, it would be super busy due to the events the hold during that time of the year. 

We got off Hwy 30 and followed the main road into "downtown" St. Helens.  We parked, did the virtual cache, asked Ben if he and Amy watched Halloweentown as kids, he said he really didn't, but Amy did.  We walked around a little bit, used the scary public bathroom and decided we were good.  

We walked back to the Escape and drove back to Hwy 30.  I saw a place along the way to take a selfie with Winnie the Pooh.  I was surprised there wasn't a geocache nearby.  We had to wait at the light through several cycles because we were beyond the stop line.  So dumb. 

I had set the Nuvi for our next stop in Scappoose. I have been here several times throughout the years and even did part of the Crown Zellerbach Trail with Bob, over ten years ago now.  There are a ton more on this trail.  This was the first Fizzy grid cache I needed, which was a 5/3 and a challenge cache I had to qualify for.  There wasn't a whole lot of parking near Challenge of the Quarter Century:  Nano (GC4RFGM), so we were going to have to break some rules, so I was closer.  I did not have time to walk two miles that morning.  

There were tons of signs saying not to park there for the trail, but we did anyway.  I had Ben stay in the Escape while I half jogged to the cache.  I told him if someone came out to yell at us, to just leave, turn around and come back to get me.   Cell phone service was a bit spotty out in this area.  I got to the cache, signed our names, got my picture, put it back and walked back to the Escape.  Ben said no one had to yell at him to move.  I got back into the Escape and got back onto Hwy 30.

We turned onto Cornelius Pass Road to get over to Hillsboro without having to drive through Portland.  I was trying to minimize how many times we would have to drive through it.  I used to drive this way a lot when I was dating Brad back in 2009 and part of 2010, so I kinda knew my way around Hillsboro.  We got up and over the hill and into the Hillsboro area.  I had plugged Meet Me at 5 Oaks (GC7B6KP) into the Nuvi, so it took us where we needed to go.  It was over by a bunch of office buildings, so we parked, got out and answered the questions.  The patch of oak trees were huge!  We got our answers we needed, and I took a couple pictures.

We hopped back into the Escape, got onto Hwy 26 and found the exit we needed to get the second Fizzy grid cache I needed, it was my 1/4 and was another challenge cache I had to qualify for.  It was an easy park and grab, out in the farming fields of Hillsboro.  Challenge of the Quarter Century: 1-Star Difficulty (GC7N19G) was literally on the side of the road near a pull out.  I grabbed the hide-a-key, signed our names, got a photo and got to cross another one off the list! 

I checked the map on the geocaching app to see if there were any others we could grab nearby with a bunch of favorite points.  We saw one right off the Tualatin Valley Highway.  We failed to realize it was summer and lots of events were happening in the large parks.  We had to drive by Shute Park, and they were having some sort of a Medieval festival.  There were people everywhere and it was hard to drive around the roads.  We did make it to Mr. Pine's Purple Cache (GC9EK2G), and it was one of those neighborhood little book libraries.  It had over 40 favorite points. 

We found a place to park across the street, locked the Escape and headed over too the large purple free little library.  We found the cache quickly, signed our names and put it back.  There are always weird books inside and this one did not disappoint. 

I checked the app to see if there were any other caches close by and there was, Rocking Art (GC9RVY1), but we had to drive past the crazy park with a lot of people going in and out of it.  It took us forever to get past it because people were trying to find places to park, and no one knew how to cross the street at the crosswalks.  It was a literal zoo.  We finally got to where we needed to be, parked the Escape, got out and when I attempted to lock it, the Escape, was dead...completely dead.  Uh oh.

I made sure to keep the wrench in the Escape for this exact reason.  I unlocked the Escape with my key and popped the hood.  Ben tightened the connections to the battery and the Escape came alive!  Why does this keep happening?  Did I pick the unlucky car lotto?  We walked the short distance to the rock wall and took a few minutes to find the container.  We got our names on it, got a photo and put it back.

We got back in the Escape and Ben suggested that we just go home.  I was not going to turn around and go home, I still had things I wanted to do while we were down here.  As we drove east, the Escape drove funny so we pulled over at the Home Depot so we could get a better look under the hood.  Ben disconnected the wires from the battery terminal and started over again.  He got them back on and tightened it.  The Escape seemed to work better afterwards. 

We made our way to Hwy 26 and got stuck in traffic just outside of Portland.  Once we got going again, we were able to get into downtown Portland to try to get another cache near Portland State's campus.  We could not find a place to park so we gave up, got back to the highway and drove east. 

I remembered a cool cache that Mom, Bev and I found the previous summer and we were driving past it.  I asked Ben if he wanted to see a giant fork and he said yes.  We quickly stopped in the Fairview neighborhood, parked in the food truck lot, checked the Escape and then went inside to use the restroom.  It was too hot to be out on the asphalt.  I felt back for those food truck owners, they had to be dying inside while they cooked.  I took Ben to the front so he could get credit for Stick a Fork in It - World's Largest Fork (GC9P4VT).

We got onto NE Halsey St, and it took us right into Historic Troutdale.  We noticed that the McMenamin's Edgefield property was really busy.  There must have been some sort of giant event or a wedding going on.  How were we going to be able to find parking later to go to the event?  We will have to figure it out when that time came.  Instead, we went into town, found a place to park so we could walk around for about an hour or so.

There was a small park in the middle of town with a trout fountain in the middle of it.  We started looking for Mayor's Park (GC1349E).  Our phones took us all over the tiny park.  The coords were probably way off.  I just looked in the places that it could be, and we eventually found the black hide-a-key underneath the garbage can.  We thought it was a weird place to hide it.  We signed our names, got a picture and put it back.  

I asked Ben if ice cream sounded good and he said it did, so we went searching for a shop.  This part of town looked like it would have ice cream for visitors and tourists. We went up the street, crossed the road (and almost got ran over in a cross walk, Ben yelled at the stupid idiot in the truck) and onto the other side of the street.  We went into a gift shop so I could look at stickers.  The lady was really nice, and she told us that the people who owned the ice cream shop, retired.  Bummer.  We were really looking forward to ice cream.  Oh well, I did buy some stickers and a Cougar stone drink coaster from her.  She thanked us for coming in.

We finished off the rest of that side of the street and then walked back to the Escape to head over to McMenamin's.  It was crazier than it was when we drove by the first time.  Ben and I just found a place to park off of the road and walked in.  We were still a bit early to the event so, we went to go find the cache, Bug and Breakfast - TB Hotel (GC5CXNE) first.  It had a ton of favorite points, and I was hoping it had some TB's to take home with me.  We got to ground zero, opened it up and sadness, no TB's to take home.  In fact, the TB hotel was pretty empty.  We signed the logbook, got a quick picture and decided to have a pint at the bar.  

We sat down and was immediately served.  I ordered a Julius Squeezer Cream Ale, and it was delicious.  We chatted about the history of Edgefield, with the bar tender, while we drank our beers.  It was fascinating.  When we finished, we paid, thanked the bar tender again and skedaddled.  

We walked down to the main building for the event, OR 2023 Year of the Rabbit - Nano Get Together (GCAB5KY), and noticed a lady we recognized, AnnScout.  We've seen her at a bunch of events over the past few years.  We introduced ourselves and she explained how and why she was hosting the event.  Apparently, there is a McMenamin's club you can be a part of, and you get perks for doing so.

She gave us some snacks and we got to pick a coin since hardly anyone showed up to her event.  About six of us showed up altogether.  I wasn't sure who all would come but felt bad that barely anyone came.  We were able to chat with the people who did show up.  I have never met any of them besides AnnScout.

We stayed for about an hour and thanked her for hosting an event.  Ben and I walked back to the Escape before the concert started.  Yes, we found out it was a concert for a band I've never heard of.  We got back onto Halsey, drove back through Troutdale and onto the Historic Columbia River Highway to get the last cache I needed down there, Animal Alphabet (GC2199J), my 5/3.5.

It was such in an awkward place.  I found a pull out along the highway, Ben stayed in the Escape while I walked the 500 feet behind us, crossed the road and walked up a short steep hill to a multi treed trunk.  I found the ammo can, opened it up and immediately dropped it.  It looked like a dead animal was inside because all I saw was brown wet fur.  I realized it was part of the cache.  I found the logbook, signed our names, Ben may finish this challenge someday, and put it back.  I carefully made my way back to the Escape.  I need four more D/T for my Fizzy grid.  All of them can be found in Bonney Lake.

We continued up the road to Dabney State Park so we could go disc golfing.  We drove in and found out we had to pay $5 to use the park.  We went over to the machine, and it wasn't working.  We thought it was because it was too hot from sitting in the sun...it was about 90 degrees outside with a lot of humidity.  We did see a park ranger wandering around so Ben asked him if we could pay him to get a pass and he said that would be fine.  Ben got our pass, and we stuck it on the dashboard.  We grabbed the discs and walked over to the putting area to get loosened up.  

Ben found the map of the course online, but we had trouble in some spots following the layout because the signs were not clear or missing.  The launch pads were decent, some of the baskets were hard to see but overall, we had a great time.  Whenever there is water on the course or a tree near the fairway, I will throw it in or at it.  It never fails.

At one of the holes, I purposely threw it away from the small creek.  It took an awkward bounce and rolled right into the creek.  Of course it did!  Ben had thrown his disc over a huge patch of tall grass, and we didn't see where it landed.  We spent probably 20 minutes searching for it.  But we found it!  Part of the course was in an old apple orchard and a lot of the apples had fallen to the ground and eaten by various animals and birds.  It was weird walking over rotten crab apples while playing disc golf.

It was so muggy that we decided that our last hole was at 11.  We were so sweaty and hot...plus, we were getting hungry since it was getting close to dinner time, and we still had to make our way over to Vancouver.  We finished our putts, got in a picture and walked back to the Escape.  

I changed my shoes into flip flops to let my feet breathe!   We left the park and made our way back to Troutdale to hop onto I-84.   We merged onto 205 and made our way back into Washington.  We took the Hwy 14 exit, and it dumped us off in downtown Vancouver.

Downtown Vancouver was busy, due to a concert in the nearby Esther Short Park so, we had a hard time finding parking.  We ended up parking in the parking garage for $2.50, which wasn't that bad for about three hours.  We walked over to the Loowit Brewing Company, went inside and checked out their menu.  The guy who took our beer and food orders noticed Ben's Sounders shirt and told us he was from the Seattle area and loved the Sounders.  We both ordered the Loowit Lager, Ben got a Cowboy Burger, and I got the Loowit Burger, they both came with seasoned tots.  We paid at the counter, took our beers with us and decided where we wanted to sit.

We sat outside but was still a bit muggy out.  We looked through our pictures while we sipped our beer.  I asked Ben if he had fun and he said yes, we got to do a little bit of everything today.  Indeed, we did.  This is why I love summer. 

Our food was brought out and we were super hungry.  

The food was tasty and hit the spot after a long day.  We talked a little bit about our upcoming wedding the next summer since I brought my notebook with me to write notes in.  We had a bunch of stuff to take care of in the next couple months such as invites, the photographer, the food and the cupcakes.  I had kind of an idea how I wanted to do the invites, it was just finding some time to get all the pieces together and send them out. 

We finished our food and decided to walk around for a little bit to work off some of our food.  There were tons of murals around, so we looked at some of the graffiti.  There was this really cool Mario themed Bowser mural that I thought was creative.  I took a picture of it before moving on.  

It was getting dark, so we walked back to the Escape, drove out of the parking structure, up the road a little bit and then back onto I-5 north.  

As we got into Longview, I saw that we should get some gas soon.  I knew there was an Arco in Kelso that was easy to get on and off of the freeway.  We stopped there, filled up and got back onto I-5.  It was pretty much smooth sailing all the way through Centralia, Tumwater and into Lacey.  We got home just before 10:30. We got some showers in because we were super sweaty and probably smelled, chilled for a bit before going to bed.  It was a fun filled day!          

Next Adventure:  Mailbox Peak

Kayaking with Mom and Picking Up Two Caches at Munn and Offut Lake

I have been keeping written notes on the lake caches in the area that I still needed to get.  Some of them, unfortunately, have been slowly getting archived.  A bunch of them you had to be qualified to go get so I have been waiting to get them as I become qualified to do so.  One of those caches was on Offut Lake, out by Tenino, so I planned to grab that one but didn't want to load up the kayaks on the Esscape just to get one.  I looked at the map and saw there was a traditional one we could also get on Munn Lake in Tumwater. 

I asked Mom what she was doing and if she wanted to go kayaking for a couple hours.  She said sure.  Of course, we would pick the smokiest day of the year to go.  Oh well, it's a summer day we can't waste. She drove out to Lacey, and she helped me put the kayaks on the top of the Escape.  It took a little while, but I am glad I have that step stool.  We got everything secure and headed out towards Tumwater.  We chatted about a lot of random things on the way there.

I haven't been to Munn Lake in years. The last time I came out this way was to get the traditional cache at the boat launch.  Every time I looked at my geocaching map of ones I needed to get; this traditional boat cache stared at me.  I always planned to do it and even considered bringing the kayak to work and doing it after work on my way home on a nice day.  That never happened, obviously.

We get to the boat launch and drove down to the bottom.  I found a place to pull over so Mom and I could take the kayaks off the room of the Escape.  That took a few minutes with the step stool.  I made sure each kayak got a paddle before I drove up the hill to park. I left Mom with the kayaks.  I quickly displayed my Discover Pass, changed into my water shoes, grabbed my backpack, my hat, my sunglasses, locked the Escape and joined up with Mom.

I helped her get her kayak into the water and held it steady so she could climb inside.  I hopped into mine after shoving my bag into the watertight compartment.  She asked what direction we were going, and I checked my phone and pointed in the general direction of where the cache, N.W.T.E v 2.0 (GC7PQF7) was.  From the boat launch, it was on the east side of the lake. Off we paddled.  Munn Lake is a smaller lake and is popular for fishing boats, kayaks and paddle boarding.  You will not find jet boats speeding around this lake.

There really weren't that many people out on the lake due to the smoky atmosphere.  There was a couple of other kayakers, but they were on the other side of the lake.  I checked my phone again and let her know how much further we had to go. It was a nice, quiet, leisurely paddle on the lake.  We got closer and closer, and I tried to guess where I thought it was going to be along the shoreline.  

We floated closer to the posted coordinates, and I saw the log with the long snag protruding out of the water, as the hint described.  Mom watched as I maneuvered the kayak into a good position to start looking for the cache.  I pulled up right beside it and made the find.  It was a tethered film cannister wrapped in black electrical tape.  It shouldn't go anywhere unless someone takes it. I signed our names, got a few pictures and put it back.  I used the paddle to push myself backwards out of the log jam. 

We took our time paddling back.  We noticed some people over by the boat launch getting into innertubes to hang out.  We paddled slowly by the lily pads.  Mom enjoyed looking at the flowers.  I was glad there were no bees and little to no mosquitos trying to get us. 

We made our way back to the boat launch avoiding the people in the innertubes.  I hit shore, secured my paddle and got out.  I helped Mom steady her kayak so she could get out without falling in.  We each grabbed the ends of our kayaks and walked them up to an area out of the way so I could bring the Escape down and pack up the kayaks.  I grabbed my orange backpack out of the compartment and tossed it into the Escape.

I walked up the hill and brought the Escape down.  I got out the step stool and Mom helped me secure them to the racks.  The strap downs were a good investment with the gift card Ben, and I got a few years ago.  They are easy to use and bright red so you can see them.  I asked Mom if she had everything, she nodded and we got on the highway to our next destination, Offut Lake. 

We drove down Hwy 99 and then turned off onto Waldrick Road.  We followed Waldrick Road and turned when we saw the public boat launch sign.  This is another lake that I've only been to the boat launch for.  Years ago, there was a geocache at the boat launch and has been archived since.  I have never been on this lake, so this was going to be my first time.  

I followed the driveway down to the boat launch.  This boat launch was steeper than the one at Munn Lake.  I found a place to pull over so Mom and I could take the kayaks off the room of the Escape.  That took a few minutes with the step stool.  I made sure each kayak got a paddle before I drove up the hill to park. I left Mom with the kayaks.  I backed the Escape into an open spot, this boat launch was a little busier, I quickly grabbed my backpack, locked the Escape and joined up with Mom.

Again, I helped her get her kayak into the water and held it steady so she could climb inside.  I hopped into mine after shoving my bag into the watertight compartment. I checked my phone and figured out where we needed to go.  Eeyore's Catch-all Challenge - a Paddling Cache (GC4RCP5) is a cache I have been qualified to get for a while.  I am not sure why I didn't find the time to go out and get this one.  Here we are!

From the boat launch, it was on the west side of the lake, and we had to paddle out and around to get to where we needed to go.  It was going to be a longer paddle.  We set off.  The wind picked up a bit which made for a choppy paddle, but we really weren't in a hurry.  The smoke was thicker down here, and you could see it on the horizon of the lake.  There were more people out enjoying the lake compared to the other one earlier.  There were paddle boarders and people fishing off the shoreline.

Once we got to ground zero, I wasn't sure if I had to get out of my kayak or not.  I am sure the time of year mattered with this cache with the lake level.  I got closer to the log and found out I was at the correct one.  Yep, I had to dismount my kayak.  A small frog sat on top of the cache container.  I moved him so I could open and sign the logbook.  He jumped onto the kayak because I invaded his space.  I put the cache back, got the frog to sit on a stick while I put him back near the hiding spot and he stayed!

I got back into my kayak and off we went to the boat launch again.  I was reminded that the Lady of the Lake restaurant was here.  I've never eaten there before.  I will have to remember this was here so we can go try it someday.  

We approached the boat launch and drifted onto shore.  I got out first so I could help Mom get out of her kayak without falling in. 

We each grabbed the ends of our kayaks and walked them up to an area out of the way so I could bring the Escape down and pack up the kayaks.  I grabbed my orange backpack out of the compartment and walked back up the hill to the Escape.  I clicked it unlock, got in and tried to start it.  It acted like the battery was dead.  This was a new battery.  What is happening? 

OH NO!  I do not have time for this kind of stuff, especially in an area with really poor cell phone service.  I walked down to where Mom was and told her that my car was dead.  We grabbed the kayaks and walked them up the hill closer to the car.  I called Ben and told him what was happening.  He really couldn't help us since he was on shift.  He was able to suggest some stuff though.  Then I called Dad because we were stranded.  Dad said to sit tight while he gets some tools, and he will be there in a bit. 

Mom grabbed a rock and tapped the battery terminals; it made a whir sound and the Escape turned back on.  I asked what she did, and she said she just tapped stuff.  Well, whatever she did, it made it work.  We hastily put the kayaks back on the Escape, made sure they were secure and headed home.  We called Dad to let him know we got the Escape started and to meet us at my house.  He said okay.  I was so frustrated with the car.  Why was it doing that?  Are the terminals bad?  The connectors?  The wires?

We got home and Dad tightened all of the connections to the battery.  He did explain that when you start the car a lot of power goes through the connections to the battery, and it may loosen over time.  This is a pretty new car, so I didn't understand why it was doing it.  I've never had a vehicle do that before.  I thanked him for coming out to look at it. 

Well, that outing turned out to be way more exciting than we planned it to be.  I am glad we were able to get out and enjoy the day and grab those caches before they are archived.  Mom and Dad went home, and I grabbed my shopping list and took care of some grocery shopping for the week.    

**Ben did schedule me an appointment with Ford in September, and I took time off of work to bring in my car.  They found absolutely nothing wrong with it.  So, I have no idea.** 

Next Adventure:  An Oregon Adventure:  Geocaching, Breweries and Some Disc Golf

Tumwater Brewfest and Ben's Seahawks Preseason Game vs. Dallas

I've been wanting to go to the Tumwater Brewfest for a while, but it just never worked out for us with our schedule or the timing of it.  Then Covid hit and we had to wait longer.  About a month ago, I asked Nicole and Del about the event, and they've enjoyed going during the years that they went.  They said they were going to this year's event.  Then, I asked Mom and Dad if they wanted to go, and we asked Trish if this was something she was interested in doing.  They all said they would get back to us.

They all got back to us, and it was just going to be Mom and Trish going with us.  Dad was busy doing something else and Amy didn't want to go.  Ben invited Kenyatta and Josh as well because Ben made it complicated by wanting to take people to the Seahawks preseason game against Dallas (he bought four tickets from Mike a few weeks back) on the same day.  He also invited Del as the fourth person, and he agreed to go. 

We bought tickets for us, Mom, Trish and Josh and everyone paid me back.  I printed them out and we waited for that Saturday.  Ben planned out his day with his friends and made sure everyone knew what was happening.  Trish came down and arrived just after 11:30 and Mom showed up just after noon.  I told Ben that I would drive them to Tumwater while he waits for Josh and Kenyatta to get there.  He had to get some gas and some money before they came down to the event.  

Before we left, I made sure everyone had their tickets and whatever else they needed, hopped into the Escape and drove out to Tumwater.  We followed the signs and found out we had to pay to park.  Luckily, one of us had some money.  I let Ben know they needed money to park.  They directed us to where we were supposed to park.  I told everyone to bring what they needed with them, and we headed off to the ticket line to get in.  I didn't realize this event was so popular!  How would I if I've never been to it? 

We got to the line, made sure we had our tickets, they checked our ID, they were scanned, we were given a bracelet, and we were given a taster glass and some tokens.  I grabbed a map, so we knew where everything was.  It was going to be a warm day and I wished we would have known we could bring chairs and umbrellas.  I made a note of it for the next time we attended.

We all wandered around for a little bit and went to the brewery and cider tents to get our first taster filled up.  Mom wasn't there to drink but she at least tried one of the ciders.  Trish and I went to the Lazy Boy Brewing to try their Huckleberry Blonde Ale.  We both enjoyed it.  

Ben and his gang of goobers showed up, so Trish went to go hang out with her son for a while.  Mom and I walked around to all the vendors to see what kind of cool stuff and snacks we could get.  I ended up with a cool pretzel necklace and I got some stickers and a poster.

More and more people started to arrive.  It was getting busy and warm.  I wanted to get another tester, so I went back over to the tents and for my second one, by Mount Olympus, was Midsummer's Dream, Orange Creamsicle and it was just like eating an orange creamsicle ice cream bar!  It was so good.  I told Trish about it, and she went and got in line.  This one, by far, was our favorite of the day.

I got a text message from Ben telling me that he, Josh and Keyatta were over by the blow-up obstacle courses and that I should join them.  I really didn't want to partake but I went over and watched them get pummeled by one of the blow-ups. Josh posted a video of it on Facebook.  I found out later that Kenyatta broke his watch when he fell inside of the inflatable.

I munched on some of my pretzels and texted Nicole to see where she and Del were.  We met up with them and then it was time to use the dreaded porta potties.  After relieving ourselves, we sat in the shade and visited for a bit.  I asked Del how the event was last year.  He said it was super-hot, not enough shade for people, but he and Nicole had fun regardless.  We decided to head back over to the tents to get another taster.   

The third one I chose was from the Steam Donkey Brewing Company and it was the Strawberry Lemonade Hefeweizen, and it was interesting.  The strawberry lemonade was faint, but you could still taste it.  We ran into Ben and Trish again, who wandered around the vendors for a little bit.  I told her she should try the one I was having so she got in line.  We finally ran into Doug and Sonya.  They wanted food so they stood in line for a while.

We hung out and I decided to grab my fourth one with Ben.  We went over to Acorn Brewing to try the Redbeard's Red.  He had already tried this one but liked it to have another one.  It was pretty good for a red. I was sad none of the breweries brought in an Amber Ale.  We got everyone we could together for a venue picture.  We had fun.

I was given a couple more tokens, so I tried the Raspberry Blonde from the Talking Cedar Brewery, since I am a sucker for the fruit beers and to top off my day, my last one was from Packwood Brewing with the Oatmeal Pale.  I thought it was interesting that they had an oatmeal one that wasn't a stout or a dark. Plus, I've always wanted to stop at the brewery in Packwood but decided not to and go home after a trip to Eastern Washington.  I will have to go someday.

Ben, Kenyatta, Del and Josh met up with us one more time before leaving for Seattle.  We told them to have fun. We needed some shade, so we found a partial empty table under one of the tents to sit for a while.  We sipped the rest of our tasters, visited for a while and let Doug and Sonya know where we were with their food.  Nicole sat with us for a while until it was time for her to go.  She was supposed to have a family dinner that evening and needed to go get ready for it.  She thanked us for hanging out and that we would catch up again later.  Doug and Sonya joined us for a while.

You could tell by Trish's face that it was almost time for us to head home.  We were "funned" out for our first time at Brewfest.  We walked back to the Escape and left the brewery property on a road that I've always wanted to know where it went.  I finally got to find that out and it was awesome!  I asked everyone if they were hungry, and they said they could eat.  I asked what everyone was feeling and decided on Hops and Drops.

We drive over, got in quickly and ordered food.  Mom and Trish had fish and chips and I opted for the chicken tenders and fries.  It hit the spot.  We paid and drove back to the house. Trish thanked me for inviting her out and that we needed to hang out again soon.  She told me to have Ben text her when he gets home from the game.  I told her that I will and then added to have her text me when she got home.  Mom left shortly after that.

I turned on the Seahawk game and got some updates from Ben.  They had dinner at Dick's and made their way to the Hawk's Nest to watch the game.  We all know preseason isn't as cool as a real game but it still pretty awesome to go to a game even if it's the only one we go to.  I am not sure if I will be able to go to a game this year.  I guess we will see.  I hope our team is competitive this season. They didn't do too terrible against the Cowboys but again, it's guys who are trying to make the team.  We did beat them 22-14 and I am sure Kenyatta was sad. I think Ben said that this was his first time to a Cowboys game and to Lumen Field. 

I took some stuff over to Erika and Zac's house, chatted for a bit and grabbed some more Hello Fresh recipe cards.  They were still going through stuff and getting settled in from the big move.  They were doing more yard work, figuring out how to get a fence around the property and trying to keep the homeless people at bay.  They really want to put in a security system, so they know what's going on when they aren't home and asleep.  I headed home, did a few things and waited for Ben to get home.

When he did come home, we texted Trish, he told me about the game and then we slowly got ready for bed.  That was a long, but fun, day.  

Next Adventure: Kayaking with Mom and Picking Up Two Caches at Munn and Offut Lake