On to state #15: Oregon. We ventured out to Horning’s Hideout where we met up with 2,500 of our closest, camping friends to see some bluegrass for the next two days. As cell phone coverage was limited in the boonies, we used the old school message board to find Dermot’s brother Tommy. Of course… it wasn’t necessary, as we ran into him about 10 minutes after entering the amphitheater– in front of the Rogue Beer Tent. Highlights of the weekend were the lovely ‘honey buckets’ (a.k.a.:port-a-potties), paddle boating on the lake, $5 slices of pizza, chicken fried rice bowls (only meat in the veggie/vegan’fest) and wicked games of horse shoes. Over the course of the weekend we saw: Yonder Mountain String Band, Flat Mountain Girls and The String Summit Super Jam. Good music, good times, good beer.
On Monday morning, we headed back into Portland with Tommy to tour the town. We met up with his roommates (also about to start their own roadtrip) at Genie’s for a celebration of ’slow’ food, but very tasty. We explored mansions, rose gardens, and of course one of the 39+ breweries in the Portland area. We also got to meet up with Katie’s freshman year in college friend Kelly and her husband Brian. We all went to dinner at Alameda’s Brewery in NE (as we learned, we are NOT westerners….) to try their 9 beer sampler and some delish grub. Derm’s favorite beer was the Organic IPA. For dessert, we enjoyed beer floats at Pix in SE- and have to say that we wish we had more time in this fabulous city!