Now Honey...

Oregon

2011-06-04T10:22:00.000-05:00

I took a first class flight, to meet Mark in Portland on Wednesday (6/1/11). We went to the Deschutes brewery and their beers are the bomb. My favorite was the 31-25. It was a combination of a Hefeweizen and a Pale Ale. They're still tweaking it and I can't wait until it's bottled. We checked out Henry's Tavern and they had about 100 beers on tap, but other than that it was only ok. This first day required a nap after all the beers. We headed out to dinner Jakes for happy hour and dinner and then the awesome Driftwood Bar that was in the Hotel Deluxe bar. They have a fine black and blue.

Mark had to work on Thursday. So, I spent a few hours in Powell's bookstore, did some light shopping in the Pearl District and took a nap. I didn't even have a beer until almost 5. We walked down to Bailey's tap room for some great brews. We ordered food from a little Mexican restaurant that delivers to Baileys. I'm not sure who was to blame, but we kept ordering more beers. They have a great trippel there that's over 8% alcohol and I had two of those to top the night off. I don't remember walking home, but I don't think I missed anything. Mark claims that once we got back to the room I kept making all these groaning sounds, like I was trying to die. I can confirm I woke up to many strange noises coming from the toilet area at various hours of the night.

On Friday, we went to The Stepping Stone for breakfast. This place was on Man Vs. Food for their pancakes. Neither of us had the pancakes. Although, I wish I would have. We drove up to Mt. Hood and Timberline Lodge and that took most of the day. Once back in Portland, we headed over to Amnesia Brewery and I checked out some cool little shops on Mississippi Ave. We were both beat and headed back to the hotel for a light dinner and drinks.

Most memorable quote, "It's just poopy man." This comment was made by a homeless dude when Mark told me to watch where I stepped.

Strangest Fact, I had no idea that Oregon is almost 90% white. I mentioned to Mark that I had only seen four African Americans in three days. Weird.

Common knowledge-Portland is very green and I don't just mean environmentally. Everywhere you look there is beautiful landscape, tall trees, moss growing everywhere, things in bloom all over the place. It was beautiful. The weather was in the 50's-60's on Wed. and Thursday and would have sporadic rainfall. Friday it was sunny and no rain.

No surprise-Most people appeared pretty healthy and fit. The only two morbidly obese people we saw were both on our flight back to DFW. One of them rode a scooter down to the plane and I'm not sure how the other one made it down here. Very sad.

Bailey's Tap Room
Ashley going in for the final kill on Connect Four.
Stepping Stone Breakfast. We, stupidly, ordered a full order of biscuits and gravy a piece. Not to mention a side of bacon and eggs.
Multnomah Falls on the way to Mt. Hood.

Timberline Lodge/Mt. Hood

View from the bar in the Timberline.

Sweet Heidi. Bruno was in the other gift shop.
Later, Ashley

Pearl (1996-2009)

2009-12-20T16:22:00.009-06:00

In early 1996 Ashley picked up a chubby little yellow puppy at the Hyper-Mart in Arlington. She already had Bubba, who was just over one, when she decided he needed a playmate. The puppy was the last of the litter and Ashley had to have her. Little did she know that she was getting the sweetest doggy in the world, the direct opposite of Bubba.

Ashley's stepmother's Dad liked to drink Pearl beer and naming her little yellow fuzz ball Pearl seemed fitting. Pearl grew into a tall dog and she appeared to be a Greyhound/Yellow Lab mix. She was a loner at times and didn't play with Bubba like Ashley had probably envisioned. She loved to walk the perimeter of the backyard and she rarely met a turd that she didn't like. Labs really like to eat poop.

Early this December, Pearl started to go downhill and it was time. Ashley held her until the end but the love they shared can never be extinguished.

2009-06-10T21:27:00.000-05:00

Various Shit Holes - Wichita Falls

2009-04-25T13:52:00.005-05:00

The Life Of The Party

2009-04-24T18:08:00.001-05:00

He really twisted one off that night.

Sod!

2009-04-24T18:01:00.001-05:00

8 pallets of pure fun...

Munich Breakfast

2009-03-15T17:36:00.000-05:00

Veal sausage, special mustard and a wheat beer.

Augustiner Keller

2009-03-15T17:35:00.001-05:00

I don't think you can buy Augustiner beer in the States and it's a real shame.

Bavarian Heaven

2009-03-15T17:32:00.000-05:00

I'm Cooler Than You

2009-03-15T17:29:00.000-05:00

Get over it.

Iguana Man

2009-03-15T17:25:00.001-05:00

His girlfriend is not impressed.

My Kind of Girl

2009-03-15T17:20:00.001-05:00

Wetzlar, Germany

2009-01-25T09:48:00.002-06:00

Marburg, Germany

2009-01-25T09:45:00.002-06:00

Always Sound Advice

2009-01-25T09:44:00.001-06:00

Lahn River

2009-01-25T09:42:00.000-06:00

Frozen.

Christmas Poop

2008-12-22T10:51:00.003-06:00

Daddy, I left you a present near the tree. Merry Christmas!

Love,
Pearl

*Picture to follow*

George

2008-12-19T19:53:00.002-06:00

8 Legs Of Fury

2008-12-19T19:50:00.003-06:00

Palin, Texas Tech Fan

2008-12-19T19:46:00.002-06:00

Snobbish

2008-10-22T07:19:00.001-05:00

2008-10-22T07:13:00.001-05:00

I Heart Pub

2008-08-17T20:02:00.011-05:00

The Market Porter

The Wenlock Arms

The Exmouth Arms. I good place for a punch up.

The Dog and Duck

The fireplace at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese

The Jerusalem Tavern

All are located in London.

"Double Or Nothing?"

2008-08-10T20:25:00.005-05:00

Patrick did indeed eat the hottest bowl of Pho known to all of man kind during the last challenge. He was the champ but he wouldn't allow himself to bask in the glory of victory for long. His comment on my blog entry said simply, "double or nothing."

That was a huge mistake. We negotiated what "double" should be and we decided it meant double the spice. The Great Pho Challenge, Part Deux was scheduled...

His first taste of the bowl of complete crap. He almost pukes on the third spoonful.

Another near miss. Danielle, are you proud to be married to such a man?

Defeat and a special note to my boy, Bruno, it's not over til it's over. I like how I am emphatically try to override Bruno telling Mears that "he did it".

Patrick and The Great Pho Challenge

2008-08-02T18:29:00.012-05:00

Patrick, as you may know, is always ready to accept a challenge. When we eat Vietnamese Pho, a broth and egg noodle soup, he spices it up with various spices. He brags about how much he puts in. However, he usually is sweating, coughing, crying but all the while, he is bragging. This spawned the challenge. If he could eat the hottest bowl of pho ever then I would buy it.

The spices...

The untainted bowl

Tainted

Struggling

Crying

Water to cure the coughing

The "winner"

The best six clams I've ever spent.

The Pack

2008-07-06T19:11:00.002-05:00

5534 is turning into a retirement home. The collective age of this lot is almost 38 years young.

Mr. Diamond

2008-06-28T13:10:00.001-05:00

He told me he was calling his lawyers just after I snapped the picture without his permission.

Show Off

2008-06-28T13:08:00.000-05:00

This little guy was showing up everyone at the hippy hula hoop park.

Complete Indifference

2008-06-28T13:06:00.000-05:00

Just Plain Awesome

2008-06-28T13:03:00.000-05:00

I'm jealous.

Aspen

2008-06-28T13:01:00.000-05:00

Mesa Verde National Park

2008-06-28T12:56:00.003-05:00

100% Refrigerated Air

2008-06-28T12:52:00.000-05:00

The Grand Place, Brussels

2008-06-15T21:36:00.002-05:00

2008-06-15T21:35:00.000-05:00

"Brussels Meat"

2008-06-15T21:30:00.001-05:00

There is not enough celery salt and mustard to make Brussels meat appetizing.

Sweet

2008-06-08T11:18:00.000-05:00

Paris

2008-06-08T11:16:00.000-05:00

Poison Ivy Is Cool

2008-06-08T11:02:00.002-05:00

As a survivor of poison ivy, barely, I can tell you unequivocally that you don't want to be stricken with it...

Pearl

2008-06-08T11:01:00.000-05:00

Weenie

2008-06-08T10:59:00.000-05:00

Whale Tail

2008-04-20T19:02:00.001-05:00

Alternate titles: "You've got to be kidding me" or "Doesn't that hurt?" or "Do you floss?" or "Oh look, black is your color"

Stonehenge

2008-04-07T21:36:00.002-05:00

I have no words to describe Stonehenge so I will yield to Nigel from "This Is Spinal Tap."

In ancient times, hundreds of years before the dawn of history.
There lived a strange race of people...the Druids.
No one knows who they were, or what they were doing...
but their legacy remains...
hewn into the living rock of Stonehenge...

Enough

2008-04-07T21:31:00.002-05:00

After walking twenty miles in two days Ashley's legs gave out just short of the room. Poor thing.

The Wenlock Arms

2008-04-07T21:26:00.002-05:00

The Wenlock was by far the dirtiest pub we visited in London. The carpet was probably forty years old and most of the people in there were stuck to their chairs like that lady in Kansas was stuck to her toliet seat.

Careful

2008-04-07T21:21:00.002-05:00

Never fear, your beer will be filled to the brim in England.

Abbey Road In London

2008-04-07T21:18:00.000-05:00

Bruges, Belgium

2008-03-27T21:53:00.001-05:00

Is This Heaven?

2008-03-27T21:50:00.001-05:00

Two of our favorite Belgian beers.

Old Man

2008-03-27T21:40:00.005-05:00

His hair is becoming so grey.

Camera Jet Lag

2008-03-18T06:22:00.000-05:00

Huh, What?

2008-03-18T06:21:00.000-05:00

Melba At The Mannekin Pis

2008-03-18T06:15:00.002-05:00

When I came around the corner to see the little man peeing I was shocked to see Melba. She had gathered quite a crowd.

Monster

2008-03-18T06:13:00.001-05:00

Casa de Hale

2008-02-11T18:36:00.003-06:00

Welcome to Casa de Hale. This will come as a suprise to you but we finally closed on a house. Since early October of last year, we've had an offer on a house. The first house was a foreclosure that had been on the market for over a year. We decided to make an offer on it and the same day so does everyone else in Dallas. Needless to say we were out bid and our hearts were heavy.

The second home, pictured above, was an ordeal as well. The home was in pre-foreclosure. Our first offer sat at the bank through the Thanksgiving holiday but all the feedback from the listing agent was "we're close", whatever that means. Well, it turns out that we weren't close and the offer was declined without a counter offer. Very little explanation was given for the reason why the offer was declined and no explanation was offered on why there was no counter offer. Our hearts were broken again and we decided not to even look at the market until we returned from our vacation in early March.

Although our intention was to wait until March to look at other houses, we kept stalking the Victor house. We drove by the house, made an anonymous call to the listing agent to inquire about the house and were told, "Yes, it's for sale. There was an offer on it, but it was declined." Ashley was H.O.T and I mean H.O.T. I mean to give us no explanation about why we were denied and then tell some supposedly random caller that, sure the house is for sale. So, we called our realtor and decided to make a second offer, this was early January. A month and a half later we're closing. We're still not really sure on why the bank didn't accept the first offer, especially without even making a counter offer, but it all worked out in the end.

So, because of the ups and downs we've had, we decided not to tell anyone about the second offer we made. We assumed it would be declined again and sure were happy when it wasn't. Hope you'll come and visit us sometime, but not too soon!

Mullet

2007-12-26T22:23:00.000-06:00

Nascar Fan

2007-12-26T22:18:00.000-06:00

2007-12-26T22:16:00.000-06:00

Gene's

2007-12-26T22:13:00.000-06:00

Beware of the corn dogs...

Holiday Dinner at Fogo de Chao

2007-12-26T22:04:00.000-06:00

When you combine Patrick's ability to accept ridiculous challenges and a meat factory like Fogo de Chao, a Brazilian steakhouse with endless meat stuff, you get an excellent opportunity.

Patrick was goaded into this with a look and nod. The challenge was on...

The Aftermath

Diesel Chief

2007-11-11T16:31:00.000-06:00

No Loitering

2007-11-11T16:25:00.000-06:00

2007-11-11T16:23:00.000-06:00

Why The Long Face, Pearl?

2007-11-11T16:13:00.000-06:00

Make Sure You Watch It All...

2007-11-07T08:04:00.001-06:00

The Great Mustache And Beard Idiocy Of '07

2007-10-02T19:56:00.000-05:00

My friends at work decided it would be a good idea to grow our beards out for a month. At the end of the month we would spin a "mustache wheel". A mustache wheel of misfortune if you will. We were too lazy to make a wheel so we decided to roll the Mustache Dice! However, no one had any dice so we used a hat to draw our face art. Below is the results of our lucky draws.

The mustache and or beard must be worn for a week.

Shawn sporting the Friendly Mutton Chops

Patrick showing off his Mutton Chops

Me working the mustache and chin strip. Keep me away from your children...

Drunken Clowns

2007-10-02T19:53:00.000-05:00

Joe Cool

2007-10-02T19:50:00.000-05:00

World Record Holder

2007-09-10T22:43:00.000-05:00

She holds the record for longest cig ever smoked with complete indifference. Stop in Bar-L to share a smoke with her.

Drunkard

2007-09-10T22:34:00.000-05:00

Manicure Obsession

2007-09-02T19:47:00.000-05:00

Billy Joe was released from the facility but he couldn't kick his OCD when it came to his manicure.

Half Order

2007-09-02T19:45:00.001-05:00

You should see the size of the full order.

Our Lady Of The Way

2007-09-02T19:43:00.000-05:00

Sign Post Forest, Watson Lake, Yukon

2007-09-02T19:38:00.000-05:00

Lindsay Lohan

2007-08-03T07:01:00.000-05:00

How far the young starlet has fallen. I feel so sorry for her. Ashley is her biggest fan, she's seen all of her movies multiple times.

Bar-L

2007-08-03T06:56:00.000-05:00

This joint in Wichita Falls is a drive-up BBQ and Bar. I recommend you pull in and order a pitcher or two of red draws the next time you're in beautiful WF.

*The bartender was smoking the longest cigarette I have ever seen. I'll post a picture of her working that cancer stick soon.

2007-07-12T07:48:00.000-05:00

ACME Boulder

2007-07-12T07:40:00.000-05:00

Wile E. Coyote would be very proud of this ACME set-up.

Unsure Boasting

2007-07-07T20:18:00.001-05:00

Mr. Cranky

2007-06-07T21:31:00.000-05:00

I've hounded him for almost a year and he finally posed for a picture. It was worth the wait.

Paradox Valley

2007-06-07T21:28:00.000-05:00

This valley in Western Colorado is unbelievable. It runs west almost to Utah and southeast toward Telluride.

Desert?

2007-06-07T21:24:00.000-05:00

The answer is yes.

Rabbit Valley, Far West Colorado

2007-06-07T21:19:00.000-05:00

300

2007-06-07T21:17:00.000-05:00

Fear the power of the 300 and while you're at it, fear the miles per gallon.

America's Got Talent

2007-06-07T21:13:00.000-05:00

Hasselhoff is ready to judge them.

Searching for Roger

2007-05-13T18:22:00.000-05:00

2007-04-30T07:48:00.000-05:00

Memorial

2007-04-30T07:46:00.000-05:00

Princess Di Memorial in Hyde Park.

Strong Fine Ale

2007-04-30T07:41:00.000-05:00

Hard Rocker

2007-04-30T07:37:00.000-05:00

Paris Metro

2007-04-30T07:33:00.000-05:00

Half Pint

2007-04-16T22:23:00.000-05:00

He Defines Fashion

2007-04-16T22:18:00.000-05:00

Fear his ensemble.

The Mechanical Bull

2007-04-16T22:04:00.000-05:00

Someone talked me into to riding the mechanical bull at the Fort Worth Stockyards. It sounded like a good idea at the time. I quickly fell off the beast and the following exchange occured with the operator of the bull.

Operator: Oh, get back on it.

Me: OK.

Operator: This time turn you hand over.

Me: OK.

He fires it up and I ride it for around 10 seconds. I'm feeling good about my abilities...

Operator: Son, whenever a bull operator tells you to get back on the bull you never do...

As he finished his very funny sentence he cranked up the bull to what had to be full blast and I went flying. I landed on a not so padded area and it really freakin' hurt.

I hope you feel better about your life, Mr. Mechanical Bull Operator. Jerk.

The Temple

2007-04-16T22:00:00.000-05:00

Pearl Finds Her Happy Place

2007-04-16T21:47:00.000-05:00

Pearl has had trouble sleeping and seems really scared at night. Pearl's trouble sleeping has led to us not sleeping since she won't leave us alone. The vet seems to think that she may have hurt her back. I'm not sure if I buy that but I know she is sleeping through the night since she was prescribed tranquilizers.

Last night I saw her walking toward the closet and to my amazement she got in the laundry basket. She slept there all night.

James Douglas Morrison

2007-03-30T07:40:00.000-05:00

At Pere LaChaise Cemetary in Paris.

No Dogs Allowed

2007-03-30T07:38:00.000-05:00

It's My Cat In A Box

2007-03-30T07:36:00.000-05:00

Tiny Lift

2007-03-18T21:24:00.000-05:00

The tiny elevator began to effect our brains by day four...