In the last several posts, I’ve highlighted a few breweries (Baerlic, Ferment and Thunder Island) and two great bars (Holmans’ Bar and the Hi-Top Tavern). This edition of Thebeerchaser will just take a miscellaneous stroll through some random musings and relate a great week-long trip to Kauai in late February.
Upon returning, my wife and I decided that for the rest of March and April, we wouldn’t drink alcoholic beverages except on weekends (Friday and Saturday). This may not seem like much of a sacrifice, but I often enjoy a gin martini on weeknights while watching the Portland Trailblazers. (There were times when it assuaged the pain…).
And I have to say, besides ingesting fewer calories, the few non-alcoholic beers I’ve had are pretty good. It’s a trend. According to an article last month in The Beer Connoisseur:
“Non-alcoholic beer is booming as more consumers seek flavorful, alcohol-free options for social drinking and wellness.”
External photo attribution at the end of the post (#1)
Adapting with the times…..“Sure Buddy”
I wondered what the reaction would be in the first dive bar I requested one and thought the conversation might go like this:
Beerchaser: “I’d like a pint of your best non-alcoholic beer.”
Bartender: “Sure buddy. You want to show me some fake ID?”
And Speaking of Kaui….
Kauai is our favorite Hawaiin Island and we had perfect weather. Besides just relaxing on the beach, we explored the island.
And speaking of relaxing, one of the best methods was on the beach – with a cold brew or an exotic drink with a little umbrella in it – reading a good novel. And that raises a good news – bad news situation.
The good news was that I got immersed in Warren Easley’s, last novel Deadly Redemption – a great read. The bad news is that I finished it and have now enjoyed all ten of his books. There aren’t currently any new Cal Claxton novels to read.
Friends had recommended an interesting and unique way to see the sunset on the north part of the island. We would certainly recommend the two-hour sunset golf tour on the Princeville Makai Golf Course. It was well worth the $60 per person fee.
There were about nine golf carts – each seating two – and the charismatic golf pro led the entourage with about six stops where he related the history of the island and other great anecdotes.
We saw amazing natural habitat including several fascinating albatross families and just reveled at what is a beautiful (and incredibly challenging) golf course.
“The final stop on the tour is truly one of the most stunning locations in the world to witness a sunset… our signature par 3, seventh hole on Princeville Makai that makes for the perfect viewing spot….”.
And we learned, among other facts, the wild chicken population – an estimated 450,000 compared to 80,000 people residing on Kauai, evidently dates back to Polynesian settlers in 1200 AD. Although strikingly colorful and perhaps keeping the bug population down, the constant crowing of these scavengers is annoying.
The golf pro also told us about a more recent infestation of large green parakeets when we saw one in one of the trees by the golf course. There are no natural predators.
“Along Kauai’s resort-studded south shore, thousands of wild rose-ringed parakeets with bright green feathers and brilliant red beaks obliterate hotel parking lots and vehicles daily with their poop. Full of seeds, the bird dung attracts rats. If not quickly removed, it can ruin car paint.
Transported to the Garden Isle as pets and then either intentionally or mistakenly released into the wild in the 1960s, the birds now number at least 11,000 on Kauai, according to the scientists who study them.” Honolulu Civic Beat – 6/2/21
Given this bleak history of infestations, it made me wonder if the Kauai Legislature might start restricting lawyers from visiting the Garden Isle. (#2 – #4)
Invasive Species???
And on the way back from the golf course…..
Some friends told us about a relatively new brewery we should check out for dinner and beer when returning. It was a good tip (although how often does Thebeerchaser not have that assessment when it involves a watering hole…).
“Our journey to create this space has been one of passion, dedication, and a deep love for the island we call home. We started this brewery with a dream to share the flavors and spirit of Wailua with every person who walks through our doors.”
It has an expansive floor plan, good live music and food you’ll enjoy. Janet and I sat at the bar and our bartender, Quade, was very personable and told us the story of the brewery. I still salivate when thinking about the Poke Bowl I had that night. (#5)
Leaving the Island
As we parked at our hotel on the return from the golf cart tour and brewery visit, we were approached by a couple who I initially thought was just trying to avoid one of the chickens roosting by the cars.
They stated, however, that they had been staying with some friends who stocked up on “salty snacks” and they were leaving for the airport for their night flight home. “Did we want them – otherwise they were going to have to throw them away?”
Janet puts rigorous rations on my consumption of these, but I quietly whispered to her that it would be rude to refuse their kind offer. Did we want to add to the Kauai landfill? And we were not leaving for another day and one-half.
Chipping in…..The goldfish were for the granddaughters at home.
Since we didn’t order a meal on the six-hour flight home, I enjoyed some Doritos and Lays Barbecue Chips. They paired well with one creative offering of Alaska Airlines – it’s new Cloud Cruiser Beer.
“(It’s) created exclusively for the airline through its partnership with Seattle-based brewery Fremont Brewing….this exclusive India pale ale (IPA) has been brewed specifically to taste great at high altitudes. It’s served in cans designed with bright and colorful artwork that pays homage to the Pacific Northwest region.” (emphasis supplied)
The statement “brewed specifically to taste great at high altitudes” may mean the intoxicating effect of a 6.5% ABV at 30,000 feet, but I took one can home and really enjoyed the beer just as much at our residence in West Linn, Oregon which is just 105 feet above sea level.
As we got home and reflected on the superb weather we had, I skimmed the Darwin Theory Winter Newsletter named appropriately, “Monkey Business,” which had arrived in the mail. No it’s not a recap of the Scopes Trial. Darwin’s Theory is one of my favorite dive bars – in Anchorage, Alaska. We visited it when we were on an Alaska cruise in 2014.
Talk about a contrast. The newsletter told the tale of the weather conditions they faced at the beginning of the year:
“One of the worst snowstorms ever, and there have been many, came through the first week of January. Solid hard rain for two days, winds that reached 100 miles per hour (that’s Hurricane level) followed by a cold front that froze the standing water.
Darwin’s did something that it has never done in the 45 years of operation, that’s closed its doors for the safety of its staff and customers, the glare ice was incredulous. Best never to see the likes of this storm for another 50 years.”
Welcome to Thebeerchaser. If you’re seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title above to see all of the photos (especially the family photos at the end) and so the narrative is not clipped or shortened. (External photo attribution at the end of the post – #1.)
In this time of turmoil – not only in the US, but throughout the world – we have to work to gain perspective at times and reflect on our many blessings. One of my blessings is my wife, Janet – we had our 45th anniversary on March 29th.
Janet and I met in early 1979 at an evening Oregon City Planning Commission meeting when I was Chair of the Commission and she was a newly-hired Planning Department staffer. We started dating and got engaged at the Top of the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco in September.
Shortly after getting married, we even decided to attend graduate school together – my last two classes and her first two – Data Analysis for the Masters in Public Administration program at Portland State University.
It was in the early days of PCs so we had to drive in to Portland and wait with other students (sometime for 45 – 60 minutes) to have our punch cards run on the mainframe to produce a printout which we analyzed.
It was our first negotiation of the marriage – the winner would clean our bathrooms and the loser would go down and stand in line at Shattuck Hall….
March 29, 1980
I’m always thankful for the courage Duane (FDW) and Frannie (my parents) had in 1961. After visiting Oregon on a vacation the summer before, they decided we would move to Oregon with four kids – ages 8 to 14 – and without FDW having a job – to have a better life than in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Whenever I drive up the Columbia Gorge past Multnomah Falls and see majestic Mount Hood, I think of the sacrifices they made to make that move as well as remember the first time my family viewed those sights driving west on Interstate 84 to Portland when I was twelve.
So, on our anniversary, Janet and I decided to take a trip up the Gorge to the picturesque burg of Hood River – population of about 9,000 right on the banks of the Columbia River and with grand views of Mt. Hood in the background. Of course, on the way, there was a short stop for a beer and a tasty order of sweet potato fries at Thunder Island Brewing in Cascade Locks.
Thunder Island Brewing Co.
We’ d been to Thunder Island several years ago, when it was in a rather ramshackle structure with a few picnic tables adjacent to the parking lot and the offerings were sparse. Oh, has that changed, although unfortunately, their website doesn’t really relate the history except through several news articles in The Oregonian and Brew Public in 2021 – 2.
The owners’ account is almost always more meaningful and personal – especially when it’s the journey of former homebrewers who followed their dream such as Thunder Island’s husband and wife ownership team of Dave and Caroline Lipps Park.
That said, the 2021 Oregonian article by former Beer Writer, Andre Meunier – updated in 2023 – does a superb job of relating the 2013 origin, the relocation and their current operations.
“Owners Dave and Caroline Lipp embarked on a new building project and started a family all within the same year, operating their popular riverside brewery and pub under COVID-19 conditions as they prepared in late August to move from the original riverfront location 100 yards up to 601 N.W. WaNaPa Ave.”
The Lipps had to deal with high winds and the wildfires that swept the Gorge and caused the closure of all establishments relying on outdoor seating. But the new facility is very impressive – two stories with multiple bars, several dining areas and an expansive patio. (Right after the relocation, the patio was the only area open but was well received.)
Thunder Island takes its beer seriously as documented in Andre Meunier’s aforementioned article:
“Of all the changes, the most important might be the hiring of head brewer Jen House in February of 2021. Formerly of heralded Russian River Brewing, the California maker of popular Pliny the Younger and Pliny the Elder beers, House most recently brewed at Hood River’s Double Mountain Brewery.
She also holds a master’s degree from University of California at Davis fermentation program, and she has brought that expertise to Cascade Locks, along with consistent quality to Thunder Island’s beers.” (#2 – #3)
How’s that for a resume!
I’m sure the Brewery has won multiple beer awards, but again, their website surprisingly doesn’t mention these. I did find this after a search on the web – from 2022:
“We are thrilled to announce that we took home our first Oregon Beer Award with a bronze medal for our Mrs. Pierce’s Porter. We’re honored to be amongst so many amazing breweries and medal winners. Shout out to Jen for brewing such stellar beers.”
Our server, Helmit, was great and we tasted several beers and decided to go with a sampler with these four:
All were good, but the YaYa – their flagship – was our favorite. Thunder Island also has a great pub menu. We ate a shared order of delicious sweet potato waffle fries for $9 and we took a good part of it to go.
On to Hood River
We’ve made a number of trips to Hood River previously and always enjoy the quaint, but bustling, downtown area with great shops, two breweries (Pfriem and Ferment) and especially the walk along the Columbia River. It is outstanding – especially on a warm sunny day when the forecast had been cold and cloudy. (#4)
We love both of these breweries, but with time constraints, chose Ferment on this trip. It’s a multi-storied building with a large deck on the second-floor sporting plenty of tables. The expansive open area with a nice lawn in back of the brewery, also with picnic tables, provides additional space including an area for dogs (and kids) to roam, play frisbee, etc.
And the interior is spacious and classy with great views of the River and exposed brewing equipment. We just had time to split a beer and chose the Nelson IPA which rivaled the Thunder Island IPA. (# 5 – #6)
We had ninety minutes before our dinner reservations, so we parked a few blocks from Celilo Restuarant and strolled through downtown Hood River – a bunch of small shops – cycling, windsurfing, outdoor gear, galleries and a classic bookstore. (Janet persuaded me – with some effort – to avoid the temptation to hit the Oak Street Pub based on the Yelp review):
“While walking around Hood River I was looking for a local beer and something to snack on. I stumbled upon this place and decided to drop in. I was surprised to see they had fried Cheese Curds on the menu which was awesome! I was torn between those curds and the nachos.
I went with the curds because, when will I find curds again.The curds were just perfect. The beer selection could’ve been a bit more diverse but it was ok. Support local!”
Janet didn’t accept my contention that dining on cheese curds would significantly reduce our dinner expense. While she looked at some boutiques, I spent almost thirty minutes browsing in the Waucoma Book Store – also on Oak Street – and a very pleasurable experience.
And I was glad, although not surprised, when viewing the Staff Recommendations section to see nine of the ten novels (all of which I’ve devoured) written by my Beerchasing friend, author Warren Easley – the most recent Beerchasing Notable. (Only Matters of Doubt was missing – the first in the Cal Claxton series and a great read.) (#7 – #10)
Dinner
As we were waiting for Celilo to open at 5:00, I was preparing to get a photo of Janet in front of the restaurant and then a nice couple offered to take our picture. The manager was just opening the door and heard me say that it was our 45th anniversary.
And what a classy establishment – sparkling interior, great bar, friendly and knowledgeable servers and outstanding food based on our one visit. Janet wasn’t extremely hungry and wanted the salmon burger and I gave her a few bites of my New York Strip Steak – perfectly cooked medium rare with “Rosemary and garlic roasted red potatoes, Oak Rose kale, radish and blue cheese salad, horseradish cream, red wine sauce.”
My yearning for cheese curds was quickly forgotten and we took enough home for dinner the next night (we supplemented with our remaining waffle fries from Thunder Island). (#11 – #13)
And as I suspected, the establishment, opened in 1995, is locally owned and operated – the chef and managing partner, is Ben Stenn (photo above) and they have a great philosophy:
“…..the foundation of Celilo Restaurant when it opened in 2005 (is) Ben’s philosophy, ‘Know the source, Know your people, Know your food.’”
We waited to order our drinks until after the server took our menu choices and I was ready to order a dry gin martini (up with olives) when the bar manager appeared with two flutes of champagne and said, “Happy Anniversary.” Our experience at Celilo was a superb way to end a wonderful trip.
Thanks Celilo!
And to Close on the Thankful Theme….
On March 29, 1980, Janet and I were married in the Oregon City First Presbyterian Church. It’s been a whirlwind forty-five years and I thank God every day for Janet who has been a wonderful wife, mom to our two daughters and grandmother to our four wonderful granddaughters. And she’s also a wonderful Beerchasing companion (except to dive bars!)
Rather than review a specific bar or brewery, this post is about some miscellaneous topics that continue to fill my cranium at the beginning of the year.
Welcome to Thebeerchaser. If you’re seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title above to see all of the photos and so the narrative is not clipped or shortened. (External photo attribution at the end of the post #1)
For the Record…
In previous posts, I’ve mentioned my eclectic taste in music as evidenced on my iPhone – previously on CDs, cassettes and before that vinyl – 33, 78 and 45 rpms, in part, from my dad’s platters.
He had a great collection and it was one reason that from junior high, I became a fan of Big Band music – Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Bennie Goodman, et al. Background is in the first post I wrote about my wonderful parents, who met in New York City in the mid-forties when both worked for American Airlines. (#2 – #3)
Paula Kelly and the Modernaires
The young couple established their home in Merrick, Long Island, where my sister, Lynne, was born in 1946 and I in 1948. Dad loved Big Band music and they danced to the Glenn Miller Orchestra at the Glen Island Casino. They became friends with Paula Kelly and the Modernaires who performed there.
I evolved in college and listened to groups like the Four Seasons, Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, et al. (And as mentioned in my last post, during the time Craig “Dude” Hanneman was my roommate, The King of Cool – Dean Martin.)
As I progressed in my music (although unfortunately not in my selection of fiction) and I became enamored with both classical and jazz music. How I became an ardent fan of country-western, I don’t remember, but a major share of my playlists are now the greats such as George Jones, Don Williams (yes, I often get asked), Alan Jackson and Merle Haggard.
Rather than just using iTunes or YouTube, in my home office, I have a turntable and receiver and often play selections from the albums and CDs shown below:
“One could argue that country music from 30 or more years ago is close to extinct and that what you get now is a mix of pop and rock with a lap string guitar added and a southern accent.”
And Alan Jackson lamented the state of the music he loves during a recent interview by declaring that “country music is gone — and it’s not coming back.”
He and George Strait state their position in a wonderful number “Murder on Music Row.” Check out the superb melody on this link YouTube and this excerpt of the lyrics — Outstanding! (#4 – #5)
“But someone killed country music, cut out it’s heart and soul They got away with murder down on music row.
For the steel guitars no longer cry and fiddles barely play But drums and rock ‘n roll guitars are mixed right up in your face.
They thought no one would miss it, once it was dead and gone They said no one would buy them old, drinking and cheating songs Well, there ain’t no justice in it and the hard facts are cold Murder was committed down on music row.”
Another Perfect Example
Country-western tunes are often about aspirations. I came across this one recently on YouTube (check it out) and added it to my playlist. After all, who can quibble with the prayer “Lord Help Me Be the Kind of Person My Dog Thinks I Am ” by the Bellamy Brothers. (#6)
And the lyrics convey it well as evidenced by this excerpt:
“Sometimes I go to church on Sunday, With Saturday’s whiskey on my breath, But I keep praying and promising to quit Before I drink myself to death, Help me walk the straight and narrow, Change this light into a lamp, Oh Lord help me be the kind of person my dog thinks I am.
Now the preacher’s been real good to me, But I know who’s really been there in a jam. Lord help me be the kind of person my dog thinks I am.”
Country ballads often convey redemption such as George Jones’ classic “The Right Left Hand”:
“And the vows I took before Were all forever more But no matter how I tried, they came undone.
I put a golden band on the right left hand this time And the right left hand put a golden band on mine.”
“I made a wish upon a star I could have a brand new car Got tired of wishing So I stole one.
Seventeen and knew it all My dreams were big, but my thoughts were small So many roads somehow I chose The wrong one.
I wish mom could see me now And how I’ve turned it all around Lately I’ve been going down The right road.
But Jesus and mama always loved me Even when the devil took control Jesus and mama always loved me This I know.”
Now to finish, I have to share some of the fictitious country-western titles I’ve kept in my files for years – from the Oregonian’s former “The Edge” column. I don’t think either Kacey Musgrave or even Willie Nelson is going to sing any of these:
She was a bootlegger’s daughter and I loved her still
I’m sorry I made you cry, but at least your face is cleaner
I wish I were a woman so I could go out with a man like me
And in honor of the lawyers – “I can’t pass the bar and there’s one on my way home”
And Speaking of the Bar….
One of my favorite Beerchasing companions is attorney, Jim Westwood – a fellow Oregon City High School graduate where his mom, Catherine, tried to teach me the distinction between nominative and genitive cases for two years in Latin class.
In fact, to “honor” his mom, I’ll relate the dialogue at the last bar we visited when I gave the bartender my order:
Beerchaser I’ll have a martinus.
Jim: Don, that should be “martini
Beerchaser: Jim, if I had wanted a double, I would have told him.
Jim and I have been friends through legal-related issues and shared civic endeavors and then mug-raising for almost forty years. I tried to relate some of his story on my blog post published in 2013 where he was named a Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter.
This outstanding lawyer just turned eighty and the collage below, which I sent for his birthday, demonstrates his personality and affinity for Beerchasing.
Regardless of your political affiliation or philosophy, it’s imperative – possibly more than any time in US history – that Americans have a good grasp of the US Constitution. And I could go into a rant about the dearth of effective civic courses in our high schools.
That’s why Jim and his fellow Oregon coaches in the We the People National Competition deserve accolades both for their dedication and effectiveness in teaching these principles.
“In the last 20 years, teams representing the State of Oregon have earned six National titles, two National Runner-Up titles, six Third Place wins, and 23 top-ten finishes.
…The We the People National Finals, hosted by parent organization The Center for Civic Education, takes place each year in Washington, D.C. Approximately 48 teams compete each year, representing almost all U.S. states and territories.
Except for one year when he coached full time at Portland’s Parkrose High School, he was a unit coach at Grant every year between 2002 and 2020. And he’s remained pretty involved at Grant and other schools such as DeLaSalle North Catholic.
Four times the team he coached or assisted won the National Championship! The Grant Generals won the title in 2013, 2015 and 2018. In 2024, the team from Grant beat more than 48 state winners nationwide.
And you would be amazed at the regimen these kids face to prepare. They may not run wind sprints, but the equivalent of football Daily Doubles might consist of immersing themselves in the Bill of Rights in the morning and probing the nuances of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment over lunch. (#8)
“(Jim’s) a great teacher, a great coach and a great model citizen.’ He was honored last year as the 2012 Legal Citizen of the Year by the Classroom Law Project.”
To demonstrate why Jim is such a good coach, I first want to preface with the historic figure he most admires – George Washington. That’s why the Multnomah Bar Association in 2013 presented him with the individual portrait shown in the photo below by his Pulitzer winning friend, political cartoonist, Jack Ohman.
As we entered one bar a few years ago Jim commented:
“It must have been easy for George when he got asked for ID at a bar. All he had to do was show them a quarter.” (#9)
2013 MBA Award of Merit
Well in 2015, Coach Westwood announced to his team that if they won the National Championship, he would get a tattoo to recognize that victory. “1783” was inked on his left arm. For those wondering, it was the year Washington bade farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern and resigned as Commander-in-Chief.
Grant won again in 2018 and his second tattoo followed with a continuation of the Washington theme. Jim stated:
“The cursive writing above 1783 consists of the first two letters (with a small ‘o’ to complete the abbreviation of ‘George’) from George Washington’s signature on the Constitution as president of the 1787 Convention.”
He retired from being a full-time coach in 2019, but as Jim, with his characteristic modesty, then stated:
“I intended to fade into nothingness, but as has happened with other retiring coaches, Grant Con team is the Hotel California. You can never leave. The best description of me is ‘involved volunteer.”‘
I would suggest that the alumni from Jim’s team would not only row him across the Delaware River, but even try the Columbia (in honor of Jim’s law school.)
Although he was a volunteer and not a coach at the time of the 2024 victory, the ink flowed again and requires an explanation as well as an illustration of a lawyer’s logic:
“The Washington family coat of arms features three stars in a row. When Grant won Nationals last April, that was my thought for a tattoo design – three stars.
But then I was struck by the similarity of the Grant High logo – a ‘G’ with four stars in a row. So I killed two birds by doing the four-star design to honor both Washington and U.S. Grant High School.” (#10 – #11)
Washington Family Coat of ArmsGrant High LogoA Meld!
The Oregon competition for We The People took place on January 25th. Grant placed third and also received special recognition for their outstanding presentation. Cheers to the kids and their coaches for the exemplary commitment.
Welcome to Thebeerchaser. If you’re seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title above to see all of the photos and so the narrative is not clipped or shortened.(External photo attribution at the end of the post #1)
Happy New Year (and) Birthday!
Now I’m not trying to start the year off on a negative tone, but I thought this observation from my file collection reeked with wisdom:
“Denny’s has a slogan, ‘If it’s your birthday, the meal is on us.’ If you’re in Denny’s and it’s your birthday, the chances are excellent that your life sucks!”
Bar Profitability (#2)
I recently read a short article by a guy (probably an Economics major at an SEC school) that stated, “After pouring one shot of liquor, the income from the rest of the bottle is pure profit….” He should try telling that to one of the hundreds (or thousands) of bar owners who have gone out of business since the pandemic.
To lend credence in refuting this idiot’s assertion, I came across the following which itemizes the actual cost of a martini in five cities. https://vinepair.com/articles/martini-cost-breakdown/ For context, I mentioned martinis in my last post about the great bar – The Holy Ghost in Portland, Oregon – where we had martinis which cost $14 each.
The article gives the price for the patron at classy bars in five US cities – New York City $20, Charleston $14, Los Angeles $16, Phoenix $15 and Chicago $16. (#3)
More overhead than just the gin and olive!
It then gives an overhead calculation for each city. To illustrate, let’s just take the operating costs for the Chicago martini at the classy Club Lucky with the price of $16.
So, for the guys who slowly nurse their drinks over conversation about the plight of the Chicago Bears, it takes a lot of customers to keep this establishment afloat.
A poignant quote about economists is from John Kenneth Galbraith:
“Economics is extremely useful as a form of employment for economists.” (#5)
But if you want to know about economic viability, I advise that listening to a financial expert rather than some guy who probably played linebacker at the University of Alabama is wise.
College Memories and the King of Cool
Followers of this blog may remember a number of posts where I’ve related fond memories of my SAE fraternity days at Oregon State University. The bonds established during those four years have continued over more than fifty years (gads, am I that old…?).
Whether it was learning how to study (which I largely ignored in high school) by having mandatory study tables from 7 to 10 each night as a freshman (unless achieving over a 3.0 GPA), we learned about accountability as a “rook” by getting up each morning at 6:30 AM with members of our class when we cleaned the heads or helped cook breakfast.
We learned to adapt by slumbering in one of four twenty-five bed sleeping porches. The lessons ingrained were not imparted in classes in Western Civ or Intro to Sociology.
And there were lasting memories such as football games including the incredible upset over the #1 rated USC Trojans led by OJ Simpson in 1967 – the year of the OSU Giant Killers.
We can’t forget concerts by entertainers such as Three-Dog Night, Petula Clark and Lou Rawls, house dances with pre-functions, the Inter-fraternity Sing, intramural championships and the Civil War game. Comraderie with my fellow NROTC midshipmen and even second-term Calculus (not!) are part of the recollection. (#6 – #7)
I even learned from my room-head when I was a freshman that it was cool to blow your nose in a dirty undershirt (he maintained that no-one would ever know) – a practice I sustained for years until the first time I tried it after getting married. Janet informed me that if I ever did that again, I would do all the family’s laundry forever.
And these friendships have been sustained throughout the years including some great Beerchasing events, attending football games in Corvallis and sadly, memorial services including the last two years for SAE Brothers Duane “Thumper” Barton and Charlie “Buck” Adams where we serenaded the departed bros with the SAE song.
Now, some might say, “Dirt (that was my college nickname), you are living in the past;” however, I would remind them of Helen Keller’s statement:
“So long as the memory of certain beloved friends lives in my heart, I shall say that life is good.”
Now as an example, take my fraternity brother, Craig (The Dude) Hanneman (a former Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter, who I first met when he came to the SAE house as a freshman on a football scholarship in 1967. He was involved in football and I in NROTC and with the normal college schedules, we didn’t get to know each other well until winter term of 1968.
Each class slept on sleeping porches with bunks – and we also had four-person study rooms with a desk and closet for each guy. There was a bench-couch and table at the end under a window where we put the hi-fi so we could play vinyl tunes.
We were assigned these rooms each term by the House Manager and Hanneman was the youngster in the room and I was one class ahead as a sophomore. I knew he was a guy (with a rural background) from Turner which I originally thought was a truck-stop somewhere in Eastern Oregon or Idaho.
My 33LPs were of popular groups like the Four Seasons, the Mamas and Papas and The Temptations. I assumed Craig would favor country-western icons like George Jones or Merle Haggard, but on the first days I came back from class, he was playing Dean Martin.
When I questioned him, he pointed out that Dino was known as “The King of Cool” and maintained that I too would learn to love him. Well, that didn’t prove to be the case, except for one song, which I played over and over while we both sang along – Thirty More Miles to San Diego…(#8)
The King of Cool
I subsequently learned that the song was track 10 on the album “Happiness is Dean Martin” – a title that didn’t comport with my perceptions. That said, I also liked the song “Open Up the Door – Let the Good Times In” which we adopted as our motto in Room 2 although it had a negative impact on our GPAs.
I also pointed out to Craig that thirty miles north of San Diego – besides being the location of Legoland – was a drive of 16 hours or 989 miles from Corvallis, so the likelihood of us having a beer there rather than Price’s Tavern in downtown Corvallis was minimal.
While his taste in music was questionable, I immediately learned that the Hanneman’s sense of humor was robust. As I mentioned above, freshman (rooks) at the house could garner demerits from the House Manager for missing or showing up to morning work or study tables late.
Upper classmen told us that these demerits would be recorded on our college transcripts and could keep us from getting a job or into grad school and eventually heaven.
I still have in my files, the most cherished demerit from those years that was authored by Craig Hanneman during an all-house work party to get the house in shape for homecoming weekend. It speaks for itself.
Joel McDonald, the House Manager, was a wonderful guy and after college became a minister. We were glad to know that this demerit didn’t keep him for gaining admission to seminary…..
Or upon retirement from the NFL because of injury, own and manage a 200-acre farm and forest operation for seven years before being elected County Commissioner of Polk County, Oregon in 1985.
He followed with a career as a corporate executive at Willamette Industries, Weyerhaeuser and at the Oregon Foresty Industry Council for a combined twenty-two years. Now, I will probably be admonished for the preceding by my old friend because he’s very modest and tries to avoid accolades, but he was also a great family man.
And while his career achievements are admirable, what endears him to his friends is his sense of adventure and expanding his horizons – that and his loyalty to friends. Dude and his football teammates ran with the bulls in Pamplona (picture below) has ridden his Harley thousands of miles on road trips on multiple continents and rafted serious rivers.
Oh yeah, there was also his summit of Mount Everest in 2012 – one of the Seven Summits which he completed in 2019. In fact, he is one of the few members of the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame to be inducted for two sports – football and mountain climbing.
I stay in touch with Dude and we have periodic Beerchasings – with the SAEs including the one below from the Gemini pub in Lake Oswego.
And, of course, Dino and our favorite song comes up. For example, this e-mail after I congratulated him on the Mount Everest climb:
“Okay, I’ll admit it, all those late-night sessions playing “flinchies” (that’s another story…..) really hardened me up to climb Everest! And to prove some things never change, you’ll be pleased to know I had plenty of Dean Martin tunes on my iPod Nano to help drown out the noisy wind at night.”
Flash Forward
On the afternoon of October 31, 2024, I was trying to figure out how to surreptitiously transfer to my desk drawer, some of the Snickers candy bars we had for youngsters coming to our house on Halloween.
While I was in my office trying to keep Janet from seeing my clandestine depletion of what I thought was detrimental to youngsters’ dental health, a text popped up on my phone with the following two photos:
I was aware from an e-mail two days before from Dude telling me that he was departing on an adventure that would take him through Southern California and stating:
“Dirt, I’m driving through San Diego tomorrow night….and leaving tugged a tad at my heart thinking of the good memories of our time in Room 2 listening to Dean Martin and only thirty miles to go. If I see a road sign that says SD thirty miles, trust me, I’m taking a picture.”
Well, the picture on the above left is not of a road sign, but of Craig’s GPS, which caused him to bring up the golden oldie on the right. Go figure!
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What a year it’s been, and the post below is an amalgamation of a bunch of random thoughts and clips I’ve collected. Although a time of upheaval, we have much about which to be thankful.
As the photo (above right) suggests, why not raise a mug of my favorite Benedictine Brewery beer – Hairshirt IPA. Perhaps it can also help allay your guilt while you enjoy a great beer.
Here’s to Our First Responders and Health Care Professionals
I’m extremely thankful for both first responders and health care professionals – not only at this time of year, but every day. I admit a bias, because both of our daughters are registered nurses (Lisa – radiation/oncology clinic and Laura – hospital pediatric emergency department) and I am proud and amazed at their dedication and expertise.
I could go on, but these two photos (both from the archives) express it more aptly:
Oregon Health Sciences University is a large organization and gets a lot of bad press, but the patient care we have gotten there from every provider and all staff has been outstanding.
The City of West Linn is a suburb twelve miles south of Portland, where we’ve made our home for the last forty-two years. With a population of 28,000, it’s an ideal place to reside.
The City Government is effective and services including the Police Department are excellent. It’s across the Willamette River from historic Oregon City, where I lived from the time I moved to Oregon in 1959 and graduated from high school. (#5 – #7)
I met Janet, my wife of forty-four years, at an Oregon City Planning Commission meeting in 1979 and she subsequently became the Assistant City Manager of West Linn, before working in the private sector.
I’d been impressed with the West Linn Police Department and after we both retired, I decided to try to support them and find out a little bit more. So in 2022, I took advantage of the program entitled “Meet the Chief” and had a wonderful chat with him over coffee.
Chief Peter Mahuna is a native of Maui and a former college athlete (basketball) at Pacific University where he graduated with a BS in Social Work. He has extensive law enforcement credentials and has been Chief since November 2021. (#8 – #9)
I’d always wanted to schedule a “Ride-along” with a police officer and based on the positive experience with the Chief signed up in the winter of 2023:
“(The goal is to) provide an opportunity for the community to see first-hand, the day-to-day workings of law enforcement, including familiarizing the public with the complex and unpredictable nature of police work.”
I rode along with Officer Matthew Goode on a Wednesday evening from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. He introduced himself and gave me a tour of the Police Station which is a nice facility. During that period, we only encountered traffic violations, but I had a chance to have a great conversation.
Officer Goode earned a BS in Finance and then graduated from the Oregon Police Academy before becoming a WLPD officer in 2019. Chief Mahuna is a big man, but Matthew is significantly taller as you can see from the photos.
He’s a fine representative of the Police Dept. and loves his job although he was candid about the frustrations and challenges in serving, given perceptions of the police by many citizens.
For example, our last stop occurred after we followed a car for about a mile that was weaving and crossing the yellow line in a sparsely populated area of the City. It certainly appeared as if the driver was intoxicated.
When he could safely pull the car over, it was in the driveway of the owner. Rather than being intoxicated, the young woman, aged 16, had just obtained her driver’s license and had not driven at night previously.
Mathew cautioned her and didn’t issue a citation, but the girl’s young neighbor came out of her house and chastised him for making the stop in the driveway with his red-lights flashing – go figure!
He also told me that for every encounter or call, they have to enter in the car’s computer, the gender, race and age of the person stopped which goes to the State of Oregon. Each department’s statistics are analyzed to determine if there is a preponderance of race from the people stopped.
I was impressed with Officer Goode and it did not surprise me last week to see that he and a fellow West Linn officer received lifesaving awards for separate incidents. Goode, in response to a call on Sept. 11 helped save the life of an unconscious 2-year-old who had stopped breathing. Chief Mahuna stated:
“You immediately began administering CPR, checked the child’s pulse and began chest compressions. TVF&R arrived and you continued chest compressions working alongside TVF&R in your attempt at saving this child’s life.
After many minutes the child began breathing again. The child was then rushed to the hospital and the following day the child’s vital signs had finally been stabilized.” (#10)
Officers receive award
Life in West Linn
West Linn is an upscale community and has a lower crime rate than many cities. Recent statistics from one data source based on 11/23 figures show:
There were 310 total crimes committed in West Linn the last reporting year.
On a rate basis, there were 1,154.9 total crimes per 100K people in West Linn.
The overall crime rate in West Linn is -50.31% below the national average.
West Linn ranks #11 safest out of 103 cities in Oregon.
West Linn ranks #4,253 safest out of 9,869 cities in the United States.
I assume that one frustration for officers is the volume of mundane and frivolous calls to which they have to respond. The West Linn Tidings reports these each week and I’ve been saving some of the best which are somewhat humorous.
That said, I’m well aware that a police officer never knows when a routine call might be hazardous or involve saving a life. As unbelievable as it sounds, none of these are made up. Heres’ some from the last several years.
10/13/ – 4:55 pm– A woman said a man was sitting outside a church and followed her, so she had to run inside and lock the door. Police contacted the man who was a volunteer at the church and had arrived a bit early for an event that evening. (#11)
Bank security issues?
6/13/ – 4:22 pm – A caller expressed concern about a bank on Hood Street closing early.
4/10 – 9:54 am – An employee of a bank on Salamo Road called police because of suspicious circumstances. An occupied vehicle had been in the parking lot outside the bank for a half-hour and another vehicle showed up fifteen minutes later. An officer contacted the vehicles’ occupants who were just waiting for the bank to open. (#12 – #13)
Musical Instruments
7/11/ – 5:44 pm – Police received a complaint about people playing bagpipes on Willamette Drive.
8/4 – 2:41 pm – A woman complained about a husband and wife playing the accordion on Hood Street.
Children and Young People (#14 – #16)
7/25 – 2:04 pm – A missing child was found in a garage. Apparently he hid there after he was scared by a shadow in the backyard.
3/15 – 12:09 am – Girls buying two cases of toilet paper at Walmart claimed it was for a “school project.”
8/7 – 8:12 pm– A caller said a staff member at an undisclosed location grabbed a child’s tongue and yanked it.
1/28 – 11:48 am – Police received a call about a sixteen year-old who was expressing sexual frustration about his mother during therapy.
But the most bizarre incident has to be demonstrated with the headline from the West Linn Tidings and the news clip.
And just so you don’t think my former residence and crosstown high school rival isn’t squeaky clean, I leave you with this one from the City of Oregon City Police Log:
6/18 – An unconfirmed report of marijuana plants growing in the Senior Citizens’ Gardens remains a mystery. (#17)
The above incidents were culled from hundreds contained in the clippings I’ve saved and I have many more which I may post in the future. My wife will at least be thankful that I’m finally recycling these!
Moda Center – Home of the Portland TrailblazersThe Clackamas County Courthouse in Oregon City.
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Well, it’s time for the NBA Season to “kickoff” and the Portland Trailblazers – rebuilding since their NBA Championship in 1977 – evoke a lot of good memories as well as frustrations.
The zenith was the 1977 victory over the Dr. J (Julius Erving – led Philadelphia ’76ers) where the underdog Blazers, coached by the legendary, Jack Ramsey, lost the first two games and then won four straight to win the series.
The late Bill Walton was named the MVP which led Philadelphia Coach, Gene Shue to comment, “Bill Walton is the best player for a big man who ever played the game of basketball.” (Wikipedia) (#3 – #5)
But there have been bad times as well for our pro hoopers. For example, the Portland Jail Blazer era:
“One of the most infamous periods in Trail Blazers history is the era of the ‘Jail Blazers.’ Though the team had experienced its fair share of controversy and issues in prior seasons, many consider the ‘Jail Blazers’ saga starting during the 2000–2001 season.”
Fortunately, the players with questionable character during that era, were eventually traded and another rebuilding started in 2006 with better citizens running the floor.
For example, Isaiah (JR) Rider who “….gave us a basketball gift to remember — the most unlikely shot in NBA history.” (Yahoo Sports.com)
“His life fell apart after his forced retirement from the league in 2001, but he seems to be picking up the pieces. He started a kids’ basketball training program in Arizona called Sky Rider. According to his Twitter account, he’s a ‘current family man’ and his 6-year-old son is a spelling bee champion.
But my best memory of the Blazers was from 1979. I had one-third of a season ticket – two tickets to about twelve games that I split with some work colleagues. I asked Janet Dancer, who I met at a night meeting, for a date when she was working for the City of Oregon City and I was the Chair of the Planning Commission and our first date was to a Trailblazer game.
March 29, 1980
After being married for forty-four years this year, she still kids me about not taking her out to dinner before the game. I have always responded, “Two Blazer tickets cost enough for one date!”
Mug Shots…
These days, I don’t go to many Blazer games; however, I always watch them on TV notwithstanding the fact that they haven’t gone to the playoffs in the last three years and in 2019-20 lost in the first round.
The team still offers some good basketball to watch and having a beer while “spectating” in my Lazy Boy Recliner while watching on a big screen is almost better than being at the game.
Now given my Beerchasing hobby, I have a lot of mugs and beer glasses. Shown below are just a few of my favorites from my exploits over the last thirteen years.
But to enhance the experience for the coming season, I decided to visit the NBA Store which offers a good selection of mugs including this one for the Trailblazers. You can use this link to procure some discounts. https://capitaloneshopping.com/s/store.nba.com/coupon (#6)
Rip City!
A Collaboration
And based on an announcement this week, the first beer in my new Blazer mug will be a Rip City IPA:
“Whether at the game or watching from home, this beer is the perfect game-time drink. ‘We wanted to create an IPA that embodied the taste of Oregon,’ says Rogue Brewmaster Joel Shields. ‘It’s piney, crisp, and perfect for cheering on the Trail Blazers!'” (#7)
Perfect game-time drink
Players in the Other Court
I worked with lawyers for over thirty years during my career – first as the Business Manager at the Oregon State Bar and then retiring after twenty-five years at the Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt law firm – the last twelve as the Chief Operating Officer. I therefore have a keen interest in legal issues and also love the lawyer mentality.
On the whole, the many lawyers with whom I worked, were dedicated and collegial professionals who worked diligently for their clients and to uphold the Rule of Law.
My employment at the Bar and the firm as well as knowing so many lawyers, however, meant my service as a juror was, in all likelihood, not going to happen. And jury duty was something I always wanted to experience.
One time in a criminal trial, I didn’t survive voir-dire because I answered the prosecutor’s question with another question. I was the victim of her first preemptory challenge. The other times when I was a member of a jury pool, I knew either one or both of the trial lawyers and was excused.
We became friends and after I related my tale of woe of never serving on a jury, he said:
“Well Don, it’s not serving on a jury, but I have some interesting trials on my docket, and you are welcome to sit in my courtroom and observe.”
Susan HammerNo jury service for you, Beerchaser!
Jerry, a Georgetown Law grad, was appointed to the bench in 1999, after serving for a number of years as an assistant district attorney and then in private practice specializing in complex litigation.
And in 2013 I subsequently observed a one-week murder trial (interestingly enough the victim was shot in an east Portland dive bar) and then a fascinating month-long trial which resulted in the largest verdict for a plaintiff in Oregon history – a class action suit against British Petroleum – described as “Oregon’s Landmark Class-Action Suit.”
But alas, Beerchaser.com followers, you will have to await the story of that experience and some other court-related tales in Part II of this post – stay tuned…. (#9)
Welcome back to Thebeerchaser. If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title above to see all of the photos and the video at the end of the post and so the narrative isn’t clipped or shortened.(External photo attribution at the end of the post # 1)
Our final destination on the eight-day May cruise originating in Montreal, was Boston. We debarked from the ship on Saturday morning and our flight back to Portland, Oregon wasn’t until early Sunday evening. So, one and one-half days to enjoy this great city.
As mentioned in the previous post, we decided to hit historic Fenway Park for a 4:00 PM Saturday game – Red Sox vs the Washington Nationals.
But we had all morning and so (with some reluctance on my part) hit the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art – less than one-half mile from our hotel. My aversion to art relates back to my childhood when I took classes at the Cincinnati Art Museum. (Both the instructors and I were elated when my instruction ended.)
The Institute is housed in an impressive building and the exhibits were creative and expressive even though I didn’t understand many of them. (#2)
For example, one exhibit displayed the works of Firelei Baez, Dominican artist based in New York City, who wrote on an explanatory poster:
“My works are propositions, meant to create alternate pasts and potential futures, questioning history and culture in order to provide a space for reassessing the present.”
I contemplated what that meant as we were drinking beer before the Red Sox game and in between innings. (#3)
Dominican artist
On to Fenway
The hotel maître d’ gave us directions for using public transportation to get to Fenway. First, take a bus to South Station (officially – The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center) of Boston’s MBTA – “T” – transit system.)
South Station
There are three levels to South Station and for help, we groveled and got a grumpy edict from a Transit Authority Officer:
“Take the Red Line to Park Street then the Green Line to Kenmore. Don’t screw it up or you’ll end up at Boston College.” Then he grinned (a little) and said, “Worst case is you’ll never return and your fate will be unknown….” (#4)
Don’t screw it up!
Well, after a bus trip and two subway lines, I flashed back to the Art Institute and wondered if we had just “created alternate pasts and potential futures.” We then walked about four blocks to Fenway and joined an excited throng about two hours before game time.
When I say, “excited throng”, I have to clarify because I realized that a significant portion of the crowd – lined up for several blocks – was waiting for a concert at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway.
“(It’s) a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose live performance venue that occupies roughly 91,500 square feet on four levels and accommodates 5,005 patrons.” (#5 – #6)
Not the kind of beer I was looking for,,,,,
It was somewhat chilly and I wondered why most of the adolescent girls in line were dressed in tutus – in many cases supplemented by capes and tiaras without coats. I asked a security guard and he said they were waiting for a Madison Beer concert that was scheduled to start at 7:30.
I thought Madison Beer was a medium-bodied, low-carbonation pilsner brewed in Wisconsin, but I found out that she’s a twenty-five-year-old singer- songwriter with ties to Justin Bieber.
Fenway was one of sixty-three concerts on her 2023-2024 “Spinnin” world tour. These hardy kids had lined up five hours (or more) early for the evening concert for which they paid an average ticket price of $143.
Janet laughed and said, “Well, that’s one event at which you’d be way out of place even though you are Thebeerchaser!”
We just wanted general admission tickets to the game and an outgoing and well-dressed guy approached us and said that he had tickets in the Green Monster (left field), but unfortunately couldn’t make it. (Janet said, “No way,”as I was about to dig into my wallet for cash and she was the wise one on that scheme.)
So, at the Red Sox box office we got bleacher seats in the right field grandstand – each for $40. (#7)
We still had adequate time to check out a bar and brewery, so we popped into the famous Bleacher Bar – in the bowels of Fenway Park:
The Bleacher Bar has a great history and character:
“Situated beneath the bleachers in Fenway Park’s centerfield, a few feet away from the Ted Williams Red Seat, is Lansdowne Street’s greatest attraction….With a huge garage window that looks directly into the stadium, Bleacher Bar has earned its title as one of the most exceptional sports bars in the world.
“Bleacher Bar officially opened its doors in 2008 but, upon entering, you’ll think that we’ve been around a lot longer. Previously used as the visiting team’s batting cage for several years in addition to field storage, there’s an intimate, nostalgic vibe about our bar that almost needs to be experienced in person to be fully understood.”
As you can see below, however, trying to get a beer right before a game would be as challenging as scoring front row seats at a Madison Beer concert. But we enjoyed seeing it.
We walked around the stadium, down David Ortiz Drive – renamed in 2017 for Big Papi – the Red Sox legend who played there for thirteen years and passed figures and statuettes of famous baseball icons such as No 42 – Jackie Robinson.
“The two-story, 13,000-square-foot space will feature four bars, a lineup of beers, hard seltzers, and hard smoothies, and a full kitchen serving pizzas, salads, tacos, and more.”
We split a pint of their flagship beer Cloud Candy IPA (6.5% – 60 IBU). “Tropical aromas and notes of papaya, mango, and star fruit dominate this juicy IPA.”
This is an accurate description of the brew and we liked it. We also enjoyed our conversation with personable Jack, a new and enthusiastic employee. (#8 – #9)
The Game
Fenway Park broke the all-time Major League record for consecutive sellouts with 456 on September 8, 2008, was the site of the first open-air boxing show in Boston in 1920 and has hosted the World Series eleven times. It lived up to its reputation as one of the most well-known sports venues in the world and a symbol of Boston. (Wikipedia)
Just walking in and mingling with the crowds as they hit the refreshment stands (we were surprised to see Vodka and Lemonade among the choices…) to heading up to our seats in the grandstand and taking in the expansive structures surrounding the diamond and outfield was worth the journey there.
I have to note that the only disappointment was going down to the beer concession under the grandstand and being forced to enter a tip for the guy drawing me a draft Budweiser. (At least the guy at the turnstile when we entered the stadium didn’t put his hand out….)
The Red Sox beat the Guardians, and while the game wasn’t exhilarating, the experience was. Standing and singing with a united crowd “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at the seventh inning stretch in America’s oldest active baseball stadium, made us forget the divisions in America and is an experience that neither of us will forget. (You’ll hear it if you click on the photo below,)
In several previous posts, I’ve covered our seven-day Holland America cruise from Montreal to Boston in early May that Janet and I made accompanied by our good friends, Jeff and Susan Nopper. (External Photo Attribution at the end of the post #1.)
Then our day in Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island – home of another splendid edifice – St. Dunstan’s Cathedral Basilica. (Clockwise – left to right below)
I shared how we didn’t even try to quaff our daily quota of fifteen drinks each – as unbelievable as that Holland America gimmick sounds – but I could have actually downed three Americanos, seven beers and five martinis and not paid extra based on the cruise package we had.
Even with the outstanding and plentiful food available, I wouldn’t have fulfilled that daily beverage quota. But for the first time, I discovered the wonders of a Smokey Boulevardier cocktail. (#3)
And the people we met were memorable ranging from 87-year-old electrician, Sonny, and his educator wife from Florida to Jennifer and JD – middle aged Texans who had recently ridden their Harleys to South Dakota for the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and singer Anne Cochran.
We met Anne at breakfast. She is the superb vocalist from Cleveland (with a trial lawyer husband she met after serving on one of his juries) who, besides her own singing career for many years, has accompanied her friend going back to their teen years, Grammy-winning pianist, Jim Brickman, both in his albums and on tours. (#4)
A Stellar Spectacle
Late in the evening of the sixth night as were cruising in the Atlantic Ocean from Halifax to Bar Harbor, Maine, we were leaving the bar (not even close to our quota that day) after listening to the great combo featuring a talented female vocalist.
In the passageway heading to our stateroom, some crew members were excitedly running to the bow of the ship with their cameras.
We heard one shout, “It’s the Northern Lights”and figured if the crew thought it was extraordinary, we should take a look. And it was amazing, although interestingly enough, not as visible without looking through your camera.
This phenomenon was actually a powerful solar storm that appeared across the globe according to news reports including this one from The Oregonian. I guess we could have seen the same show from our own house, but it was still a thrill on the bow of the ship.
“Brilliant purple, green, yellow and pink hues of the Northern Light were reported worldwide. In the U.S., the lights pushed much farther south than normal….In the Pacific Northwest, they could even be seen from the Portland area.
…..the best aurora views may come from phone cameras which are better at capturing light than the naked eye.”
Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park
Bar Harbor was the only port where we had to use a tender – or small boat to transport us to shore from where we anchored.
Bar Harbor is a charming city, and we had visited it and toured Acadia National Park several years ago. We enjoyed lunch there and a van tour around the beautiful Park – one of our favorites.
And when visiting in 2018, we had excellent beer at Atlantic Brewing – the Midtown location, so before returning to the ship, we looked forward to returning:
“Atlantic Brewing is a family-owned brewery located in Bar Harbor and surrounded by Acadia National Park. The brewery was founded in downtown Bar Harbor inside the Lompoc Cafe.
As demand grew, and the company outgrew its space, it moved down the road to an estate brewery built on the site of a 19th century Bar Harbor farmstead…
In 2017, the Midtown Brewery opened in downtown Bar Harbor, a block away from the original location. Midtown is a modern brewery and taproom focusing on pilot and specialty batches.”
Given the good selection, we couldn’t decide so had a small sampler. Afterwards, we had a great chat with Thomas who manages the Midtown location. The lower left picture shows a sampler we had in 2018, so we moderated in 2024 (No. Not because we had fifteen drinks waiting for us back at the ship…..)
Our three four-ounce samples, shown above, were Blueberry Ale, Mountain Hopper IPA and Atlantic Summer Ale – all excellent brews.
Boston – Our Debarkation Port
We sailed from Bar Harbor with scheduled Saturday arrival at around 10 AM in Boston. With some regret, I realized that I didn’t participate in several cruise activities – “Coloring for Adults”, “Origami Folding – Paperbomb” or the “Art of Flower Arranging.”
Walking around the third deck multiple times daily, however, and a few fitness center workouts at least kept me from gaining any weight notwithstanding the excellent food. (Janet also pointed out that alcohol has calories….)
Now Janet and I had been to Boston multiple times on work trips and once since my 2011 retirement. Jeff and Susan were catching the one non-stop Alaska Air flight to Portland that evening at 7:30. Before the trip, I had negotiated with Janet asking:
“When are we going to get back to Beantown again? Let’s stay over Saturday night and eat at Giacomo’s – our favorite restaurant in the North End and explore the City on Sunday until we hit Logan Airport.”(#5)
“The Seaport is a formerly industrial area that has undergone an extensive redevelopment effort in recent years…As of 2017, it was the fastest growing part of Boston and has stimulated significant economic growth in the city. The restoration of the Seaport began with the completion of the Big Dig.”
I reassured Janet that it was good that we were seeing it now as according to Wikipedia, “The Seaport District is at risk of climate-related flooding over the next 30 years.” (#6)
Our Boston Weekend
In the slim hope that we’d get to see the Red Sox play at historic Fenway Park, I googled their schedule and found that they had a home game at 4:00 on Saturday afternoon. We debated just relaxing at the hotel given that we would require public transportation.
Remembering our visit to another historic stadium – Wrigley Field on a 2008 business trip to Chicago, which was fantastic, however, we decided on an adventure. I’ll share that in the final post on our cruise, but before the game, we had to check out a brewery.
Waiting for the Cubs to play at Wrigley
We walked to nearby Harpoon Brewery and Beer Hall. It has a distinctive exterior and expansive and attractive interior. In 1986 the Harpoon Brewery received Brewing Permit #001 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
It has a commonality with the Northwest and the origins of craft beer because:
“Harpoon was the first brewery in New England to brew an India Pale Ale….and first sold as a summer seasonal in 1993 and quickly became the brewery’s flagship beer. Harpoon IPA quickly became a staple of the American India pale ale style and was found on tap at bars and restaurants in Greater Boston.
In July 2014, while then the twelfth-largest craft brewery in the United States, the company became employee-owned.”(Wikipedia)
We had just consumed a bowl of New England Clam Chowder in a nearby bistro, so didn’t get to try one of Harpoon’s signature pretzels. Tim, our server, who attended college nearby was friendly and briefed us on the history. (#7)
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Our cruise from Montreal to Boston on Holland America’s Volendam continued and the sixth day we made port at Halifax, Nova Scotia – a delightful and picturesque city – with a current population of 441,000 – the capital and most populous municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. (Wikipedia)
Halifax has the social, cultural and economic features of a major urban center, but rugged natural beauty nearby within its boundaries:
” …famed for its massive natural port, which is one of the world’s largest and greatest of its sort. Halifax was created in 1749, and the Halifax Harbor has given significant benefits throughout the years.” (Port of Halifax)
Given the early date in the season, we were the only cruise ship in port, however, that was an anomaly. Besides being an international marine shipping and cargo center:
” In 2019, the Port of Halifax had 179 cruise vessel calls with over 323,000 passengers aboard. It is estimated that cruise passengers alone contribute about $172 million to Halifax’s economy every year.” (#2 – #3)
Nearby Natural Beauty
While I was most enthused to visit a thriving brewery very close to our pier (see below), we first visited a beautiful natural area reached by a twenty-seven mile scenic bus ride to Peggy’s Cove:
Although it was cloudy with light rain, the destination and the history made it worth seeing. The surrounding community also appeared to be a close-knit group bound by braving harsh Atlantic weather and their occupations as can be evidenced below.
“On September 2, 1998, Swissair Flight 111 crashed into St. Margaret’s Bay approximately eight kilometres (five miles) southwest of Peggy’s Cove with the loss of all 229 aboard. The cove became one of the staging areas for first responders that were involved in the search-and-rescue response, crash recovery operation, and investigation of the crash.
Many of the CCGA volunteers that were first to approach the crash site were privately owned fishing boats that were operating out of Peggy’s Cove and surrounding harbours.”
The memorial below is a tribute to the crew and passengers on that ill-fated flight. (#4)
Let’s not forget about Beerchasing…!
We hadn’t had a beer at a brewery for two days when we had enjoyed a pint in Charlottetown at the Gahan Brewery. The selection of beer on the ship was dismal although they had great martinis, but I was ready to hit this brewery on the south waterfront.
And it has a good story spurred by its motto “Art, Science and Good ‘ol Hard Work.” Garrison Brewing originally opened in 1971 and has expanded. Located in a wonderful historic building, it evidently has had one of its brewpubs in this location since 2006.
They had a decent selection of beers on tap, but we were delighted with our selection – Janet had a Tall Ship East Coast Ale:
“Brewed with adventure, craft, pride & independence, this beer delivers on true refreshment with an easy-going style. Drop anchor & hoist a glass.” I also loved the fact that it’s made with Willamette (Oregon) hops.
I’m a big fan of red ales and Garrison’s Irish Red Ale was wonderful and the initial beer brewed when Garrison opened:
“Ruby red with a smooth malt base, Irish Red Ale is where it all began. Taste the beer that launched a brewery.“ (#5 – #6)
And Garrison Brewing had a great atmosphere ranging from our friendly bartender, Wilken, to the pet-friendly environment evidenced by the poster in the photo below. We were sorry that we would not be able to visit their other location.
From some quick research, it appeared that Halifax has a significant number of quality craft breweries which may merit a return visit, but our ship was ready to weigh anchor and head to Bar Harbor, Maine, our next port-of-call.
And this day meant some travel in the Atlantic Ocean which I was anticipating. The map below is in reverse order and doesn’t include our port of origin, Montreal, but it will give you an idea of the two remaining days of the cruise. (#7)
The People
One of the unexpected joys of this trip was the people we met besides our long-time friends and cruise companions – Jeff and Susan Nopper, I have mentioned in previous posts. There was Brad and Tammy from Colorado Springs.
Brad, when he found out about my Beerchasing hobby, gave an immediate invitation to visit his city and hit the numerous quality breweries. I could attest to this based on a previous Colorado road trip and reminded him that I had seen Colorado Springs labeled “The Napa Valley of Beer.”
He was especially enthused about Red Leg Brewing and Janet and I will visit it on a September road trip. (#8 – #9)
Then there was Sonny – one of the most energetic eighty-seven year old guys I’ve seen who is still working as an electrician in Florida. We ate dinner with him and his wife (whose name escapes me) – a few years younger and who still works as a teacher.
I can’t forget JD and Jennifer, a very friendly couple from Houston, who we met at the bar one night. Both a few years from retirement – he works as a petroleum consultant and she in the legal field.
They had just returned from riding their Harleys to Sturgis for the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in the Black Hills of South Dakota – a ten-day event attended by over 500,000. What an interesting couple! (#10)
Ride to the Black Hills!
But the most interesting and engaging person we met was at a breakfast on the ship when an attractive woman came up and asked if she could join us as there was a vacant two-person table adjacent to ours.
Anne Cochran introduced herself and told us that her husband was playing Texas Holdem – one of the daily activities on the ship – and she was grabbing a late breakfast. (#11)
We started exchanging information and I gave her my Beerchasing card which she said her husband – a trial lawyer, would love.
She’s from Cleveland and related that she met him after serving on a jury in a trial that he won. Anne was very personable and I asked her what she did for a living. She modestly stated, “Well, I don’t know if you know of Jim Brickman, but I do vocal accompaniment for him.”
I replied that I certainly did know of Jim Brickman. He’s one of the most well-known solo pianists in the nation and a multiple Grammy winner. I have a bunch of his numbers on my iTunes.
“The hit-making songwriter is the best-selling solo pianist of our time, earning 22 Number One albums and 32 Top 20 Radio Singles.
He’s garnered two Grammy nominations, Gospel Music’s Dove Award, two SESAC Songwriter of the Year Awards, a Canadian Country Music Award, and is a member of Pandora’s ‘2 Billion Streams’ Club.” (https://www.jimbrickman.com/bio/) (#12 – #13)
Of course, I was curious and after breakfast checked out the Web. I first came across a clip from a 2010 CBS Good Morning Show where the duo performed “Never Alone” released in 2006.
Anne has a captivating background which has led to a long and impressive vocal career.
“Anne Cochran began her career as a teenage, lead vocalist in Cleveland Ohio…while earning her degree in Theater and Voice at Case Western Reserve University by day.
When Anne and her young friend, (the soon-to-become ‘Piano Romance Man’) Jim Brickman, entered and won a ‘You Light Up My Life’ radio contest, they began a stellar twenty-year stage and studio collaboration that has gone on to produce many hits, 4 PBS Specials and countless sold out shows throughout the world.”Story – Anne Cochran
To get another idea of the quality of her voice, check out this Youtube link to the number she recorded in 2008 entitled “Face of Your Heart.” (#14)
We saw Anne and her husband a night later in the lounge and had a nice conversation. They were both very enjoyable people and one of the highlights of the cruise.
Stay tuned for our final stop before ending the cruise in Boston. Bar Harbor was a wonderful stop for several reasons I will cover in my next post.
Welcome back to Thebeerchaser. If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title above to see all of the photos at the end of the post and so the narrative isn’t clipped or shortened. (External photo attribution at the end of the post #1)
The distance between the Port of Sydney on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia and Halifax, the destination on the sixth day of our Holland America cruise from Montreal to Boston was 277 nautical miles.
This meant the MS Volendam sailed most of the late afternoon and the night in the Atlantic Ocean allowing us to arrive the next morning in Halifax. (#2)
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While the Volendam was refreshingly smaller than the two prior Holland America ships on which we cruised, it’s still a very large vessel. Its maiden voyage was in 1999. Maximum speed is 23 knots.
With a total of ten decks, it has capacity of 1,432 passengers and complement of 647crew members. We could work off the excellent food by walking around the third deck – 3.5 rounds made a mile.
*1. Gross Tonnage is not a reference to the weight of a cargo ship. It refers to the capacity of a ship’s cargo. Tonnage is more of a metric for the government to levy taxes, fees, etc. The displacement tonnage of a ship (see below) is the ship’s weight.
*2. The beam is the width at the widest point.
The weather was better which meant some time to view the scenery as well as the nautical traffic. The latter fascinates me and brought back some memories of the two ships I was on during my brief service in the Navy which I’ll mention below.
For example, we passed the freighter – Algoscotia (shown below) – launched in 2004 and one of seven vessels owned by Algoma Tankers Ltd. – a subsidiary of Canada’s largest inland shipping company.
The ship is a chemical/oil tanker and according to one vessel-finder website, was sailing to Portugal. It’s currently docked in New York Habor.
Maritime Sidenote – I had a recent conversation with my former Schwabe law firm Managing Partner, Dave Bartz – not only an outstanding environmental lawyer, but also an expert in admiralty law.
I mentioned the cargo ship, MV Dali collision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March. Dave, in his continuing efforts to educate me, pointed out that it was actually an “allision.”
“In a collision, two moving objects strike each other; for example, two passing ships. An allision, however, involves an accident where only one of the objects is moving.
For instance, this maritime term can refer to an accident where a moving boat runs into a stationary bridge fender.” (Arnold and Itkin law firm)
(I subsequently used that fact in numerous conversations trying to show my erudition and now you know too.) (#3 – #4)
Retired maritime expert Dave Bartz
The Dali and the Francis Scott Key Bridge
For comparison purposes and to better understand the damage caused to the bridge, the Dali is a larger vessel than the Volendam with a gross tonnage of 95,000 vs. 61,000, a length of 984 feet vs. 778 feet and a beam of 158 feet vs.106 feet.
Digression — A Bit of Maritime Nerdery
Seeing the Algoscotia piqued my interest in light some of the similar freighters we saw on our 2017 Panama Canal cruise and the infamous Ever Given – involved in the 2021 Suez Canal obstruction.
It also harkened back memories of the USS John R. Craig – DD885 and the USS Bradley DE1041 – in the Navy destroyer and destroyer escort I spent some time on during NROTC midshipman summer training cruises in college.
For example, take a look at the statistics for the Algoscotia:
Gross Tonnage: 13,352
Length: 489 feet -149 meters
Beam: 24 meters
Now, the freighter is a big ship up close, but the Volendam dwarfed her – 1.6 times longer and a heck of a lot more volume or carrying capacity – close to five times – 61 tons compared to just over 13.
The USS John R. Craig
The John R. Craig, commissioned in 1945, was an old destroyer when I spent the summer of 1967 as a 3/c midshipman – a lot of it in the engine room and boiler room. Maximum speed was 34 knots.
This great ship had its ultimate demise twelve years later when it was decommissioned on 27 July 1979 and then sunk as a target off California on 6 June 1980. (#5)
USS John R. Craig – DD885
The John R. Craig had a total complement of 336 officers and crew. Now as a naive college NROTC guy, I thought it was a pretty big ship – over the length of a football field at 390 feet long – but you can see from the structural data below the Volendam was almost twice as long.
Displacement 3,460 tons
Length 390 feet – 119 meter
Beam 41 feet – 12.5 meters
The USS Bradley (#6)
USS Bradley – DE1041
I spent over three months on the Bradley, the summer of 1970, on a 1/c midshipman cruise. I was fortunate because I was the only 1/c midshipman on that vessel and the Executive Officer told me that I would replace the lieutenant in charge of the Deck Division when he went on leave in two weeks until he returned.
The Bradley was a much newer ship – launched in 1965, twenty years after the John R. Craig – with a total complement of 247 of which sixteen were officers. Maximum speed was 27 knots.
The Bradley had a less ignominious ending than the Craig. In September 1989, she was leased to Brazil and became the destroyer Pernambuco (D 30). She remained active in the Brazilian Navy into her 39th year afloat. The eventual auction and dismantling by a private company is fascinating.
Displacement 2,624 tons
Length 414 feet – 126 meters
Beam 44 feet – 13.4 meters
I became friends with the officers on the Bradley – it had a squared-away crew and commendable morale. I extended my time on the cruise until the officer returned from leave because of this.
The Captain had requested that I return to the ship upon my commissioning in March,1971 and I had orders to the Bradley. Unfortunately, skull injuries from a serious auto accident in January,1971 essentially ended my Navy service before that occurred.
How Big is Too Big??
Now, I was amazed at the size of the Liberian container ship MSC Arushi when she passed us in the Panama Canal in 2017. Her gross tonnage is 44,803 tons and length overall 921 feet (more than three football fields) with a container capacity of 4112.
The Suez Canal obstruction by the cargo ship Ever Given in 2021 raises the question as to whether there should there be limits to the size of vessels for a number of practical reasons.
“…. the Suez Canal was blocked for six days by the Ever Given, a container ship that had run aground in the canal. The 400-metre-long (1,300 ft), 224,000-ton, vessel was buffeted by strong winds on the morning of 23 March and ended up wedged across the waterway with its bow and stern stuck on opposite canal banks, blocking all traffic until it could be freed.” (Wikipedia) (#7 – #8)
The Suez Obstruction from the US Space Station
The Arushi, mentioned above, looked massive, but compared to the Ever Given almost seems like a yacht. The Ever Given – one of the largest ships ever built – is more than the length of four football fields and 400 feet longer than the Arushi. She can hold five times as many containers, or 20,124.
Keep in mind these facts for a standard 20-foot container:
“The standard dimensions are 20 feet long and eight feet wide. They weigh 5,200 pounds when empty and 62,000 pounds when fully loaded. The internal volume is the equivalent of 200 standard mattresses, two compact cars, or 9,600 wine bottles.” (Boxhub.com). (#9 – #10)
Whoa Baby!
Okay hypothetically, let’s say that you’re the Officer of the Deck of a large cargo ship and your radar operator reports a large “skunk”– (the common label used for unknown surface radar contacts – readyayeready.com) dead ahead on the horizon.
Now bear with me, so to speak, because the scenario may not be very probable, but it will help demonstrate my point below. You want to be cautious, so you order the helmsman who relays it to the ship engineer, “All engines stop – rudder amidship.”
How long does it take the vessel to stop? (#11)
Who are those guys anyway??
The answer is “More time (and distance) thank you think.”
“The stopping distance for a cargo ship depends on factors such as displacement, trim, speed, and type of machinery. Most vessels will travel approximately 5 to 12 times their own length before coming to rest from full ahead, taking 4 to 10 minutes to do so.
You have to pardon me for this long detour on maritime stuff and will have to wait for the next post to hear about Halifax and a great brewery there, but I couldn’t help myself although real naval experts can probably eviscerate some of my assumptions and statistics.
During World War II and to a certain extent to the current time, the large Navy ships such as aircraft carriers, battleships and cruisers have been the mainline weapons of the Navy along with submarines.
Compare these with the modern versions of battleships, aircraft carriers and cruisers. Even destroyers, known for the agility and maneuverability are a far cry from the USS John R. Craig as can be seen by the photo of the Zumwalt Class Destroyer.
“The warship is not categorically out of date, and the world’s most important militaries are still investing heavily in warships. But current trends suggest the large warship will become increasingly contested, and perhaps less effective as a result…
Deploying an anti-ship missile (or drone) is a relatively cheap way to counter a warship that can cost billions of dollars and can carry several thousand sailors. Missiles have the potential to create parity between disparately situated nations… (#20 – #21)
At the moment, nations like the U.S., China, and NATO member-states are still investing in warships, suggesting that the world’s top war planners continue to believe in the viability of the warship.
But recent events have raised questions about survivability at sea. And as the history of warfare indicates, no system is untouchable, suggesting that even the mighty warship may one day become fully obsolete.”
Fortunately…..
I don’t have to worry about these issues and as we sailed into Halifax, I was focused on hitting a great brewery that was only three blocks from our pier and I’ll tell you about in the next post.
Thebeerchaser 
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