This past weekend we traveled with friends to Portland to meet up with even more friends. Everyone else thought it was mainly to see a Portland Trailblazers game together but secretly I was celebrating OhSoAntsy’s 5th anniversary. The drive down wasn’t so bad (especially since our friends drove) but it was raining kind of hard when we arrived. Of course we live in the northwest and should be used to it but it was real raining out. Like faces getting all wet and water falling down onto our jeans from our raincoats kind of rain. Basically the kind that’s not fun to walk around in. Anyhow we had fun watching the game and when it was over half our group went one way and the rest of us got a beer. That beer was really good. I had been wanting one since we had arrived but there was no way I was going to spend 10 bucks on just one at the game. So I waited patiently and it was worth it. Of course it was also nice catching up with our friends since we could all actually talk and see each other versus being in a long row. It was nice. We stayed with our friends a little outside the city so we hopped on the MAX (train) and headed to our beds for the night. We stayed up a little longer talking and having snacks and I felt like a college kid when my head finally hit my pillow at 2 am!

All of Saturday we did what we usually do when we get together. We drank. Of course we did it in the classiest of ways. After brunch we went to Enzo Urban Winery. One of our friends had tasted their sangria and loved it so we decided to check it out and also let her stock up while we were in town. I’m glad we did because they have the cutest space. There was only one other group there so it was quiet and lovely. I should also mention we were totally digging the music (hello Lauren Hill). The wine was nice and I enjoyed trying their reds. There were some that I really loved but full disclosure there was one we all agreed smelled like dill and then I just couldn’t get over it.

After the winery we dropped one friend off at the bolt bus station since she had to head back to Seattle a bit earlier than the rest of us. Next we made a quick pit stop at Clear Creek Distillery to try their Douglas Fir Eau-de-Vie before meeting our other friends at Burnside Brewing. It was one of my favorite brewery experiences in quite some time. First I’ll say they let you try every single beer they have (4 oz) of each for only $16. There were 18 beers! What?! That’s a crazy good price. I was pumped because I honestly wanted to try almost everything. We ordered 2 for the table and went to town tasting. It’s been a while since I’ve liked that many beers from one place. I was especially excited because hops did not overpower all the beer. Hooray! Anyhow if you like beer and are in Portland go! The one I can’t stop thinking about is the Duke of Earl Grey. Yum!

For dinner we all agreed on Screen Door. Some cool things about it: -a few of the trailblazers were finishing up when we arrived to put our names on the list. -the food was crazy good! Ok that was only 2 things because mostly the food was just really, really good. We stayed up super late again but this time because we played some games and laughed a lot. The next day we made a quick stop at Pip’s donuts. Again it was super good. They had 6 flavors to choose from and they were mini so a dozen is like $5 so we got a few of each flavor. They also have some really creative chai flavors. I got a smokey one which was interesting but not as tasty as I was hoping. After a full weekend of eating and drinking it was time to get back home. The drive was surprisingly fast and our bunnies made it their first weekend without us. Oh did I not mention we have rabbits? Perhaps a story for another time.