day 2 – leave Seattle, head to Portland!

Last night we had so much time to eat, drink, do fun stuff – that we were in bed by 11pm! This town doesn’t have a lot of things open for business on Thanksgiving night for some reason. Don’t they know that ppl want to leave their boring family gatherings and get their drink on at night? We DID find a few fish joints open though – by the Pier. We started out at The Fisherman’s Restaurant & Bar – they were serving $30/person Turkey Day Meals – including a whole TURKEY and all the fixins! We sat at the bar – I had a Deschutes Mirror Pond and RB an Alaskan Ale. We paid $5 (happy hour price) for the mussels/clams bucket which was delish! We met an Aussie traveler man who had spent the last month on the west coast. He got us VERY excited about San Francisco! We proceeded to a nearby place called The Crab Pot, and had the $21/person Newport Feast – crabs, shrimp, potatoes, corn, YUM! I wore the bib for protection – as we were given a wooden mallet and a board for attacking the crustaceans. I had a Manny’s Pale Ale which I really enjoyed.
Later in the night we headed to Duck Island for pinball, jukebox and great beer. In keeping with the bird theme, I started with an Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin beer. I do love anything pumpkin, and this beer was at the top of the list. Next I had the Hitachino Nest Beer – my new favorite – I must have this every day for the rest of my life! It was not only light, flavorful and had a tinge of pineapple undertones (RB disagreed on the last point), but it came in the CUTEST mini pint glass in the shape of an upside down beehive – and had a little baby owl face on it with a panoramic image of a japanese city on the back. I must buy a set of those glasses!
After this we headed to King’s to play skeeball and I got in a round of Buck Hunter. It was one of the only places open in Ballard. We ended the night at some cheesy hotel bar b/c The Funhouse (Seattle’s oldest punk bar or something) had locked its doors to the rest of us while 8 or so ppl drank inside. Our hotel is nestled right near the Space Needle so we got a few silly pics next to it. We are heading to Portland today, and then spending the night in Eugene. See you again later! 

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