Baby Steps

  Lets face it, a day without breakfast is like a day on vacation without beer. So after dropping off the bags, we hopped on the 16th Street shuttle and shuttled our way into Dixon's for some much needed food. Half way thru breakfast, the RJ team stopped by to see what we were up to the rest of the day. For those who do not know, RJ stands for Rick and Jeannie. Damn good folks. ( Who later on in these stories might turn up more like friendly wolves in sheep's clothing. You will find out the reason why soon enough.)  We had plenty of time to kill as our room wouldn't be ready until three, so after breakfast, we strolled  up 16th street to stretch our legs and get a lay of the land near the capitol area. We were quickly reminded of the term "city block"once we arrived there. We kept walking uphill in the blazing sunshine and it seemed liked we were getting nowhere fast. Until my faux daughter spotted a beer sign in a window up ahead.

  Uptown Brothers was the name and in we went hoping for the best. Our hopes were met quite nicely. Another fairly new place in the slowly up and coming Colfax Avenue area. Good beer selection and better yet was some of their mac and cheese. Now I wasn't all that hungry, but when the bartender says it is made with the three kinds of cheese, including smoked Gouda, well, I had to do what I had to do. App size please. The results, it was wrong, oh so very, very wrong. So wrong in fact, that when I came back a two days later, I had it again just to be sure.
 
So we left there and did our running around and got back to our room with just enough time to put stuff away and head down to the epicenter for the week of beer events, Falling Rock. The RJ team


Where evil lurks at every tap

was already at the bar chatting up the bartenders. Their kickoff of events started at 5, so it wasn't crazy crowded just yet. The chalkboard said it all for me, Russian River Publication. Never heard of that. It reminds me a bit like Dreamweaver unfiltered and gently caressed with funk. How can that be a bad thing? What was a bad thing however was something we would end having on a daily basis there. Odell's

Saboteur. We had the chance to try this back in June at Capones when they came in for a rare visit. And now it would be on tap for a solid week here.



Doing what they did best, drinking Odell's



 Darkness has slowly started to fall and so was our eyelids from lack of sleep. The RJ team suggested one more stop, Rock Bottom. But, as we made our way up the street, the road crews were working nearby , so I said let's check out the Mellow Mushroom. Rick than orders a pitcher of Twisted Pine IPA. (See what I am talking about) We somehow finish that, cry uncle repeatedly and stagger back to our rooms for some much, much needed sleep. It was to be an early night. Like I keep saying,  it's a marathon not a sprint.