Redemption: Highland Pub & Brewery

After the false start at Highland, I finally made it back to get my passport stamp!

Unfortunately, there is no bike parking at this location, and the woman at the Goodwill store was fussy when I locked my bike to a sign outside her store.

Afterwards I went to the St. Luke's labyrinth for a belated Solstice walk:

Thompson Brewery & Public House

Location: Thompson Brewery & Public House, my first Salem location! It is a cute house on the outside AND on the inside, filled with cozy nooks upstairs that look like they used to be bedrooms.

I was headed back from a job in Lebanon so I took the back roads there:

Fellow travelers: Dayna! She is on call for her daughter's impending birth so I was very lucky to catch her today. We haven't had a meal together in years, so we talked for quite a long time.

Favorite light: Skylights in Oregon are special.

Favorite art: A location mostly decorated with posters. Outside, they had a lot of impact, though:

My favorite parts were these painted bits upstairs:

And this white/silver striped bathroom sink:

But I had given up seeing any "traditional" McMenamins art when I caught this on my way out of the building painted on an obscure access door:

Food: Ichabod turkey burger, delicious angel hair onion rings (wish more locations had these!), Ruby ale shake

Passport stamps: Thompson Brewery & Public House

Other items of note:

• It was not as straightforward to get out of Salem from here as I expected. I suspect Google was confused because I had taken all those back roads.

John Barleycorns

Location: John Barleycorns, a location in Tigard. I stopped by after a job in Wilsonville, and so as with Sunnyside, I saw it in the dark. Which is a terrible shame, because the building looks absolutely beautiful. According to the history, it's a new building based on a Hawai'ian water pumping station. Which is both interesting and a little disappointing, because I was trying to imagine what this beautiful building used to be and how McMenamins must have rescued it from disrepair when Tigard was still an agrarian community.

Fellow travelers: Shu-Ju, who does not really understand why I'm doing the Passport but was game to go anyway since this location is near to her. :)

Push the button!

Favorite light: (Several observations)

• The light of the beautiful full moon floating overhead was delightful. 
• The large lanterns hanging at the entrance were probably my favorite. 
• My least favorite light was the phone flashlight a man was using to read his menu, as it kept flashing in my eyes.
• But honestly, I would have preferred a bit more light overall.

Favorite art: We sat beneath this lovely mermaid I wish I could have seen a bit better.

Food: Salmon w/ herbs, polenta, beets and an RC. Fancy!

Passport stamps: None! I forgot my passport again! Argh! I wanted to visit this location in the daylight anyway, I guess.

Redemption Jan09: I finally got the stamp!

Other items of note:

• Alas, no milkshakes at this location.
• Shu-Ju carries an intriguing collapsible bowl around with her for leftovers! If I could find the one she uses I would buy it.
• This location has a nice patio which seems overwhelmed by the roar of the nearby freeway. 

McMenamins Sunnyside

Location: McMenamins Sunnyside, a strip mall location in Clackamas. Even though this location is named "sunnyside," 'tis the dark season in Portland, so this is what it looks like outside... in the dark.

Fellow travelers: Jackie and her son Mo! We've been talking about meeting at this location for months. So when she spontaneously invited me, I jumped at the chance, even though I already had plans to go to another McMenamins the next day.

Favorite light: Didn't see anything really out of the ordinary.

Favorite art: Didn't get much of a chance to look around as we tried to entertain a baby and talk at the same time! But this location is primarily decorated with posters rather than original art.

Food: A Portland Dip w/ tots, an RC and a Terminator stout shake. But strangely, they have no Ruby raspberry ale shakes.

Passport stamps: McMenamins Sunnyside

Other items of note:

• This location has a very attentive staff! Jackie says our waiters came to check on us at least 10 times.
• As part of a strip mall, this location has a Mio Sushi right next door and a punny cake shop called "Nothing Bundt Cake" right across the street.

McMenamins Coffee Roasters

Location: McMenamins Coffee Roasters. It's not technically considered a location, it's considered an Experience which adds to your gift-card total. The roaster is a converted house tucked away right off MLK behind the Bridges Cafe. I wish I had thought about how close it was the the Broadway McMenamamins, because I would have planned my timing to have lunch there and gotten two stamps!

The "tour" was a bit awkward because even though they have posted hours, they're still trying to get their other tasks done. The guy who stamped my Passport seemed impassive when I wanted to ask questions or take photos, so I didn't stay long. He did offer me some coffee, though.

 

Passport stamps: Tour the Coffee Roaster

This stamp is very faint.

Other items of note:

• Apparently this is the original location; McMenamins bought the whole roaster business from the original owner several years ago.
• The McMenamins "beer truck" comes to pick up shipments to deliver along with beer and wine to all its locations, though they also ship via UPS to Seattle.
• The unroasted/green beans last for months, though once roasted the beans are used in 1-2 weeks.
• They roast & pack Monday-Wednesday, then do site inspections and such Thursday and Friday.

Here are several other presumably coffee-related machines in the building: