Hate, hate, hate

Go Irish

Beverly Beach State Park, Oregon

Camp set-up complete

The fam took the show on the road and headed to Beverly Beach State Park on the Oregon coast.  While the weather wasn't ideal, it improved each day during our stay and certainly didn't prevent us from having a wonderful time. 

Country Girl was once again a whiz with the camp food.  Our delicious meals included philly cheese-steak sandwiches, braised short ribs and tin-foil dinners.  We also paid a visit to nearby Newport where we saw lots of loud sea lions lounging about looking silly.

Staying hydrated is key

Everyone brought their feet

KW checking out the camp cleanup up effort

Arcade Fire - The Gorge

Country Girl paid her inaugural visit to The Gorge Amphitheater in George, WA when we made the trip out to see one of her favorite bands, Arcade Fire.  She was duly impressed by the both the venue and the show.  If you've ever been to the Gorge, it's easy to see why.  It's an amazing venue both in terms of setting and acoustics.  Nestled in a hill side along the Colubmia River with canyons all around, it's visually stunning.  Combined with top shelf acoutics, there's not a bad seat in the house.  That's especially saying a lot when there are 25,000+ seats.  

While I'm not a particular fan of the band, I had read raves about their live shows. Raves well deserved as they lit up the place with sound and energy.  Very much a fantastic show. 

Tavern Law, Olympic Sculpture Park

A recent date night found us trying Tavern Law on Capitol Hill.  I'd been there once before during the season for drinks, I believe (circumstances were a bit hazy).  The food was new to us both and boy, was it good.  We had the spiced fried chicken and burger with red wine onion jam and provolone.  The chicken was lightly battered and very crispy.  I certainly wouldn't call it spicy and would definitely call it outstanding.  The burger was similarly fantabulous.  Brilliantly cooked and the relish added splendid flavor.

Isn't she gorgeous?  Super lucky, this guy.

After din din, we headed to the Olympic Sculpture Park to soak up the last of a beautiful day.  It was a great setting to snap pics of the bell of the ball.  

Kodiak's 1st Birthday

KW, union boss sans peer,  had his first birthday a couple of weeks ago, so of course we threw him a party.  He hated his hat and, surprisingly, wasn't terribly keen on his b-day cookie at first.  He eventually warmed up to it and scarfed if down posthaste once he decided it was to his liking.

Liam's - University Village

A number of new restaurant's opened in University Village over the last few months, Liam's is one of them.  Despite the name, it's not an Irish bar or otherwise Irish themed at all.  Suppose that's for the best, as the food is quite tasty.  

We enjoyed brunch on our visit.  Country Girl had the smoked salmon cake benedict  and I had the biscuits and chicken gravy.  Both were super delish.  The biscuits had great flavor and were a bit crispy in consistency.  The crispiness was both unusual and very welcome.  They held up in the gravy exceptionally well.  The hollandaise on the benedict was was rich and flavorful without being overwhelmingly so.

Adding to the great food was the very nice decor.  Despite an interior on the darker side, the place is quite bright thanks to loads of large windows and a covered patio area just off the main eating area.  I don't particularly recall the service one way or other, so it likely wasn't awful.  Chances are we may try Liam's again in the future. 

Chicken Kebab, Rice Pilaf and Grilled Pineapple

Sounds good, right?  Yeah, it was awesome.