The Brookston Family Blog
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Back from Portland now, reminded yet again of how much I still need to learn, practce and do to become a better writer. The more I try to spread my wings, the farther I have to walk.

I thought I’d get to catch up on my sleep while I was in Portland, since the kids wouldn’t be waking me up every morning. Silly me. I did sleep well, but almost every day there was some event that started fairly early. The one day I did have a chance to sleep in a little — Saturday — Sarah called about seven. It seems Porter had something to tell me. He was telling Sarah that he missed me and wanted me to come home and she told him that I’d be home in just one more day. So he told her he was going to sit on the stairs “and watch the sun go down and the sun come up and wait for [his] Daddy to come home.” Awww. I didn’t mind waking up to hear that.

These are just a few random photos of me and some friends at the Oregon Brewers Festival this weekend.

Me showing off Alan’s grill outside of Hair of the Dog brewery.

Good friend Stephen Beaumont and me.

Another friend, Jim Parker and me. Jim’s new pub is the one that came up with Totcho’s.

Long lost brother Mark Campbell and me. Mark and his wife Lisa Morrison were kind enough to put up with me for four days and three nights as they let me crash at their place while I was in Portland.

Okay, this isn’t really funny per se, but it didn’t fit into any other categories, either. A friend of mine, Jim Parker, left his position with both the Brewers Association and the Oregon Brewers Guild to open his own pub in Portland, called the Oaks Bottom Public House. They have a lot of great beers on tap, which was no surprise. The food menu was great, too, and had one particular dish that really stood out: Totchos.

Totchos are essentially nachos loaded with all sorts of goodies like tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, salsa, chicken, olives, peppers — frankly I could have done without the pepers, but that’s just me — and a few other ingredients. But instead of using nacho chips as the base, they use tater tots! Now prhaps that doesn’t sound too appetizing, but it really is deliciously yummy. It seems so obvious that I’m quite surprised nobody ever thought of it before. Of course, I never thought of either.

Oaks Bottom’s famous Totchos.

The 2nd annual Sasquatch Brew Am took place Friday morning at McMenamins Edgefield Pub Course. Edgefield is a 17-hole (don’t ask) course of all par 3 holes, the longest being only 83 yards. The tourney was for a very worthy cause and put on by the Glen Hay Falconer Foundation. I also sponsored a hole at the tournament.

Nico Freccia, of 21st Amendment, tees off.

I can’t say for sure how this happened, but on our very first hole, after enjoying some delicious Blue Dot Double IPA and Adam served to us by Alan Sprintz, owner of Hair of the Dog Brewing, Nico teed off and his ball sailed through the trees. As it did so, something it hit fell to the ground and initially I thought it was just a leaf. But when we walked up to the green, this baby bird was sitting quietly in the fairway beneath the tree. Did Nico knock it down? Hard to say.

A view from the hills. McMenamins Edgefield Pub Course.

Me at Hole No. 2, the hole I sponsored.

Hole No. 2.

Shaun O’Sullivan and Nico, co-owners of 21st Amendment, at Hole No. 12, the hole they sponsored.

The McMenamins gardens with the ballroom and water tower behind them.

Shaun teeing off.

Shaun’s little brother (who only managed to join us for the last five holes), me, Nico, Shaun’s brother’s friend and Shaun.

Lisa Morrison, Paul Walker, Abe Goldman-Armstrong, Noelle Blake, and two golfers from Lompoc Brewery in Portland.

Lisa Morrison and Bob Brewer look on as Quentin Falconer, organizer of the Brew Am makes a toast in the ballroom after the tournament.

The tournament participants relax in the ballroom.

I arrived in Portland around 3ish after ten and half hours in the Celebrator van, just in time to help set up the booth for the festival which began at four.

Tapping the first keg of the festival.

Fred Bowman, co-founder of Portland Brewing, Tom Dalldorf, Celebrator publisher and Jack Joyce, owner of Rogue.

Tom with Cathy and Bill, Stephen Beaumont’s sister and brother-in-law.

Chris Crabb, who runs thing for the festival.

Jamie Floyd, whose Ninkasi Brewing is almost open, but the beer is pouring now.

Jamie Jurado, head brewer for Gambrinus.

This week I’ve got two more tailgating photos which I thought I better run before baseball season ends. It is going to end, isn’t it. I’m guessing this is most likely 1992-94. Can anyone pin it down?

Everybody on the Suburban.

Everybody from the side.

After the Bay Area Discovery Museum, we headed home and cooled off in our swimming pool.

Christi snuggles with Porter and Alice in the pool.

While Pat splashed Henry and John.

From the bell, we walked down in the other direction toward the climbing tree.

Christi watches over Porter, Alice, Henry and John.

Porter happily shimmies up the climbing tree.

Porter was quite single-minded about getting to the big bell on top of the hill. One of the routes to get there — and the one he chose — was up the long log staircase.

Porter raced to the stop of the stairs.

Then he came back to wait for us slowpokes.

John, Henry and Porter wait for their turn at ringing the bell.

Porter rings the bell, while Alice, Henry and John look on.

John takes his turn.

Both Alice and Porter crawled through the giant log that stood between them and the log stairs up to ring the big bell on the hill.

Porter gives me a fake smile going through the big log.

Then Alice joined him in the log.

Alice seemed to like being in the log.

“Hey, Daddy!”

Today way freakin’ early I once again left on a quick trip to Portland, Oregon for the Oregon Brewers Festival. It’s probably the second best beer festival in the country (after GABF), and I’m looking forward to seeing many beer friends. I’ll be driving up with my former Celebrator boss Tom and then flying back Sunday afternoon.

Alice, naturally, found the water and fished for crabs and starfish.

Alice discovers water!

And goes fishing for starfish.

Alice dives her hands into the water.

On Tuesday our friends Pat and Chrsti and their two boys, John and Henry, came up to visit us for the day. It was terrific fun seeing them all. We all had a great time seeing them and still wished we all lived closer.

Porter had kind of a rocky start, but some ice cream helped to dheer him up.

And he went on the boat after he finished it.

Over on the train room, Alice plays with the trains while Henry watchs.

Later Alice and John played in the corner.

Though later she joined a mother and her son for a read along.

Back at the house, John and Porter play trains.

While the boys played trains, Christi, Alice and Pat rested in the heat.

The show started about 7:24 and we just made it back from our walk along the Polihate beach to sit down and enjoy it.

Sarah went for a quick dip in the ocean to cool off as Sunday’s sunset began.

The setting sun made the hills behind the beach glow red.

The sunset begins.

Just going down below the horizon.

Zooming in on the sunset.

The sun sinks farther in the west.