Happy Birthday, Boo!

Trafton B.

September 12, 2010 - 6:57 PM

In case you want to skip the reading, I'll summarize the weekend's stories in one simple equation:

Yesterday the original MacAlister crew was in action in Portland to celebrate the 21st Birthday of our good friend, Brianna "Boo" Gehring.

Our day started with an afternoon tour of the Widmer Brothers Brewery in downtown Portland. First we sampled a few different beers, included their flagship brew - the Widmer Hefewiezen; the only catch was that we had to learn the proper pronunciation before being awarded a taste test. In case you're wondering, it's pronounced "hay-fuh-veyt-sssenn." Our tour guide would say "hay-fa" for short, but she allowed us to say "heff" just as long as we knew that we were saying it the American way and not the original German way.

Then we walked across the street to the actual factory where we walked past bag after bag of malted wheat and hops and then between several thousand-gallon silos of fermenting brew (pictured above with [left to right] Dana, Kate & Lydia). Next we stepped into the warehouse to find palettes stacked to the roof with pony kegs ready to be shipped to pubs around the nation. It was a sight that would bring a tear to the eye of any average college kid, but to be honest it just made me want to start my own brewing operation. Something to live up to, I guess.

After the tour was over we were tantalized by Widmer's Oktoberfest, which they were just setting up for outside the Gasthaus Pub. Sadly, yet not so sadly, we had a date to watch the Ducks' football game at Boo's parents' house in Oregon City.

There couldn't have been a better way to spend the rest of our afternoon, too. Lunch and dinner courtesy of Boo's parents, Phil and Betty Jo, while watching the Ducks overpower the Tennessee Volunteers. Add the catnap several of us shared on the couches during the lightning delay, and it was darn near perfect.

Of course, we were a little scared for our season when we went into halftime with a 13-13 tie, but all we needed was a LaMichael James 72-yard touchdown run to put our offense back on track. That was just the beginning of Oregon's 35 unanswered points scored in the second half. It may not have been the prettiest of wins, but I'm pretty sure the Ducks are still averaging 60 points per game so far this season. It's getting me pumped up for Portland State next weekend, which reminds me that I need to log to get my student ticket soon.

We had a taste of Portland nightlife. Ducks are ranked #5 in the AP Poll. And Boo turned 21 years old...finally.

Another successful weekend in Oregon. Only two left before classes start on September 27th. Summer is winding down, and friends are slowly trickling back to Eugene. We'd better make these next two weeks count because after this it's the beginning of the end...of college, that is.