Our day started with Michael sleeping in while Zoey and I prepared breakfast. He actually woke up before we were finished, so he was able to get a jumpstart on the "Father's Day Outing Clues" I had written up. Instead of telling him what we were going to be doing, I wrote up scrambled (literally) clues that were related to beer and the festival. After he unscrambled all of the clue words, I left him to ponder them until we were almost to the festival, and then he solved the last clue ("Washington Brewers Festival") in the car.
By the time we pulled into Marymoor Park in Redmond, we were all excited about what was waiting for us behind the festival entrance gates. For the price of admission, Michael was given a tasting cup and 10 tasting tokens. And as the Designated Driver, I was pointed in the direction of the free water and soda.
At the entrance
We were handed the beer list while in line; gave Mike a few minutes to map out a game plan!
Quite extensive, huh? Over 250 different beers!
Ready to go!
It didn't take long for Michael to spot the first tasting booth he wanted to visit, and in just a few short minutes, he had a full glass in his hands and a wide grin on his face! I was thrilled that he was already enjoying himself as much as I'd hoped he would!
It also didn't take long for Zoey to fall asleep after she finished a big lunch of quinoa and applesauce. :)
(Now that she's bigger, I am not too fond of our stroller. But, that's a story for a different day...)
The rest of the day was filled with excellent food, good music, a friend siting (just knew we'd run into someone!), and lots of laughs. Out of all of the beer Michael sampled, there were only a couple that he didn't care for. He actually ended the day with two new favorites, one of which he sampled twice! (A big deal, seeing as how he had a limited amount of tokens).
Happy guy!
Juggling his tastings and daddy duty, like a pro!
Chatting up the head brewer of Sound Brewery. The brewer used to work with my father-in-law, so Mike was thrilled to introduce himself and explain the connection. (beer geeks unite!)
He said "Hey, look! I guess this means I'm 21 again?!"
Haha, nice try buddy!
One of the highlights of the festival was watching all the different brewers participate in a Keg Toss competition. There were three pools filled with water: one worth 1 point, one worth 3 points, and one worth 5 points. The participants had 5 tosses/chances to rack up as many points as possible.
I don't know how heavy an empty keg is, but some of those guys (and two girls) made it look pretty easy!
The day's winner racked up a score of 17!
Focused on the competition; helping daddy cheer/heckle!
As the DD, I was equally satisfied with my festival experience. My greatest joy: watching my husband beam with joy as he hopped from booth to booth, sipped and critiqued, and chatted up brewers and fellow festival goers. Almost as enjoyable, was the food I got from one of the gourmet food trucks! I am a total foodie and was trilled to finally get a chance to try something from a well-know Seattle-area truck. The truck's name is Off The Rez and their "Indian Tacos" were ah-mazing!! After devouring a chicken taco, I scurried back over to the truck and ordered a pork one. I definitely enjoyed the chicken more, but both were superb!
Unlike a Mexican taco (served on a tortilla), these Indian Tacos were served on a delicious fry bread. Outstanding!!
As an added treat, I baked some brownies for us to eat after lunch. Well, as soon as whipped off the foil and took a bite of one, I could feel a bunch of eyes on me. It was as if I could hear people's thoughts, "Oh, I bet that's a special brownie! No wonder she looks so happy! You go, girl!"
Umm, no! Just a regular, fudgy, Ghirardelli brownie!!
One of the day's lowlights: having to use the Porta Potty! And of course, my dear husband thought it would be hilarious to capture me exciting the stink whole! RUDE!
Holding my breath, tying not to spill the hand sanitizer.
Marymoor Park was an excellent venue; outside of the festival gates were two more play areas.
On the way back to the car, we spotted a booth where free breathalyzer readings were being given (great idea!). We knew we didn't need to worry about anyone being too drunk to drive, so our attention quickly turned to the beer pong table that was set up a few feet from the booth. Always looking for a chance to beat me at something, Michael asked one of the booth attendants if the table was open for public use. Turns out, it had been set up to keep the attendants entertained while they were off duty, and they were more than willing to let us play a round.
I was down to 1 cup and he still had 4 left. Yes, he was panicking!
I WON!!!!
I don't think I've ever beaten him in a one-on-one match.
Now, if you ask Michael why he lost, he'll likely come up with all kinds of ridiculous excuses...his side of the table was lopsided (it wasn't)...the sun was in his eyes the whole time (No way, Jose!)...it was because the cups were filled with water instead of beer (what does that matter??!). What's important is that we had a lot of fun playing, and he was a good sport as I rubbed my win in his face, all the way back to the car! ;)
Such a fun day!
There was even a "22 Degree Halo" around the sun this afternoon!
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