There and back again.

I guess I should begin at the beginning. I first learned of the McMenamin's Passport via a Facebook post. I was immediately swept away by the idea of visiting each and every outpost of the Other Magic Kingdom, something that I always had a mind to do, but now McMenamin's had given me a structure and were providing rewards for doing it.

Since my days as a Boy Scout I have always reveled in earning badges, accruing certifications, and checking the box on completed achievements. This was a challenge I was ripe to accept. So a few days later I saddled off to my local McMenamin's, The Raleigh Hills Pub, to purchase my Passport.

I probably first visited Raleigh Hills Pub in 1988, some time shortly after buying my first house in the nearby Bridlemile neighborhood. The Pub looked quite unlike today except for the signature "double pyramid" roofline. It was more of a local bar than a pub in those days, smoke-filled and a little seedy.

I had moved to Portland the previous year and had just discovered the joy of brewpubs and craft brewing after enduring four years of twenty-five cent Lone Star longnecks and Shiner Bock in the Republic of Texas. I much preferred the active brewing and smoke free environment of the Bridgeport brew pub, and after a few visits I gave up on Raleigh Hills Pub for many years.

Inevitably things changed, the Raleigh Hills Pub became smoke free and had a major facelift. The footprint of the bar was moved centrally, and a rustic post and beam divider surrounded it. A great deck and outdoor beer garden was added, and local families and sports clubs became to meet there. Raleigh Hills Pub became a neighborhood gathering place as a good pub should be. On the other side of the West Hills, however, the NW warehouse district became the "Pearl," and the old rope factory that housed the Bridgeport Brewpub, once a meeting place for dart throwing, fleece wearing, beer lovers, became a fancy urban bistro for recent LA arrivals. I haven't been back.

Raleigh Hills is my McMenamin's home, and my McMenAdventure basecamp. The adventure begins there, and will likely end there, so like Mr. Baggins I will venture "there and back again."