I'm really sorry Steven...

...but you're bicycles been stolen.

This weekend was rockin' awesome! I was supposed to go to the beach with my Dad and some of his friends for his Bachelor Party, but things got too crazy and we didn't end up doing that. Instead my Dad, his friend Ken from work, our buddy Michael and myself went to play golf at Skamania Lodge on the Gorge and have a nice dinner after the game. Michael, Dad and I all drove together and met Ken up there. Since we were early for our tee time we decided to have a cold beer and a bite to eat before taking the course. We also had to hammer out the details of what the game would look like and how we were going to determine who won. We thought about doing a two-man scramble, but decided to play the front 9 straight and then adjust handicap for the back nine based on how many strokes everyone was behind the leader. Now, I haven't held a golf club (except for mini golf) in about four years and haven't play a whole 18 holes in like 8 years, so I was a little worried. But I figured I'd be way behind on the turn and have a major advantage on the back nine. If you are a golfer and have ever played Skamania, it's one of the top 5 hardes courses on the west coast and like the #1 hardest in Washington. I didn't know this little tidbit until about the 10th hole. I remembered that I have a beautiful natural swing and address, but I did shank quite a few into the woods. Oh, and about that: in most cases the whole fairway is about 30-40 yards wide, the rough is a foot wide, and the rest is out of bounds. So shanking into the woods was something that we all did quite a few times. I don't remember the final score, but I do know that I was way last. We had a blast though: drinking beers, smoking cigars, bitching about our irons, and having a grand old time. It was really great to spend time with my Dad: we are both very busy and don't get time to hang out much, but when you are on the course it's a 6-plus hour block of time where the cell phones are off and we are out in beautiful surroundings.

After playing the course, we went back to the clubhouse to have some drinks before our dinner reservation time, and there was a wedding just over the hill with the reception right across from the deck where we were. So we sat there smoking more cigars, drinking whiskey and listening to the string quartet. After a bit we moved into the dining room and had the most amazing pork loin with an orange-and-chardonay demiglaze....yum! All in all it was a totally awesome day and now I want to hit the links again (but at a more moderate-skill course).

Then on Sunday the G and I went to the Decemberists concert at McMinimin's Edgefiled and that was totally awesome! It was part of the "Concerts On The Lawn" program so it was all outside on a slightly sloping hill - we all sat on blankets and beach chairs and there wasn't a bad seat in the whole place. If you don't know the Decemberists, they are from Portland and they just came back from a east coast tour and in six weeks they take off for a world tour (starting in California and touring across the US, then over to England and Scottland). Since they have been gone so long, they were all really glad to be back home and their show proved that. The sound quality was outstanding and they did a great job of keeping the audience involved throughout. Collin (lead singer and guitar player) sounded just like he does on the CDs and the whole group sounded like they were in the studio. Their final encore was "The Mariner's Lament" and when, in the story, the giant whale comes and swallows everyone, the opening band came onstage in a huge whale costume and "ate" all the Decemberists. It was one of the best shows I've ever been to, and there were enough people there to make it high-energy while still keeping a very intimate feel. There were a couple of drunk lesbians right in front of us who had too much wine and spent the whole show talking with each other and taking MySpace-style pictures of themselves, but other than that it was great. The only bad thing was that the beer was wonderful, and G couldn't have any :(

All in all, it was a pretty good weekend. But now I need gold partners. I was to close these next couple of files at work and then I want to play Camas Meadows. I was there for work a month ago, but didn't get to play and now I really want to. Who golfs? Who wants to go with me? Maybe who wants to hit the driving range first?