1. The Deke and Christy and Carol went on a shopping and dining safari to Spokane and Coeur d'Alene so I decided I'd go to Coeur d'Alene and have lunch with Byrdman and crawl to a pub or two downtown. We shared an Italian pizza at Taphouse Unchained and I drank my first ever beer from pFriem Family Brewers of Mount Hood, a delicious Extra Pale Ale.
Byrdman and I exchanged bit of expertise about the upcoming NCAA men's basketball tournament and watched an awesome hour or so of golf being played at the Valspar Championship, featuring Justin Rose, Brandt Snedeker, Corey Connors, Patrick Reid, Sam Burns, and, a guy we hadn't seen play with tournament leaders for a while, Tiger Woods. We witnessed an array of spectacular shots, including Justin Rose firing an in the pin on the fly slam dunk eagle from the 11th fairway.
2. A while back, on a weekday, Byrdman and I had sauntered over to The Filling Station on 5th Street, but the joint wasn't open yet. After lunch, we figured it was worth another try, counting on an earlier opening time on Saturday. Wow! Am I ever happy we checked it out! The Filling Station is a tiny taproom with a handful of stools at a short bar and a few tables near the windows. It's adjacent to the Collective Kitchen bistro and, together, the two places offer about 50 beers on tap with a superb bottle menu. Byrdman and I were under the care of a superb tap-tender, Ashley, a student her sophomore and junior years at Kellogg High school about eight years ago or so. We yakked about some Silver Valley history. Her grandfather survived the Sunshine Mine Fire.
When Ashley presented me with the taplist, my eyes popped out. Since 2014, when Ninkasi Brewing launched Ale yeast into space and used it to brew a new Imperial Stout, called Ground Control, I've been wanting to try this beer.
Today, I got to drink some. It was being served at The Filling Station. I loved its deep flavors, especially the cocoa nibs and hazlenut. Ground Control was as deep and mysterious as a black hole, with gravity so powerful light could not escape it.
3. Back home, I cooked up a couple of ground beef patties for the Deke and me, roasted some cauliflower and zucchini, and made a salad out of a bag. Both the Deke and I were happy about how much fun we'd had on this gorgeous Saturday and celebrated by falling fast asleep soon after 8:00! At our age, a day packed with fun can knock us right out!
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