1. Jeff and I pulled on our walking shoes and went to Brails on 5th, housed in the building once occupied by the Keystone Cafe. The renovation of the Keystone was handsome, giving the cafe warmth and fresh colors. I ordered a waffle with a couple of eggs on the side and helped Jeff eat his melt in your mouth grits with cheese and I had a very delicious bite of his rice omelette with gravy. It was awesome.
2. I kept my walking shoes on and grabbed my camera and set out on a five mile+/10,000+ step walk down by the Willamette River, into the Owen Rose Garden, on down to Grand St., through the Whiteaker West business area, and on to downtown Eugene -- a stop at Wells Fargo, a little music at Saturday Market, and a ginger ale at Kiva.
I got soaked on this walk, but I made my way to Tacovore and met Debbie, Patrick, and Meagan. I enjoyed a couple of margaritas and a couple of tacos, one with fried oysters and the other with pork. Our yakking was fun and lively. Meagan and Patrick had a full evening ahead of them with friends and Patrick's dad, so around six o'clock we went our separate ways.
3. For Debbie and me, this meant heading up to the Viking Braggot Co. a brewery and restaurant with a music room. We got to hear the Fiddlin' Big Sue Band, one of our favorites, play. They knocked me out with music ranging from gypsy songs to Irish tunes to bluegrass to Leonard Cohen, and even played a touching version of "If I Only Had a Brain".
The band's mandolin, banjo, and guitar player, Tom Hunnel, has published a book about life on the road over the last three or four decades and the band held a giveaway of the book. I established that by having come all the way from Kellogg, Idaho to hear tonight's performance, I had come farther than anyone in the room, so I won the book. Another great surprise this evening was seeing longtime pal Patsy Raney and sharing an embrace or two, big smiles, and a little witty repartee.
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