Oktoberfest, Sounders, and Friends Oh My

I've been neglecting my blog...  I feel so overwhelmed and can't quite realize why.  Oh yeah, because I'm a crazy person and have to be busy all of the time.  I have plans back to back to back.  And, it's not like I leave any time for myself or to sleep or to do chores.  Fun is way more important.  I must share the amazing things that I did this weekend.

Oktoberfest Party Cruise with Bridge
Her actual name is Bridget, but I just really like to shorten it.  Besides, she calls me Leesh, which she got from my cousin, Nathan.  I pretty much stole Bridge from Nathan.  What can I say, she's that cool and I have a slight issue with taking things.

I got to the waterfront early so ended up at Lecosho for pre-party drinks.  Had to try the Boulevard beer, but it was no hefeweizen (Boulevard's hef is delishy-bomb).  I then switched to the amazing Tieton Cider.  It's a drier cider, which makes me really happy.  Bridge showed up and we slammed our beers, signed our waivers and headed to the boat.

This was my second Living Social Adventure event.  Long story short, same as last time, there were a lot of D-bags.  But, that didn't ruin our time, because Bridge and I can always have a good time.  Note our pretzel necklaces; I crafted those for us.  We did meet this cute gay couple, of course, that we got along with.  But, turns out they were on their first date.  Who has a first date on 2.5hr boat that you can't leave?  One was more into the other, so it was a bit awk-duck.  They were fun boys and pretty much the only people we hung out with.  

Sounders Game with Daylon
Daylon has been wanting to go to a Sounders game with me and his younger brother for a while now.  We had one scheduled and then, whoops Daylon was actually going to be in California.  Oh my, he does this quite a bit, all I can do is laugh.  One time he called and said let's go to this concert; so we booked tickets right away.  10 minutes later he called back and said, "I forgot I'm throwing a surprise birthday party for my best friend, sorry."  Ha ha ha ha!  Luckily we got refunds with no issues; well it was about a 1/2 hour hold time with Ticket master.  Silly, silly Daylon.  I got an email offering me $10 tix, so I bought 3 thinking we could go.  Then when it came time to it, Daylon decided we should invite his older brother since he can go to bars with us.  Poor Drew.  Then at the last minute, his older brother couldn't go.  So we were on our own, which is just fine.  

The most fun was the pre-party for sure.  You bar hop your way around, drink PBR and Rainier so you're good and ready to cheer on the Sounders.  Daylon had his mind set on finding $2 beers so we kept walking further and further.  We pretty much ended up in Downtown and it turned out the first place we were at, right next to the stadium was the cheapest, ha ha!  Love it.  Our seats were a little scary, I have to admit.  I haven't been in the nose-bleeds at Century Link before.  We were almost at the top and I really was anxious.  I thought I was going to trip and fall down many, many stairs.  It was pretty creepy, but I survived.  And the Sounders WON!!  Woo hoo.

Do any of my readers understand the draw to Rainier or PBR?  I'll have to explain in another post.

Weekend Wanderings (Drinking Version) -- October 5th-7th

The weekly post that provides my readers with all the cool happenings around Seattle for the upcoming weekend.  You will have no excuse to not get out and make memories.

Anytime from Now Until Election Day
5-Spot -- Vote with your liver – 5-Spot is in Queen Anne and is known for their ever-changing themes and menu.  From now until Election Day order up a "blue" or a "red" cocktail featuring broVo Spirits.  Make sure you order one that favors your party.  They also are counting votes based on which door you enter through, blue or red.  Which one will you go through?

Details:

• 1502 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle, WA

Brunch
Ma'ono Restaurant (Fried Chicken and Whisky) -- Bottomless Mimosas – As long as you are enjoying brunch, you will never see the bottom of your glass.  Yes, please.

Details:

• Weekends from 10am to 2pm
• West Seattle:  4437 California Ave SW, Seattle, WA
• $12 for bottomless mimosas

Saturday or Sunday, October 6th or 7th
Oktoberfest Party Cruise – I purchased tickets to this through Living Social, and there are still some available.  It is sure to be a blast.  It's one of Living Social's Adventures featuring 2.5 hours of cruising with stunning views, a DJ, buffet of late-night bites, beer, and Oktoberfest trivia and games.  And the best part is I'm going with Bridget; we always have fun.

Details:

• Pier 55 - Seattle Waterfront
• 9:30pm - 12:30am
• $40

I'm pretty stoked for the party cruise as well as a Sounders game on Sunday with my titsy friend Daylon.

Have a great weekend!

Beer and Pretzels: Oktoberfest

'Tis the Oktoberfest season where you have many opportunities to fill your belly with dark, seasonal fall beers.  It always blows people's minds that a lot of the Oktoberfest events are in September.  The real Oktoberfest runs from the end of September through the beginning of October.  Although, it's confusing, does it really matter?  I'm not arguing with the Germans, they can be feisty especially after a full day of drinking.

I found a really fun article on NBC news about 15 facts that you don't now about Oktoberfest, see source article here.   I wanted to share some of these facts and put my spin on it, as I'm a HUGE Oktoberfest fan.  I've already attended one and plan on attending up to two or so more before the season is over.

1. The main event takes place in Munich, Germany.  More than 6 million people attend the celebration every year, making it the biggest beer festival in the world.  I prefer to go to the local ones; there was quite a turnout at the Enumclaw one last year ;)  I probably should add the real one to my bucketlist.  maybe I'll shoot for Leavenworth for now.
2. "Prost!" - You are supposed to say this before knocking back a lager.  Another popular phrase is "zum wohl", meaning "to your health".  That's what I'm talking about.  Drinking for my health!! Ha ha.  I know it helps with happiness.
3. The following are what you are going to eat at a traditional Oktoberfest:  Hendl (grilled chicken), Brezel (huge pretzels), Sweinshaxe (pork knuckles).  Guten Appitit!  One of my local haunts changed to a German concept and they have amazing soft pretzels.  It's not so much the pretzel but more the cheese sauce they give you, yummy!!
4. The rules of Oktoberfest dictate that the beers come from one of the six Munich breweries:  Paulaner, Spaten, Hacker-Pschorr, Augustiner, Hofbrau and Lowenbrau.
5. The original Oktoberfest was in fact October 12th, 1810.  The festival has been moved around for many reasons but partly due to weather conditions.
6. "O'zapft is!", means "It is tapped!" and is the official rallying cry of Oktoberfest.
7. Even though beer is flowing, Oktoberfest is a family-friendly event with carnival rides, carousels, roller coasters, musical showcases and traditional parades.  Children are even allowed in the tents but children under the age of six must exit by 8 pm.  Does that mean if you're over 6, you can stay and have a beer?  Oh those Germans, I thought that stuff only happened in Texas.
8. Cincinnati houses the largest Oktoberfest in the US.  It is a 3 day festival that takes up 6 blocks of down town.  Maybe that's more fitting for my bucket list, a lot cheaper.
9. The ladies bow on her dirndl dress signifies her status.  If it's on the left side, she is single and willing to mingle.  If it's on her right side her affections are already given to someone else.  A virginal woman will place the bow in front of her dirndl dress.  Get me a left sides bow please.
10. Enough beer to fill three Olympic swimming pools is typically consumed during Oktoberfest.  Wowza!  I would like to contribute.

Check out my Weekend Wanderings posts to hear about upcoming Oktoberfest's in the Seattle area.

What's your favorite seasonal beer out right now?

Fremont Oktoberfest

Last night Carly, my mom and I headed to Fremont to partake in their Oktoberfest.  I have to say this was one of the better tasting festivals I've been to.  It was so spacious and spread out that you didn't feel overcrowded.  No lines, clean port-o-potties (which is just insane) and lots of BEER options!  We each had 10 tasting tokens.  The search began for the beers that tooted our horns.

Momsky's taste:  hefeweizens and ciders
Carly's taste: anything that resembles Bud Light (yeah right!), it was a challenge
Alicia's taste:  anything at all minus porters and stouts

I'm getting ahead of myself.  First we had to make our pretzel necklaces.  Every time I go to a tasting event and I see people with these necklaces, I think "dang, I forgot again!"  I was not going to make that mistake again.

Pretzel bin ready!

Momsky, actively threading her necklace, inches of sobering power!

Carly, thinking that I'm a bit crazy but she'll go along anyway.

The Deschutes traveling taste-mobile, all the way up from Oregon.

I love me a good grilled cheese.  Early on I had to eat, since I didn't eat all day.  I knew what I was having.  The classic with some A (avocado).

The Grilled Cheese Experience truck.

Final product:  sandwich with a shot of soup, tomato basil.

We had to get in a good cuddle with the chicken, duh!

They had their image projected all over buildings; it was pretty fantastic.

We did some pretty amazing other things last night, but it was too dark to take pics with my phone.  They had this Ford contest where you kick this virtual soccer ball and try to get 50 goals in 30 seconds.  You look like a spaz, cause you're just rocking your leg back and forth as fast as you can.  I only got 23:(

After we spent Carly's tokens (because as mentioned before it was challenging to find beers she likes) we headed to Puyallup to meet up with an old friend in town from Portland, Kari.  The rest of the night was laughing, rude talk, nachos, pitchers and trying to make this one guy really uncomfortable.  He loved it, you could tell.  

I'm dreading summer being over, because the festivals go away, but I really do need to start saving money and learning to relax.

What cool festivals have you gone to this summer?

What's your favorite beer variety?