Finally, A Much Needed Night Out

Matt surprised me and, ripping me away from the tight grip of cabin fever that had been holding me captive, took me on a date.  The date was amazing, and it was so wonderful to be out in the world past dark, and sans kids.

We went for dinner and drinks to McMenamins Grand Lodge.  This place almost has too much to do, with two restaurants, a movie theatre, a spa, and multiple bars...we could have stayed forever.  Really, we could have, because the place is a hotel too.  So I guess we will have to go back.

I loved the hustle and bustle of the place, hotel guests in their pjs walking through the halls, a packed restaurant, and live music playing.  McMenamins brews their own beer, so I tried the seasonal christmas ale (yum!) and we ate some great food.  After dinner we wandered down to the basement for some live music and found a cozy corner for russian coffees.

The really neat thing about McMenamins is the art.  I've been to a few of their other locations (Seattle, Portland, and Centralia) and each one is an old renovated building with murals, statues, and mosaics decorating every surface.  You can get lost in the place just looking at all of the art.

The only down side about our fun date night is that now I want to go again....has the outing helped my cabin fever or made it worse...hmmm.