C'mon down to the Mermaid Cafe

Gosh, Boomerang--nowhere to hang out in Portland? Depending on where you live, I could name a few candidates: The Lucky Lab, The Tugboat, The Horse Brass.

Of course, these are all pubs. My current hangout in Seattle is the Hop Vine. Has been (through several incarnations) for 20+ years. Great regional beers, decent food, nice staff, good mixture of neighborly customers. One feels right at home!

Gotta be Madison.

Terrace, maybe. On a summer night, with a band, sun going down over the lake, local crazy people being talkative (patiodog, have you met Scanner Dan yet?), a zillion acquaintances, several friends. Nice.

The closest I had to a hangout was a group of us, about fifeteen girls and boys, would gather at one girls' place, seemed like every Friday nite. We were all there, the same core group and extras who came and went and that went on for an entire summer. Her place was unusual in that it was a renovated garage but still had the big garage door, which she would open and we would party indoor and outdoors. It was alot of fun. We called it The Clubhouse.

I'm sure Portland has some great hangouts but really all I've done is work like a demon since I got here. I've briefly hung out in a couple of places but they've never generated that comraderie that I experienced before.

That comraderie seems to be the thing that takes you all back to your hang outs. Am I right?

Haven't had a "hangout" since college.
Sounds nice.

(Does A2K count?)

The camaraderie, yes. It also has to be close by--ideally within walking distance, so that one can arrive home safely under any and all conditions...

No doubt the comraderie is available on line in a forum such as A2K but I'm not sure it really counts. Maybe we find places like this when we are unable to hang out on a more physical level.

Oh yes, D'artagnan - stumbling distance is the best distance!

Indeed, boomerang--and my stumble is all downhill. Literally!

hmmmmm....There were a few bars and clubs in athens, ga that were great hangouts. One was the one I worked at. We'd get mike mills from REM, random traveling musicians, local wait staff, university students, rednecks, slum lords, tattoo artists, and the local superintendant of police.

Another odd spot was a place my boyfriend's band would play at in between santa fe and taos. In Dixon, I believe, can't remember the name of the bar. It was a restaurant by day, a bar at night, sometimes a club with live music. They had to move the 2 pool tables out of the way. There'd be old farmers and 'cowboys' from the surrounding land and artists. Then the band and the crazies that followed them out there. What a trip we must have seemed to be.

Two Shea's in Rutland VT... was thinking about that t'other day. Spent more time in ... ummm ... the name is gone, another place in Rutland. Was a grungy biker bar. I went in, got my 2$ draft and some quarters and beat up on the pinball machine until it started to beat up on me. I was working on a divorce, and I knew I was vulnerable, so I went into a place where I was certain, no matter how drunk I got, I would NOT leave with any of the women customers. You want a place where everybody doesn't know your name...

The Spa at college, for certain.

SP - your college had a spa?

The bar in Dixon, NM (1993?)

used to be a place called "Little Bo's"

Home is where I hang out these days, but there were several places in the past I use to call home. One was the Press Box Pub where I use to work as a bartender by day and party with all my friends at night. The pubs customers were mainly regulars and good people that knew how to have a good time. I was so sad when the pub was sold and a college bar was opened :-(

Then years before that there was a group of atleast a hundred of us that use to hang out wherever we could. We would hang out in parking lots, the Waltham common and everywhere we could find until the cops kept coming around to tell us to move it along. Then we found this nice wide open spot in the middle of the wood where we use to go and have huge bon fires. Lots of the guys would have big pick up trucks and would gather tons of pallets for the fire. We would gather around the huge fire and talk, laugh, sing, and just have a great time. This lasted for almost 2 years until some ass called the cops on us. When the cops came, they told us that they always knew we were there, but never bothered us before because no one complained, so there went our perfect hide out in the wilderness. The group broke up and we all went our seperate ways after that because we got tired of trying to find places to hang out :-(

Athens Georgia is supposed to be a wonderful place! And just look at you hanging out in New Mexico! Littlek, whoda thought you had such magnificent street cred? Very cool.

(How did you put that photo on there? I've tried to post photos from my computer a few times but I can only post them to the avatar box.)

Hiya SealPoet. Back in my bartending days you'd have been what we called a "regular odd", one of those that came back time and again but didn't really mingle. The pinball sounds like great therapy.

A college bar called The Spa?

Hey husker, what was Little Bo's all about?

Montana, I love those double life kind of places. I worked in a place that was businessmen by day and alternate weeks of blues dogs and jazz hounds by night. That sure keeps it interesting.

The big field sounds like my kind of hang out!

Current favorites are Legends and the new Fionn MacCool's where we had our Toronto gathering. Long-gone faves were Daquiri's, and Tiger's Coconut Grove, one of the most peculiar and unique places in the city. They had great Jamaican patties, and the strongest house-made ginger beer around. Hanging out in Toronto is becoming very expensive these days, sadly.

I don't think I've ever had a particular 'hang out'. When I was getting together with friends we would hand out at one or the other's house or various malls or clubs. I guess I've just never been much of the 'hang out' girl. I like 'hanging out' in A2K while I'm at work though (only when I'm in trial of course).

I'm not feeling a huge loss of a "NORM!!!!!" like greeting though - am I missing out on something?

cavfancier, you've just reminded me of a great hang out my gal pals and I used to hit regularly called Carl's Tiki Nook. It was in a cruddy strip center near the airport and all dolled up like a crazy beach cabana on the inside.

Hanging out is expensive, no doubt.

What is it about your current hangouts that keep you coming back?

Value and atmosphere always keeps me coming back.