We staycated: Portland Spring Break= Play Time

Likewise Bar, Pips and Bounce, and Family LARPing with Boffers
  Okay, I realize that the title of this blog probably doesn't make any sense.  Don't worry though, I'm gonna break it down for you.  First off, sometimes your inner child needs a nice cocktail. Possibly while sitting on bleachers watching the world go by.  Perhaps said cocktail is mixed by a performance artist with little bar tending experience but who is highly skilled at portraying Garfield the cat. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Likewise Bar:http://www.kgw.com/story/features/2015/03/11/likewise-bar-portland/70148992/ .  I think this local news clip does a decent job of capturing this hard to put into words establishment.  Here's a view from the bleachers:

I met up with Renee there and we loved everything about it.  We're even saving up the $700.00 for their famous "Oregon Seafood Experience".  (Not really),(see video above)  But seriously, I'm really looking forward to a return visit.
  Another super fun bar with a twist is located quite near Likewise.  Pips and Bounce is Portland's premier ping pong pub (http://www.pipsandbounce.com ).  

You can rent tables in half hour increments. Minors are welcome.   They supply paddles and large buckets of balls.  Decadently, you can just let your balls fly willy nilly (how's THAT for a slogan?!) because they have a staff member go around occasionally and pick up all the fallen balls with a home made ball retrieval contraption.  All you have to do is flail around wildly with your deluxe paddle and nurse your beer.  If you have a hankering  to feel like you're in a Wes Anderson movie, this place is for you. 
  And finally, what ARE boffers? Short answer: foam swords.  Long answer: we were introduced to boffering through an elective my eleven year old was offered at school.  The kids had  to first construct their own swords out of PVC piping, clear tubing,  black foam pipe insulation, and duct tape.

 Then they learned sparring,  strategy, and following rules that are very much like fencing.  Needless to say, this was a huge hit at school  and with our family. Note our burgeoning home arsenal pictured at the left.  My guess is boffering grew out of the L.A.R.P-ing community. (That's Live Action Role Playing for the un-nerds and/or uncool folks out there.)  So naturally we gave it a shot:

Early awkward attempt at LARPing:
Interstella vs. Cowthulu

Mostly though, we enjoy the simplicity and strategy of sparring.  Despite the fact that this may look like fighting or maybe even violent, it doesn't feel like that at all.  It feels like PLAY.  Which it is.  We took our swords to a larger family gathering with cousins, aunts, uncles, grandma, etc. and there was much laughing, giggling, and shrieking by 3 generations of folks.
  If you would like to learn more about this definitely check out the website of the Mountain and Rose Boffer Guild (http://www.mountainandrose.com).  These are the people who run the program at my daughter's school.  In true Portlandia style they offer classes, camps, and parties.  Now that has 50th birthday party written all over it:).

It's on.