When we went down south to see family at the end of last year Gail and I took a detour to Oakland, Oregon to see if we could find the tavern were we carved our names into the bar back in '84 while riding with the Emerald Valley ABATE chapter (mentioned in the post The Snake Pit). We rolled into town and found the place but the 'Closed' sign had been hung out. We watched some people go in so we thought what the hell, and went in too.
We were met by Eric, the owner and instantly felt at home. Seems that because it was Christmas Eve, along with it being his wife's birthday, he decided to close early and have a few friends celebrate the occasion. After talking with Eric for awhile (turns out we went to the same high school), we told him why we were there and he knew exactly where the blocks were. It was good to see that after all these years the names were still there.
Since our last time there, several more Hells Angels had carved their names in the bar, the most noted being that of Mr. Sonny Barger, himself (along with his then-wife Sharon). Also, there were a number of Outsiders MC members represented as well. A pretty cool record of outlaw motorcycle club history.
Our thanks to Eric for the hospitality and the free beers. I am going to make a point of stopping in this summer on my way down to Born Free.
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