Where the Sun Always Sets

The best outdoor venue on the West Coast isn’t the Rose Bowl either. What? Hearsay! I hear you. I understand you. I know that the way the sun sets in the third quarter, casting the stadium full of college football fans in an amber hue, is the visual representation of the only pure thing in college football. It is perhaps the most magical golden hour in all of sport.Then It is because of this you’d think the Rose Bowl is the greatest outdoor venue on the west coast. You’d still be wrong.

I’ll save you the time of rattling off other great west coast stadiums, ball parks, arenas, and amphitheaters. It’s not the Hollywood Bowl and it’s not The Colosseum. If you head north you’ll still strike out at Oracle Park. Head further north and you’re getting warmer. But it isn’t Autzen Stadium where the Oregon Ducks fly in highlighter toned jerseys. It’s not even Husky Stadium, where the University of Washington football team defends their turf on the banks of Lake Washington. Although, if you travel up the road a few miles you’ll find it; because, the greatest outdoor venue on the West Coast is the rooftop of an Airbnb in Seattle’s Queen Anne East neighborhood.

This humble rooftop came complete with regulation pong sized table, plenty of seating, and sweeping views of the Sound — where seaplanes would take-off and land from as our own little pre-game flyover. Mt. Rainier in all its beauty sat comfortably nudged next to Seattle’s twenty second century skyline. Further out beyond the lake and sky were more snow capped peaks of mountains out in the distance. The views alone were almost enough to completely captivate you, if it weren’t for the heat of the competition around the pong table.

The power in this table was its ability to host any number of drinking games. It served admirably as a field of play not just for traditional beer pong, but also for games of Boom, Beer-Die (as in a singular dice), Flip Cup (just large enough for a five on five faceoff), and Ride the Bus. It was our Field of Dreams, with less stalks of corn and more Bud Light.

From Thursday through Saturday night this rooftop became our arena, congregation, first beer of the day destination, and last stop before sleep finally overtook us. It was where I was with eleven friends who each represented a significant part of my life and we could all be together in perfect harmony. It was a kind of scene that had only existed in hypotheticals of what a weekend like this could be like. Now it will always live as a memory of what it was.

The best places, from ballparks to beaches, seem to have sun sets that are special. Somehow the sun sets more beautifully in these places than back home where all we get are crappy overcast sunsets. Dodger’s Stadium, The Rose Bowl, and this rooftop in Seattle’s Queen Anne East are all capable of the awe-inspiring, stop what you’re doing and take a look at this, sunset.

That will be what I remember most from that weekend. It won’t be how creamy the lobster bisque was or how buttery the ribeye tasted. It’s not going to be how the electric boat was a much better option than kayaking. It won’t even be trying to convince half the party that I Think You Should Leave is the greatest comedy of our time (and it is). I will remember us on that rooftop listening to music in the middle of a Beer-Die game, as the sun began to set. The orange glow off my friends was like watching a memory being cast in the dye of eternity in real time. It was a memory coming into focus like a polaroid picture being shaken out.

When the final night of the weekend came, the energy on the rooftop was more subdued. Like all great athletes in stadiums that require a little something extra, we left it all on the field. With every cup that was flipped, pong ball sunk, and bitch-cup drank, we didn’t leave anything to waste. The rooftop deserved it. So while some guys played card games at the table, and others lounged on laid back chairs, the sun set for us one last time.

We could’ve called it a night. Then someone pointed at the horizon and said look. It was a Blood Moon as ripe and juicy as the orange sun had been for us the last few days. It was the kind of moon that drew all of our attention and made us reconsider had we ever truly seen the moon before this?

In sum, there are a lot of great outdoor venues on the west coast, and the threading needle is how the best can incorporate a good sun set. But you’d be wrong if you didn’t think the best venue also had a Blood Moon too.

— BR

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Brandon lives in Chicago, IL with his dog, Memphis, and fiance, Jamie. He’s partial to beer games on rooftops, most especially if there’s a good sunset too.

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