Yes, it's true.

My compass, my point of reference, my center of the civilized world, my source of great joy and happiness and sustenance and liquid refreshment is...

... closed. Gone. Albeit temporarily.

Yes, that's right folks. Bleacher's Restaurant & Pub on Forest Ave., a Portland icon these many years, closed its doors last evening. But not before a raucous evening of Monday Night Trivia amidst a crowd that was wall to wall and mug to mug.

I was there, of course, with several other local adventurers, my butt seated comfortably on a familiar stool, my elbows rubbing the familiar wood of the bar, my hand clutching that familiar pint glass. We drank (responsibly of course) and reminisced and yucked it up. It was fun. It was sad. It was the end of an era.

But alas, owners Chuck and Gladys assure me that Bleacher's will be re-opening in their new location at 118 Preble St. in Portland sometime in the next month. And there will be cause for celebration once again.

But in the meantime, there will be a void. Where will we adventurers go for sustenance and liquid replenishment after mountain biking, road biking, hiking, sea kayaking, walking the Back Cove, and other strenuous physical outdoor activity?

That is the tough question I ponder today. How to make it through.

So I ask you, what will you do to fill this temporary void?