Another March Summary
This was one of the most memorable marches for a number of reasons. 95th has become my favorite of the two marches we go on as I actually like most of the bars on the stretch as opposed to 79th, where I hate most of them. I had not thrown up from drinking since my bachelor party in 2003. Well, sadly that streak is now over. I blame myself, big time as I didn’t follow my own advice and eat a sensible meal beforehand. I ate too early and drank too late. Here is a rundown.
The Hilton – We started there and everything stated off as normal. I paid $5.50 for a Heineken and sat there as the only person at the bar who was not going to a wedding at the hotel. Dell and Rob arrived a few minutes after I did and we were soon on our way.
The Hot Corner – Sadly the Hot Corner did not have any Schlitz like it normally does. It did have a ton of shady characters. It looked as if all the patrons had been there all day drinking already. There was really shitty bad pseudo 80’s metal being played on the juke box. There was one table in the corner with like six guys drooling over a beach dyed blonde stripper wannabe. It was a really, really bad scene. We all ordered Old Style’s and drank them in record time. The only saving grace of the place was getting a picture of Dell drinking out of an Old Style Cub bottle.
The Wine Bar – The place is not actually called The Wine Bar, but we have nicknamed it that. I think the real name is Vino’s something or other. Not really a beer joint but, I do kind of like the place. I grabbed a Stella, which I was surprised they carried. They had a saxophone dude up front playing some smooth jazz. Wasn’t really the type of bar three dudes on the southside would normally hang out. Still the bartender was nice enough (and a Cub fan) and after the carnage we witnessed at the Hot Corner it was a welcome relief.
The Gaslight – It was kind of a sparse crowd at the Gaslight. It was my turn to buy so I ordered up a round of Pabst Blue Ribbon. Rob found a bags video game in the corner so, we gave it a whirl. After playing I think we all agreed it, kind of sucked. At the Gaslight the debate raged, on weather or not we should actually go to the VFW. We after some debate decided to give it a whirl.
The VFW – We walked in bracing for the worst when in reality it wasn’t all that bad. Sure, it was a bit outdated but all of the patrons were nice as was the bartender. I had Rob get me a Miller Genuine Draft and we found a small table off to the side. I am not sure if this is a badge of honor or not, but I have been in a lot of VFW bars in my day, and I must say, this was one of the nicest if not the nicest. Not sure if I could ever become a regular, but a clean place with cheap drinks. What is not to like.
The Goal Post – It was karaoke night, need I say more? Actually it wasn’t that bad. I knew I had to get a Budweiser out of the way, so I had Dell grab me one and it really sucked. We sat down at a table and the waitress asked if we would like some chips and salsa. We said, sure. That would be a mistake for Nick as that was what came back up at 6 in the morning. But I digress. Tony would eventually meet us there and would add one to our marching pack.
Deja Brew – Deja has a very good beer garden. But, after sticking our heads out there, we saw it was pretty crowded. So, we just grabbed a table. Running out of beer brands I went with a Miller Genuine 64 which is kind of like a Michelob Ultra. In case you were wondering, it sucked. The bar inside was pretty dead so, we finished up our drinks rather quickly and headed out.
St. James Place – I swear I don’t know how this bar stays in business. There was no one there. I wanted a Rolling Rock but they were out so, instead Tony grabbed me a Miller High Life. I went up to the juke box and being drunk, for all I know I put in a ten because it seemed like I had endless credits. I played a bunch of tunes that were still playing as we left. We stayed there awhile and bullshitted before finally heading out.
George’s – On the way to George’s we were met by Wally, Johna, Chris, Alicia, Mike and Shannon who were nice enough to serenade me Happy Birthday on the corner. We all piled into George’s where Rob got me a Corona. Wally then ordered a dozen shots of Sambuka (would have been cheaper to just ask for the bottle) and I proceeded to drink three of the shots. I bullshitted with the new members of the march and we had a good old time as I tried not to rub it in too much about the Cub victory earlier that day.
BJ McMahon’s – At long last we had reached the last bar on the march. I was already pretty bombed by this point. We sat in the beer garden and a waitress came up to us. She told us they had Point so we were pretty happy. I went into the bar to take a leak. The waitress stopped me to inform me they were out of Point but did have Point Pale Ale. I told her that would fine. That would be another huge mistake. The only way I can describe the beer is that it tasted like Christmas. It was awful. We all choked it down as best we could. It was pure gasoline and to end a march it was a really bad choice.
After leaving BJ’s Tony gave me a ride and I got home and went right to bed. Then at 6 AM the feeling hit me and anyone that has ever over-indulged knows that feeling. I am so pissed at myself. I should have known better and maybe at 39 my wife slightly hinted that maybe I am getting a little to old for marching. I perish the thought.
Here are some pictures of the carnage. http://www.flickr.com/photos/43299774@N00/sets/72157605810614926/
The Hilton – We started there and everything stated off as normal. I paid $5.50 for a Heineken and sat there as the only person at the bar who was not going to a wedding at the hotel. Dell and Rob arrived a few minutes after I did and we were soon on our way.
The Hot Corner – Sadly the Hot Corner did not have any Schlitz like it normally does. It did have a ton of shady characters. It looked as if all the patrons had been there all day drinking already. There was really shitty bad pseudo 80’s metal being played on the juke box. There was one table in the corner with like six guys drooling over a beach dyed blonde stripper wannabe. It was a really, really bad scene. We all ordered Old Style’s and drank them in record time. The only saving grace of the place was getting a picture of Dell drinking out of an Old Style Cub bottle.
The Wine Bar – The place is not actually called The Wine Bar, but we have nicknamed it that. I think the real name is Vino’s something or other. Not really a beer joint but, I do kind of like the place. I grabbed a Stella, which I was surprised they carried. They had a saxophone dude up front playing some smooth jazz. Wasn’t really the type of bar three dudes on the southside would normally hang out. Still the bartender was nice enough (and a Cub fan) and after the carnage we witnessed at the Hot Corner it was a welcome relief.
The Gaslight – It was kind of a sparse crowd at the Gaslight. It was my turn to buy so I ordered up a round of Pabst Blue Ribbon. Rob found a bags video game in the corner so, we gave it a whirl. After playing I think we all agreed it, kind of sucked. At the Gaslight the debate raged, on weather or not we should actually go to the VFW. We after some debate decided to give it a whirl.
The VFW – We walked in bracing for the worst when in reality it wasn’t all that bad. Sure, it was a bit outdated but all of the patrons were nice as was the bartender. I had Rob get me a Miller Genuine Draft and we found a small table off to the side. I am not sure if this is a badge of honor or not, but I have been in a lot of VFW bars in my day, and I must say, this was one of the nicest if not the nicest. Not sure if I could ever become a regular, but a clean place with cheap drinks. What is not to like.
The Goal Post – It was karaoke night, need I say more? Actually it wasn’t that bad. I knew I had to get a Budweiser out of the way, so I had Dell grab me one and it really sucked. We sat down at a table and the waitress asked if we would like some chips and salsa. We said, sure. That would be a mistake for Nick as that was what came back up at 6 in the morning. But I digress. Tony would eventually meet us there and would add one to our marching pack.
Deja Brew – Deja has a very good beer garden. But, after sticking our heads out there, we saw it was pretty crowded. So, we just grabbed a table. Running out of beer brands I went with a Miller Genuine 64 which is kind of like a Michelob Ultra. In case you were wondering, it sucked. The bar inside was pretty dead so, we finished up our drinks rather quickly and headed out.
St. James Place – I swear I don’t know how this bar stays in business. There was no one there. I wanted a Rolling Rock but they were out so, instead Tony grabbed me a Miller High Life. I went up to the juke box and being drunk, for all I know I put in a ten because it seemed like I had endless credits. I played a bunch of tunes that were still playing as we left. We stayed there awhile and bullshitted before finally heading out.
George’s – On the way to George’s we were met by Wally, Johna, Chris, Alicia, Mike and Shannon who were nice enough to serenade me Happy Birthday on the corner. We all piled into George’s where Rob got me a Corona. Wally then ordered a dozen shots of Sambuka (would have been cheaper to just ask for the bottle) and I proceeded to drink three of the shots. I bullshitted with the new members of the march and we had a good old time as I tried not to rub it in too much about the Cub victory earlier that day.
BJ McMahon’s – At long last we had reached the last bar on the march. I was already pretty bombed by this point. We sat in the beer garden and a waitress came up to us. She told us they had Point so we were pretty happy. I went into the bar to take a leak. The waitress stopped me to inform me they were out of Point but did have Point Pale Ale. I told her that would fine. That would be another huge mistake. The only way I can describe the beer is that it tasted like Christmas. It was awful. We all choked it down as best we could. It was pure gasoline and to end a march it was a really bad choice.
After leaving BJ’s Tony gave me a ride and I got home and went right to bed. Then at 6 AM the feeling hit me and anyone that has ever over-indulged knows that feeling. I am so pissed at myself. I should have known better and maybe at 39 my wife slightly hinted that maybe I am getting a little to old for marching. I perish the thought.
Here are some pictures of the carnage. http://www.flickr.com/photos/43299774@N00/sets/72157605810614926/
posted by 10withmop at 4:08 PM
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