Crawled

Start of the Crawl with Keene Friend and Favorite Son

I am going to be completely inadequate in what follows trying to describe just how much fun I had yesterday on my birthday pub crawl. I returned home to Keene and linked up with Keene Friend and My Favorite Son to commence operations. Our first stop was lunch out at Waxy O’Conner’s where we’ve started the last two annual crawls. Upon arrival we found my favorite cousin and his wife already at the bar waiting to start festivities. We received text messages from my sister and brother in law who were unusually timely being only twenty minutes behind schedule.

Team Assembled

During lunch I received a text from Keene Friend 2 who was scouting some of the target pubs and reported that Keene State College was also conducting a city wide pub crawl so we would have some competition. I always scheduled the bars closest to campus for early in the crawl as most college students aren’t awake in the early Saturday afternoon (I remember). It turned out each of the bars we were planning on hitting were also on the college teams’ list. There were several teams, color coded by t-shirts, rotating between bars. The up side turned out they were very well behaved, probably warned after last year’s Pumpkinfest atrocities, and overpopulated with females. I’m really questioning the sanity of the male Keene State students to let this social opportunity pass by.

Trying to Get Son in Trouble in Penuche's College Team in Background

We returned to Keene Friends’ house to stow our cars and made the short walk to Penuche’s which is right next to the school I attended kindergarten. Since I had only mentioned this several thousand times previously to my son I gave him a full description of this element of family history. We entered Penuche’s with his eyes still rolling. Upon entering we found the guy who attended the above mentioned kindergarten with me and he turned out to be the star of the crawl. I reconnected with him last year and he was anxious to join the crawl when I announced the event. At each bar we made ceremonial toasts to my new granddaughter, the French, and Wingman’s friend who was a victim of the Paris theater attack.

Wingman's Friend - Killed in Paris

Team Leaving Penuche's - Star of Crawl on Far Left

Penuche’s was overrun by one of the college teams, the yellows, which sported some of the tightest blue jeans I’ve seen. This led to a spirited discussion of just how that was managed. My son wisely texted the missing ABFA that he was surrounded by co-eds but she should ignore any conclusions quickly jumped to. I think he’s getting the whole idea of this marriage thing. My fellow kindergartener convinced the bar tendress that I should be provided with free beer since it was my birthday and I’d brought business with me.

Cobblestone's

We left Penuche’s for our longest walk of the crawl and arrived at the first downtown bar, Cobblestone’s. This is a normal college bar but only stragglers from the college teams were present. My stalwart friend knew the owner and convinced him to buy all of our drinks at this fine establishment. Like I said, a true star of the crawl. 

Lab 'N Lager

A short walk across Main Street had us in the Lab and Lager which I’ve always enjoyed patronizing. The college blue team was present and in full voice when we arrived, synching with a loudly played Brittney Spears song. I had a conversation with the bouncer who smiled when I pointed out the overabundance of female pub crawlers on the college teams. Keene Friend got into a minor scuffle with one of the female crawlers when he mistaken grabbed her beer. My cousin’s wife made it her business to join each of the college teams when we ran into them.

Killkenny's

A short walk up Main Street and a dodge into an alleyway brought us to the Killkenny Pub which turned out to be one of the favorite pubs of the crawl. It’s a little scruffier than the others and is nicknamed “Killers” by the college teams. We hit Killers between college teams and we watched the entry of the orange team which was entertaining.

Margaritas

Across Main Street once again from Killers where we stopped into another old favorite, Margarita’s. The star of the crawl seemed to know someone at every bar we entered and here he even had family on staff with his daughter waitressing there. I missed my Favorite Panamanian especially here since she always enjoys her visits there so much.

Pour House - Team Grows

After Margarita’s we walked up Main Street for the northernmost point of the crawl, the Pour House. This bar is right on Keene’s Central Square and the college’s yellow team was stacked up outside processing through the ID checker. After a short wait and unsuccessful diversion to another nearby bar we entered the Pour House where our team was augmented by another high school classmate and her boyfriend. It was quickly established that he came from Rhode Island and was soon comparing notes with my sister and brother in law who determined they had lived very close to each other. It was a very Rhode Island kind of moment.

Inside Pour House

We now entered the final phase of operations with the move to Scores, where the mythical beer towers beckoned. The college red team was safely holding forth in a back room while we established a cantonment area in the main room.  Every sports event currently underway in the world was on at least one of the dozens of TV screens. We were in turn joined by two additional high school friends, including Keene Friend 2, who swelled our ranks as the consumption of demon alcohol was starting to be felt. We ended up staying at Scores for a little over three hours or four beer towers, depending on how you measure time. We attempted several phone calls to California and Pittsburgh but the overall noise of the bar prevented anything coherent being exchanged, well the beer might have had something to do with that as well.

Cantankerous Friend Arrives at Scores

Over that time the Cantankerous Friend finally made his debut and immediately re-established his credentials in the sarcasm department. Since he was one of the few remaining attendees legally able to drive he squired my cousin’s wife back to pick up her car and return it to the nearby hotel they were staying in. My cousin took the record for the sheer amount of beer consumed over the day but that bill came due at Scores where he started snoozing a little. The group slowly broke up over the hours but nothing could dim the absolute blast the entire day had been. My sister and brother in law disappeared in search of food and were last seen departing for Rhode Island.

Coming Home

The frosty walk back to Keene Friend’s house culminated with a whoopee pie birthday cake the Keene Friend had arranged. My son brought a movie to watch while we absolutely destroyed a couple pizzas unwise enough to wander into our vicinity. I’ll admit I saw very little of the movie as I spent several extended periods inspecting the underside of my eyelids. The rest of the remaining crew hung around to about eleven. I can’t say enough good things about the friends I’m blessed with. They made my birthday something to remember for as many years as I’ve got left doing this thing called life. I’m already planning next year’s crawl.

FaceTime Call with Grandpa

A lot more important events were transpiring back in California where the First Blog Reader was escorted home for the first time. The pictures tell a much better story than my meager talents, she’s so beautiful!!!!!

Cat Trying to Figure Out Who the Little One is