Bi-Coastal Partying

The Beer Towers of Scores and the Crawl Crew

I was reminded yesterday in no uncertain terms why I enjoy my birthday so much. It was further enhanced last year with the arrival of a certain young lady out in California near the same date. We were both celebrating our birthdays yesterday, in completely different manners. She was the calm one enjoying a joint birthday party with three of her mother’s friends who all had babies around the same time last year. Reportedly the ball tent, which they took to the party, was a huge hit.

The Birthday Girl and her Mom

The One Year Olds and their Moms

As stated above my celebration was a little more involved. For the third consecutive year I conducted a pub crawl in my hometown. For the third year in a row my Favorite Son made time to come and join us which was truly the best possible birthday present I could have asked for. He joined Keene Friend and I for a pre-crawl lunch at Waxy O’Conner’s which sported a bride and full retinue of bridesmaids sitting at the bar. I didn’t stop to ask what the story was.

So it Begins - Son and Keene Friend Outside Waxy's

My operations manager and his girlfriend heard about the crawl and decided to travel up from Worcester to join us. We were driving back to Keene Friend’s house when we spotted them crossing the street to the first stop on the crawl – Penuche’s Ale House. It was somehow appropriate that shortly after arriving we were joined by a high school classmate that I’ve known since kindergarten. We could look out the window of Penuche’s and see the kindergarten classroom we’d both attended more than a half century ago (Yikes).

First Stop - Penuche's

We drank literally all the Coors Lite beer Penuche’s had and set out for Main Street and the Cobblestone Ale House. I made the mistake of doubling my usual limit of one per establishment at both of the first stops due to slow drinking compatriots. The owner of the Cobblestone bought me a birthday beer and we spent the time in the seating referred to as the Hot Tub (I didn’t ask). We were contacted by the Cantankerous Friend who arranged a rendezvous at our next stop the Lab n’ Lager directly across the street.

Cobblestone

Lab 'n Lager - Now with Cantankerous Freind (in red)

The Cantankerous One joined right in with the festivities and was soon pointing out the evident shortcomings of anyone that wandered into range. He was a great addition to the crowd. My Kindergarten Friend proved critical in grabbing random people to snap the photos you see here. This prevented the sometimes comical attempts at selfies from earlier years. We eased down the street to the Kilkenny Pub which I always enjoy. The Operations Manager’s girlfriend got confused by some signage and walked into the Men’s Room at one point. Luckily her boyfriend was the only occupant. We were joined by two very large dogs while we were there who parked themselves in front of the door and demanded to be patted – you can figure how much I hated that.

Kilkenny Dogs

Our next stop was directly across the street at Margarita’s where we were assisted by the kindergarten friend’s daughter and his sister joined the group for the duration of the crawl. Our group expanded as two other high school classmates and their significant others joined us but regrettably the Cantankerous Friend had to depart. The conversation became more lively as more product of the brewer’s art was sent to its just end. The Operations Manager’s girlfriend confided that Jumanji was one of her favorite movies. We told her she was in for a treat as we headed towards Central Square and what has become known in pub crawl parlance as the “Pour House Turn”.

After the Margarita's Expansion

Jumanji Prop

The Pour House Turn

We pointed out where the most famous scene from the movie was shot and took their picture next to the painted billboard for the fictional Parrish Shoe company. The Pour House was a lot of fun as Favorite Son took on the Keene Friend in darts and we lost our rock climbing classmate and her fiancé. The sun had finally set and the beer towers of our final destination, Scores Sports Bar, beckoned.

The Beer Towers and Sports of Scores

We settled into Scores for the long haul as Keene Friend 2 and still another high school classmate (who shares the exact same birthday as I do) showed up. It was a great evening of time spent with friends. The Kindergarten’s Friend’s sister introduced us to Poutine, a Canadian treat that Scores served. It consisted of French fries and cheese covered by gravy – so most of the basic food groups. The evening started to wind down around 9, eight hours after we started and Scores was overrun by a crowd of young women. That would normally call for continued patronage but again – we were eight hours in. The early violation of the one beer rule came back to haunt me a little bit as we had to leave some beer in a one of the towers when we departed.

Plate of Poutine

The walk back to Keene Friend’s house was fraught with peril as the sidewalks refused to cooperate but I eventually overcame the issue. The last plate of poutine proved to be a gastrointestinal problem but Keene Friend plied me with pizza and birthday cake to assuage those concerns. My son had brought a horror movie he wanted to watch together but Keene Friend’s couch performed its usual effect of inducing sleep. Note that I blame the couch and not what I’d been doing the rest of the day. I saw the first five minutes and the last 30 seconds of the movie. He was not amused.

My Pub Crawl Partner - The Best

I feel truly blessed to have such a wealth of friends who volunteered a significant cut of their Saturday afternoon to hang out with us. The first crawl, three years ago, was just my son and I, but it’s gotten bigger each year. The best part, by far, is the time I get to spend with my son. The fact that he still wants to hang out with his old man, even into his thirties, never fails to touch my heart.

My Panamanian Cowgirl

The First Blog Reader and I weren’t the only ones partying yesterday. My wife attended a high school reunion down in Panama. The party had a cowboy theme so she pulled off a very fetching vaquero outfit. Only three more days until she comes home – I better get stated with the cleaning.

A final and huge thank you to all of you that attended the crawl – your companionship was a treasure.