Positive on both counts.
Once back home, I stole a few moments away from the fam (who didn’t want any part of me anyway – my wife told me I looked like shit and smelled “like a bar”) and took a gander at the Obner thread to see how successful we were at hitting the recommended joints. As I could tell, we only missed a couple.
Over the three days, we hoisted at Allgood, The Winery, The Roadhouse, The Globe, Flanagans, Firehouse, Tasty World, Bar Code, the GA Theater, ummm, Toppers (quite the co-ed 'happy birthday' celebration that night), and a handful of others on gameday that I can't recall (up on Broad). The ‘make it yourself’ bloody mary bar was our first stop each day - except for Friday morning when it was preceded only by Mayflower. Hands down, The Roadhouse was my fave spot of the trip. Unfortunately, we never made it to the Georgia Bar or Manhattan - next time. Ate at Taco Stand a couple of times and grabbed slices at the Italian joint next to the Roadhouse each night. Hit both Schoolkids and Wuxtury, who had a small little cd sale going on (I snagged Mcluskyism for a mere three American pelts).
On game day, we started by barhopping around downtown, then hit a handful of tailgates to visit various folks we knew, including one managed by Ben, a.k.a., Rick “Danger” Derris. He and I were in contact on and off via phone throughout the day, and I think we walked most of Athens before finding him. Unfortunately, lugging around a couple of coolers most of the afternoon was brutal (now that we know the lay o’ the land, we’ll be throwing out our anchor and tailgating in one spot on future trips). Anyway, Ben’s display of Southern hospitality was unfuckwithable, offering us frosty ales, tasty eats, and a damn fine music montage. It may have been the Jack Daniels talkin’, but “Radar Love” never sounded better than it did at that tailgate, a couple of hours before kickoff.
We ended up scoring tix to the game, and the got-damn pageantry that led up to kick off was the stuff of legend. Oh yeah, and so was
this.
Suffice it to say, the trip was the best we’ve made. Thanks to all for the recommendations – made it easy on us - and 'cheers' to Ben for the hospitality. We
will be returning to Athens, although the Alabama @ Ole Miss game is a strong contender for next year’s trip as well.
