Our 49th Wedding Anniversary-- Part 8: Toasting 49 Years and That Little Bottle of Blue Nun

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25

We walked over to the VFW, about a block away and enjoyed their $2 drafts and especially enjoyed talking with the other folks there.  You can almost always strike up a conversation at this "Cheers" kind of a place.  Hopefully, the Gold Room will be better the next time we go there as it is a "Cheers" kind of place also.  Yesterday, we only had one and then done.

Returned to the motel and had our Riesling wine while we toasted 49 years of being wed and Amby and his little bottle of Blue Nun.

We didn't have anyone sitting outside their room last night, but tonight was different.  The people in the rooms next to us were outside and we had a great talk with them.  One couple were farmers from near Galesburg.

Sitting outside your room and talking with fellow travelers is one of our favorite things about staying in a mom and pop motel.

--RoadTalk

Our 49th Wedding Anniversary-- Part 2: Galena's Gold Room, Paradise and VFW

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 24

We then drove back to downtown Galena and began the long look to find a parking space somewhere.  It is a popular tourist spot, so always a lot of cars (especially on the weekends).  Of course, a new problem is that my depth perception has really gotten bad, so parallel parking would not be a good idea.  We saw several good parallel parking spaces of course.  

I dropped Liz of outside one of our favorite watering holes in Galena, the Gold Room and then spent another ten minutes looking for a spot and finally found one at a good distance from the Gold Room.  Walked back and we went inside.  Sadly, the place was dead so just had one beer and left.

We were planning to eat at Dirty Gurt's nearby, but they are closed on Wednesdays.  Continued walking and found a likely place called Paradise Pub & Grub and stopped in.  They had a spaghetti special so I got that and Liz had a pork loin sandwich.

Next stop was at our favorite drinking place in Galena, the VFW which still has their $2 Busch Light pints so thoroughly enjoyed them.

Went back to the Grant Hills Motel and sat outside.  Unfortunately, no one else did. so it was just Liz and me.  Folks need to know that when you have a motel like that, you should sit outside.

--RoadDog

POINTS TO PONDER:   Why is QUITE A FEW the same as QUITE A LOT?

Happy 44th Year to Tom Fuchs at Oak Park Lounge on Illinois' Pistakee Lake

In a few hours, we are going to go over to Oak Park Lounge to wish owner Tom Fuchs who will be celebrating his 44th year of owning the place today.  He opened for business on August 1, 1976.  Of course, the place dates to the 1890s and looks quite a bit like it did back in the 1930s (we've seen pictures of the inside of the place from back then).

In short, it is one of our favorite "Dive Bars."  It is a Chain of Lakes original.  A big party is planned with food, a band and deejay all outside.  Plus, our favorite bar mutt, Bomber, will be lording over everything.  He is a black lab.  Tom may think he's the boss, but all of us know better.  Is there any more spoiled dog than a bar dog?  He fits the bill.

Forty-four years owning a bar is a real long time.  So, congrats to Tom!!!

Of Course, Social Distancing.  --RoadBomber

Good Thing We Got Out of Boating Last Year

From the April 22, 2020, Chicago Tribune "Uncertainty for Lake County boating season" by Karie Angell Luc.

Looks like we times getting out of boating very well, having sold our third and last boat just this past June.  We were boating fanatics for many years, buying our first boat in 1985 because I was deejaying at Neptune's Cove and the Puppet Bar on the Chain of Lakes every weekend and those folks coming in off those boats were having just too much fun.  Thirty-three years of boating fun.

But, in the last eight years,it seemed like we were getting the boat our later and later each year and we weren't having as much fun as before.  Between fewer bars on the Chain of Lakes, bigger and faster boats and the water cop presence, the good times were waning.  And, of course we were getting older, so getting in and out of the boat and covering it up was becoming more of a problem.

And, then, the weather has been horrible the last several seasons.  The Chain was closed for much of 2017 and in 2018, we were late getting the boat out in July and then had one mechanical issue after another, so much in fact that we didn't get out at all.  That's when we decided the time for boating had passed us by.

Plus, it was funny to all watching me trying to back the boat up to launch it since I only did that once a year.  Once in the water, it stayed in the water.

So, we sold it.

Now this year, the weather has been absolutely horrible all spring with the exception of maybe there days.  Plus, now we have the "V" thing going on.  The few bars and restaurants left on the Chain can't open until the end of May, so the big Memorial Day weekend party is gone.  And, of course, boating is a social thing and this be the age of social you-know-whating.

So, Looking Like a less Than Fun Boating Season Coming.  --RoadDog

LAUGHTER HELPS WITH THE "V":  If you're having trouble with locating toilet paper, here's a life hack.  When you return a book to the library, they almost never count the pages.  (But, wait!!  libraries are all closed now, so where does that get you?)

About Last Weekend: It's a Burnin' Thing, Third Band in Three Days, the Chain and Four Bars Today

SUNDAY, MAY 6

After several failed efforts, I finally got a fire hot enough and managed top burn a lot of the accumulated limbs in the burn pile.

We then went to Cabana's to meet with several of our Usual Suspects group and enjoy the New Odyssey Guy.  He is the former drummer of New Odyssey who is out on his own now that the band retired.  We knew he would be good and he was.  Enjoyed sitting out in the grass, in the sun and with temperatures in the upper 70s.  A great way to kick off another summer on the Chain of Lakes here in Illinois.

With him, that makes three bands that we saw in the last three days.

And, I guess we finally really broke that long list of weekends destroyed weatherwise by the infamous Round Lake Spring Carnival.

We then went to Oak Park Lounge, a holdout from the original Chain, dating back to 1890s and it hasn't changed much.  It is a bona fide Dive Bar.  We love it, but don't go as often as we should.  Plus, they have one of the most spoiled bar dogs who has ever lived, Bomber.  He has every one trained well.

We ran into a couple who we found out had a lot in common with us.  He graduated from Fremd High School in 1974.  They have a house near where we were seriously looking at a lot on the Chain back in 1991.  They met each other in Panama City Beach.

We then went to Sunnyside for a pizza and $1.50 drafts and finished up with a lot of juke box playing at Sunnyside.

That's four bars today.

Too Much Fun.  --RoadFun

JSS: Academy Awards-- Driftwood Problems-- Prince O-Whales

JSS--  Just Some Stuff


1.  ACADEMY AWARDS--  A big thanks to Regal Cinemas in Round Lake Beach, Illinois, for devoting screens to showing the movies nominated for Best Picture in the Academy Awards.  Of the nine nominated, I had only seen four of them (despite having been to theaters 55 times in 2017):  "Darkest Hour", "Dunkirk", "The Post" and "Three Billboards."

I have since seen "Call Me By Your Name", "Lady Bird" and "The Shape of Water".  I plan to see the other two  this week.

2.  DRIFTWOOD PROBLEMS--  I have actually been able to catch up on my blogs after having all sorts of problems while at Panama City Beach at the Driftwood Lodge, which would not accept my laptop and at one time we didn't have enough power to get on line.

3.  PRINCE O'WHALES--  Last week, Liz called me from the computer downstairs to watch the episode on NCIS: LA in which the bar Prince O'Whales near Los Angeles was blown up.  We'd visited the bar back in 2006 when we were looking for NTN sites to play trivia.  It was surely a dive bar then, but still stands as an area in the back specially constructed for the site was blown up.  They even had a "See Us Get Blown Up" party.

Love Those Dive Bars.  --RoadDog

LOVEMAKING TIPS FOR SENIORS:  Set timer for 3 minutes, in case you doze off in the middle.

Just Got Back From PCB-- Part 2: Hitting the Bars and Mardi Gras

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 2

We arrived in Panama City Beach (PCB) around noon and checked into the Driftwood Lodge.   Went to Wal-Mart to stock up the beer and then drove the long, long way (distance, traffic and stoplights) out to the east end of PCB looking for a bar friends had told us about called Patches, but couldn't find it.

Disappointed as we were, we drowned our sorrows at Sharkeys, Pompano Joe's and finally, our favorite PCB watering hole, Donovan's Reef.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 3

Had breakfast at Burger King and did some shopping at Dollar Tree and bought a king cake at Winn-Dixie.  Hey, Mardi Gras after all.   And, Mardi Gras in both Panama City and PCB was a big reason we came down this early in February.

Drove to Panama City for the St. Andrews Mardi Gras parade and collected a whole lot of beads even though we weren't really trying to get them.

We "found" patches on the way back, and it was everything we had heard it was, a locals favorite and quite the dive bar with patches of military, fire departments and police all over the interior.

Went to Donovan's, something we did every day we were in PCB.

Getting Into the Swing of Things.  --RoadDog

JSS: Our Teams Out-- A Perfect Afternoon-- NFL Saying Sorry?

JSS--  Just Some Stuff

1.  OUR TEAMS OUT--  Saturday was not only a rainy and cool day, but a real bad one for the teams Liz and I were backing in the Illinois State High School Football Playoffs.  All three of the teams we were backing:  Palatine, Johnsburg and Richmond-Burton were beaten and are out of it.  At least now, I don't have to think about sitting outside in miserable weather.

2.  A PERFECT AFTERNOON--  Yesterday we drove over to the Squaw Bar in Ingleside, Illinois, where they were having a chili cookoff.  Not only that, but they had a band playing in the afternoon, cheap beer ($6 a pitcher domestic) and the Squaw is a perfect dive bar.  Those four things come together to make for a real fun afternoon.

3.  NFL SAYING SORRY?  With the commercials the NFL was running yesterday during the games and the coaching garb on the sidelines, I'd say the NFL was making peace with the great dishonor they did to our veterans with all that sideline kneeling during the National Anthem.

Liz and I were ready to boycott the NFL next Sunday as our little way of saying here's what we think of you.  Now, we can watch the Bears-Packers game, something which we were sadly not going to watch because of all of this.  Now, we'll watch some of it, but if those players kneel during the anthem before the game, the boycott is on again.

--RoadDog