Many thanks go out this holiday of all holiday seasons; the opening day of hunting season I guess is okay for some but of course the birth of the big head forty five years ago (less a few days) takes the cake of them all! And what a four day celebration it was!
The first thank you goes out to everyone at Mixx Bar on Wednesday night for the pre-birthday celebration. I wasn't expecting the gifts but am thankful for them!
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| fancy tequila, supposedly |
The second thank you goes out to Doke for the Thursday, one night road trip to the Windy City. The north "Loop" walking bar tour downtown never fails to deliver and deliver it did. It started harmlessly at about 3 PM Thursday at a bar called "Chill" right in the heart of the Loyola campus area. There we encountered bartender Hattie; a North Carolina transplant who ten or so years ago packed her bags from Wilmington one drunken night (not making this up) and headed north to live the midwest dream I guess. So the birthday boy sought out his first celebration shot and Hattie presented this tequila that was, according to the bar owner, created with the help of Jack Nicholson and only available in three bars in the world. Whatever; just give me a lemon with that please. The owner seemed insulted by my lemon request as it was supposedly so outstanding that a chaser wouldn't be needed. And yep, I had the tequila face after downing said shot.
From there the tour headed north to Mike Ditka's restaurant and who was there in attendance? None other than the owner himself. That is the second time I've seen him there so a gold star to Iron Mike for making sure a place with his name on it is doing it the right way. The place is A#1.
While it was probably a blessing in disguise, I was surprised that when I threw out my "What do I get for my birthday?" line, a handful of bars advised I would get a "Happy Birthday" and a smile and that would be it. What's with that? But yes, it was probably for the best. One bartender advised she made the best Long Island Ice Tea in the city so I had to see for myself. It was quite delicious and of course it was probably just a coincidence that the evening got a bit blurry after that; you think?
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| Al C. dialing it in |
The third thank you goes to north Dunham Beach resident Al C. for the lake float on Saturday. After returning home to the Motor City for a rest, it was just too nice of a day Saturday to lollygag and I didn't want to watch the Spartans lose again (they lost, surprise!). While the fish were nowhere to be found, the Dunham Lake experience is, as Seger says, good for the soul. The sun was out and it was just us and the birds.
The last thank you of course goes out to my parents for having that extra glass of wine that chilly February night 45 years ago. Thanks.....man!
Trail Head
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| Iron Mike |
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| stressful |
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| even got a mountain bike ride in! |
Many thanks go out this holiday of all holiday seasons; the opening day of hunting season I guess is okay for some but of course the birth of the big head forty five years ago (less a few days) takes the cake of them all! And what a four day celebration it was! 
