Friday’s group hike was rather interesting. Unlike the Hash trails, we normally don’t have a predetermined course plotted, just a general sense of the area we want to explore. Sometimes this leads to unanticipated results, usually not in a good way. Trailblazing through bushes, briars, and brambles, an unexpected dead-end, a steeper, and longer climb than desired–we had all that and more during yesterday’s journey. And oh yeah, for the first time in my hiking career I participated in tearing down a fence that had us trapped with no way forward, and going back down where we had just suffered an exhaustingly steep climb was not an option. And for the record, once we passed through we re-erected the fence. No harm, no foul!
There was a reward for all of our struggles though–one of the nicest views I’ve enjoyed on any of our hikes. The picture above is one take on that. What made the view unique was that from our vantage point it was all-encompassing. We could the bay and the surrounding mountains which is pretty standard. The clear skies yesterday also allowed us to see the more distant mountains and beyond. We could even see the ocean out San Antonio way. It made the earlier struggles almost worth it.
To the photos then:
We began our trek by hiking the length of the My Bitch trail. Comparatively easy, but not without peril. In the sections with tall thatch grass, you can’t see where your feet are landing. In one spot there was nothing but the grass. Scott took a tumble down a steep slope but was able to grab a banana tree to avert disaster.Doing the laundry in a creek bed. I was glad I was able to reward the hard-working mamas with some cookies for their kids. Some of that tall grass I mentioned.I’ve got another angle on Easter mountain coming up…Near the end of My Bitch, we paused for a group shot.Now, what do we do? Climb up, you say? Sure, why not? What could go wrong?This was the easy part. Once the going got tough, the phone/camera stayed in my pocket and I focused on the task at hand.Well, of course when there was a spectacular view like this one of the full moon, I’d make an exception.In the woods.At the conclusion of our climb and on the other side of the mysteriously downed fence, we came upon this nice little hut.I must say, the thought of sitting out on the porch and enjoying a cold beer or two at the end of the day seemed quite pleasing. Then I remembered what it would take to get the beer up there. Hmm.But with a view like this, it just might be worth the effort. And actually that trail you see in this photo is the proper way up and down the mountain. Much, much easier than the way we climbed.Another angle on the view. That’s Easter mountain on the right...The usual suspects.There was even a treehouse up there.Getting back to my roots on the way down the mountain.And this concludes today’s hiking post.
I’m still stewing in my juices on the subject that I alluded to in yesterday’s post. I’ll try and tackle that one tomorrow. I need to do some more beer-fueled contemplation. Going to be drinking with a friend on Baloy Beach later this afternoon. That will be a good start to my Saturday night.
I find all this “insurrection” talk from the Dems and big media (but I repeat myself) to be rather revolting. Keep it up and you’ll see what a real revolution looks like. But enough with American politics. I live here now and my shenanigans create more than enough drama to fill my days.
I had a nice 7.5K morning walk. Did a photo every ten minutes this time. I’ll add them at the end of this post. My anticipated afternoon delight was a visit from Joy.
I honestly didn’t know what to expect. It was her day off and her idea to come over. I was prepared to do the steak dinner thing, even had the potatoes baking in the oven when she arrived. “How long can you stay?” I asked. She replied that she needed to leave around 3:00. It was currently 2:00, so then I knew what she had come for. So, we took care of business, and it was time to go. I walked her out of the subdivision and invited her to join me at a new Korean place that just opened, but it was closed. So, I took her to Sit-n-Bull instead.
After the meal, we said our goodbyes. And there I stood on the highway in Barretto at 3:30 in the afternoon. I had no expectations about Joy and yet somehow I still felt a sense of disappointment. Nothing a few beers won’t cure I reasoned, so I headed over to the Mango’s beach bar for some solitary contemplation. Then I moved on to Outback for more beer and bargirl company. When I tired of that, I crossed the street to Queen Victoria for more of the same. Well, you get the picture. Just another night in paradise. It ended in a bizarre and unexpected way, copious amounts of beer will sometimes do that, but I’ll have to share that story another time. I’m not sure what I’m doing at this point.
Anyway, I have the Friday hike this morning, the annual Hash leadership meeting in the early afternoon, and then darts in the evening. Wanted to get this post up now as it is likely my only chance to do so.
Yesterday’s solitary hike:
One of my standard paths.0 minutes–leaving home.10 minutes–not far outside the entrance to Alta Vista.20 minutes–that ridiculous and pointless checkpoint on the highway. They didn’t stop me as a pedestrian though.30 minutes–highway walker.40 minutes–market street50 minutes–lazy dogs in front of a sari-sari store.60 minutes–Up to Govic Highway.80 minutes–hello Easter mountain.100 minutes–riverside living.120 minutes–the path to Alta Vista.139 minutes–Home again.
Relive the walk here if you want:
https://www.relive.cc/view/vE6Jpzypexv
It seems life just gets curiouser and curiouser. Stay tuned for whatever may be coming next.
If you're down and confused
And you don't remember who you're talking to
Concentration slip away
Because your baby is so far away
Well there's a rose in a fisted glove
And the eagle flies with the dove
And if you can't be with the one you love, honey
Love the one you're with
It turned out to be a pretty interesting Wednesday. Saw some new scenery with the Walkers group out on the far side of Subic town; that’s always nice. The hike was challenging, as much from the overgrown vegetation as was it from the hill climb. Still, a good group effort, and that made it worthwhile. Pictures from that trek are at the end of this post.
We had a different kind of challenge just getting to Subic. We had the good fortune to catch an empty Jeepney in Barretto so all seventeen of us hikers hopped in the back. We were stopped at the checkpoint as we entered Zambales province and asked for our quarantine cards. Yep, they’ve actually started that madness again. Actually, from what I read they are only supposed to be harassing folks from Manila, but there is no arguing with these petty tyrants. Hell, I technically live in San Isidro which is part of Zambales; am I not going to be allowed to go home without proof of quarantine? Bullshit! Anyway, we just played dumb and said “oh, we didn’t know we had to bring our card” and eventually the bureaucrat let us proceed with the admonishment to bring our cards next time. Yes, sir!
After the hike, some of us did lunch and beers at Dynamite Dick’s. We are between seasons in darts so I wasn’t in my usual big rush to get home. After Dick’s, Scott and I headed over to Hideaway for a couple of more beers. Naturally, I bought my waitress friend Joy a couple of lady drinks. She is going to be visiting me here this afternoon. I’m planning to grill up some steaks and fixin’s. Not sure what she has in mind since I’m no longer doing the FWB program. We’ll see how that goes.
After going home to shower up, I met up with “Bill” at Wet Spot. Bill’s live-in girlfriend has gone home to the province to spend a month or so with family. Bill is also the guy I mentioned that has made it his goal to find me a worthy girlfriend this year. I don’t usually hang with anyone when I hit the bars, but since we are both currently single I thought I’d share my company with him.
Bill was there when I arrived. As I sat down to join him, Aine, the waitress I spend my time with when I visit Wet Spot, came to join us. She wasn’t her usual friendly self though. Turns out she was pissed/hurt because I hadn’t been in to see her for over a week, including the holidays. Well, it wasn’t anything personal, I just don’t visit Wet Spot as frequently as other venues. So I bought her the first of several drinks and let her pout while I gave my attention to Bill. Later on, I bought some chocolates for her from a vendor and she seemed to cheer up some.
Meanwhile, Bill had spotted a hottie on stage and called her down to join us at our table. Twenty-one, dark-skinned, and huge natural tits. Yeah, looked even better close up. Named Barbie. I told her I was Ken, but she didn’t get the joke. Oh well. Bill started buying her some drinks and she loosened up quite a bit–became more talkative and took off her bra! Wowza! As I mentioned, Bill has a girlfriend that he adores, but I could tell he was really tempted to ask for a take-out. Well, I mean, I heard him ask if she was available and she answered affirmatively. Maybe to keep himself out of trouble, he started trying to get me interested in Barbie. Nope, not my thing. Besides, I had a gal next to me already and I’m pretty sure she would have not appreciated it if I started showing affection for another girl in the bar. I learned on my very first trip to the Philippines to never barfine two girls from the same bar. Once they’ve gone with you they consider you exclusively theirs. Bizarre I know, especially since they won’t hesitate to go with another customer who pays the price of admission.
I had originally thought we’d do a bar hop and have dinner somewhere but we wound up staying at Wet Spot and ordering some food from Sit-n-Bull for delivery to our table. When we did finally break free we crossed the street to Cheap Charlies. Bill switched to Cokes but I stuck with my low-alcohol beer. Alma, my favorite, wasn’t working but there were three girls surrounding me so I made do. Bill was working with two of his own and having a good time putting on some dirty dancing moves. I finally called it quits a little after 9:00 and headed on home. A good night overall.
As seen on my morning dog walk today. The beauty that surrounds me here is about the best anti-depressant I’ve ever experienced.
Alright then, let’s get to those pictures from the Wednesday Walkers hike, shall we?
A Jeepney to the start in Philseco, a hike up and over a mountain, and a finish in, hell, I don’t remember now. Caught a bus from there back to Barretto.Exiting the Jeepney……and hitting the road…The Wednesday Walkers. Well, except for the stragglers.Look at ’em go!As usual, the locals were very friendly.Marching on to the end of the neighborhood.Now what? It seems there is no trail over the mountain to be found.We sent Troy into the wild to see what he could find. And, Eureka! He found a path forward.It wasn’t much of a path though. Overgrown with thatch grass most of the way.Nothing to do but keep plodding forward.And there were some parts where it was worse than the grass. Bushes covered in thorns are no fun at all!A rest stop about halfway up.Let’s get this climb done!This rat gave up the fight.What goes up, must come down.Rural living is an understatement!So far, so good.In an ironic twist, the downside was much better than the upside.A village at the bottom.What do I have to complain about?Just passin’ through…A rice paddy…Or are you seeing a nice assy?I know I’m keeping my eyes straight ahead!Enjoy the flat ground while you can…One more hill to climb.On your mark, get set…GO!Looks like I’m gonna finish last. Again.A last look back from whence we came.Done with the hike and waiting on a bus back home.The first hiking post this year!
All in all, I’d call it a damn fine Wednesday.
Turn your heartache right into joy
'Cause she's a girl and you're a boy
Get it together come on make it nice
You ain't gonna need any more advice
Well there's a rose in a fisted glove
And the eagle flies with the dove
And if you can't be with the one you love, honey
Love the one you're with
Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone?
I didn’t engage in the formal New Year’s resolution game. That said, I do have good intentions about changing some of my outlooks and perspectives on life. Might as well emphasize the positives rather than lament the losses. And when I take a step back and look at what I have, well, there’s a helluva lot to be thankful for. It’s not always easy to escape the trap of thinking in terms of what you want and don’t have or to focus on what you had and lost, but really those issues are trivial in the grand scheme of things. Or so I keep telling myself.
Anyway, I have my life. 66 years old and still hitting the hiking trails, dart boards, and bars. That I’m still healthy enough to do the things I most enjoy is a blessing beyond measure.
A second-place finish last night, but there was enjoyment in the competition and camaraderie.And the memories of the glory days of my darting life also bring a measure of satisfaction.
I had another nice hike today with the Wednesday Walkers. The social aspects of the group treks are perhaps the best part of the journey. Getting out and exploring new territory, enjoying the beauty that surrounds us, and sharing in the sense of adventure as we make our way is truly something special.
And then there’s my drinking life. I’m actually a lonely guy most of the time, so spending time in the bars with my bar “friends” and acquaintances more or less fills that void. I’m not foolish enough to believe that the gals I ply with drinks actually care about me, but that doesn’t stop us from having a good time either. I’m not even sure what is real anymore. I thought the love I briefly shared with XXXX was something special and amazing. But even in my disappointment in discovering that her version of love was unworthy of mine, I was reminded of an important lesson: people will reveal to you the true nature of their character if you keep your wits about you and your eyes wide open.
Another side benefit to my nightly bar excursions is eating out.
Last night it was chicken parmigiana at The Pub. A dish I very infrequently eat, but I enjoyed it as a nice change from the usual fare.
Anyway, if there is a point to this pointless post it is that I’m doing alright. I guess some of my posts on Facebook have made some people concerned about the state of my emotional health. One friend has committed to finding me a girlfriend to start the new year. HaHa, I don’t think that’s the kind of help I need, but I do appreciate the sentiment. Sometimes the pain and disappointment you encounter in life lead you to realize what is most important. I’m doing alright with the things that matter most. As long as I hold on to that foundation, I’ll be just fine. As they say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!
As I’ve gone through this period of reflection I have rediscovered one of the things that bring me comfort during times of emotional turmoil–poetry. In particular, one of my favorites, James Kavanaugh. I lost almost all of my library when I moved to Korea and wife #3 divorced me. I did manage to salvage a few of my poetry books, including this one:
First published in 1970. I didn’t discover him until the 80s though.
This is from the introduction to the book:
I am one of the searchers. There are, I believe, millions of us. We are not unhappy, but neither are we really content. We continue to explore life, hoping to uncover its ultimate secret. We continue to explore ourselves, hoping to understand. We like to walk along the beach, we are drawn by the ocean, taken by its power, its unceasing motion, its mystery and unspeakable beauty. We like forests and mountains, deserts and hidden rivers, and the lonely cities as well. Our sadness is as much a part of our lives as is our laughter. To share our sadness with one we love is perhaps as great a joy as we can know–unless it be to share our laughter.
We searchers are ambitious only for life itself, for everything beautiful it can provide. Most of all we want to love and be loved. We want to live in a relationship that will not impede our wandering, nor prevent our search, nor lock us in prison walls; that will take us for what little we have to give. We do not want to prove ourselves to another or to compete for love.
This is a book for wanderers, dreamers and lovers, for lonely men and women who dare to ask of life everything good and beautiful. If is for those who are too gentle to live among wolves.
A good reminder to not settle for less than you desire. There are worse things than being alone.
I began my Hash career at the beginning of 2018 and look at me now–still alive! Just been looking at the Hash stats I see I’m in the top fifteen of active participants in the SBH3.
178 total runs, and the current leader in consecutive runs at 113.
Good times!
Yesterday’s Hash was a little different in that the trail started a good way up Rizal Extension. I had a long forty-minute walk (including an up and down on My Bitch) just to get there. Made for a longer hike than the 6.5K that the Hare laid out for us. It wasn’t a bad trail though; the climb to the top of Kalaklan was as hard as ever, but pretty much smooth sailing after that. I did “shortcut” one down and up loop, but the route I took was not much shorter overall. Anyway, it was definitely the best Hash trail I’ve seen this year!
The trail had its ups and downs.It was a well-marked trail though–beyond a shadow of a doubt.Let’s go up!Off the pavement.Bathing at the water well. Look at the old guy go!Cookie time!Hello daddy!About halfway up now.Cum In My Basement and Captain Prickhard.18 Kilo Ass and his gal. She got named last week but I can’t remember what it is at the moment.Nosey Bastard and what’s her name.Gordon Heights in Olongapo City.Life ain’t always easy.Heading back down to Barretto.Cum In My Basement, What’s Up Doc, and Black And Dick Her.Watch your steps!Safely On-Home at Blue Butterfly.
I started a little earlier yesterday afternoon, as much out of boredom as anything. I thought having a beer and watching the beach action would be more entertaining than YouTube videos at home. So I headed out to Mango’s.
The view from my stool.
The problem with Mango’s at this time of day is the sun. It was at an angle where the roof did not provide any shade at all. And it got real hot, real quick. I finally had to move to the inside bar to finish my beer.
It was a little after four now, and that meant the rooftop area of the Central Park Reef hotel was open for business. I hadn’t been there since before the pandemic so I decided it was a good time to go and check it out again.
That’s Central Park Reef as seen from Cheap Charlies. The largest hotel and the tallest building in Barretto (six floors).
I have a friend who is a waitress there (one of the Treasure Island gals I partied with last week).
Dig those 1950s style waitress uniforms.
Anyway, as you might imagine, the best part of the Central Park rooftop bar/restaurant/pool is the views. The menu looked good, although it was too early for me to eat. Beer was cold and at 100 pesos wasn’t even the most expensive in town. I was the only foreigner there–it was a Filipino family crowd enjoying a beachy weekend.
The beach where I was in front of Mango’s.The beach on the other side.Barretto town and the Kalaklan ridge where we’ll be Hashing later this afternoon.And this must be the coolest infinity pool I ever did see.
Anyway, it was good to see Kat and also enjoy some different vistas. I promised to sponsor the next get-together with the TI girls up here on the roof.
Since Cheap Charlies is practically next door and I hadn’t been there since last year, I figured a visit was in order. As usual, I enjoyed Alma’s company. I also wound up spending over thirty bucks buying food for all the girls. Chicken wings, chicken fingers, chicken quesadillas, and a large meat lovers pizza, if you are keeping score. Also, my recounting the menu here proves I made a sober decision (but not necessarily a smart one) when I purchased the meal.
Once the food was done, so was I. Except after I was downstairs on the street I decided I should check in on Roan at It Doesn’t Matter. She’s doing fine. Sat at the owner’s table and had a nice chat with the boss men, Cliff and Bob. Even shared my bar rankings. They were of course pleased to be currently at the top of the heap. Martin (18 Kilo Ass) and his gal were there too and it was nice to socialize with the group for a bit.
Entertaining to watch Lovely doing her handy-work with a customer massage. She’s actually quite good at it. I had one back when she was working at Dive In. No one will touch me now when Roan’s around though.
I made it an early night. Need to get back into my rhythm of early to bed, early to rise.
Have a Hash run to complete in a couple of hours. I expect it will be challenging because Leech My Nuggets is the Hare and the start point indicates a climb to the top of Kalaklan ridge. That’s never easy.
I’m doing better every day, but I still have “those” thoughts. For whatever reason, I remembered this poem last night and actually looked it up on the internet while I was at the bar. I refrained from sending it to you know who though. I’d call that progress.
“Where are you hiding my love?
Each day without you will never come again.
Even today you missed a sunset on the ocean,
A silver shadow on yellow rocks I saved for you,
A squirrel that ran across the road,
A duck diving for dinner.
My God! There may be nothing left to show you
Save wounds and weariness
And hopes grown dead,
And wilted flowers I picked for you a lifetime ago,
Or feeble steps that cannot run to hold you,
Arms too tired to offer you to a roaring wind,
A face too wrinkled to feel the ocean's spray.”
― James Kavanaugh
Ah, well. Life’s a beach sometimes.
And I took a morning stroll on Baloy today.
And here’s my Lucky boy just now:
It’s a dog’s life.
Alright, time for my pre-Hash nap. Let me leave you with my new favorite t-shirt:
It would mean the same in any language though. We are screwed.
Oh, and it seems that things are back to normal around here at LTG:
Still treasure the few, the proud, and the brave who keep coming for more!
So, yeah. I made up a new word to describe a cultural phenomenon prevalent here in the Philippines and exacerbated at the end of every year–noise. This is a loud country. For whatever reason, people prefer max volume. Every morning I can hear music blaring from a house two streets down from me. Karaoke is even worse–bad singing amplified to ear-splitting levels. Motorbikes with modified mufflers to increase noise. The loudest car horns I’ve ever heard. And don’t get me started on the roosters. The locals just take it all in stride, but going on four years here and I still can’t get used to it. That’s one advantage to living in Alta Vista, a lot of the regular everyday neighborhood noise is not present. And roosters are not allowed.
Anyway, this New Year’s season has been especially bad. The firecrackers sound like gunshots and make your ears ring and windows rattle. The noisemakers and airhorns are also very irritating. I saw one guy stick an airhorn in his motorbike exhaust pipe to exacerbate the loudness. Anyway, as I said, it is all very annoising. Rant over.
There are nicer traditions for the holiday here as well. It’s a family time and gathering for meals with the clan is a big deal. I was surprised at how many bars were closed last night for New Year’s Day even though it was a Saturday night. I speculate they couldn’t get their staff to come in and miss out on the family feast. My regular beggars were asking for money to fund the big meal and I even accommodated a few of them.
Of course, I don’t have family here. I don’t even have a girlfriend. But that didn’t stop me from cooking like I had loved ones to serve.
The steaks were high. Right at 1000 pesos ($20) each. Purchased these USDA ribeyes from John Kim at The Pub. It had been a while since I fired up the grill, but I managed to cook these up pretty close to perfection. Well, some of the fat got blackened by flame flareups, but the meat wasn’t damaged much.What’s a steak dinner without corn and baked potatoes?Broccoli with cheese is also a favorite of mine.It had been almost a year since Royal had Texas toast garlic bread in the frozen foods section. I took that as a sign to buy some.Off the grill and onto a plate. Hopefully, this gives some scale to illustrate how massive these steaks were.And banana nut muffins for dessert.Hey, lonely people gotta eat too! The steaks were thick, tender, and juicy. Honestly, it was the best ribeye meat I’ve ever cooked.
My hunger satiated, it was time to get out and fulfill another tradition of mine–drinking beer on Saturday night. I changed things up a little bit by starting out at Queen Victoria, a bar I hadn’t bothered visiting since I did the review back in October. It was early and I was the only customer. Despite the infrequency of my visits, all the girls greeted me by name. One, in particular, seemed especially happy to see me. She kept asking if I remembered her and I finally had to admit I did not. She seemed very disappointed in me. Turns out she used to work at Alaska Club. She also reminded me of the occasion I had bar fined her (paid to take her out of the bar), something I very rarely do, maybe once or twice a year. Then she rubbed some salt in the wound by telling me how quickly I came. I guess that’s a good thing for a prostitute though. Anyway, she’s pretty funny and gives a good massage so maybe someday I’ll try to make it last longer and get my money’s worth. I bought her a lady drink and had a couple of beers, then moved on.
Next stop was Outback to visit my pal Bhel. She seems completely recovered from her surgery, which is a good way to start a new year. Actually, she had invited me to a gathering at her house on New Year’s Eve, but I wasn’t comfortable with being the only white guy there. Things can go south in a hurry when people you don’t know get drunk. After a pleasant visit, I headed out for my next destination.
Hmm. BarCelona and Cheap Charlie’s were closed. Thought about Wet Spot, but decided to hit it on the way back home. It Doesn’t Matter was open, so I figured I’d check in with Roan. Turns out, she had called in sick. Too much to drink the night before. That was my fault because I was buying her drinks. Oh well. I shared drinks with another waitress and a fellow Hasher, Leech My Nuggets, came in so I wound up staying at IDM longer than expected. After two straight late nights though I was ready to head home at 9:00.
And that’s how I spent the first day of the new year. Seems an awful lot like all my other days, doesn’t it?
Welcome to 2022! Here’s hoping it doesn’t become 2020 II…
Made it through another year, not completely unscathed, but why should 2021 be different than all those other years? A nice hike out in San Antonio during the morning hours. I’ll cover that event at the end of this post. Let’s start out with a recap of the nighttime New Year’s Eve adventures.
I did have an invite to a dinner party out on Baloy beach but I just wasn’t feeling all that sociable. I’d done the late (for me) night on Thursday and after the travel for the hike, I was ready to chill. And yeah, not having a date for what I expected would be a couples event curbed my enthusiasm as well. In fact, as I set out on my planned bar crawl I was in a foul mood and feeling somewhat used and abused. Or maybe just lonely. Well, I figured I could fix that by spending time with some of my favorite bargirls. So I started my evening at Hideaway bar sharing drinks and company with Joy and Jen.
Except it didn’t work. If anything, the shallowness of the interactions just made me feel worse. Clearly, this was the wrong medicine for whatever it was that was ailing me. Finished my beer, said my goodbyes and found myself out on the bustling streets of Barretto once again. Now what? I thought maybe something new was in order and figured that if nothing else, the views from the rooftop bar/restaurant at Central Park Reef hotel would boost my spirits, so I headed off in that direction.
Along the way, I saw that a brand new bar had just opened. I decided to pop in and give it a look-see. It was just me, one waitress, and what I learned later was the owner. I ordered a beer and decided to drink it at the outside table.
It somehow seemed appropriate to my mood.
The waitress did stand outside with me as I sat and drank my beer. She told me they are going to hire more waitresses and also have karaoke both inside and out. Ah, one of THOSE kinds of bars. No thanks! Too soon to review though. I’ll give it another look when it is fully operational. Finished my beer and departed.
Back on the highway and with the Central Park hotel in view, I changed my mind. I decided to go somewhere more familiar and comfortable. I’d just been to Cheap Charlies the night before, so I decided to climb the steps up to BarCelona. I knew my favorite there, Novi, was no longer working and I had lost interest in the hottie I’d seen there in the red dress upon observing how mercenary she appears to be. Nope, I’d just get my seat with a view and be a solitary drinker. I smiled to myself when the hottie turned out to be my waitress. I could almost see the expectation in her eyes that I’d ask her to join me. Instead, I thanked her, turned my back, and proceeded to enjoy my cold San Miguel Light.
It turned out to be my one and only beer there. When I attempted to order my second SML the hottie returned and said they were sold out. WTF? SML is a local brew that is popular with expats, and I’ve never seen any bar run out. Especially on a Friday night that is also New Year’s frickin’ eve! It wasn’t even 7 o’clock yet. Now, if I was managing the bar, I’d fire the person responsible for keeping beer in stock. And I’d also send one of the waitresses to 7/11 to bring back all the SML she could carry. Instead, they chose to lose a customer. Needless to say, this did not improve my mood.
Back out on the street yet again and needing a new venue to find some holiday spirit. Although I was a little reluctant because of my recent disappointment with Roan, I chose It Doesn’t Matter as my best remaining option. And at least it was nearby. It turned out to be the right call I suppose. Roan was her friendly self and the place started filling up with people I know from the Hash and hikes, so a party-like vibe took hold.
Jim bummed a cigar from Martin and tried to remember that you are not supposed to inhale the smoke. The hiker’s table.The owner’s table.My dinner, barbeque chicken wings.My companion for the evening.My companion’s sexy legs.
At the beginning of the night, I had no expectation that I’d be around come midnight. But having other people I know there with me made it a matter of pride to not bail out before the arrival of the new year. It was a challenge, but I succeeded. Barely.
And I’ve got the fireworks to prove it!
Right at the stroke of midnight, I got a “Happy New Year!” message from Pearl. That was surprising. I wished her a happy one as well and mentioned how strange it felt to be in San Antonio again without her. That earned me a heart emoji.
What he said.
Facebook memories were also powerful reminders of days gone by when I didn’t welcome the new year alone.
Like 2014 with Jee Yeun.2017 with Loraine.And 2018 with Gem, losing our Hash virgin status together.“Drink it down, down, down, down. What doesn’t go in you, goes on you! Just like a blowjob!”
So, home by 12:30 and in bed shortly thereafter. It was one of those years, wasn’t it?
To the hike pictures, then.
The part of San Antonio we visited was all flat. We’ll save the mountains for another day. About 8.5K, some rural backstreets, some open countryside, and some beer and eats afterward.We used two private vehicles, my driver and Shyrel’s driver, to make the journey to our starting point.Let’s go!My last hike of the year.Photographing the photographers...We saw mountains but we didn’t climb them. Thankfully.Wide-open spaces.Reentering civilization.The town market.We came. We saw. We conquered. Back off the beaten path.Sexy Helen…Martin and his gal marching along.A simple life illustrated.Agriculture.A water crossing.The locals were very friendly. This woman in pink led us for some distance to ensure we got on the right path. I gave her some cookies and I saw others slip her some cash as a thank you.Getting there…And here is there, the FRA. Like a VFW for Navy types. Cold beer, hot food!The waitresses were cute too!Gathering around our outdoor seating area. Very nice.The after-hike refurbishment.My lunch is served.
And now for what I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for:
The last post of the year!
Happy New Year, everyone! Thanks for coming here and sharing the tidbits of my so-called life. It’s great to have y’all along for the ride! Let’s see where 2022 takes us.
