Five plus five equals ten

And a Standard Saturday Solo Street Stroll plus a five-bar crawl equals ten beers. Funny how that works. Let me show you what I mean.

Walking the back streets of Barretto is nothing new for me, and there ain’t much to see that is particularly interesting. I’ll prove that with a photo from every one thousand steps.

1000 steps: Leaving Alta Vista
2000 steps: On the National Highway in “downtown” Barretto
3000 steps: Still on the National Highway on the far side of town
4000 steps: Abra Street
5000 steps: Rizal Extension
6000 steps: Columban College
7000 steps: Gomez Street
8000 steps: Del Pilar Street
9000 steps: The back way into Alta Vista
10,000 steps: Home again
Steppin’ out at just a tad over 7K

Have you recovered from all that excitement yet? Okay then, let’s do a bar crawl:

My plan was to start at the first bar (i.e., closest to my house) and go up the highway from there, visiting each bar in order.

First stop: Snackbar

I have a lot of history with this bar, including a broken heart. It’s been a while since my last visit, and it was nice to see owner Paula has hired back most of the old crew. It’s a small place with most of the available seating outside on the sidewalk and in the parking lot. It was too hot for that yesterday, so the the three of us customers sat inside in the aircon.

Indoors at Snackbar

My methodology for this bar crawl was two beers and out at each venue. I was tempted to extend my stay and catch up with everyone, but I decided it was best to stick with the plan. There is a new SB2 upstairs, a disco bar, that doesn’t open until 8 p.m. and goes into the wee hours of the morning. I’ll visit someday out of curiosity, but discos have never been to my liking.

Next up, Outback
I started at the pool bar.
The view from my stool.

Nice bar that I seldom visit, despite the outdoor ambiance I like. Go figure.

Then I moved indoors to the Billabong bar
It was still early and not much going on except a couple of guys playing pool
I had the bar to myself. Nice sound system with good music at the right volume. Still, time to move on.
Whiskey Girl was closed (opens at 6 p.m.)
Adam’s was closed, too
And so was Lux
I haven’t been to Castaway at the Palm Tree Resort for well over a year. But at least it was open.
It’s a nicely appointed bar, but the only other customers were outside on the terrace. There was no music playing, and when I asked the bartender about that, she just shrugged and said, “We don’t have.”
When I did use to visit this venue, I’d sit on the terrace and enjoy views like this one
Next up: Mango’s
The indoor bar is called Rock Lobster
I thought they were closed when I walked in, but I was served.
It’s a another nice bar that I almost never visit
When I visit Mango’s it is the Beach Bar for me
The view from my stool

Welp, I was tired of bar crawling alone, so I messaged Swan to join me, and she agreed. I ordered some food for us to eat when she arrived.

The grilled pork chops are our favorite here and there is enough on that plate for two.

So, that was the end of the bar hop. I might make doing an abbreviated bar hop like this every Saturday as a change of pace and a way to visit places I seldom enter. We’ll see.

After our meal, we crossed the highway (a challenge on a Saturday) and stepped inside the newest bar in town, a place called Nipsy’s. It is where Alaska Club used to be, but it has been remodeled. I was surprised it was so crowded. I didn’t recognize any of the patrons. I’m told it is a bar that caters to the Navy civilian crewman on those freighters in the bay. The outside of the building has similar ships painted on the walls. It has dancers on stage who actually dance, although I didn’t care for the music. Again, I’m the grumpy old man, and this bar isn’t trying to cater to my likes. I was surprised when the waitress asked me if I wanted a Zero since I’d never been here before. She laughed and said she used to work at Alaska. Oh, okay. Anyway, the bar seems to be doing well and good luck to them.

Just for the hell of it, I decided we’d finish our night at the new Alaska bar. We had a nice time there, as usual, with our regulars. I’d reached my limit, and it was nearing 9 p.m. (late for me), so we headed back home in a familiar trike.

I may not have been a perfect day, but it was close enough for me.

Sounds like a good plan to me. I pee outside all the time when I’m hiking, but never go back to check the results.
That brings back memories. I graduated from albums to 8-tracks, then cassettes, then CDs. And now my music is all on Spotify. What a life!

Speaking of memories, Facebook took me back six years in time to my last month in Korea.

Saturday night bar crawling in Pyeongtaek. I wish I had enjoyed it more at the time.

And then, there was this from three years ago:

I attended the 60th birthday party for Swan’s now-deceased boyfriend. It’s weird how you never know what the future will bring. Or won’t.

Okay, let’s move on to the Quroa Q&A:

Q: What is the most inappropriate thing to say to an amputee?

A: Can I lend you a hand?

Maybe I don’t have a leg to stand on with that kind of humor.

Let’s get to the real funny stuff:

That’s a limp joke
Racist cops!
Mother Nature sucks!

Alright, gotta go. I have a Hideaway feeding to attend to. Back tomorrow.

4 thoughts on “Five plus five equals ten

  1. 10,000 steps: Home again

    Are there two different gates to get into your place?

    Next up, Outback

    There was, once upon a time, a Korean chick I was friendly with, and she’d lived in Australia for seven years. I once asked her how the Outback was, and she said, “What’s the Outback?” She’d spent seven years in Sydney and had never learned about one of the most fundamental aspects of Aussie culture. Sounds like the foreigners in Itaewon who settle into the bars, speak only in English, and show no curiosity at all about Korean culture. Turtles tucked inside their shells, perfectly happy not to know what they’re missing. Sad.

    I’m told it is a bar that caters to the Navy civilian crewman on those freighters in the bay.

    Just the one crewman, eh? He must feel special.

    Mother Nature sucks!

    An alien choking on a dick or a lioness projectile-vomiting.

    Enjoy your… feeding.

  2. Re: Record store: Dont know if you posted that because 4/20 is the States is Record Day, where there are certain promotions for independent record stores. Quite a few musicians that issue on vinyl will have special issues, etc. Fun day to go browsing in that type of store. Generally, independent record stores will have two record days – 4/20 and Black Friday.

    Re: Random question – is Swan pretty short or is her ex pretty tall or maybe a combination of both?

  3. Brian, No, I wasn’t aware of the 4/20 album connection. I thought 4/20 was for pot smokers. Then again, I guess the two do go together.

    Alan was taller than me (I’m 6’1″), and Swan is 4’8″, so that’s a pretty big difference.

  4. There is only one gate in and out of Alta Vista, but there are several footpaths you can access in the unfenced perimeter. I use them more frequently than the gate.

    Yep, the Aussie-owned Outback is a step down under. You can even buy an Aussie hotdog there. Well, I was one of those Itaewon guys. Working on base was like going to America every day and then hanging out with the expat crowd in the bars at night. I did manage to travel around some and marry a Korean girl, at least.

    You think crewman was bad; you should see what I DIDN’T miss when I proofread! It’s scary.

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