Thanksgiving on the Beach

After eating Thanksgiving at my aunt's in Cordova, Weenie and I jumped in the Volvo and headed to Gulf Shores. We'd never been before and didn't know what to expect. I mean, we are veterans of Destin, but I've always heard that Gulf Shores just isn't as good. My dad had a condo booked on the beach and invited us to come. Like I would say no to the beach, even in November!

I kept watching the forecast and they were saying 75 and sunny the 3 days we were going to be there so we packed our swimming togs and off we went.

It only took us 6.5 hours which was a pleasant surprise. My dad and his new wife were still at the Pink Pony Pub so we went there instead of the condo. Weenie and I had a couple of beers but we were beat and we headed to the condo to eat a sammy and get some sleep.

The condo was awesome. Brand new with flat screens everywhere and stainless steel appliances. Sweet!

The next morning was beautiful. My dad said I wish there was a cloud in the sky so there would be something to complain about.

As you can see, this place is just as nice as Destin. It's just closer and less expensive. We all suited up and headed to the beach. It was around 75 and gorgeous.

The wind wasn't blowing and it was hot. The water, however, was very cold. I got in about calf high to try and take some pictures of the dolphins. As you can see, all I got was a fin!

We went up around 3:00 because it was getting a little chilly. We laid around and sat on the patio. Then showered and headed out to eat. Dad was taking us to Lulu's because they have great crab claws and Weenie loves them.

It was packed when we arrived so we headed to the bar. Beers were purchased. We waited about 45 minutes (ridiculous). Finally we were seated. There was a band playing and they played a Lynyrd Skynyrd medley. I swear. My dad then reminded me I was in Alabama. During the Sweet Home Alabama part of the medley, this table behind us kept chanting ROLL TIDE ROLL in the chorus. It was quite a treat.

Anyway, the claws arrived and they looked divine. Here's a before shot.

Here's a shot 10 minutes later.

As you can see from this picture, I was a lobster. The sunburn put me down and I was ready for bed at 8:00. So was everyone else.

The next morning, my Dad and June left and we had the whole place to ourselves. Weenie made breakfast and then we loaded up the cooler and headed back to the beach. It was another beautiful day but once we got down to the ocean, we realized the wind was blowing about 35 mph. It was pretty warm but the wind made it chilly. We went for a walk to collect shells. They were everywhere.

Here's Weenie looking at her collection.

We went back to the condo at 2:00. It was too windy. The beers were flowing as we sat on the patio for further sunbathing.

Around 4:30 we headed down for the sunset.

Then we were off to Mikee's for dinner. We got the BBQ shrimp appetizer. It was so good!

After dinner, we went back to the Pink Pony Pub because we didn't know where else to go. It's a little scary but Weenie and I like a little scary. We got our Bud Light in tall boys and Weenie sang 4 karaoke songs. They loved her. I heard Turn the Page 3 times by 3 different guys and several Lynyrd Skynyrd songs. We left there around 12:00. We had to drive back the next day.

After sleeping until 9:00, we loaded up and washed sheets. We went for one last walk on the beach. It was another spectacular day and the beach was deserted. Weenie and I walked hand-in-hand and it was nice.

On the way out, we stopped at Steamer's for lunch. I was shocked when Weenie ordered crab claws again. This time they were steamed. She was excited! I ordered the grilled (not) grouper po boy. They were both outstanding.

As you can see, the piece of grouper was gigantic. It hung over the hoagie about an inch on all sides. Weenie had to help me with it. Here's a shot of the delicious steamed crab claws.

We left the restaurant, said goodbye to the ocean and headed back to Memphis. It was sad. Work is stupid.

Raconteurs

After spending the weekend in Milan, Weenie and I headed to Nashville for the Raconteurs show. We left around 3:30 and arrived at 5:30. We checked into the Holiday Inn on Broadway and tried to figure out where we were going for predrinks.

We decided to head down the street where Tootsie's and a lot of other bars are located. It was sort of deserted and we didn't want BBQ so we walked to the former Eddie George's sports bar. We'd been there before and knew the food and drinks were good.

Being slightly hungover from Friday at the Milan Golf & County Club, we started off slowly with beers. Then chicken wings were ordered along with blueberry Stoli lemon drops. If you haven't tried one, next time you are at a bar, order one. They are delicious.

The show started at 8:00 and we finally paid our tab around 8:45. We were meeting some of Weenie's coworkers at the show. We had no trouble parking and walked in and ordered beers. The show started at 9:15. Thank God we made it in! I would've been pissed if we missed the beginning.

Jack came out in a cowboy hat. He's so cute. I took a bunch of pictures but they didn't turn out very good. We weren't that close and it was really dark. Here is a video I took while dancing. Not such a good idea if you are shooting something. I'll try and remember that next time.

Here are the only two pictures that came out and they suck. Enjoy! Jack is in the red.

After the show (which was bad ass), Weenie and I went to 2 more bars until it was closing time. We got back to the hotel around 2:30. Luckily, we were off on Monday and had a late checkout. We left around 12:30 and headed over to Noshville for some hangover food then back to Memphis.

Cat Power

Weenie and I were lucky enough to get an invite to the private MTV screening of a Cat Power special being held at the Young Avenue Deli. I'm not sure when it will be aired. Anyway, we got there early and they turned us away and told us to come back. We went next door to Cafe Ole and had a couple of beers and a shooter to pass the time. Then we headed back over and there were already people in line and a line out the door.

Getting a beer took about 30 minutes. I mean, I feel pretty certain they knew how many people were on the guest list. They had 3 bartenders. We finally got our beers and found a place at the back where no one was standing. We ran into Shamaymay and PL. They hung back with us.

Here is Shamaymay with Weenie.

Here is Weenie and her boss.

The show finally started around 8:30 or so. Here's a little clip I took. Please bear in mind I'm not much of a videographer.

That's my friend Susan on the left singing backup (she was our hookup for the invite!)

The show was phenomenal and if you haven't bought Cat Power's latest record The Greatest, you must get it now!

Lunch

Today, my coworker insisted I try Super Submarine Sandwich Shop on Highland next to Whatever. I've heard raves about this place for years but have been a little wary. I mean, they serve sandwiches and Chinese food. I'd also heard that you better know what you are ordering because the owner would yell at you.

We arrived and I was a little afraid I would get screamed at and convinced Carrie to order for both of us. I decided I wanted turkey and ham with mustard and pickles only. It was packed so we had to wait in a long line. We noticed on the wall that today's special was the Super Sub. It boasted lunch meat(?), bologna, salami and ham. We both decided to go for that since it was on sale. Finally, it was our turn. I had picked out 2 bags of chips for us and I was standing next to Carrie while she ordered. He handed me a cup for my drink and as I moved to the drink counter he yelled "ONLY ONE BAG OF CHIPS!". It startled me and threw her bag at her. Freak out.

The sandwiches arrived in about 4 seconds and Carrie immediately started to dissect hers. I didn't dare look. I had them add Italian dressing to mine. I had eaten half my sandwich by the time she asked what I though each piece of meat was. Do you think this is the lunch meat or is this the lunch meat? There was one piece of something that I could not identify. The Italian dressing was spoiled or something because it tasted really sour. All in all, it truly sucked. Better luck next time.

Drunk at the One More

After watching Tennessee get their balls handed to them by Arkansas, we needed a change of scenery. 4 hours at the Bayou can get to you. Mooey, Hoops, DP, Weenie and I had ass rot. After naming and disqualifying around 10 bars, we decided to go to the One More.

We arrived within 5 minutes and watched DP's car cruise onto the house. He's not a big fan of the One More. We departed 5 minutes after arrival and once again asked ourselves "Why are we here?". It's really fun in the summer because the deck is so big. Plus, with only 4 of us in tow, it just wasn't that amusing. So, we put a call into Dyna and found out they were at a party we had initially nixed.

We loaded up and headed over to the party. It was packed. We said hello to the hosts and took up residence around the fire pit. We stayed at the party for about 2 hours and were tired of freezing so a few of us thought it was a good idea to go back to the One More at 12:30. I finally remembered the camera. So, here's a few shots of some super drunkenness at 4:00 am. Enjoy!

Look at Weenie's friend over her left shoulder. The One More decor is so posh.

It's Here!

The Harley is finally here. Weenie went for her first ride Saturday morning. I was asleep when she took off but she woke me up beeping the horn next to the bedroom window. Look how cute she is on the bike.

Ardent's 40th Anniversary Party

Monday, October 30th, was the 40th anniversary for Ardent. Since Weenie works there, she was already at the party. I met Mooey and Hoops behind Graffiti Graphics and we walked across the street.

It was a big spread. A giant tent with tables everywhere. We immediately went to the keg and filled our cups up with Shiner Bock. We found a table just outside the big tent where we could smoke without bothering people. Nikki and Ben walked over and joined us at the table. Nikki had to leave (shocking) but not before having some free wine and shrimp.

Check out the cake...

After the mayor spoke and gave out a note on Beale Street to John Fry, the Ardent Allstars took the stage to play songs recorded at Ardent.

I'm not sure how many beers I had but we got tired of standing and went next door to the Blue Monkey. I was pretty drunk. My friends Jeff and Paul Mark were there. I love hanging out with those guys. Every picture I take of Jeff, he tries to make the worst expression. See?

We closed the Monkey down and went home around 3:00. Neat.

Booger

Weenie and I have (begrudgingly) welcomed a new member to our family. She showed up last Sunday and has never left. She's taken up all my space on my side of the bed and Pepe is on the side constantly griping while Weenie and I are scrunched in the middle of the bed. Say HI! to Booger.

Halloween

Shirley and Kate put on a fabulous party Saturday night. Kate dressed as Andy Warhol and Shirley was dressed up as well with dreads. I forgot to ask who exactly she was.

I was dressed (if you'd call it that) as a greeting.

Prince and Sheila E. were there. I'm a HUGE Prince fan.

More people arrived in costume (and not so much).

Weenie wasn't able to attend because she was in motorcycle school. I stayed at Mel and Karn's house to avoid driving. I think they threw me and Dyna out around 4:00!

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