Sunday, July 31, 2011

Birthdays. Friendships. Bar Crawls

I recently celebrated my 22nd birthday on Saturday and had an amazing time.  I can only give credit to all of my friends who accompanied me and made sure to keep the energy high and the drinks flowing.  Having the opportunity to be with my Wilmington friends again, many of which are now Charlotte residents, made Saturday night feel right.  It was not only a birthday celebration, it was a family reunion, a welcome home party, and the beginning of much to come.

We arrived at the first location, Brazwells, where we were signed in and given our "passports" that were to be stamped as we entered each bar after the purchase of a Bud Light.  Once we grabbed our passports, we found a booth and ordered a quick bite.  Once our food arrived, the owner appeared as well.  Tom was very friendly and made us feel welcome, if only he had kept his word on our round of drinks he was going to order for us, but all in the same it was the perfect start for our night.


Thanks Ava Gorman!

Each stop was interesting.  We were able to take this opportunity to discover different bars and feel out where we wanted to spend the rest of the night.  A few friends and I had meet at Montford two weeks prior and had loved the set up and atmosphere making this bar crawl a must do! 
The next stop, Moosehead!  Although we didn't stay long here due to the schedule we were trying to follow, I will definitely be returning.  I loved the lights that were strung about the bottom of the upper level patio, giving off a dim illumination for the lower level patio.  Although the air conditioning inside the bar would have been refreshing, the scenery of the outside made the heat seem bearable. 
Park Lanes and Duckworth's followed quickly after.  Park Lanes is exactly what it sounds like, a bowling alley.  I thought that was an interesting touch for a bar crawl, and not being a fan of bowling, wasted no time to move along.  Two exciting things about Duckworth's, the first, was the arrival of our friend Leland, the second, the cute ducky drawing that was used as the stamp on our passports.  I would like to return for a meal at Duckworth's one day, but for now, Andrew Blair's will be my bar of choice!  I believe that Andrew Blair's is the bar we spent most of our time at.  With the combination of the indoor/outdoor bar and the split with one room to sit and mingle to the left and the a room to dance to the right, Andrew Blair's offers more than just a great time; an abundance of choices to accomodate everyone.

I had an amazing time with amazing friends, and hope that all are as lucky as I to be able to experience new places, try new things or just share couch time with a close group of friends.  Because it really cannot get any better than this!