Our St. Patty’s Day Excursion (an Off Topic Trip Report)

mastequilapf · 03-18-2007

[With all due respect to those who actually are Irish on this forum. Your country has provided the world with a fantastic holiday that promotes fellowship and camaraderie].

The couple of days prior to March 17 left me with the urge to write a trip report on something. No real reason why, except perhaps that our next on-topic one won’t be for another six months (HMPH!). I guess I need a way to keep my trip report writing skills in order. Or maybe I’m just generally bored. Oh hell with it…who needs a reason.

Neither Susan nor I have any Irish Blood in us. Not a drop, well, that we know of. Susan’s got the red hair and freckles thing down to a pat (as you will see), but all that comes from her Scottish roots (MacLeod). I’ve got some English (Spencer) in me. And I guess if you count Hunter, or Pembroke Welsh Corgi, we have Wales too. But alas, no Irish. Today, however, Susan will be 100% Irish. Red hair. Freckles. I won’t tell if you won’t. Sweet! It’ll be our little secret.

We spent much of the previous week planning out the perfect St. Patty’s Day. We considered the infamous St. Patrick’s Day parade through downtown, but decided that it would be a huge crowd and probably not have beer. Turns out it wouldn’t have worked with our schedule anyway, as Susan took an Irish hiatus around lunch time to see a friend who was in town from California. We decided to make it a three part day, and include an Irish Pub, dinner at our favorite restaurant, and then a St. Patty’s day party to cap it all off.

Neither Susan nor I is capable of functioning without a good, hearty breakfast. So we started our day with just that: the perfect Irish breakfast.

Green Eggs & Ham (and mushrooms and onions) and Green Orange Juice.

Sure, the meal looked a little funny. But we did eat it. And it was good.

How do you make green eggs and orange juice, you ask. Well, it’s simple. Let them sit out in your kitchen for a couple weeks! Only kidding!

Hunter was less than impressed, especially since we didn't share:

No hearty breakfast is complete without something with a little kick to get you going early in the morning:

Susan had coffee. I had the juice o' the barley. Seriously. Don’t worry, we were having a late breakfast (about 10:30 or so). Know that this is special beer. It is our homemade Irish Stout, of which I am very proud. It’s slightly bitter, but has a distinct coffee flavor to it. I like it better than Guinness. Nothing against Guinness, however, as you’ll see later.

A box of thin mints that had been left on the table from the previous night eventually got the best of us, so we indulged. Susan began to comment on some of the pictures of the young ladies on the box. I copied one of them.

We took a more leisurely breakfast than usual. Around 11:30, Susan began getting ready for her visit with her friend. I cleaned up breakfast. After she left, I just decided to kick it back for the three hours or so that she was going to be away, and do absolutely nothing. Except drink beer. And be merry. I slapped on some traditional Irish pub songs, mixed with some traditional Irish folk (both of which I really enjoy in real life).

The brew of choice this time around is featured below:

This is the Left Hand Brewing Company’s Snowbound Winter Ale. After cracking it open, I took up residence out on the back patio. A little cold, but the sun was shining bright! I picked this beverage because it warms you up without being very heavy. It’s brewed with spices, and when you drink it you can definitely make out cinnamon, gingerbread men, and mulling spices. If you have access to Left Hand’s products, I HIGHLY recommend that you pick some up. They do a great job out there in Longmont, Colorado. I have no connection to the brewery, except that I am left-handed.

I then cranked the music so I could hear it outside and went and sat and soaked up the sun. And the beer.

Next up: Part II - Fadò!

mastequilapf · 03-19-2007

PART II – Fadó!

It seemed like Susan was gone forever. She was in fact gone longer than originally planned because her friend showed up late. Her friend brought along her two year old step-grand-daughter, which of course kept her friend’s attention most of the time. But to make up for it, Susan returned bearing gifts!

That’s right. Light ‘em up shamrock necklaces! With these we’re sure to be the hit of the town! The time was about 4:00pm. We decided to drive to the train station, then take a cab to and from Fadó, and then take the train to dinner, to cut down on the driving required. No police check points on the train! After a quick drive and taxi ride, we arrived at Fadó!

Fadó is a chain, so you may have one in your city! Despite that, it’s still
cool inside. We arrived just at the same time as a carload of ladies who were very eager to get inside:

But there was a line out front! No shocker, it IS St. Patricks day and this IS an Irish pub. So we went around back, only to find a line there too!

So we waited…

For those of you not familiar with Atlanta, the places behind the line in the picture above is the part of Atlanta town known as Buckhead. Generally speaking, Buckhead is known for two things- HUGE houses occupied by very wealthy folks, and sketchy dance clubs. It’s weird because most of the clubs come and go quickly. If months pass between visits to the club district, many business names will have changed. Said sketchy clubs are frequented by make-up queen sorority girls and the fraternity boys that drool over them. And thugs. See the one waaaaaaaay down there on the end with the curvy roof? It’s a dance club called Tongue and Groove. A handful of nights of mine have ended in total destruction there. Even passed out in the joint once. Whenever friends come visit us from out of town, they want to go to the sketchy dance clubs. Yikes. Yes, the red one is called “Uranus.” No, I have never been and will never go to Uranus.

The line moved surprisingly fast. Fadó is very strict about their occupancy level. They were letting in only the number of people that left. So when five went out, five new people went in. We paid, got our wristbands, and were ready to rock!

Under the flags and into the garden of eden!

They had set up a huge tent outside the pub. It was packed:

We quickly found our way to the beer station, and got our weapons of mass disdrunktion:

A new way to make a black n’ tan! Those are 32 ounce cups.

A band playing traditional Irish music had taken the stage at 1:00pm. We figured they’d still be playing, but sadly they were nowhere to be found. Instead, a local alternative radio station was putting on an event called St. Baldrick’s Day. They had hired a local barber shop to shave the heads of various folks.

The shaved were people who had raised money for a local children’s hospital (similar to how Heather raised money for the Bomberos three legged bar race). The crowd got some great laughs, and the hospital got great cash!

We began to roam, and talked to quite an array of folks.

This guy had a great hat:

Well we’re glad you’re not our kid either! This kid was one who had his head shaved as a part of St. Baldrick’s, so he’s actually on our cool list.

We decided that while we were milling around, we might as well mill around in the line to get into the actual pub, not just the tent. We were in line behind this guy:

OH MAN he was hammered! He kept going on and on about Pittsburgh, and how he has lived there all his life and knows what every last street is and how he can tell you where all the good restaurants are and stuff like that. The only word that I got in was that the youth director at our church is originally from there, and that set off the aforementioned Pittsburgh spiel again. Other than Pittsburgh, I hardly understood a word he said because the music was playing loudly and he was slurring his words. By the way he never bothered to mention why he came to Atlanta.

Inside, the party was just as strong. I refilled my Guinness, and we found
some other folks who had flashing shamrock necklaces:

No idea who they are, but they were fun!

These two guys, who appeared to be Irish (or at the very least were putting ona heck of a good act), were playing American folk songs. American?! That’s not what we came to hear. Well, I guess some of those songs have their roots in Irish or other folk music. At least they weren’t playing country!

These guys were having a great time!

Not sure what happened here. Must have been the Guinness that took that picture!

Still looks pretty cool though!

We decided to take a quick walk around to the front of the bar to see what was going on. Except for this guy, and some drunk college gals, not too much:

It was working on 6:30, and we knew that if we didn’t begin to make our way to our dinner destination, it would be a long, long wait. We bit adieu to Fadó, hailed a cab, and arrived back at the train station.

Ginger · 03-19-2007

Very much enjoying your report! YOu had me laughing. Thanks for this, keep going!!

Doggiemom · 03-19-2007

Looks like a GREAT St. Patty's Day for you two!!!! Thanks for sharingit with us!

Eileencc · 03-19-2007

This is an excellent report! Very fun!

**SunKneeMarie** · 03-19-2007

Wow, now that is some excellent Irish spirit!! Erin go bragh!

or whatever the heck that phrase is....

Luv2Dance · 03-19-2007

Looks like you guys had a great time! Thanks for taking the time to post pics.

mastequilapf · 03-19-2007

Thanks y'all for your comments! We certainly DID have a wonderful time. I was hoping to write the third and final installment tonight, but a church meeting from which I just returned home is going to prevent that.

But tomorrow, my friends, I will not dissapoint!

Brent & Kim · 03-19-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by mastequilapf

Thanks y'all for your comments! We certainly DID have a wonderful time. I was hoping to write the third and final installment tonight, but a church meeting from which I just returned home is going to prevent that.

But tomorrow, my friends, I will not dissapoint!

Dont turn your back on beer because it was 10:30, I has always been there for you!

dudeadam · 03-19-2007

Looks like you had a lot more fun than I did. Great pics!
You coming to PITSII?

sctx · 03-19-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by mastequilapf

But there was a line out front! No shocker, it IS St. Patricks day and this IS an Irish pub. So we went around back, only to find a line there too!

I guess if it was a real Irish pub, nobody would be inside...they'd all be standin outside smoking

...................cool thread........ I like drinkin trip reports

mastequilapf · 03-20-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brent & Kim

Dont turn your back on beer because it was 10:30, I has always been there for you!

Yesterday was a long day. At my church meeting, we (committe of 45 people) spent over an hour arguing about whether or not to sell T-shirts at the church-wide service day this saturday

. And I had to get up at 4:00 am this morning!

mastequilapf · 03-20-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by sctx

I guess if it was a real Irish pub, nobody would be inside...they'd all be standin outside smoking

...................cool thread........ I like drinkin trip reports

Very true!

There is MUCH more drinkin' to come!

mastequilapf · 03-20-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by dudeadam

Looks like you had a lot more fun than I did. Great pics!
You coming to PITSII?

Thanks! Unfortunately, we have a terrible habit of having conflicts with various peep events. I have a big work related conference that weekend. I know, I know...BOOOOOOOO! HISSSSSSS!

dudeadam · 03-20-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by mastequilapf

Thanks! Unfortunately, we have a terrible habit of having conflicts with various peep events. I have a big work related conference that weekend. I know, I know...BOOOOOOOO! HISSSSSSS!

Dang it! There are other times and other places.

03-18-2007	#1 (permalink)
mastequilapf añejo Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 5,040	Our St. Patty’s Day Excursion (an Off Topic Trip Report) [With all due respect to those who actually are Irish on this forum. Your country has provided the world with a fantastic holiday that promotes fellowship and camaraderie]. The couple of days prior to March 17 left me with the urge to write a trip report on something. No real reason why, except perhaps that our next on-topic one won’t be for another six months (HMPH!). I guess I need a way to keep my trip report writing skills in order. Or maybe I’m just generally bored. Oh hell with it…who needs a reason. Neither Susan nor I have any Irish Blood in us. Not a drop, well, that we know of. Susan’s got the red hair and freckles thing down to a pat (as you will see), but all that comes from her Scottish roots (MacLeod). I’ve got some English (Spencer) in me. And I guess if you count Hunter, or Pembroke Welsh Corgi, we have Wales too. But alas, no Irish. Today, however, Susan will be 100% Irish. Red hair. Freckles. I won’t tell if you won’t. Sweet! It’ll be our little secret. We spent much of the previous week planning out the perfect St. Patty’s Day. We considered the infamous St. Patrick’s Day parade through downtown, but decided that it would be a huge crowd and probably not have beer. Turns out it wouldn’t have worked with our schedule anyway, as Susan took an Irish hiatus around lunch time to see a friend who was in town from California. We decided to make it a three part day, and include an Irish Pub, dinner at our favorite restaurant, and then a St. Patty’s day party to cap it all off. Neither Susan nor I is capable of functioning without a good, hearty breakfast. So we started our day with just that: the perfect Irish breakfast. Green Eggs & Ham (and mushrooms and onions) and Green Orange Juice. Sure, the meal looked a little funny. But we did eat it. And it was good. How do you make green eggs and orange juice, you ask. Well, it’s simple. Let them sit out in your kitchen for a couple weeks! Only kidding! Hunter was less than impressed, especially since we didn't share: No hearty breakfast is complete without something with a little kick to get you going early in the morning: Susan had coffee. I had the juice o' the barley. Seriously. Don’t worry, we were having a late breakfast (about 10:30 or so). Know that this is special beer. It is our homemade Irish Stout, of which I am very proud. It’s slightly bitter, but has a distinct coffee flavor to it. I like it better than Guinness. Nothing against Guinness, however, as you’ll see later. A box of thin mints that had been left on the table from the previous night eventually got the best of us, so we indulged. Susan began to comment on some of the pictures of the young ladies on the box. I copied one of them. We took a more leisurely breakfast than usual. Around 11:30, Susan began getting ready for her visit with her friend. I cleaned up breakfast. After she left, I just decided to kick it back for the three hours or so that she was going to be away, and do absolutely nothing. Except drink beer. And be merry. I slapped on some traditional Irish pub songs, mixed with some traditional Irish folk (both of which I really enjoy in real life). The brew of choice this time around is featured below: This is the Left Hand Brewing Company’s Snowbound Winter Ale. After cracking it open, I took up residence out on the back patio. A little cold, but the sun was shining bright! I picked this beverage because it warms you up without being very heavy. It’s brewed with spices, and when you drink it you can definitely make out cinnamon, gingerbread men, and mulling spices. If you have access to Left Hand’s products, I HIGHLY recommend that you pick some up. They do a great job out there in Longmont, Colorado. I have no connection to the brewery, except that I am left-handed. I then cranked the music so I could hear it outside and went and sat and soaked up the sun. And the beer. Next up: Part II - Fadò! __________________ -Josef Trip Reports: 2006 PDC / 2007 SPD / PITS II / 2007 PDC 'til Germany/Belgium!

03-19-2007	#2 (permalink)
mastequilapf añejo Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 5,040	Part II - Fadó PART II – Fadó! It seemed like Susan was gone forever. She was in fact gone longer than originally planned because her friend showed up late. Her friend brought along her two year old step-grand-daughter, which of course kept her friend’s attention most of the time. But to make up for it, Susan returned bearing gifts! That’s right. Light ‘em up shamrock necklaces! With these we’re sure to be the hit of the town! The time was about 4:00pm. We decided to drive to the train station, then take a cab to and from Fadó, and then take the train to dinner, to cut down on the driving required. No police check points on the train! After a quick drive and taxi ride, we arrived at Fadó! Fadó is a chain, so you may have one in your city! Despite that, it’s still cool inside. We arrived just at the same time as a carload of ladies who were very eager to get inside: But there was a line out front! No shocker, it IS St. Patricks day and this IS an Irish pub. So we went around back, only to find a line there too! So we waited… For those of you not familiar with Atlanta, the places behind the line in the picture above is the part of Atlanta town known as Buckhead. Generally speaking, Buckhead is known for two things- HUGE houses occupied by very wealthy folks, and sketchy dance clubs. It’s weird because most of the clubs come and go quickly. If months pass between visits to the club district, many business names will have changed. Said sketchy clubs are frequented by make-up queen sorority girls and the fraternity boys that drool over them. And thugs. See the one waaaaaaaay down there on the end with the curvy roof? It’s a dance club called Tongue and Groove. A handful of nights of mine have ended in total destruction there. Even passed out in the joint once. Whenever friends come visit us from out of town, they want to go to the sketchy dance clubs. Yikes. Yes, the red one is called “Uranus.” No, I have never been and will never go to Uranus. The line moved surprisingly fast. Fadó is very strict about their occupancy level. They were letting in only the number of people that left. So when five went out, five new people went in. We paid, got our wristbands, and were ready to rock! Under the flags and into the garden of eden! They had set up a huge tent outside the pub. It was packed: We quickly found our way to the beer station, and got our weapons of mass disdrunktion: A new way to make a black n’ tan! Those are 32 ounce cups. A band playing traditional Irish music had taken the stage at 1:00pm. We figured they’d still be playing, but sadly they were nowhere to be found. Instead, a local alternative radio station was putting on an event called St. Baldrick’s Day. They had hired a local barber shop to shave the heads of various folks. The shaved were people who had raised money for a local children’s hospital (similar to how Heather raised money for the Bomberos three legged bar race). The crowd got some great laughs, and the hospital got great cash! We began to roam, and talked to quite an array of folks. This guy had a great hat: Well we’re glad you’re not our kid either! This kid was one who had his head shaved as a part of St. Baldrick’s, so he’s actually on our cool list. We decided that while we were milling around, we might as well mill around in the line to get into the actual pub, not just the tent. We were in line behind this guy: OH MAN he was hammered! He kept going on and on about Pittsburgh, and how he has lived there all his life and knows what every last street is and how he can tell you where all the good restaurants are and stuff like that. The only word that I got in was that the youth director at our church is originally from there, and that set off the aforementioned Pittsburgh spiel again. Other than Pittsburgh, I hardly understood a word he said because the music was playing loudly and he was slurring his words. By the way he never bothered to mention why he came to Atlanta. Inside, the party was just as strong. I refilled my Guinness, and we found some other folks who had flashing shamrock necklaces: No idea who they are, but they were fun! These two guys, who appeared to be Irish (or at the very least were putting ona heck of a good act), were playing American folk songs. American?! That’s not what we came to hear. Well, I guess some of those songs have their roots in Irish or other folk music. At least they weren’t playing country! These guys were having a great time! Not sure what happened here. Must have been the Guinness that took that picture! Still looks pretty cool though! We decided to take a quick walk around to the front of the bar to see what was going on. Except for this guy, and some drunk college gals, not too much: It was working on 6:30, and we knew that if we didn’t begin to make our way to our dinner destination, it would be a long, long wait. We bit adieu to Fadó, hailed a cab, and arrived back at the train station. Last edited by mastequilapf; 03-19-2007 at 10:04 AM..

03-19-2007	#3 (permalink)
Ginger añejo Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 11,230	Very much enjoying your report! YOu had me laughing. Thanks for this, keep going!!

03-19-2007	#4 (permalink)
Doggiemom añejo Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Humble, Texas Posts: 9,364	Looks like a GREAT St. Patty's Day for you two!!!! Thanks for sharingit with us!

03-19-2007	#5 (permalink)
Eileencc añejo Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: North of Boston, Mass Posts: 7,354	This is an excellent report! Very fun!

03-19-2007	#6 (permalink)
SunKneeMarie character encapsulator Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Texas Posts: 32,808	Wow, now that is some excellent Irish spirit!! Erin go bragh! or whatever the heck that phrase is....

03-19-2007	#7 (permalink)
Luv2Dance añejo Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 25,637	Looks like you guys had a great time! Thanks for taking the time to post pics.

03-19-2007	#8 (permalink)
mastequilapf añejo Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 5,040	Thanks y'all for your comments! We certainly DID have a wonderful time. I was hoping to write the third and final installment tonight, but a church meeting from which I just returned home is going to prevent that. But tomorrow, my friends, I will not dissapoint!

03-19-2007	#10 (permalink)
dudeadam añejo Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Plano, Texas Posts: 1,584	Looks like you had a lot more fun than I did. Great pics! You coming to PITSII?

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