“We need to eat first,” Teri told Heather. “Is there a place Downtown to grab a bite to
eat?”
Heather gave her mother a blank stare. “Um, not really. I mean, there’s bar food, but not what you
would call a real meal.”
Amanda, one of the friends that is more like family than
some family members, said she had taken it upon herself to make reservations at
Harry’s, a Cajun restaurant. Heather
just replied with, “Okay, so there’s one restaurant Downtown.”
“Because I come here to drink, not eat. I only looked for the bars.”
I suppose that’s the logic of a college kid.
We still had a thirty minute wait when we finally did arrive
at Harry’s. Not a bad amount of time to
be honest in a day and age where fewer and fewer dining establishments take
reservations to begin with. They were
even willing to call us when the table was ready as opposed to give us one of
those vibrating buzzers about the size of a brick that jar your whole body and
flash bright red lights telling you to get your ass to the hostess table before
they give your table away. This worked
out great because Downtown Gainesville was holding their First Friday Fest and
we wanted to walk around a bit while we could still walk the straight line.

By the time we reached the far end of the festival, Harry’s
called with news that our table was ready.
No more time to explore. It was
now time to eat and I am always ready to eat.
I would highly recommend Harry’s if you ever get to Downtown
Gainesville. The people are awesome, the
atmosphere fantastic and the food is out of this world. I couldn’t even eat it all, and that’s saying
something. I ordered the Jambalaya to go
with my Jameson and I think they sent me three orders of the stuff. Needless to say, our college kids had
leftovers to take home.
After that, we went barhopping. Of course, we were with college kids, so they
knew where all of the cheap places to drink were. The girls had a shot with the kids and I
enjoyed my whisky while sharing a laugh or two.
The first place we stopped was Sweet Mel’s. Apparently there is a Naughty Mel’s, as well,
but we didn’t go there. I figured I’d
save that trip for when the kids weren’t around.
Afterward, we went to an all beer place, but it was standing
room only and while college kids may enjoy that, my old feet need a chair. Besides, Char is not a beer drinker and I had
already been drinking whisky, so mixing was out of the question. I had learned that lesson the hard way.
We ended our night at the Vault with a live band. They were nice enough to discount our cover
charge since there was so many of us. It
was mostly standing room only as well, but we were able to find a small booth
in the back that we could surround with chairs so no one was standing. We were just cramped.
I’m not sure whether it is my age or my tolerance level, but
I don’t understand putting a loud band in a small place where no one can talk
to each other. I want to communicate with
the people I am out with without screaming directly in their ear. I like music, but not at concert levels
unless I am actually at a concert. We
had a drink and then hit the road, my ear drums throbbing and my chest thumping. It was enough noise for one night.
All in all it was a great night with the kids and we will go
back and do it again. Perhaps with more
of a game plan next time so most of the night is not spent wandering the
streets. However, that’s not such a bad
thing. At least I can hear what’s being
said.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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Sounds like great parenting to me and the best thing is the kids don't mind your presence - that's what makes it.
ReplyDeleteWe have always been blessed that way in that they love to hang out with us as we do them.
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