Walkin' Around Checkin' Stuff Out. #81
Terminal Bar.
We played a rockshow here and truth be told, none of us were real excited about it. We’ve played here before and had “so-so” shows and we weren’t well rehearsed so expectations for a good show were low. As it turns out it was a pretty good night, the crowd was good and we played really well. Just goes to show you never know how something is going to go...just show up and give it your best.
Let’s give it up for great dive bars. No Instagram walls, no fancy interior design or craft cocktails. Just a comfortable place to hang out, drink beer out of a can (or risk it all on a $3 mystery shot) and maybe see a band.
Since 1932. That’s the kind of patina you can’t fake. A good dive bar has to earn it. It’s a shame when people try to spiff the places up and they lose all their soul. There’s no fear of that at the Terminal...the dust layers have dust layers at the Terminal Bar.
The bartender is the grandson of the original owner. His mom still owns the place...she’s 92 years old. She doesn’t come into the bar much anymore...she has an iPad with live feeds from all the cameras in the joint so she can keep an eye on the business.
Muscle car season.
Along with being perfect weather for kickin’ back reading a book on a park bench, it’s also get the classic car out of storage weather. I bet this dude has been driving this car since he was a teenager, he just needs to grow his mullet back. (I was a little disappointed Foghat wasn’t cranked out of an 8-track player.)
Old cars are cool and fun in a way that very few cars are today. Is anyone really ever going to restore a Toyota Camry...and like it?
Jailbreak to the casino.
Saw these two rollin’ into the casino with the devil in their eyes...well, she did, anyways...I think grandpa is just going along for the ride. My guess is they aren’t even married...more like friends with benefits...casino member benefits, that is. They bust out of the home a couple times a week to hit the casino for an afternoon and get back before dinner and anyone even notices they were gone. When nursing home BINGO doesn’t do it for you anymore, you gotta up the fun.
Aster Cafe patio jams.
One of the things that makes this one of the best patios in town is the sweet guitar stylings of Dave Roos. He’s been playing the Aster patio for as long as I can remember and he instantly makes a good summer night on the patio a great night on the patio.
Bill Phelps.
On my daily walk around Lake Harriet I ran into friend and killer photographer Bill Phelps. The weather has been incredible lately and it was the perfect day to kick back on a park bench and read a book.
Rosalia Pizza.
Pam got a tooth removed so she needed some pain killers (rose), and I needed a pizza and a patio on a killer night. Their Salsiccia pizza is pretty amazing if you like a bit of spice on your pizza.
We take Davis anywhere and everywhere we can whenever we can. He loves meeting people and other dogs and he puts a smile on so many people’s faces. Dogs are the best.
I’ve been wondering how much longer it will be before the Toyota minivan starts to show up at the classic car shows. Probably some day when my kids are my age (old). They’ll comment about how they had one when they were growing up and you could watch movies from the captains chairs in the back, and that you’d fight with your sister about wether you’d watch Mulan or the Lion King for the millionth time.