The events of Thursday the 31st of July 2008
Last week, in yet another post I didn’t post, we passed some time at the Halfway House after the boys got back from the Cubs game. It was decided that an invasion of Oak Park should occur with whomever chose to do so; Grant and Al do come out to Schaumburg just about every time we decide there should be a gathering, it only seemed fair that we should travel out to their neck of the woods as well.
There was a brief debate about whether or not to go due to a thunderstorm warning, but it was eventually decided that we would all brave the weather.
The Ordonii were kind enough to give me a ride. Mark was using his fancy GPS and we were able to avoid the highways; I wish I could say it made a huge difference but we were stuck in rush hour traffic all the same. (It probably could have been less traffic-y if this one light hadn’t gone out.)
We arrived at Grant and Al’s apartment only ten minutes after the designated meeting time, which considering the time we left, we made good time indeed. Heck, we even beat Grant home, but to be fair, he was working late.
For the most part, we stayed gathered in the front room; the purple couch finally arrived so we all marveled at that for a spell. (I even got to sit on it!) While we were chilling out waiting for Grant, he text everyone but Al with a message that read: “everyone mention to al that the pictures would look better with the wires showing. Not all at the same time, now.” Mike was the first one to mention it, but because all of our phones went off at the same time, Al figured out it that Grant must have sent everyone the same text. Regardless of this, we all chimed in with the message. This launched her into the tale about said pictures.
Grant joined us maybe half an hour after we’d arrived. It still amuses me that he has a job in the city and that he works as a spy. I mean, how cool is that? I’m trying to get him to bring back a fun toy like a ray gun or whatnot, but he still maintains he doesn’t do field work.
I’d like to say we went to dinner straighaway, but then we wouldn’t be us. To be fair, Grand and Al didn’t know what exactly it was we were all in the mood for, and there was also the question of whether we wanted to drive some place or walk. Since we were “deciding”, we continued our general conversation, which also included the tale of the decomposing yellow jackets at Al’s work.
Eventually, we decided to try The Avenue Alehouse which was right down the street from the apartment.
The place wasn’t too crowded and it had roof seating. We were considering eating on the roof, but ended up just sticking around on the main floor. The hostess conducted us to the back where the restaurant area was located; the whole place has a very pub/tavern feel to it, so the front area was mostly the bar and the back area was able to accommodate larger parties. Both areas had televisions in view of all tables for the sports-minded folk.
The menu had a pretty good variety and decent prices; I think every single one of us had at least two dishes that caught our attention (in my case it was three). I ended up trying the Alehouse burger, the idea of melted bleu cheese on a burger intrigued me. Al, Chris, and I also ended up splitting an order of potato skins, which until that night I hadn’t had in like three years. I’d forgotten how awesome they were.
We were all pretty pleased with our idea; it was great to make it out to Oak Park and see Grant and Al in their present living arrangement, and it was a chance to try a new restaurant. As our main meal came out, there was even a live jazz band playing in the bar area, far enough away to not disrupt conversation but close enough to groove to the tunes. I thought it was pretty cool. I liked the place so much I tried to make it our MacLaren’s — and really, how often is it that I think a bar is cool?
Afterward, we headed back to the apartment. It was unclear as to whether or not it would be the end of the night; Mark has his fancy new job now so he had to wake up early, Al is learning dolphin language so we don’t have a so long and thanks for all the fish moment, and let’s not forget Grant who is now working as a spy for some black-ops section of the CIA much like SD-6. (Oh, wait…did I just blow his cover?)
Mark decided that he would be able to stick around a little while longer. Al was kind enough to put on a pot of coffee for both him and herself, and I got to drink Wild Cherry Pepsi out of a martini glass. (I’ve always wanted to drink out of a martini glass!) We ended up playing a round of Oh Hell, and get this, I won! (I’ve never won Oh Hell before…I think it’s ‘cuz we weren’t playing with Bert, though.)
The Ordonii departed thereafter, but Mike and I stuck around to play a little Golden Deuce. I seem to have lost my edge in that game ‘cuz I only managed to get one piece on the board. I thought perhaps my poor Golden Deuce skill was due to the fact that I won Oh Hell. It is also possible that I just suck at the game now.
At around 11 PM, Grant and Al kicked us out. ‘Twas all five-by-five with us, though, ‘cuz we spent some quality time together. We declared that if it’s possible, we should try and make it out to Oak Park more often.
‘Twas good times. 