Hoser and I in the Eighteen/76 bar drinking our free SiC beers.
Hockey season kicked off last week! My returning champ Stars are off to a good start but this year my Flyers came to Dallas early. Better yet, they played on a Saturday so I could see them. The downside, other than traveling to the City of Hate, the Flyers were off to a crappy, crappy start. Like 2006 terrible; 0-2-2 with two chokes. The upsides definitely outweighed the bad: a road trip with my friends the Derrs, seeing Hoser (I covered his ticket in case he didn’t dig the game), discounted tickets (an Oktberfest special and the new owner is trying to get the Dallas fans back) and one free beer.
It was an awesome 24 hours!
The drive went rather smoothly. One matter that always puzzles me…driving to Dallas always feels longer than the return. Anyone else agree?
We had a bitchin’ meal at a diner near the Derrs’ hotel. The place reminded me of the Monument Cafe in Georgetown, just smaller and has been around since the Fifties. Parking was a nightmare, another reason why Dallas pisses me off. All the annoyance smoothed out through the game. We certainly got our money’s worth. It was an exciting, nail-biting back-n-forth decided in overtime with my Flyers winning 6-5, ending the drought. The Stars didn’t walk away empty handed, they got a point. AHL Rookie of the Year Curtis McKenzie was on the ice too.
Normally I avoid complaining about a free beer but the choices of Bud, Bud Light and Michelob Ultra had to be a Geneva Convention violation. Maybe I should’ve paid extra to not receive the voucher.
After the victory, I crashed at Hoser and Nancy’s, drank the home-brew Hoser has been making (pretty good, unlike Phil’s disgusting bottles of formaldehyde). We did some talking, petted his dogs and I got to tweak his wireless network. Hoser thanked me with additional beers. Can’t wait to try them. It’ll take a while, my beer drinking has slowed significantly and I’ve become a pretentious hard cider dude.
It’s still my turn to visit Dallas with the Martinezes though. Maybe I can find a way to use the two extra days off I have coming to do a long weekend.