I Love This Bar

Guess who’s home from Kenya!

That’s actually from when he was leaving, so he’s a lot more tan, and his luggage isn’t as heavy now. Joe got home Sunday evening, had Monday off, and was back to work at the hospital on Tuesday. Usually, we don’t do too much for Valentine’s Day, but it is nice to do something fun. While he was gone, I tried to get him a card, but they were all awful. I also had my CPE unit 2 evaluations all day Tuesday, which I knew would leave me completely emotionally and physically exhausted, so we kind of scrapped the romantic, gushy expressions of Valentine’s Day for this year. And I am so glad we did because Valentine’s Day 2012 will forever be known as The Day We Found Our Bar.

(How I Met Your Mother-style) You see kids, once upon a time, when we lived in Houston, we were surrounded by great bars – not just places to get a drink, but places that feel like home. There was Blanco’s with its live country music, shuffleboard tables, and buckets of longnecks. There was Kay’s with George Strait on the jukebox, a giant table shaped like Texas, foosball tables, and the Dolly Parton-wannabe bartenders. There was Hans’ Bier Haus with its bocce ball courts, picnic tables, and great craft beer selection. They were places where you could go to relax, kick back, and be yourself. Usually there are a crew of crusty, Wrangler-wearing regulars, but they don’t mind the newcomers as long as they’re respectful.

Ever since we moved to Nashville, we’ve been looking for our bar. Sure, there are good places to get a drink, but we always left feeling like Goldilocks. Too loud, too hip, too smoky, too fratty, too “biker bar”, etc. On a whim, we walked in to Twin Kegs and found ourselves looking at this beauty:

Shuffleboard. The bar kind, not the cruise ship kind. We took a seat and looked around. One of the regulars at the bar hollered, “He’s in the back cooking, but he’ll be right with you.” There was Yuengling and Sam Adams on draft, along with the standard domestic, light, and cold lagers. When the bartender came to take our order, Joe asked him how the shuffleboard worked. He looked at us with a little confusion and said, “You just get up and play,” and proceeded to tell us how long it had been in that building and who takes care of it. “We just ask that you respect the table.” Oh, we will.

While Miranda Lambert and the Eagles played on the jukebox, Joe respected that I owned him at the shuffleboard table. Unfortunately, it was getting late, and we had school work the next day so we had to call it a night. Even though our Valentine’s Day wasn’t romantic, I got to spend the evening doing things I love with my favorite person in a place where I could kick back and relax. Sounds pretty good to me.

Cook, Pray, Love (http://www.cook-pray-love.com)

Read more at Cook, Pray, Love