My husband and I have been caught up in our relocation to Milwaukee. Vaughn was recently hired to work at a home brew store that is opening a new location in the Milwaukee area. For the past couple of weeks we have been taking trips up there and scouring the area for apartments. We finally found a second floor flat in a very nice neighborhood. And the kitchen! Very nice compared to the other apartments we have lived in and looked at. Here's a photo...
We move in on Thursday (huzzah!), so I can't promise much in the way of posts until we get set up. Perhaps a few blurbs here and there.
We headed straight for the Union when we got into town late last night. The Union has a newly renovated bar downstairs for those who just want to hang out and drink, and a bar upstairs in their venue space so you don't have to run downstairs for a drink and miss a band's set.
When I first came to Athens, the Union was filled with burly biker punks up to their necks in tattoos with cigarettes dangling from their lips. The scene has changed over the years and is now a popular haunt for the "hipster" kids to hang out, listen to bands and drink pitchers of PBR. This is probably a result of ACRN, the university's student run radio station, hosting numerous shows at the Union. That's alright by me though, the burly biker punks can hang out at the Smiling Skull Saloon, which has the reputation of being a biker bar anyways.
Later today I will be meeting friends at Jackie O's (formerly O'Hooley's and still sometimes call it that). They are proud to be Athens' only brewpub and offer a wide and ever changing assortment of craft beers, as well as delicious food including their beer batter fish and chips and handmade pizza on spent grain crust.
Through the back there is a beer garden, perhaps the best in town because it's filled with locals and a laid back crowd instead of frat dudes and sorority chicks. It became one of our favorite spots this past year for post-class lunch (or dinner) and beer outings. Post-class...I swear! Especially wonderful after my 1pm-10pm days of back to back art classes. No break for lunch, or dinner, and I was quite frazzled by the end of the day. Beer me!
That reminds me, Jackie O's bought the space next door, where Skippers Bar and Grill used to be, and have begun working on the space. This is great because Jackie O's currently has eight booths outside and four booths, two tables and a handful of bar stools around a tiny bar inside. The are installing a long bar with many taps (20 maybe? not sure) and a lot more seating. It will be much more comfortable, especially on nights when there's a game on.