Another beer in another town

I was just reflecting on how great my last birthday was. All my "geographically-close" friends (and FAMILY!) were out of town in a strange and possibly "coincidental" way, (sarcasm intended) so I made plans to go to Columbus, OH to visit and celebrate my birthday with my old friend Dan & his new gal Emily. And what I thought was so great, beyond the fact that I was with Dan who I rarely have the chance to spend any length of time with prior to that evening, was that...I had a great time and never once thought, "we're going to this type of bar, where these types of people hang out". It was just another bar, with another beer with great friends with no stigma attached or anything to color your perception other than your beer soaked brain and the absolute present tense of what was happening. It had been some time since I last bar-hopped and been out on the town, not to mention out-of-town. Even better is you don't even have to think about how to get anywhere because your friends know the city better, so you don't drive! Logistics aren't a concern for you. Just a fun night without any concerns, plans, timeline, desires or problems. I had lots of these types of nights when I was touring with the band and I guess I just realized how much I missed having beers in a bar I've never been to, in a city I've been to with some friends and a bunch of people just waiting to be met. Isn't travelling fun?

(A belated thanks to Dan, Emily and her wonderful twin sister, who's name I've forgotten because of all the brain cells that died that next morning from the last shot of Tequila Emily insisted on buying me. You guys made my 32nd birthday very memorable!)