The Sandbar scooter gang is still alive and well and often found cramming multiple scooters into one parking spot downtown. One of the funniest moments for me this summer was leaving the bar after closing time with Dave, Blair, and Joe, and realizing that all four of us were headed to the exact same parking place- where all four scooters awaited.
Dave and Andrew thought it would be funny to move Joe's scooter. It's lightweight enough for the two of them to pick up, and the moved it out of it's parking spot and into the sidewalk planter. Joe was not amused.
Those of us with scooters tend to ride them whenever possible, even in the rain, because they're so much easier to get around town on. Even when heading to a wedding this weekend, Andrew rode his scooter- while also wearing a suit. He looked pretty classy.
There's plenty more scooter fun where these came from- and one of these days we're planning to have a poker run. And now let the ridiculous comments begin.
Brother Pants forwarded me a funny article from The Onion about Jimmy Buffett, so now I am sharing it all of you.
And speaking of secret lives, here's a good one for you from the alive-and-well rumor mill in Lawrence.
My good friend Becki called the other day to tell me that her mom had been visiting with a friend who informed her that she (or a friend of hers, I can't remember) was planning to go to Mexico to attend the wedding of the guy who owned the Sandbar. Becki's mom quickly informed her that she must be mistaken, because the guy who owns the Sandbar (actually, co-owns) had been happily married for quite some time and was definitely not traveling to Mexico to get married.
Her friend insisted that yes, it was the guy from the Sandbar- you know, the place that always has the floats in the St. Patrick's Day parade every year?
I told Dave that if he's planning to go to Mexico to get married that I at least better get to go along for the vacation.
Last Sunday at the annual Sandbar beach party, Joe and Chris thought they'd be funny and stage their own swimming race from the dock to the inflatable trampoline.
Fortunately I realized my new camera had video capabilities just in time to capture the show. Don't blink or you'll miss it:
Well, I wouldn't say either of them come anywhere close to Michael Phelps, but at least they entertain us. Because, of course, we don't have enough entertainment at the bar.
Speaking of the Olympics, however, even Sandbar patrons can appreciate a good swimming contest. During Phelps' races on both Friday night and Saturday- the one he won in .01 seconds and the relay- the jukebox was paused and the crowd was riveted. And when he and the USA won- man, did the place go nuts. It was pretty cool to see.
The Sandbar Rock Band was out in full force on Saturday night.
Various weddings kept a large contingent of Sandbar regulars away from the bar until late in the evening. By the way, congratulations to Shelly (little sister of former Sandbar staffer Erick) and Dave.
Angie, our Wednesday bartender from several years ago, ventured back from Colorado for a short visit. Chris and his lovely wife Brookecame to Lawrence for the wedding and hit up The Sandbar for the first time since I can't remember when. Chris worked the door several years ago, and he's also the brother of our current staffer John.
Chris and Brooke tried their hand at Rock Band:
Current regular Sandbar-goer Ashley made it back to town from a wedding in Kansas City in time to grab a guitar while Ken sang lead vocals for this rag-tag group:
Do you have pictures of you and your friends rocking out to Rock Band? Send them to us and we'll post them here!
A few weeks ago Dave and I were wandering around World Market. He was perusing the toys, naturally, and spied an enormous vinyl shark toy. Of course it must have been fate and he immediately shelled out the twelve bucks they wanted for it.ÂÂ
And as you all know, it didn’t take him long to figure out the perfect spot for his new shark. You might have noticed the giant “Jaws” jumping off the tap handle of our Shark Attack drink.ÂÂ
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After Dave rigged the shark, the guys were joking about adding a Barbie doll to the mix, thinking it would be funny to have female legs sticking out of the shark’s mouth. And ironically, not five minutes after this brilliant brainstorm, Devo excitedly walked in with this postcard:
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It’s Sandbar karma. Or maybe the ghost at work.ÂÂ
I never considered The Sandbar a dance club, but after last night I might rethink that idea.
Most of the night was pretty slow, according to bartenders Dave and Blair. Early in the night, the bar was full of people who were sitting and talking, but not necessarily drinking, while a line of other people waited to take their place and the bartenders stood around with no drinks to make.
Even more strange is that not a single bachelorette or birthday party took place inside last night. On weekend summer nights, it’s not unusual to have two, three, or even more bachelorette parties come through on a single night.
By 1 a.m., however, everything had changed. Barely a single person stood on the actual floor and I don’t think anyone was sitting. The bar was full though- all the patrons were crammed onto the benches, dancing and singing to every song that played on the jukebox.
And people just kept coming in! Several large groups came in during that last hour and filled the remaining space on the floor. Everyone danced, and when favorite staples like “Sweet Caroline” and “Life is a Highway” came on, I couldn’t even hear the jukebox for all the people singing. It was fantastic.
