Smashed

Innocent enough isn’t she ? I’ve had an eye on this joint . I knew I’d be in there at some stage . The North End Bar . A corner bar opposite the beach , a mile north of downtown Hermosa Beach . Of course when we moved into 28th street , just 200m up the hill , it was only gonna be a matter of time . Then came along Ant , and carnage ensued. No really , we had a big night . 1st of all , I gotta say thank you to Ant . A guy I met at group fitness sessions at ‘Believe ‘ , ran by Megan Deutsher , back in Mornington .We had only met fleetingly , but straight away you know a good bloke . To come out of his way to stay in our home town in LA , gifting me a dozen of the finest ,going out to eat lunch and dinner with our family and always wanting to pay the bill says plenty . Last night we had a couple of beers at home and then headed to NorthEnd Bar . This is your classic, local American bar . It’s also quite famous , known for being booked out for LA kings Ice Hockey party’s and just for being a lone standing bar in a residential area . Sure enough Ant and I slowly worked away in to a seated position at the bar . The joint was packed , sports on tvs , raucous, loud and bar staff who know how to keep you happy . The Bar tender had actually lived in Hawthorn for 2 and a half years . All night he had us topped up with extra concoctions of root beer and vodka on the house( yeah I know , horrible but we kept on drinking them ) . He’d always float past and yell “Plugger . Dunstall , Yaaaaablett ,Go Hawkers !Old blokes , young blokes , women .. yeah we talked to them , even shared an edible with the barman . Messed up .Sure enough at 2am we were kicked out the door . A 2 minute stagger saw me home , just in time to wake everybody up as I watched the last 5 minutes of my beloved Saints finally get a win . As for Ant , let’s just say the fun continued , lucky fucker . But when you’re a good bloke and pick up the bill you deserve to finish the night on a high . Ant , have a safe trip home and i’l see you in 2 weeks , back in Aus . We’l enjoy telling the boys about this one .The NorthEnd , i’l be back .The funny thing is ; the two big nights I’ve had out have been with Aussies, just saying…., no coincidence ?