Party animals of a certain age OR we still know how to have a good time and thanks for all the memories!

This is how we started our Saturday.

Saturday was one of those days and long evenings we should be far too old to fall prey to but manage to do so every couple of months any way.

OUr day time adventures included our annual pilgrimage to the Christkindlmarket for spiced wine and souvenir mugs. We then spent many, many hours tracking down my birthday gift to Mich since no outlet had exactly the color and specifications she desired, and I got it into my head she had to have her gift before her actual birthday on Tuesday. We returned home in victory, gift acquired, but that also meant we had no downtime ahead of what promised to be a busy evening.

The evening began with a holiday party in Oak Park which was in our friends' beautiful new house and had all the trappings of an adult soiree including many toddlers, but also including an incredibly—and deliciously—potent bourbon-based punch. I perhaps had one or two more than I should have before downshifting to the beer.

I left early in order to catch two of my favorite local band play at Metro in Wrigleyville, and of course missed my connecting stop coming back from the suburbs, adding another 30 minutes to my travel time. Luckily I made it to Metro just in time to catch the first bad  I wanted to see. After their set I got another drink and proceeded to take a power nap in the balcony of the club, missing a segment of the set performed by the second band I really wanted to see. Whoops!

Then it was off to a bar on the far north side (all of these stops throughout the evening were separated by great distances but don't worry, I don't own a car so it was all public trans and cabs for this stumble-y dude).

And then of course it made total sense to go to The Corner bar since it is a hundred feet from my back door, whereupon I proceeded to have a generally genial time that I remember through a haze as being a goodnatured time of old fashioned fun (not necessarily fueled by Old Fashions).

Annnnd Sunday ... these party animals are pooped.

The next day? I felt fine but Mich had one of the worst hangovers she's suffered in 2014 so I let her relax and even picked up some carryout for her to help nurse her back to health. A dozen hours of napping on and off through the day and she was right as rain by nightfall so all's well that ends well.

And to everyone whose path I crossed on Saturday night I want to extend my genuine thanks at making it a really fun evening of many stops filled with many people I see far less often than I'd prefer.