62. September 11th, 2010 Picture.

For the past 10 years, Ratty has done a birthday bar crawl through different areas of Boston.  The first year I attended he did it through the ladder district, which includes Downtown Crossing and parts of the theater district.  The second year I attended, we actually went on a boat cruise, through the harbor.  Ratty’s methodology for that was that he had covered every area of the city, so why not take the party out into the ocean.  The third year was a hotel bar crawl that will go down in history as the most epic bar crawl I have ever been apart of.  It was for his 29th birthday and it was amazing.  The route was great, the bars were awesome and everyone in attendance was ready to party.  There was a slight issue with Tropical Storm Hannah bearing down on Boston, so the journey from bar to bar was an interesting one to say the least.  Multiple people fell, umbrellas were lost and I think everyone looked like a drown rat by the end.  It was awesome.

For Ratty’s 30th birthday, he did another hotel bar crawl, hitting up bars that were skipped over the first time around. While that night was awesome as well, NOTHING could top the first hotel bar crawl, nothing.  I shut down the Bristol Lounge at the Four Seasons at 3am, with a guy from London, his nanny’s boyfriend and Ratty.  I gave Ratty $20 and MY umbrella to get home. Leaving me open to the elements while trying to hail a cab.  Again, it was awesome. 

For what Ratty deemed as the last bar crawl ever, the 10th one, he decided to bring back the epic route once again.  We all met at Eastern Standard, and had some well made cocktails (they are pretty famous for having the best bartenders in the city).  I was so excited because Eddie and Christine met us for the first stop and they were happy to finally meet some of the friends they’ve heard so much about, and be out with adults.

{Eddie and Christine at Eastern Standard.  Please don't mind my brother, he doesn't normally look like a grave digger.  He just likes to be different.}

{Champagne cocktail menu from City Bar at the Lenox Hotel.  I specifically took a picture of the Ruby cocktail because it's my favorite.  My sister in law Sybil makes this amazing drink, vodka, cranberry juice, Canton ginger liquor topped with Champagne.  She calls it the Sparkling Ruby.  I seem some similarities here.  It also helps because I LOVE the name Ruby and have already claimed it for my unborn, not even a twinkle in my eye for at least 5 more years, daughter.}

{The Dancing Bear Martini at Charlesmark.  It's this tart and sweet martini with a skewer of gummy bears on top.  It takes it's name and inspiration from the Grateful Dead.}

{Me and Jamie at Charlesmark.  She is working it.}

{Ratty and our friend VT.  We call him VT because he is from Vermont.  We're so original.}

{Me and Ratty at Cuffs.}

{Partial Group shot en route to the next Hotel Bar.}

{I just really like the colors.}

{I specifically took a picture of Ratty walking down these stairs because 2 years ago, during the hurricane bar crawl, Ratty seriously skied down these steps.  He slipped at the top and skidded down them all, without falling.  People were amazed that he didn't kill himself, or at least bash his head in.  Obviously, being the dramatic people we are, the story had morphed over the years and the steps became steep.  20 feet high.  Made of pure white marble.  The kind of stairs that are considered deadly, and it was a sheer miracle Ratty made it out alive.  As you can see, none of that is true.  They are not deadly, not made of marble and not 20 feet high, maybe 6.  II think I am going to stick with the embellished version of the story.  I like it better than the truth.}

{Ratty and his friend Sonya at Bristol Lounge at the Four Seasons.}

{This is Josh.  He and Ratty grew up together and have been best friends since the 3rd grade.  Josh and his wife Sue live in Connecticut and originally told Ratty that they couldn't make it to the crawl.  Turns out, there were just saying that and were planning on surprising him all along.  We had speculated, thinking there was no way that Josh and Sue would miss Ratty's birthday, but Josh was adamant so we believed him.  The surprised was quickly ruined when Josh's sister wrote on Facebook that Josh was home for the weekend, so Ratty and I literally practiced our surprise faces in anticipation.  We knew that he would be at Charlesmark, waiting for us, because word had passed through friends and plans were shared with us.  All through our hour at City Bar, Ratty and I pretended to look shocked, while everyone else would critique our reactions.  In the end, we told Josh we knew, so our rehearsing was all for not.  But it was still hilarious!}

{The last picture at Bristol Lounge.  I know I didn't take a lot of pictures, but we were too busy having fun.  Even though Ratty said that this year was the 'final' one, I know that come next year he won't be able to let his birthday pass by without a big, fun celebration.  Heck, I'm not going to let that happen!}