WOW!!!! Its been a while!

We are going on a Dive Drive with some newbies on 05/05/2012! Obviously, I have to do research before we do a dive drive, so I googled "South Jersey dive bars" and clicked images. Suddenly I started seeing familiar pictures of dive bars, and I realized....THEY WERE MY PICTURES FROM MY BLOG!! It made my realize how much I missed blogging about dive bars! I am going to try my hardest to keep this blog updated! I love dive bars and I want everyone else to love them too!

Weavers

                     

                Weavers is a small bar located on the White Horse Pike in Laurel Springs NJ. Lets skip the small talk, and get to the point. This bar is AWESOME!!!!
                         Before we even got in the door we became friends with "Big John" who is a regular at the bar. Big John is about 6'4, 200 lbs, and wore ripped jeans, work boots, an old sweater, and a bandanna on his head. He took us inside and immediately made us feel welcome by introducing us to the bartender, and the few other patrons sitting around the bar. The bartender was about 4'9, pretty, and looked like she would kick the shit out of you if you started trouble in that bar. She served us $1.00 Pabst Blue Ribbon's which were cold, and did the trick. We all sat at a table with Big John and talked about everything from construction, to The Royal Wedding.
                       The rule on The Dive Drive is to bring $20.00, and buy one beer per bar. However, this rule goes out the window if the bars are a good time, because we want to give these bars business. Since Weaver's was awesome, the dive drivers started buying shots, then Big John bought a round of shots. Before I knew it people were wobbling (including myself) and it was time to leave. I was the last to leave because I had to use the bathroom which was a typical bar bathroom, nothing special (like a sinking toilet). As I walked out of the bar I saw one of the Dive Drivers with his hands on the hood of a police car. Apparently he didn't want to use the bathroom in the bar, and a cop caught him peeing on a tree. Six cop cars pulled in to the parking lot  to give "back up" in case the pissing bandit got out of control. They finally let him go after 15 minutes, and gave him a warning.
                   Weavers Bar and Grille is a great little bar that I am SO happy we checked out. I recommend that everyone stop in this bar and drink an ice cold PBR with "Big John". Tell them all that the Dive Drive sent you.

P.S use the bathrooms, Laurel Springs police do not tolerate public urination.

                                                     ON TO THE NEXT ONE.......
      

The Spread Eagle Inn

            While doing my Dive Drive research, I stumbled across a review that said "Dirtiest bar I've ever been to. The toilet is sinking in to the floor, and the people are rude." Obviously this review is what catapulted The Spread Eagle Inn to the very top of the "bars to visit" list.
            The Spread Eagle is is located  off the black horse pike in Mt.Ephriam NJ. The bar sits on the corner with no sign, and nothing to attract your attention. The GPS was the only reason that we found this bar, otherwise we would have driven right past it. The few patrons that  were outside smoking cigarettes when we walked up to the bar all stopped conversating amongst each other, and greeted us all as we walked in the door. I was immediately angry because the review said that the people were rude; the people that greeted us were not rude. I just kept thinking to myself, "The toilet better be sinking."
             When you walk through the front door the entire bar is in plain view. There is an old Piano to your left discretely pushed against the wall, an old arcade game next to the piano, and a modern touch screen jukebox next to that. A bowling game sat against the back wall, and 2 flat screen T.V's (that kept shutting off )hung above the bowling game.  Booths, and big refrigerators filled with six packs of beer lined the far right wall, and glowing ceramic houses sat on top of the refrigerators.  We took our seats at the bar and were greeted by a friendly male bartender who was attentive, and pleasant during our entire visit. He would walk down the end of the bar and converse with the "regulars" but he was always looking over his shoulder to make sure our glasses were filled. He even put money in the jukebox and told us to pick out some songs! Once we were situated with full glasses of beer, and Aerosmith on the jukebox, it was time to check out the bathroom.
           My heart was pounding as I walked to the bathroom door,  I needed to see the sinking toilet. I would have even settled for a hole in the floor where a sinking toilet used to be, but once I walked in the bathroom I realized that there was no need for a sinking toilet; the awful drapes were enough to make this my new favorite dive bar. Old, heavy, once colorful, now grey, floral/ fruit print curtains hung from the small window in the bathroom. They were curtains that your grandmother threw out for being out dated. They were awful, and wonderful all at the same time. I immediately became confident that a sinking toilet had to accompany these drapes. I flung open the stall door and there it was, a sad, sinking, crooked toilet. I laughed and took pictures when I saw it, but then I felt bad for the toilet. I felt like the toilet was sinking in an effort to get away from the drapes. Whatever the case may have been, the review I read was right and I was thrilled!
          I couldn't have been more pleased with the Spread Eagle Inn. It is definitely a dive bar but as I have stated in the past, a dive bar isn't always a bad thing! This bar has been added to  the route for The Dive Drive caravan  which will take place this summer. Stay tuned for more details!

                                                                   ON TO THE NEXT ONE......

                                                           

The Pike- C

                    The Pike is discreetly located on the White Horse Pike in Magnolia NJ. I never even knew this bar existed until they painted the outside bright yellow about a month ago. The parking lot was empty, which is how it has looked since I started observing. Since I've never heard anything at all about The Pike, the only thing I was nervous about was the unknown.

                 I was pleasantly surprised when I walked in to The Pike. It was clean, the stool cushions weren't torn, and the bar didn't smell like stale beer, it was completely remodeled. There were 6 people in the bar when we walked in. Five of them were members of a local band "The Dropout Plan", and an older gentleman that sat across from them sipping a martini, and chasing it with a beer. There was a "stage" against the wall, which is actually a long step but I'm sure it is sufficient. Pink Christmas lights lined the ceiling above the stage, and a modern jukebox was mounted on the wall. After five minutes we were greeted by a friendly, pretty bartender. I ordered a $2.00 Miller Highlife, it was cold and didn't taste stale which was a pleasant surprise. I felt bad for the bartender, business was slow and it seemed like she was walking around doing little tasks in an effort to keep herself busy.

              I decided to check out the bathroom, I was convinced that there was some place in this bar that would reveal it's inner dive. As I opened the bathroom door, I saw it in all its glory. Like a tall glass of water in a barren desert, it was almost as if the angels sang and shone a light upon that little bathroom. There starring back at me was Dive Drive gold, the way to separate the dives from the rookies, the key to the inner dive. A chart to show the effects that alcohol has on a fetus at every stage of a pregnancy. A Grinch smile stretched across my face as I quietly whispered to myself "The dives can run, but they can't hide".  I busted from the bathroom with a new found confidence. I scribed "Dive Drive approved" on the chalk board, finished my beer and we were on our way.

            I liked The Pike. I thought it was a chill local bar that defiantly deserves more business. The bartender was friendly, the beer was cold, and the music was awful (which made the trip more memorable). I'm giving this bar a C because I feel like the bar may have lost some of its character during the remodel. However, I was never at this bar before, so I may be wrong. The outside and inside do not match, but don't let the clean smell fool you, not here not anywhere. If there is a chart, or a sign in a bar describing the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome it's a dive!

                                                                 On to the next one.......

    

Gene O's Tavern= Peice O shit

                  When on Dive Drives my friends and I NEVER go out looking for trouble. We only want to have a good time, drink cold beer, and meet cool people. Unfortunately, there are some Dives that are filled with trouble, and we stumbled in to one of those bars in early March of 2011.
                  Gene O's Tavern sits on the White Horse Pike in Waterford works NJ. We were warned not to go in to this bar by several people we've met on the Dive Drive but we went there anyway of course. I am going to give you the brief details of the incident at this shit hole due to the fact that I refuse to waste my time on garbage.
                 Due to the fact that the bar was silent, I asked if there was some Karaoke or music that we could listen to. The bartender gave us microphones which could be heard through the whole bar, including out on the back patio; which is where every shady character and their mother was sitting. We were having a good time with the microphones (not cursing or beging disrespectful) until an overweight ugly creature came out of nowhere and took the batteries out of one of our microphones. A dive driver went after her to retrieve the batteries and he was successful! When the Dive Driver placed the batteries back in the microphone he then said in to the microphone "Someone please get this girl a sandwich, she seems to be mighty hungry." Aproximatley 3 minutes later I hear that same dive driver saying "I'm going to get slapped in 5,4,3,2" SMACK. The friend of the fat creature smacked the dive driver in the face, and all hell broke loose.
               Unfortunately the Dive drivers were outnumbered and after holding our own for a solid 10 minutes we were forced out the door and on to the pike. We got in to the car and made sure that we honked our horn and waved to the 30 losers that were still standing on their "turf". So in conclusion Gene O's is a piece of shit, and so are all the people that work and hang out there. Don't go to this bar unless you want to drink hot beer get in to a bar fight. Obviously these losers have nothing better to do except start trouble! YEAH....I SAID IT!

                                                                 ON TO THE NEXT ONE........

Dive Drive is BAAAAAACK!

              After a little incident that we had on a Dive Drive in early March, we decided that it would be a good idea to quit the Dive Drive. We didnt want to offend anyone by going in to their "territory", we didnt want to cause these small local bars to loose any buisness, and we really didnt want to get our asses kicked!
After careful consideration I am retracting the decision to quit the Dive Drive. The truth is, I love the dive drives, I love the memories I make with my friends, and I love the people we meet along the way! I refuse to quit doing something that I love because of a group of jerkoffs looking for trouble.
            If you want trouble, come and see us. We are going to be the group of people having a good time at the end of the bar (closest to the door). See you around!
            

Black Horse Pike Dive Drive. 02/12/2011

                 I looked forward to this drive for about 2 weeks, so when this glorious day came about I was pumped! The bars were going to be awesome, the weather was a little bit warmer, and we had 2 new members added to our group. Everything was perfect! We all met at my house at 7:00 pm to pre-game this awesome event. I decided that rum was going to be my poison that night, so I pounded down a bottle of rum, got in to our designated driver's drunk bus and headed down the pike towards Dive heaven!           
              We started the night off at Gleason's Place in Franklinville, New Jersey. When we walked in I immediately realized that this bar was packed with mostly middle aged people. There was a band playing on the dance floor, people sitting at tables and standing at the bar. As soon as we got to the bar Matt bought the group a shot. I don't know what it was, but despite Nicole telling me not to take it because I was going to throw up...I took the shot.
                                                             LIGHTS OUT!
                 The next thing I remember is waking up alone in the back of the drunk bus, and reaching for the door handle so I could throw my guts up in the parking lot. As I was violently vomiting everywhere I was able to read the word "Devones" apparently my friends were in that bar. I tried to get out of the bus to go in but my body didn't like that idea and I began vomiting again.
                                                              LIGHTS OUT!
                  The next thing I remember is waking up in the back of the drunk bus as we pulled in to Geets in Williasmtown NJ. I immediately noticed a guy laying on the sidewalk vomiting. A part of me wanted to lay on the sidewalk and vomit with him, a part of me wanted to climb in to the ambulance that was called for him so I to could have charcoal poured down my throat to end my pain. But I didn't lay on the sidewalk, and I didn't climb in the the ambulance. I simply told my friends to go inside and leave me in the bus. Nicole was refusing to go, but after 10 minutes of begging her to go away so I could puke, she tilted my head to the side and went in to the bar. I threw up about 5 more times.
                                                              LIGHTS DIM.
                    The alcohol was no longer in my body. It was now spewed down the black horse pike and I started to feel better. Joe came out to the car and gave me a pep talk, then I fell asleep. I woke up with the craving for a cigarette, it was then that I knew that I had come back to life! I smoked a cigarette, wiped the dried puke from my face (and neck) and walked in to Geets where all of my friends were waiting.
Geets is defiantly a great local hang out spot. Its a Diner/ Sports bar so its really convenient! There were a lot of cougars. Yep...that's all I remember about that bar.
                      A Dive drive will be scheduled soon so we can re-visit these bars; I will not be pre-gamming with rum the next time. Please stay tuned for a more accurate, pukeless blog about the bars we will visit along the black horse pike.