OK, so DJ graduated. Hoo-Haah!!

After all that hard work and great accomplishment, the plan was ambitious, but simple.

Have a drink.

But that was the simple part.

The ambitious part was to have 12 drinks. (because of graduating in ’12)

At 12 different places!

So, after the actual graduation ceremony and stopping at a reception held at the Pennoni Honors hall, the journey began.

We made our way down Chestnut Street into center city.  How could we resist getting a picture of the graduate on the Chestnut Street bridge?

First stop, but not officially “a” stop (because they didn’t serve cocktails), was “Fuego”, at 21^st and Chestnut. Got some tortilla chips and guac, and a few bottles of Mexican soda.

ONE – First official stop was at Drinkers Pub, 19^th and Chestnut. 5 pm. Local hangout. Loud and casual. Shots of Jameson.

TWO – NoChe was next. Right next to stop one, upstairs. 5:30 pm. Very cool place. Great space. Bright and hip. And how great when we found out that Happy Hour started just as we walked in. $3 beers, $5 drinks and half price on brick oven pizzas. The drinks and food were awesome. I smell a return trip here : )

THREE – Alpha was next. 17^th and Walnut. 7:05 pm Way too crowded. So it was a quick shot of SoCo and Lime. One and done.

FOUR – The Happy Rooster. 16^th and Sansom. 7:20 pm. Cool little place. Nice barmaid. Miserable waitress. This is where we met up with Robyn. Also, a shout out to the cool customer from Haddon Township who also was a Drexel grad and bought DJ a drink.

FIVE – Nodding Head Brewery. 15^th and Sansom. 8 pm. Nice place to hang out. Super nice bartender (nice enough to take the group photo). Here’s where we met up with another of Djs classmates and her friend from Cali.

A jaunt in Philly isn’t complete without a stop on Broad with Billy Penn in the background!!

SIX – Tavern on Broad. Broad Street and Walnut. What else can you say about this underground, bustling sports bar but FUN. We were singing, dancing and having a blast. Kudos to the bartender for buying DJ a redheaded slut (that’s the name of a shot, yo)

SEVEN – XIX. Broad and Walnut inside the Hyatt at the Bellevue. 9:15 pm Breathtaking view of the city from the 19^th floor (hence the name). The single malt scotch tasted that much better with the amazing vista.

EIGHT – Locust Rendezvous. Locust, between 14^th and 15^th. 10:00 pm. Divy little bar. Noisy and crowded, but fun. Time for more drinks and more food. Cucumber melon shots, beer, loaded fries, wings, and a sampler of a bunch of stuff. Gosh, don’t recall most of this. Hmmm…..And where else can you get a set of giant beads from a total stranger at 11 pm?

NINE – Parc Rittenhouse. 18^th and Walnut. 11:30 pm More drinks and more food? Basilics around the board, tuna carpaccio, wild mushroom tart, fresh baked breads and infused butter. Ooo-la-la

TEN – Wrap Shack. 18^th Street, just off of Sansom. 12:30 pm.   Lagunitas IPA, Dogfish 90 min, and vodkas. Nice and informative barmaid.

ELEVEN – the Dandelion. Corner of 18^th and Sansom. 1 am. Steven Starr English pub. Beer of course.

TWELVE – It became quite a challenge to find #12. Most places were closed, at least in the area we were. We walked for a bunch of blocks with no success. Closed, closed, closed, you just missed it. Then, in the distance we heard some faint noise. Down a dark, dirty alley at 13^th and Drury Street we came upon McGillin’s Olde Ale House. The place was jumping!! The final stop. At 1:50 am What better way to end the night, just as we started, than with a round of Jameson shots.

As the clock on City Hall showed, it was 2:07 when we finished.

Final call was heading back home via the Speedline at 8^th and Market.

What an unbelievably momentous night. That was so much fun.

Thanks DJ and congratulations again on graduating summa cum laude, with honors, and a Masters Degree from Drexel University.