Having a few hours to kill Saturday afternoon, B and I decided to go for a drive through parts of Clay, Ray, Lafayette, and Eastern Jackson counties to take in the sights and sips of beer.
#1: Goodtimes Lounge Excelsior Springs, MO[
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Though we didn't see anyone eating when we were here, apparently the food here is pretty good.
This is the last true (public) bar left in Excelsior Springs, another bar was condemned to make
way for a CVS while a third recently closed so that its owner could focus on his other operations.
Luckily for us we know there's more than one way to get a beer in a town...
#2: VFW Post 741 / American Legion Post 256Excelsior Springs, MO [
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This was the first VFW/American Legion combo we've seen, and also the first of either variety we've been to where we encountered
any resistance. The door required a passcard to open but the bartender let us in. The lone vet inside grilled us for a
few minutes about our military status in an obvious attempt to point out that we did not belong, but the bartender convinced him to
allow us to stay.
We then went on to Wabash BBQ where I had the best ribs I've tried anywhere. But though we sat in the bar area and drank beer
with our meals, since we didn't have a drink separately at the bar, by my own rules I cannot count this place as a new bar for me.
#3: Our Place Bar & GrillRichmond, MO [
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Big place off the highway with a stage for bands. Pay for your drinks with exact change or else the bartender may
put your change directly in the tip jar without asking first!
#4: Hide Away BarRichmond, MO [
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Tucked away on a side street just west of downtown, we watched some college football and chatted with the bartender.
#5: The DepotRichmond, MO [
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Just around the corner from Hide Away, this bar is adjacent to a skateboard park so has a sign on the door warning those damn kids that if they want drinks of water they better bring their own damn cups.
#6: Shakers NightclubRichmond, MO [
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Modern, clean, and decked out in purple. Also, at $1 a draw, this was the cheapest beer of the day.
We thought it odd that the bartender was a large older man in overalls but before we left the shift changed
and a younger country girl that fit with the nightclub theme took over.
#7: The Dukes [
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"It was the Dukes it was the Dukes..."
Ok, so technically you might call this a golf course bar, but it's still a bar. :)
We then headed across the river into Lexington...
#8: V.P.'s Bar Lexington, MO [
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The shop next door started as an antique store, but evolved into a restaurant when ebay began cutting into their business.
The bar opened a couple of years ago to complement the restaurant. It features lightweight aluminum bar furnishings and the coolest beer glasses I've seen:
#9: Riley's PubLexington, MO [
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We spent some time chatting with a local in this tiny but popular spot in the heart of downtown. The food smelled great!
#10: Lexington InnLexington, MO [
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This motel bar is a popular hangout, especially at the end of hospital shifts, and gets pretty packed.
#11: Red Dawg SaloonBuckner, MO [
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I was excited about seeing the bar famous for its bartender flipping out and attacking a patron a couple of years ago. However we soon discovered that the original was gone and this was a new, much larger incarnation across the street from the old saloon.
#12: Jersey's Sports BarIndependence, MO [
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We grabbed some Guinness and played a few games of Silver Strike. I was way off my game. Just like I have been with bowling in real life.
#13: Dr. PicklesIndependence, MO [
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We finished the evening relaxing at a table covered in photos before finally calling it a night.
Once we were finished and I was back home it was time to gamble. But that's another story for another time. :)
The other day I was meeting one of my friends (who shall go unnamed to protect his pride) and as I was walking down the hill, where he was standing about 20 yards ahead facing me, it was impossible to not notice the large gaping opening on the front of his jeans. 
