Me and the Boys
The stereotypical image of the bachelor party has all but gone extinct in the modern era; or, at least, it has for the geeky men of my demographic. My bachelor weekend was spent upon the shores of Oak Island, a region just south of where I grew up. Along with me was my best man Mark, groomsmen Joey, Tyler, Morgan, and my remaining friends Tyler, Eric, Erik, and Dominic (yes, we had two Tylers and two Eric(k)s). If you are not one of these fine gentlemen, I invite you to be a fly on the wall as I describe our antics of the weekend.
Friday
Friday may be a travel day, but it also contains the most excitement for the weekend potential ahead. Mark, Morgan, Eric and I climbed into my car to make the long hike down to Oak Island. Along the way we stopped for ramen: a delicious meal whet by gyoza and pork bao buns, which are all some of my favorite Japanese foods. Immediately next door was a game shop and a coffee/chocolate shop, so we spent a few more minutes perusing the games aisle while sipping our brews and nibbling on truffles. We had a long way to go before making it to the grocery store and the AirBNB, so once we began driving again I serenaded my passengers with a 21hr playlist I curated of all my favorite songs.
It's MY bachelor party! I get to pick the music!
Our AirBNB was a three bedroom place. Obviously, I got to have the master bedroom. Mark and Joey each claimed a side of the second bedroom's queen bed. The third bedroom was dedicated to the remaining fellas in what I call the "barracks": three bunk beds squashed into a single room. We spent the first few hours grilling burgers and making each other drink Fireball party favors before transitioning to the games of the evening, including Secret Hitler (a mafia-inspired game) and Smash. I was delighted to see everyone get along despite not knowing each other super well before the weekend. I suppose nothing unites men like beating the crap out of each other as Donkey Kong.
Saturday, Pt 1 (Brunch and the Beach)
We naturally had a late start on Saturday. Mark made some truly incredible bacon and sausage for the group, and he even scrambled 30 entire eggs at once. We did manage to eat most of them between the nine of us.
Saturday was our day for the outdoors. Tyler, Dominic and I started the morning by walking to a nearby coffee shop for a cold brew on the hot day. After breakfast, we headed our way to the beach and stopped by Bob's Dogs for a quick lunch. Everyone was making jokes about the "Gator Dog" on the menu, so naturally I had to try it. It was really just a hot dog with shredded cheese and a cool dill pickle spear, which added a much appreciated crispness to the bite.
The beach had perhaps the warmest water I had ever felt, much less in North Carolina of all places. It felt like bathwater from the very first dip. As such, it wasn't difficult to coax everybody into the water to horseplay and toss a football around for a while. Once we were done in the water, we began burying Morgan head to toe while discussing what the rest of the evening would hold for us. Someone came up with the bright idea of Beerio Kart... I can't say no to a tournament like that.
Saturday, Pt 2 (Carts and Cruises)
The rules for this Beerio Kart tournament were simple. Nine people, split into three teams of 2 and one team of 3. Three rounds, each split into four races. Each round requires two full beers drank before the end of the fourth race. One representative from each team plays all four races within a round and must finish the two beers before the end of the fourth race at times of the driver's choosing. However, you cannot drink and drive (kart must be at a complete stop) and no drinking between rounds. Third round races may be swapped between the driver pairs by choice as the last of the trio handles the remaining four races on their own. No CPUs turned on, frantic items only, and points are tallied at the end of each round. Whoever has the most points at the end of three rounds does not need to drink any more beers. Second place must share a single beer between their team. Third place must share two drinks between the team, and last place must share a whopping three beers between the team.
Let's a go!
I was part of the trio team with Morgan and Joey. The two Tylers happened to be paired together. The remaining teams were Dominic and Erik, and Mark and Eric. I'm happy to report that my team came in second, meaning that Joey only took a single extra beer for the team - but I'm less fortunate to report that Eric tanked most of the drinks between him and his fourth place teammate Mark, putting him out of the rest of the evening.
Even though we were down a man for the rest of the night, we made the most of our evening. We shared some crab dip appetizers at local dive The Rusty Hook before boarding our sunset cruise that we booked. I may have failed to mention the dress code of the evening, which was business on top and party on the bottom. Needless to say, the bachelorette party that happened to book the same tour were not great fans of our blazers, ties, and swim trunks. This didn't stop me from capturing a beautiful image of the sunset itself, which I pasted in the front of this post. What a view!
Sunday
Sunday was sadly our day to return home and conclude our wonderful weekend. It so happened that my parents' place was on the way back for most of the boys, so we got to stop by and enjoy tacos with my family. They were currently hosting two high school exchange students from Cyprus, and we got to talk with them about what they thought of their experience in the US so far. Unsurprisingly, our overly sweet food and tipping culture was not a favorite.
My mom recently bought a baby grand piano to replace the one she had from her teen years, a piano so well loved and so well played that it simply couldn't keep in tune with the maestro at the keys anymore. Not only did I get to hear songs from Mark (a piano player who I've seen put in the work these past few years), but I was also stunned as Eric and the two exchange students performed gorgeous pieces of their own preparation. Who knew that there were so many humble pianists in this world? I have always considered myself an amateur pianist, but I'm not even sure I deserve that title after hearing how well everyone can play.
Yet what a wonderful weekend it was. I look forward to reading this post in future years to remember the finer details of being a stupid man before marriage. My stupid married self will be grateful for it. Hopefully, you enjoyed the journey as well. Depending on the reader, I hope to see you at the wedding itself in a few short months!