Doing Bus Loop in West Palm Beach

The West Palm Beach Bus Loop sounded like a fun way to spend a Saturday night. Pay $20 and get a free drink or item at 10 different bars and restaurants in the downtown, CityPlace and Northwood Village sections of West Palm Beach.

The money was going to a good cause: the West Palm Beach Downtown Neighborhood Association. I later found out that the Palm Beach County Gator Club Scholarships was the other beneficiary.

Jeanne Taylor (center) and friends (Photo by Bob Taylor)

It was a Facebook-organized event. Jeanne (@LittlePig1) Taylor, a children's librarian at the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach invited me. She works downtown and is a Gator mom. I then went through my Facebook friends and invited those who I knew lived in or near West Palm Beach.

My friend and former boss, Carol Carnevale, accepted my invite, along with Stella Wormus whose husband Aaron is the well-known blogger, @aGuyOnClematis. He works downtown as the chief technology officer at HedgeCo LLC.

Carol Carnevale stops outside the check-in
at World of Beer.

Jeanne, her husband and friends eventually arrived at the World of Beer, one of two check-in places for the Bus Loop tour. By that time, Carol and I were ready to move onto Tin Fish, No. 2 on the list where the waitress told us the party was upstairs. She was not joking. The upstairs was packed with people in their 20s, and a band played bluesy music so loud that we had to shout our orders to be heard.

A crowd forms outside of Tin Fish. (Photo by @aGuyOnClematis)

We caught up with the Wormuses at Le Rendez-vous on Datura Street. To avoid the crowds of the 550-plus people who had signed up for the Bus Loop, we planned our route -- ride the trolley up to Northwood Village and down to CityPlace, then walk back from CityPlace.

Stella and Aaron Wormus at the Sports Page bar in Northwood Village

The bars had a small list of alcoholic drinks they were offering as part of the Bus Loop tour. If you wanted food, such as a light bite or dessert, you had to pay for it.

At Tequila Cowboy in CityPlace, the bar was at the front and the band
played in the rear. (Photo by @aGuyOnClematis)

Tequila Cowboy, a relatively new bar and grill in CityPlace, was crowded. Aaron said the Clematis Street bars are never that packed. It might have something to do with its newness because the bar had just opened and most people like to try new places, I said. Plus, it had free live music, always a draw.

Someone dressed in a Hello Kitty costume
occupied a corner of Clematis.

The Hello Kitty character added to the surreal scene of the evening. I am not sure why the character was standing at the busy corner of Clematis Street and Olive Avenue. He/she drew a crowd of curiosity seekers who wanted a picture taken with the character.

We stopped at eight of the 10 places on the Bus Loop. I liked the sangria at Le Rendez-vous and the rum punch at the Sunset Bar & Grill in Northwood Village, even though I drank only a portion of each drink.

The Bus Loop became a bonding experience as we sipped our adult beverages and discussed conspiracy theories about the Syrian situation. And it added mileage to my daily steps. I walked an additional 3 miles by the end of the evening. Thanks, Carol, Stella and Aaron!

And now, for my numbers

I had my best walking day last week on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2013, when I walked:

Steps: 12,650

Miles: 6.3