Four years ago we started a tradition here at MBIP of celebrating Contributing Writer, Wheelman and pal, Scott Turley’s birthday. Back then we took a trip to the zoo that resulted in one of my favorite MBIP post titles: “A Birthday Trip To The Peoria Zoo, Starring Scott Turley—Or—You Can’t Hide Those Lion Eyes...Ha!” Well, it’s hard to believe, but it’s that time of year again, so let’s go begin the Fifth Annual Scott Turley Birthday Extravaganza!
Usually these posts begin with a knock on the door, but this time, Scott’s wife, Moonbaby is making a rare appearance on the blog, so I just went out and met them in the parking lot. Here we go and here we are at the River Beach Pub! This is the third Scott Turley birthday party we’re having here. We abandoned the Peoia Zoo trips because it was too hot and they don’t serve beer there. I mean what’s a birthday party without beer!
They have a nice patio outside here but it’s another day with the heat index creeping past the 100 mark, so let’s get inside where it’s air-conditioned! Aaahhh, nice and cool in here! We sat at that table opposite the bar and before you know it...
Our waitress Emily arrived with a great smile and a fistful of drinks! There’s Scott and Moonbaby at our table, but that rotten sunshine has silhouetted them out! We’ll get a better picture later. Before the official celebration begins, I have to abandon Scott and Moonbaby to take the obligatory MBIP photos of the place, so away I go!
There’s the bar and there’s Brenda, the owner of the River Beach Pub! Great to see her again and Carrie was also doing bartender duty behind the bar, nice to meet you, Carrie!
That’s the back of the bar and they have eleven beers on tap. The daily specials are listed on the board overhead and there’s lots of fancy glasses back there!
There’s tables opposite the bar with all kinds of neon and signs on the wooden wall. A framed Phil Luciano review hangs underneath a Budweiser Rolling Stones neon sign. There’s a signed poster from a blues fest and a longshot from the other end of the bar.
Okay, we’ve moved into the back dining room because our friends, Amber and Joe have joined the party and we needed a bigger table! Great to see them and it’s just about time for Scott to open up his presents, but first...
I got Amber and Joe glasses that say, “Happy Hour Ever After” on them. Joe and Amber recently had what I guess you could call a rehearsal wedding with the almighty Reverend Steven Klister tying the knot for these two! The official wedding is coming up in November but I wanted to get them something in honor of this marital event! Congratulations, Amber and Joe and I’m looking forward to the wedding in November! Okay, now on to the birthday boy’s presents!
Amber and Joe gave him a bag filled with scrumptious snacks! (Funyuns are awesome!) And that’s not all they gave him, they also gave him something that would really help grow his appetite for these snacks...
This cool metal drum that’s used for...well, I’m not sure if I want to get into that here, let’s just say that...
Bob Marley was smiling down at our table when Scott opened it up!
And now on to my presents. I got Scott some monogram cards, Peoria pencils, a pickle book, a tiny little naked woman and most importantly, the unwinding ball present! Scott got wound up last year unwinding one of these, so I had to get him another one for this year’s festivities!
And the unwinding begins! This year’s ball went a little faster and Scott’s blood pressure didn’t hit the boiling point! Inside of the ball was a cat tattoo, fortune teller fish, another fish and a parachute with a little Martian attached!
The food here is really great and we ordered the nachos, chicken wings, Naan bread with hummus and their tasty onion rings. It was all so delicious and I got into it so much I forgot to take pictures! Here’s a photo of one of the cups of warm beer cheese and if you want to see photos of last year’s tasty food just click here.
The last guest to arrive was Jeff Putnam and he wins the award for best t-shirt of the day! That’s an old People of Peoria shirt from 1990! I forgot we even made those! Jeff was the photo editor and one of the copy editors for the magazine and we had lots of fun during the POP years! He’s standing in front of a collage that was made by one of Emily’s friends, Rachel Newell. It’s really cool and you can see more of her work at her facecrack page.
Happy 64th birthday, Scott! It was another fun birthday party and thanks to Moonbaby, Amber, Joe and Jeff for joining in on the fun! Looking forward to next year’s party already! We’ll see you all tomorrow!
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River Beach Pub
13637 N. River Beach Drive
Chillicothe, Illinois
309-579-2535
facecrack page
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Related Posts: A Birthday Trip To The Peoria Zoo, Starring Scott Turley—OR—You Can’t Hide Those Lion Eyes...Ha!, The Second Annual Birthday Trip To The Peoria Zoo, Starring Scott Turley—OR—You Can’t Hide Those Lion Eyes...Ha! (That’s just as funny the second time around!), Scott Turley Birthday Beers At River Beach Pub & Eatery and The Fourth Annual Scott Turley Birthday Extravaganza @ River Beach Pub.