The Sandbar...Home of the Indoor Hurricane!

Putt Putt Pub Crawl

It's time for the Lawrence Young Professional Network's annual Putt Putt Pub Crawl!

This event has been going on in downtown Lawrence for many years now, and the Sandbar has been a participant nearly every year. (Read about last year's event here.)

What is it?

A tour of downtown Lawrence bars, where each bar has created their own putt putt hole. The participants socialize, drink and attempt to sink the ball in the hole at each bar.

When is it?

This Friday, June 3, starting at 6 p.m.

What bars will we go to?

According to the LYPN Facebook page, there are four bars participating: Fatso's, the Eldridge, Quinton's and the Sandbar. They haven't announced the starting point or the route yet, but more details will come soon.

The event is free! And there are prizes! You know the Sandbar crew loves costumes, so we're especially excited that there are prizes for best dressed male and female golfers. There's also free pizza at the last stop, donated by Papa John's.

Don't be scared by the words "young" and "professional." This is a great way to socialize and meet other Lawrence people. Focus on N for network if it makes you feel better!

Be sure to sign up here if you want to participate. We hope you do, we're looking forward to a fun night!

A Plea From a White Noise Patron

Last January, we stumbled across a pretty hilarious webpage dedicated to our little bar. We blogged about it here, and it opened up a dialog with the young creators of the website. They recently noticed the demise of our webcam (which we've had for many, many years now) and wrote to let us know of their disappointment.

To whom it may concern,

I am writing this totally original letter on behalf of the good hosts over at the White Noise internet podcast (any resemblance to another email is purely coincidental). You may perhaps remember a post on the Sandbar blog from January 8th of this year detailing a rather curious cause of site traffic- specifically, this podcast that dedicated a segment of its show to your webcam and the mystical rites found therein.  Since that time, White Noise has continued to do its best to maintain its mainstays of being fiendishly unreliable in its scheduling and marginally less than unsuccessful in its attempts at humor.  However, on fleeting, rare moments, such as when the planets achieve syzygy or the Houston Astros make it to the fifth inning without completely blowing it, a new episode is released, and you can be sure that the Sandbar Update- now complete even with its own theme music! -is one of the dearest and most-anticipated segments.

Therefore, you may understand my dismay to find that your webcam is seemingly inoperable.  It is in that dismay that I send this message with these goals:  that I may inquire as to the circumstances that led to this misfortune, encourage the rehabilitation of the aforementioned equipment, and alert you to the appreciation that the hosts and I hold for everything you do.  Certainly, I hope that all is well and I shall continue to consider you and your establishment with great fondness, even in the absence of our magical digital portal.

With Whimsy Unwavering and Sniftitude in Spades,
Kyle Sullivan
White Noise Listener and the one who wrote this letter. Really.

We laughed. We recently hooked our webcam back up and it was functional for a brief time, and then it died. For good this time. So, while we definitely plan to replace it, we don't know when that will be. We'll be sure to let everyone know when you can tune in to our "magical digital portal" once again.

Sandbar Tee in Key West

Spotted: a Sandbar shirt in the mecca of all things tropical, Key West!

Sandbar fan Maria went snorkeling while visiting our dream destination, and she took her Sandbar shirt along for the trip.

Where has your Sandbar shirt been? Send us an email and a picture, we want to hear your story!

How to Make a Bartender Cranky

This is a guest blog from Heather, one of our Friday night bartenders on the early shift. This particular event happened on Friday the 13th, which may or may not explain both the customer's bizarre behavior and Heather's reaction to it.

Now we all have our pet peeves in life and bartenders are no exception. Sometimes, we get cranky. It happens to all of us now and again. A recent Friday night event made me a bit more than cranky as I actually yelled at someone. 

This guy was in on a busy and crowded Friday night with his buddies. He starts making facial expressions like he is going to be sick. Then he starts making full body motions like he is going to throw up on the guy next to him.  He was close to the door, so I in turn yelled “Get out, take it outside” while pointing to the door. We certainly didn't have time to clean up vomit on this busy night.

He puffs out his chest and peacocks on over to the bar saying “What? Couldn’t you tell I was joking?” as he made the same apparently fake vomiting motions towards me.  No, I couldn’t and I didn’t want to have to clean it up either. Yuck. 

I get that sometimes people just don’t know any better but come on! Besides, it is never a good idea to intentionally make the bartender mad- or to throw up in the bar. 

Andrew's Graduation Banner and Party

Last Sunday, doorboy/bartender Andrew graduated from college.

Some of us have known him since he was knee-high and mopping the bar's floors. He pretty much grew up at the bar, and he started working the door the minute he turned 18. It's hard to believe he's 21(almost 22!) and a college graduate.

Thanks to my photo organizational skills and his own Illustrator skills, Dave was able to put together a creative, thoughtful and often funny collage of our favorite pictures of Andrew through the years. I wish I had a better picture of the banner to share, but this is it:

The big picture in the middle? That's always been our favorite. On the night of Andrew's senior prom, Dave enlarged that one and hung it in the upstairs office at the bar, knowing Andrew and his friends would be stopping by to drop stuff off.

There's several pictures from our Orange Bowl trip in 2008, the one where Dave and I were "chaperones" for Andrew and his buddy Matt. There's float pictures, from the one of Andrew dressed as a sheik and riding a camel, to the Love Boat float where his fourteen-year-old mouth was full of braces, to this year's float where he wore a gorilla costume in sweltering heat.

Pictures with his mom and dad, and pictures with his girlfriend. The banner is a great representation of photos of Andrew's life.

We hung the banner at the bar on Sunday after graduation, for Andrew's first party. Later that night, another party took place at his parents' house with a band, food and family, and the banner hung on the house.

Congratulations, Andrew. Our little boy is all grown up!

Sandbar Tee in Florida

Here's another Sandbar T-shirt picture submitted by some of our fans. It's a pretty small size, but you can still kind of see the Sandbar printed on the chest.

This picture is of Leslie and Gill of Alabama, while they were in Tampa, Fla., last Thanksgiving. Leslie says "All my men wear Sandbar shirts!"

The shirt Gill is wearing is an old-school Sandbar shirt- before we even had an official logo!

Sandbar 2011 Graduate: Becki

Last week, we put out a call for graduating students who love the Sandbar. Our final 2011 graduate profile is Becki, who also submitted the winning idea for our 2011 graduation pint glasses. Read what she has to say about the bar below.

I love the Sandbar and I've been coming to here longer than I'd like to admit. To give some perspective, I was there for the beginning of Debbi and Dave. And dressing up to go out meant wearing your best flannel shirt with jeans and Birkenstocks. Anytime I have friends come in from out of town, I make it a point to have the Sandbar a part of their visit. For me, the Sandbar is part of what makes Lawrence so unique and fun.

Tell us your favorite memory from the Sandbar. A few years ago I had my birthday party upstairs on the beach. At that time, the bar had Rock Band set up for people to play so a group of my friends and I brought in food and played all night. To my knowledge, that was the only time a party like that was done. It was one of the best nights I've had at the Sandbar!

Funniest memory from the Sandbar? One of the funniest memories I have didn't actually happen at the bar, but was Sandbar-float-related. In 2006, the St. Patrick's Day parade float theme was a giant wedding cake, and the guys dressed as grooms and the girls dressed as brides. A great theme, but what made it funnier was that at the time I was nearly eight months pregnant. As we were going by the judges' stand, the parade emcee (who is a friend of mine) called me out over the loudspeaker for dancing on the float while I was pregnant and told me to be careful since I was dancing for two.

What's the longest you've waited in line? I know I waited in line in college, but now generally when I go to the Sandbar I'm there early enough to get in before a line starts. I've gotten smarter as I've gotten older.

Remember the first time you came here? Tell us your first impression. To be honest, I think the first time I ever went to the Sandbar was when I got a call to come pick up one of my roommates (who shall remain nameless because she has editorial control of this blog). I remember it being really loud and seeming like there were hundreds of people in there. I was fascinated by the assortment of people and how everyone was having such a great time. i went back with her soon after to experience it myself and was hooked.

Favorite drink? I almost always order a beer, but I never turn down a Bahama Mama.

Becki graduated this year from the University of Kansas School of Medicine with a Masters in Health Services Administration. Congrats!

Sandbar 2011 Graduate: Kirstie

Last week, we put out a call for graduating students who love the Sandbar. Our next 2011 graduate profile is Kirstie. Read what she has to say about the bar below. Are you a Sandbar graduate this year? We'd love to hear your story, too!

What's your favorite Sandbar jukebox song? "Margaritaville"-Jimmy Buffett. I mean, who can't have a good time when that songs on!?

Tell us the funniest moment you remember at The Sandbar, whether it involves you or not. Funniest/weirdest moment I remember off the top of my head was when a friend of mine got hit on by a much older guy on a bachelor party...and it was the GROOM! To win her affection, he made a rose out of a napkin and offered it to her in exchange for a kiss...which she gladly delivered and he took full advantage of. Luckily, her sober friend (aka me) rescued her.

Remember the first time you came here? Tell us your first impression. My first time at the Sandbar was on my 21st birthday. I was in awe of the place and spent a majority of the night there. I experienced my first hurricane on the bar and had Dave as a bartender. It was a perfect night at the Sandbar.

 

What's your drink of choice? The one you'll miss the most? My favorite drink is the Bermuda Triangle and I will definitely miss that one the most!

 

Tell us what you're doing after you graduate. I am not entirely sure what my plans are after graduation... move to Singapore, become an acclaimed romance novelist, solve world hunger...much to be decided! I will miss the Lawrence Sandbar a lot, though! It's my favorite bar in town! (Thanks!)

 

How many hours have you waited in line? I have probably waited 45 minutes at most to get in to the Sandbar. I would wait an eternity though...much worth the wait!

Sandbar 2011 Graduate: Kylie

Last week, we put out a call for graduating students who love the Sandbar. Our next 2011 graduate profile is Kylie. Read what she has to say about the bar below. Are you a Sandbar graduate this year? We'd love to hear your story, too!

What's your favorite jukebox song? The Proclaimers, "500 miles." I was in there once and while sitting at the bar on a busy Saturday night, everyone was yelling that song and Dave was leading the choir. I like being able to sing along with the jukebox and no one judges. The whole room is dancing and singing, you may not know the person next to you but you will join in singing together.

Tell us the funniest moment you remember at the Sandbar. On St. Patty's day, my best friend, who was an Irish dancer for many years, was dancing in the middle of the room. I could not help but laugh because she always seems to do that in bars after a few drinks. 

Remember the first time you came to the Sandbar? Tell us your first impression. The first time I came there I was amazed at how it looked on the inside. The salt water tanks are pretty cool and the first time I was there one of the fish when I was standing next to the tank followed me and just stared at me. It made me slightly uncomfortable so I had to move, but now when I go in I have to go and see him. The atmosphere is so much better than any other bar I have been to. (Thanks!)

What's your drink of choice? The one you'll miss the most? I think the question is, what drink won't I miss the most? I love them all! I do my best to get a different one each time I am there to try and find a new favorite, but they are all so good. But I think if I had to pick one, the dirty banana shots are to die for! I have a collection of rubber ducky's and sharks in the apartment, along with several beaded necklaces.

What are your plans after graduation? So far after graduation I have no big plans. Job searching currently but who knows where the road will take me.

How may hours have you waited in line? Hardly any, i always get there early enough before the crowd shows up to enjoy the night. Thanks for all the fun and memories this year!

Sandbar 2011 Graduate: Tess

Last week, we put out a call for graduating students who love the Sandbar. Our next 2011 graduate profile is Tess. Read what she has to say about the bar below. Are you a Sandbar graduate this year? We'd love to hear your story, too!

Hello Sandbar!

I'm at 2011 graduate and I am your NUMBER 1 customer!

What's your favorite jukebox song? Lion King- Circle of Life. No one expects Lion King to come on. At first everyone is quiet and is in awe of the song choice and then everyone ends up belting out the song.  It's all about the shock effect.

Tell us the funniest moment you remember at the Sandbar. Of course this moment happened during a  hurricane. My friend Meg had a full tray of popcorn and got so excited and threw the tray over her arms, popcorn going every which way on random people.

Remember the first time you came to the bar? Tell us your first impression. First time I came in I thought it was like a MCDONALDS FOR ADULTS. Toys, toys, toys.

What's your drink of choice? Jersey Shore because of the sweet Kanye Glasses. I wear them on sunny days. It really helps shade the rays.

What are you doing after graduation? After I graduate I'll be in Kansas City interning at KCTV5.

How many hours have you waited in line? The hours I WOULD wait would be indefinite.