Last week, when on our fabulous vacation in Australia, Lucy and I stayed in the historic “The Rocks” section of Sydney.

“The Rocks” is vibrant community, lined with many shops, restaurants, and yes, pubs.  The pubs are styled like British or Irish watering holes.   Since most of them are attached to hotels, if you get too tired or intoxicated, you just check in for the night.

Saturday was our first day in Australia, so we thought… “Let’s do a pub crawl tonight!”

If you’re unfamiliar with pub crawls, basically you have a drink (or three) at a bar, and then move on to the next bar, leading to laughs, tears, and possibly vomit.  This process continues for hours if not days.  Pub crawls are popular during bachelor parties, dad-chelor parties, and college.

Back in my nightlife prime, the crawl would begin around 10 or 11PM, and continue until sunrise (bars were open until 4AM in NYC).

Lucy and I enjoyed our first Australian beer, Victoria Bitter, at around 5:30PM at the oldest pub in Sydney, “Fortune of War.”   Victoria Bitters aren’t bitter at all, just a good strong beer, similar to Heineken.  At this first pub, we were laughing, enjoy the vibe, and life was good. 

We had our second beer, Carlton Draught, at Phillip’s Foote, another legendary bar in “The Rocks.”  The time was about 6:15PM.  It was here that I realized I was starting to struggle understanding the Australian accent, especially after having a couple of drinks.  Did you just call me a bloke?

We had our third beer and dinner at a pub/hotel a block further down the strip, around 7:15PM.  While chowing, we watched a rugby match, trying to figure out what exactly was going on.

After the burger and beer, I was stuffed, so the night went from, “Let’s close down all the bars tonight,” to “It will be good to get some rest on our first night in Australia.”

At the fourth pub, we went for light beer, Carlton Pure Blonde.  Simple and tasty, this beer literally put me to sleep.  It was around 8:30PM and my eyes shut a couple of times while sitting on a bar stool.

While I had explored more of the city Saturday afternoon, Lucy had taken a nap, so she was raring to go.  How often are just her and I on a different continent?  Uh…never.

But the 15 hour flight the night before, combined with four Australian beers, meant me falling asleep at the bar.

Was it the travel that affected me?  Or the fact that I’m a dad instead of a rock star?  Or are Carlton Pure Blondes just that strong?

Welcome to the Parent Pub Crawl.

We were both asleep by 9PM.