"What Goes On"

 When I was a kid there was a bar in my hometown of Middlebury called the Alibi. I heard a lot of stories but I always wondered "What Goes On" in that place. It was a cross between a bar, a social club and a bowling alley. I do not ever remember going in there myself because by the time I turned 18, old enough to legally drink, the place had become a den of scary events, and the Rosebud was just up the Frog Hollow.

So, jump ahead 50 years and what opens in Cocoa Beach, a place named the Alibi. I have been wanted to visit it for  a while, but during the week it does not open until 4PM. I like to visit places at lunch time when they are less crowded.

I had just celebrated my 67th Birthday on Friday, and decided to go to the Port for a beer and to take some photos. I share a few of those below. But after two Orange Blossom Pilsners at the Rising Tide in Port Canaveral, I decided I give the Alibi a try.

I entered from the back and found a large open-air patio with a DJ playing music and a bartender named Emma waiting to serve. I sat at the bar since there was just one other couple, and a lady by herself who may have use to hang out at the Alibi in Middlebury. (I was trying to be polite but I think she may have had drinks with Moses.)

The outside bar area...

The outside patio area. I entered by the door on the left. The DJ, a young girl in tight pants, was behind the plants on the right.

I ordered a Spicy Bloody Mary. They had a fancy drink menu but I figured I would add one more to my search for the Best Bloody Mary in the World. Although very good, this ended up 29 in my current list of 34. Lost ten points for no celery.

They did have food and the menu was interesting, but I had just eaten at Rising Tide. Here are a few pages from the menu...

After finishing my drink, I told Emma I was going inside to take some pictures and check it out. This was the inside bar. It was much darker in there but the bartender Gabby, asked me if I wanted a drink. Who am I to refuse? I ended up ordering a draft beer.

Opposite the bar area, there were some tables and booths. It was Sunday and just after four. I assume that this place was more of an evening place to be.

I liked the sign above the beer cooler...(Gabby and Emma are hidden in the photo)

There was another couple at the bar and Gabby brought them some food. It smelled great. I mentioned that and Gabby said the food was prepared for the staff. The chef came out of the kitchen when she overheard me talking, and asked if I wanted to try some. It smelled so good I said just a bite. She brought out a whole plate of spaghetti with some kind of meat sauce that tasted outstanding.

OMG! It was delicious. The cloud above the spaghetti is actually the overhead light shining on the bar. I thought I had caught some weird light. It was just dark in the bar.

So I say I have to go back to the Alibi for some food. The chef, she knows what she is doing.

I mentioned that at the Port I saw some interesting things. What Goes On at the Port is always changing. On this day, I followed a manatee along the Jetty out to the fishing pier.

He/she swam all the way out to the ocean.

When I arrived at Jetty Park, I saw some activity at the submarine Basin. I was not sure if the submarine had just arrived or was getting ready to leave.

Then I heard the tugs blow their horns so I knew it was leaving. Always a fun thing to see, and very rare. Plus, they do not announce the schedules of the submarines.

Ironically, I heard stories when I was a kid of people going to the submarine races in Otter Creek across from the Alibi down in Frog Hollow.

About the Title

"What Goes On" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, featured as the eighth track on their 1965 album Rubber Soul. The song was later released as the B-side of the US single "Nowhere Man", and then as the tenth track on the North America-only album Yesterday and Today. It is the only song by the band credited to Lennon–McCartney–Starkey and the only song on Rubber Soul that features Ringo Starr on lead vocals. The song reached number 81 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1966.