06/19/2022
As we celebrate the greatest Dads today, our hearts ache for the greatest Dad that ever was. Oh how he would love this little mobile bar. The laughs he would have had! We hear his voice around us (swearing + all) as we straddle between celebrating life and loss and missing his physical presence.
Why Happy Trails?
Our dad was the best. We know lots of people feel that way about their dad, but our dad was for real the best. He was funny. Like p*e your pants kind of funny. He’d go to just about any length for a good laugh- even if that meant it was at someone else’s expense. He was the ultimate practical joker.
He loved his people. There is no doubt he loved his family more fiercely than we’ve ever known someone to love their family. He called us all day long- like 10+ times a day (that does not include the daily crank phone calls).
And nobody disliked a goodbye more than our Dad- whether it was in person or even just hanging up from a call, we’d never get a goodbye…rather "talk a while" or an alternative saying of “be wild tiger” or “see you later alligator."
And sometimes he’d sing (cue the loud, deep, obnoxious voice) “Happy Trails to you.... until we meet again.”
Our Dad passed away on March 13, 2020- the day the world shut down. Covid came (and never left!) and then Eric and Katie’s 11 year old son was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma.
Life was hard- like rock bottom kind of hard, for a really long time.
Our mobile bar idea was born from great loss. It started as a distraction from life. It gave us a focus and somewhere to place our energy. Colin went into remission in July (praise God!!) and a week later we discovered the abandoned trailer on a farm in southern Illinois.
So when it came time to name the business there was no doubt we needed to incorporate our Dad in some way. We were lucky enough to marry two people that share the same love and admiration for our Dad and miss him just as much as we do.
Happy Trails Chicago is much more than just a wandering bar: its an ode to the best Dad there ever was....until we meet again, Dad ❤️
