THE LURE:
Going behind a rock to get boulder … maybe even get belayed
When I first heard about City Beach in Fremont, a wonderland that boast both a bar AND a rock climbing gym, it seemed too good to be true! Drinking and Climbing? A place to pick up a tall lean rock climber after having a tall cold beer? NICE!
There’d been a short phase in my life where I fancied myself a bit of a climber, that is to say after months of trying, I managed (one time) to completed a V1 bouldering course (and if that means nothing to you, don’t worry because knowing what a V1 bouldering course is just means you know what a “mole hill” the “mountain” I conquered was). Though I did climb around on some boulders back in the day, I’ve never done much climbing where ropes were required, however, I was optimistic that when I hit City Beach I could make up for my lack of experience in hooking lines to rocks, with my skill at hooking in climbers with lines. I didn't think it would be physically possible for one of those lanky rock climbing guys to resist me after I posed the adorable question: “Wanna go behind a rock and get a little bolder?” But if I felt like something a little sexier was in order, I’d figured I'd just go up to a sporty looking guy at the bar and ask: “Do you rock climb? ‘cause I’m really lookin’ to get belayed tonight?”. With those irresistible lines to hang on, I figured any climber in that bar-gym would love to hoist me up and tell me what to grab a hold of.
THE CAST:
You know how people don’t really go to the beach at night …
As it turns out if, (like I was), you were thinking of going to City Beach one of these nights to hook up with a hot single climber in the prime of his life, you’re probably going to be disappointed (like I was). It’s not that kind of place. I had an inkling that it might not be the best joint to find a mountaineer to mount when I read on their website that: “Saturday night is family fun night”, but I told myself, that’s fine Saturday is for Families so Friday must be for crazy sexy singles. It wasn’t. I guess I’d just been so dazzled by the climbing related pickup line gems that I wanted rock at this bar that I couldn't bring myself to choose another spot last night.
My co-worker and I rolled into city Beach around 9:30PM yesterday and the bar was pretty much empty. There was a group of older gentlemen speaking in an Asian dialect that I couldn’t identify at a tall table in one corner of the room, two couples sitting at the bar … and us. Hmm not a good sign I thought to myself as my friend and I ordered a couple of beers and a bite to eat. I figured maybe after we’d finished our beers we could hit up the climbing area to see what the climbers in there were up to.
There was a sign in the bar that said: “Don’t Drink Then Rock Climb” which seemed like some rock solid advice for novices, but I figured with my weeks of experience from years ago I could handle some beer and some bouldering. Unfortunately though, I didn’t have a chance to ignore their don’t drink and climb rule because the Rock Climbing area closed at 10:00. Bummer! My coworker and I lingered in the Bar area until around 10:30. Waiting for the climbers to come in for a beer after their rocky night, but none did. I was disappointed that I didn’t get to climb up the rock wall that night, but they I was quite satisfied with the mountain of fries I conquered. They may not offer a heapin’ helpin’ of happnin’ hotties at City Beach, but believe me, they certainly serve up ample supplies when it comes to french fries.
City Beach has more to offer than just the bar and rock climbing gym though. They also have quite a few pool and ping pong tables as well as bocce ball, a basketball court and a few other various activities. My coworker and I decided to play pool and check out the inhabitants of the game table area. Other than an elderly guy and his young grandson quite skillfully batting around a ping pong ball, the folks that were playing pool and ping pong seemed to mostly be couples who were out on a date. Since minors and seniors are not really in the demographic I’m looking to rope in with my lines, I did not going to even get to cast a single line out. Disappointing. I did enjoy playing pool with my friend though… BTW, a fun thing to say to a friend that you’re playing pool with after she sinks two or more shots in a row is: “oh crap, did you just get some butter on your pants? … ‘cause you are on a roll right now!”
THE SPOT:
City Beach, Fremont, CA
They have more dining options than a typical bar, even offering a pretty tasty veggie burger, adorably named the tree hugger : )
They have a full bar with good prices on drinks. Plus there are a multitude of activities to participate in: pool, ping pong, basketball bocce ball, and giant chess set, rock climbing and even inflatable slides. No music or dancing though. Also there was a pretty gross stain on the pool table my friend and I used + my cue kept getting stuck in the net separating our pool table from the B-ball court.
Another element that makes the bar less appealing for young singles is that they allow minors. I love cute inquisitive kids as much as the next chick, but when they are running around asking you about each shot you take when playing pool …in a bar at 11:00PM… it’s less adorable than normal. Plus who wants to worry about accidentally throwing out a C U Next Tuesdays or dropping an F bomb when they are out drinking with their friends. If I had kids I might think it was awesome that I could have them hang with me at a bar until 1:00AM… oh wait… no that just seems like bad parenting.
The pool equipment was old and the tables were packed pretty close together which meant we had to keep waiting for our neighbors to move out of the way for a lot of shot, so if you’re looking to play pool I recommend South 1st St Billiards in San Jose. Ping pong stuff looked to be in better shape at City Beach though. Overall, I’d say it’s a good spot to hang out with a group of friends or take a date, but unless you are actually talking about rock climbing you probably aren’t going to get belayed or get a little bolder behind any rocks there.
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