You can't always get what you want

We're not big drinkers at our house. A 6-pack of beer usually lasts us months. In fact, sometimes months pass and we go for a beer, only to find that our stash has gone bad. We don't have that problem with wine, since we drink it within a couple of days of opening a bottle. But beer? It sits around here.

So when I packed the cooler for vacation, I thought a nice bottle of Finger Lakes wine and a couple of brews would last us the trip. But then, I'd never traveled hundreds of miles with my 3-year-old strapped into his car seat, inches behind me.

( I make it sound like he was terrible. He was actually very good. But he's THREE. And 3 is exhausting on a regular day. )

When we arrived at our Philly-area hotel the first night, I think all my husband and I did was inhale once each, and the beer was gone. Just like that. Poof! Our entire beer supply of two bottles was gone. Who knew an adult beverage could hit the spot like that? Well, I did, but I really did that night.

The next day we traveled over to the Lancaster area, where we had fun til dinner time, when the not-fun began. You see some little kids sitting with their crayons and kiddie menus, coloring and having a grand time while waiting for the food. My son isn't one of those kids. He doesn't really get into coloring. He'd rather climb. And crawl. And leave the table. Eating out with a boy who no longer does high chairs, and who doesn't color, is, well, a little stressful. (Damn, I miss those days of containment parenting!) Fortunately, the restaurant served nice tall cold beers. Ahhhhh. Adult beverage to the rescue.

Foreseeing a trend, we thought we'd better replenish our cooler stock -- clearly this was a beer vacation, not a wine one -- so, my husband headed out to pick up a 6-pack at a convenience store after dinner. Little did we know that in Pennsylvania it ain't that easy. You can't just go to a store and buy beer. Have you ever heard of such a thing? Of course those of you in PA already knew that...  My husband came back to the motel empty-handed after the clerk at Turkey Hill told him to buy beer at a bar!

So after traveling south to Virginia, where they sell beer AND wine in the grocery stores (woot!), we returned north through PA, hip to the brewski situation. And that's when we found this awesome place, where they brew and bottle their own beer. And we left with a very large bottle to take home.

Thing is, beer hasn't appealed to me in the slightest since we've been home! And now we have a massive bottle in our fridge, probably on its way to going bad. Time to invite the neighbors over!

And next time I travel with my son, like the Girl Scouts, I will BE PREPARED!!

Comments

[nat]

I hate that about PA! We bought beer at a beverage distrubutor place, but it's SO inconvenient. Running to a bar isn't fun, either! (Of course, if it's a brew pub, it's more fun.)

I have the same type of boy, too. Restaurants have always been fun. NOT! LOL

[Bluegrass Mama]

Ah yes, the oddities of buying alcohol in PA. Like you, I'm usually a wine drinker, but sometimes a beer is just the ticket. Especially at a baseball game!

[Jill]

Alcoholic beverages were invented for frazzled parents, I do believe!

And I can relate to your restaurant experience. He won't sit in a high chair or a booster seat. He insists on either sitting on me or "going for a walk" -- I don't know why we even bother :-)

[Elle]

And I, a life long resident of PA, am still SHOCKED and GASP OUT LOUD when I go into an out-of-state convenience store and see beer on the shelves. :)