Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Trying Something New

We've had some good times this fall. Some of it has been the traditional apple/pumpkin picking after a soccer game (can you get more New England cliched than that?) Some has been visiting corn mazes, or hiking through gorgeous foliage.

But this fall we're also having fun in other ways, and a big thing we've done this fall is exploring a few breweries together.

Trust me, it gets me a few raised eyebrows from some (although none at the actual breweries, who often have their own kids with them), but no one seems to bat an eye when kids accompany their parents to a football game with a tailgate beforehand, so I'm not overly bothered (well, most of the time).

Are breweries adults only? Or SHOULD they be?

I'm actually not a big beer person. Actually, over the past few years I'm not a huge drinking person anymore. Not for any reason other than my stomach and head are more sensitive than they were when I was younger, so one glass of wine, or a fun cocktail, or a mug of hard cider is usually enough for me. So when Adam first started saying that the girls and I should join him at a local brewery, I was skeptical. WHY? I'm going to have one beer, and the girls will have nothing.

But breweries are actually the wholesome, traditional, family fun I've been craving.

First off, they tend to be big open spaces, with comfy tables scattered around.

There's always food - usually a food truck or two with ridiculously delicious stuff to eat. One brewery has a pizza area that has plenty of tempting items. AND you can bring your own food most of the time. We usually load up on snacky stuff when we'll all be together, and we'll munch on chips  or cheese and crackers.

And of the breweries we've visited together, only ONE has had a TV. It's not like a bar or restaurant with a wall of screens to distract you. It's a social scene.

What they have instead are games. Table games with balls to roll, or dice to throw. Card games. Board games. Games for two, games for a crowd, games for adults and games for kids.

And so instead of vegging out in our living room, with the TV on and everyone doing their own thing, we can eat lunch and play a marathon game of Monopoly. The girls can bring their water or juice, or we'll get them a hipster artisan soda if we're feeling generous. We can start talking to the table next to us and get everyone involved in a game of Uno.

And yeah, there's beer. And don't get me wrong, the beer is good.

But for us, the beer is secondary to the family time we've had together.




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