Lemonade costs $7 now
Hi, sorry it’s been a while, this is just a warm up with some small silly observations. Some other things I hope to write about soon:
Our road trip to Michigan!
Running, racing, etc
How to plan for a Disney Trip when you’re a normal person who likes Disney fine but is not a Disney adult (tl:dr, get your eldest daughter sister to do it)
The state of the world? I don’t know, man
Anyway, I guess you could say this IS a commentary on the state of the world because I have determined through a small case study that lemonade costs $7 now.
It started in Chicago - we were there at the end of our road trip for one day / two nights ONLY and did you know the largest Hello Kitty Cafe in the universe recently opened in Chicago?! Now you do. And we needed a small thing to do before going to the Shedd Aquarium so we ended up there.
The Hello Kitty Cafe is very cute, and very pink, and there are bows everywhere, and I think Hello Kitty adults exist and love this place. They might even enjoy the $100 per person tea service where I assume they get to hang out with Hello Kitty.
Anyway, June got a fancy water bottle and strawberry lemonade. The drink cost $7 (plus tax and tip). This in a cafe where a charming piece of cake that looks like a present covered with sprinkles costs $18. I tried one sip and it was very delicious.
Conclusion 1: Lemonade at a tourist oriented cafe in a large city costs $7 and this makes sense because tourists will throw down that money when things are cute and kids are thirsty.
On Sunday I was on a group bike ride and it was disgustingly hot out, so the ride was shortened and included a long stop at a coffee shop. I normally wouldn’t get anything (even iced coffee sounded terrible) but I needed to refill my water bottle and felt bad dripping sweat in this cute shop, AND the cooler full of canned beverages looked nice, so SURE! I’ll get a fancy can of iced tea mixed with lemonade! I was a little surprised to be rung up for $6, but it felt amazing on my neck before I opened it, and it tasted pretty good too! Still. $6 for 12oz of tea and lemonade? This isn’t even a beer?? Okay.
Conclusion 2: A bougie canned Arnie Palmer at a coffee shop in Minneapolis costs $6 because if they put the prices on the cooler, most people would balk but if you’re already in line and sweaty and THIRSTY you no longer care.
The next day was even more hot and disgusting, the windows fogged up in the morning because the dew point hit a record 81 degrees. Yuck. In the afternoon I met some coworkers for some very light curriculum planning at a coffee shop in the suburbs. I ordered something called a “refresher” that was lemonade and sparkling…something? They asked if I wanted mint, and yes, of course! Mint is 50 cents. This lemonade cost $7.50. Okay! It was, yes, very refreshing. Even though the tiny sprig of mint added little value, and trust me, I know how to add value with mint.
Conclusion 3: Friends, I can think of no good reason as to why this lemonade served in a suburban strip mall coffee shop cost this much. Maybe I’m missing that it’s fresh squeezed hand made lemonade but as far as I can tell it’s lemonade and some bubbly stuff over ice! With mint!
So. Lemonade costs $7 now. It just does.
Watch this space for important lemonade updates, such as what it costs in Disney World and how the best deal on lemonade is from a kid on your street.