For the Love of Slurpee

When I was growing up in NY, the 7-Eleven chain of convenience stores was not as widespread. While on road trips through NJ, our family would occasionally stop at one and my brothers and I might be allowed to have a Slurpee. To this day, we all still quite enjoy the Slurpee. We all had a laugh last week when W said he went to the gym to work out but then stopped for a Slurpee on the way home. But until this past weekend, I really had no idea about the depth of W's love for Slurpees. 

On Sunday, we went to ride little steam trains out in Suffolk County. There were a total of 4 adults and 7 kids in our group. After riding the trains, the plan was to stop for lunch. I followed W's car. When we pulled off the interstate, I saw a TGI Friday's in the distance and thought we were stopping there. I also saw a 7-Eleven right past there. I chuckled and thought to myself that W will want to go there before going home. I was not chuckling when he pulled into the parking lot of the 7-Eleven. W's idea was that all the kids would have a hot dog and Slurpee to eat while we continued driving. I'm not sure how he thought all the kids, aged 3 to 10, would balance all the food and drink without some major spillage.

In the end, I collected pretzel/hummus cups, veggies with ranch, and fresh bananas for my two to eat. I figured they could use some fresh food since Car Guy reported that on their road trip back to NY from Michigan, the kids collectively ate 40 chicken nuggets for lunch. Yuck. But no visit to 7-Eleven is complete without a Slurpee so Mr. Destructo was treated to his first ever Slurpee. He had blue raspberry and cola mixed together.

Apparently, the Slurpee experience made quite an impression on Mr. Destructo. The next morning, he asked if he could have another Slurpee if he ate a good lunch. When I did not agree, he asked me why not and I told him that Slurpees are a special treat, not to be consumed every day. Mr. Destructo, ever the negotiator and problem-solver, then asked if he could have a bubble tea instead. Um, no, the bubble tea shop is too far away.  You can't blame him for trying.