Washington is such a civilized state. Like in Quebec, you can buy beer at the grocery or convenience store! And it’s super cheap, too, as low as a dollar a beer for some brands! I went out to get some fresh seafood for dinner tonight and was lured into the ‘beer cave’ (which appears to be Washington parlance).

Mesmerized by the selection and low prices, I barely took notice of someone entering the beer cave hot on my heels. It was a store employee.

“Miss! You need to be 21 to be in here!”

“I’m well over 21!” (I’ll be 32 next month!)

“Let me see some ID, please.” I pulled out my driver’s license and she squinted at it. “This won’t work; I need government issued ID.”

“It’s my Yukon, um Canadian, driver’s license.” (No one here seems to know what the Yukon is. I’ve been describing it as ‘between BC and Alaska’ (‘There’s something between BC and Alaska?’).)

“That’s a driver’s license?!” The Yukon license is a piece of cardboard with your information typewritten on it and a Polaroid of you glued to it, with the whole thing laminated. I could understand the reaction.

“Yes. That’s what five bucks a year will get you!”

Must have been a good answer since she just shook her head and left me to choose my beer in peace. I ended up going with a locally brewed pale ale.

Must have made quite an impression since I wasn’t carded a second time at the cash.

BTW, you can buy a salmon fillet and five prawns for $4 in Washington. I won’t even get into the price of produce!