In the last issue of All About Beer Magazine, we invited you to join our “Epic Road Trip” to last year’s Great American Beer Festival. We packed up our Mazda Miata, put the top down and started westward along I-80. But our way west was only half of the story. After all, we did have to go home eventually.
Since opening its doors in 1995, the Blind Tiger has become the largest brewery in Kansas, turning out more than 1,000 barrels per year. We entered through a reception area and saw a tiger—fortunately, not a real one—gnawing at a keg of beer. We passed him, and headed inside.
(Maryanne Nasiatka)
This time the highway heads back east, so buckle your seat belt again. And we’re off!
Before hitting the road, however, there was one last item of business to be handled. We asked the bellman at our hotel to have our Miata brought up from the parking garage. When it emerged from the garage, he looked at it, glanced over to our cooler and stack of luggage, and sniffed, “There’s no way that’s all going into that car.”
“Wanna bet?” we replied.
Of course, everything fit just fine. It always does. Had we bothered to collect all the packing bets we’ve made with bellmen over the years, we’d have enough money by now to buy a brand-new Miata, plus a set of luggage to go with it. Luckily for the bellhop, we merely smiled, handed him a tip and pointed the car toward our first destination, Colorado Springs.
