First it was happy hour on Thursday. A dear friend was leaving the madness of the Fed and was leaving for a real job at another agency. We decided to celebrate at an outdoor restaurant/bar, a couple of blocks from the office. I told Derek that I would drive in, pick him up from work and he could take Baby E to Caribou Coffee while I got loaded up at HH.

Well, Derek decided to "swing by" HH to wish Dave well in his new job. The guys all asked him to sit down for a drink. Two hours and God only knows how many pitchers later, we are all sitting in a big circle outside, baby in tow. It was about that time that I glanced around and noticed two women in their 50's, giving me the nastiest looks.

I brought out my favorite southern drawl for the occassion, "oh, my God, who takes a baby to a bar???"

I prefer "outside cafe, with alcohol libations"

Then there was the brew pub. When we walked in the door at 7:15 on Saturday night, a guy belly up to the bar said, "Well that'll drive the average consumer age down in here." Good beer.

Finally was baby's first trip (outside the womb) to a vineyard. OK, so it isn't Napa, but we are doing the best we can here. With a great lunch packed, we threw the baby into the car and were off to visit The Cellars.  We stumbled onto their barrel tasting event and the rest is history.

I see a pattern here that may be cause for concern.