When I was younger, I spent summers on Long Beach Island, just off the coast of South Jersey (exit 63 off the Garden State Parkway). During these magical summers, one fun activity a lot of people participated in was the infamous “booze cruise,” where friends would charter a boat and enjoy an afternoon, sunset cruise or evening with sandwiches, snacks, beer and a variety of wine and spirits.
More recently, I have been the host of a few tours of various vineyards, distilleries and wineries in my Cadillac Escalade SUV. This has been fun for me to drive a group of four, five or six people around upstate New York to visit two, three or four breweries, distilleries and wineries.
Bachelor Brewery Tour
I picked up a group of five men – friends and fraternity brothers – who were getting together to celebrate the impending wedding of one of their crew. They had a great time, as I drove them to three different craft beer breweries in upstate New York.
Since the day started at 10:00am and finished at 6:00pam, it was my job to keep them on track, so they did not stay too long at any one of the breweries. I felt bad, having to come into the restaurant where they were eating and drinking to tell them they needed to wrap it up and leave that brewery to make it to next brewery in time.
This “6-hour Brewery Tour” timing was:
- 60 minutes from pickup to the first brewery
- 60 minutes at the first brewery
- 30 minutes to the second brewery
- 60 minutes at the second brewery
- 30 minutes to the third brewery
- 60 minutes at the third brewery
- 60 minutes back to the pickup point
Herding the five men on their drunken journey through New York State was like herding cats. Personally, I would not go on a brewery tour for my bachelor party, but I guess everybody has their own passion. After all that work, no tip. Oh, well.
Girls Afternoon Out
Six women wanted to have fun and blow off some steam, getting away from their husbands and kids. They chose a beautiful Saturday in October to tour vineyards and wineries for some wine tasting in upstate New York.
As we were headed home, the women asked me to pull over to the side of the road because one of the women needed to “lose her cookies,” because she drank too much and did not “pace herself” by drinking water or soda between each glass of wine she was guzzling.
She was clearly embarrassed and upset. I tried to console her and tell her it was OK. She thanked me for my patience and kindness, and gave me an $80 tip at the end of the ride. That was very nice of her!
Bachelorette Send Off
On a separate Saturday, I drove a group of four female friends throughout vineyards in upstate New York. The last stop was a huge field of sunflowers. Very beautiful.
After that, we finished the tour at a restaurant in Northwestern New Jersey. They all seemed to have a good time, and I think the bride said: “I do!”
The moral of this Street Story is to be compassionate, kind and patient when you are dealing with a passenger who needs your help, as this woman did.
On a second, separate point, for all of these “6-hour tours,” it is important to be aware of the timing from point to point, and to drive the passengers home safely within a reasonable time frame, at the agreed upon end time.
Sometimes you may get a generous tip, sometimes you won’t. No matter what, give your passengers the best possible customer service that you possibly can.
