Lucky number 7

A craving came over me like a banshee, and I don't even know why (but I think it started here). I was just sitting at my desk the other day, and next thing I knew, I was dying for a DQ Blizzard - and not just any blizzard- a Peanut Butter and banana blizzard. So I talked Kiki into taking her lunch break with me and googled for the nearest DQ. It wasn't far at all!

We work in Miami Springs, this adorable little golf and sundry shop community, just north of the airport and east of Doral. You can cross the cutest bridge ever made, and next thing you know you are in Hialeah. I compare this trip from Miami Springs to Hialeah to the trip made in 'Batman Begins' from Gotham to the Narrows. That would make Hialeah like the Narrows. My friend says it's more like Mordor (in Lord of the Rings).

So we arrive in the Narrows, and behold- Google Maps has failed me. The only DQ we find there has been closed for years. We spot a Wendy's across the street and head over there. But I realize, while we are in the drive-thru line and about to order, that a Frosty will not do it, not today...
Off to McDonald's, also incredibly close, I elect to order a McFlurry. Which is a LOT like a blizzard. I order it. The 'maching no workee'. Strike 3. But I don't get the hint, so we return from the narrows and find an ice cream shop called Scoops in Miami Springs. And wouldn't ya know that at 1 pm on a blistering hot August day in South Florida, the place is closed.

This leaves only one more option. And because I am stubborn, we go... to Miami Subs. Which we believe has an ice cream chain (Baskin Robbins?) in one of their plethora of chain options (Miami Subs, Kenny Roger's, Nathan's, Arthur Treacher's). It is a bizarre place to eat. I order a shake. The kind person working the counter leaves my shake in the blender for, oh I don't know..., about 8.4 minutes. It is the consistency of milk. I drink some of it anyway. Milk was a bad choice. And I still have the craving for an actual shake. But I have struck out 5 times in under an hour. I give up... for the time being.

That night, I guilt Yannick into going to DQ with me just before they close. I order a Peanut Butter and Banana blizzard. He says they don't have peanut butter.
Me: 'Oh, you're out of peanut butter?'
DQ: 'No, we've never had that.'
Interesting... I must've had a puzzled and disappointed look on my face, so he adds,
DQ: 'We carry Reese's cups'
I think that must be awful with banana, and I probably still look confused. For some strange reason, I actually debate ordering it. Maybe it could be a new taste sensation.
DQ: 'But we're out of the Reese's. So you can't have that.'
I almost laugh and cry at the same time. I'm pretty sure that shake would've been gross anyway. Yannick knows that this is another strike out. It is #6 to be exact. So we opt for Coldstone. We arrive at 10:01 pm.
The sign says that they close at 10 pm. I turn away, completely hopeless. The manager runs out and says:
'You guys can come on in. We just started closing at 10 instead of 10:30, and I feel bad. You look disappointed.'
I just about jump off Planet Earth, I'm so excited. And finally, when I order a Peanut Butter and Banana shake, they start to make it. No questions asked, no hesitations. It was wonderful. The 7th ice cream shop in one day... Luck Number 7.