I Fought the Law

And, you guess it: the law won.

The gorgeous Highline Park in New York City is one of my favorite haunts. I can't get enough of it, which is why some friends and I decided to make it our post work Happy Hour destination one fateful day.

The weather was especially nice, and we had a couple hours to kill before catching a Devendra Banhart show. What are a few 20-somethings to do, but soak up the last rays of sun with a delicious drink in hand?

Yes, I'll admit it. We drank in a public park, with children running around and young lovers strolling. Our euphoria didn't last long, as getting caught red-handed isn't exactly intoxicating. What a buzz kill.

Lesson #33: Pay attention to your surroundings, and don't get too comfortable when you're surrounded by good company and good (strong) beer. As my mom put it, 'you're not in the Midwest anymore' (though I don't recall drinking in public often there, either). However, a much smaller, and better, lesson is that the drinking fines in NYC are really. really. cheap. Like less than my bar tab would've been had we kept it indoors.

After our few minutes in the sun, an officer (Park Ranger, officially) came up to us, puffing his chest to convey importance. We begrudgingly handed over our IDs, and waited patiently while he wrote up our drinking violation. I learned my lesson that day, which is to drink more carefully in public. The only time I was actually in danger was while the officer wrote my ticket I decided to multi task (see post from a while back) and finish my beer, directly in front of him. For some reason, he didn't like that.

Verdict?

If loving both nature and drinking is wrong, consider me

guilty.

The only way I could possibly end this post is by linking to a fantastically fitting song.