This past weekend Jay, Gabriela, Olga and I went to the Chesapeake Crab & Beer Festival at National Harbor in Maryland. Finding parking was easy and inexpensive ($9 without a time limit; no in/out privileges). Purchasing tickets at the tent was a debacle. The website indicated that no ticket was necessary to enter & instead of purchasing a $59 ticket for unlimited crab or 6 crabs + unlimited beer, there was a $35 a la carte option, which included 1/2 dozen crabs. However, at the entrance tent we were told the a la carte option wasn’t available & we had to purchase a ticket. Reluctantly, we each paid the piper our $59 and went on our way.
Lo and behold, what did we stumble upon after snagging our first round of beers? The a la carte booth. (Insert side-eye here)
Crackin’ crab is messy business! I can’t say that I enjoyed getting my hands dirty, but clearly that didn’t stop me from devouring my share of the bounty.
The aftermath
The crab was okay, the selection of beer and alcoholic beverages were great, but I still had a bad taste in my mouth. It probably had something to do with spending $240 instead of $70 between the four of us. I don’t like being taken advantage of (I mean, who does?), but I can’t help feeling like we were mislead by the workers running the ticket booth. On a positive note, I had a great time hanging out and noshing on crab with a cold one in hand.
So, if you decide to attend the festival next year – learn from our mistakes – the a la carte option does exist, re-apply sunblock frequently, and most importantly, drink lots of water!
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