Next Window, Please: How Drive-Through Windows Changed My Life

My very first post for SMB was about how glad I am to be living in Arizona, where despite our horrific hellish hot toasty summers, we don’t have to worry about bundling up our little ones in the wintertime. In that post, written after a trip to Chicago in the dead of winter, I vowed that THIS YEAR I wouldn’t get so cranky about being stuck inside during our seemingly endless string of triple-digit days.

How’s that working out, you ask? Pretty good, actually. I do feel that with every passing year in the Valley I come to accept summer as part of the package deal that also includes 300 days of sunshine, Thanksgiving dinner on the patio, and at least nine months of outdoor play opportunities for my kids.

But that doesn’t mean we’re not starting to get stir-crazy now that August is upon us. There are only so many things to do with little kids indoors, and when running the simplest errands means schlepping them in and out of a 120-degree car it’s enough to make you want to stay home.

Enter: the drive-through. Getting out of the house without getting out of the car has to be the single biggest life-saver I’ve discovered as an Arizona mom. Last summer when I had a newborn and a toddler I would seriously make an afternoon outing that consisted solely of drive-throughs! The baby slept, the toddler was contained, and I had a Starbucks in my air-conditioned car. Life was good!

So here is my list of local drive-through conveniences I couldn’t live without:

• Starbucks. First things first, right? 40^th and Greenway, Bell and 32^nd, Thompson Peak and Hayden, Shea and just west of Scottsdale, Shea and 92^nd by the hospital – am I missing any?  I know there’s also a drive-through Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at Tatum and Shea. If you have a favorite drive-through coffee place, let us know!
• Dry Cleaners. We go to Delia’s on Greenway and 64^th. Just one more to-do list item to cross off from the controlled climes of my kid-mobile.
• Pharmacy. Seems like with two little ones we’re picking up prescriptions more than I’d like, but at least there’s the drive-through. Our local Walgreens started selling over-the-counter kids meds at the drive through as well, which is super-convenient if you need some ibuprofen to go with your Rx.
• Gas. Technically the gas station is not a drive-through, but if the kids don’t have to get out of the car I’ll count it.
• Library. The Mustang, Appaloosa and Arabian locations of the Scottsdale Public Library have drive-through window service. Drop and pick off your summer reading!
• The car wash. We haven’t done this much because I always need the inside of my car washed too, but I remember as a kid sitting through the drive-through car wash was thrilling!
• Fast food. I’m listing this last because we don’t eat it too often, and the kids are too little to manage eating their meals from the car seats when we do, so it’s not super ideal. BUT there are days when a Chick-fil-A milkshake just CALLS my name and we have been known to pick up lunch and then come home and eat it.

Can you see how you could seriously make an afternoon of drive-through conveniences? Pop in some good tunes, buckle in the kids and GO! Now if I had my way there would be even more options on this list. Why on earth couldn’t the supermarkets have a drive-through window where you could pick up easy staples like milk, diapers, chardonnay ;), etc.? I’d pay a surcharge for that convenience FOR SURE. And since my absolute LEAST favorite errand is the post office, how about a drive-through window there, where you could ship basic packages, buy stamps, etc.? The possibilities are endless.

Did I miss any of your favorite drive-through conveniences? Do you have any to add to my wish list?  

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Sarah Powers is a writer and Scottsdale mom of two. She came to the valley from Southern California by way of Chicago and would take Arizona summers over Midwest winters any day. A perfect day for Sarah starts with coffee, ends with chardonnay and includes lots of baby giggles and sticky-fingered kid kisses in between. She loves high ponytails, showtunes and using her kids as an excuse to stay in and go to bed early, which she would do anyway. Sarah sometimes blogs and often tweets about the messy, tender, fun, funny and irreverent moments of parenthood.