You Can't Get That Here

As exciting a place as the Washington, D.C. metro area is, its merchants are surprisingly deficient in the selection of beverages they offer to the consumer. Walking through the pop aisle in a supermarket in the Detroit 'burbs is like being a kid in a candy store by comparison. I don't get it. Why are D.C. grocery stores so stingy? Here's a list of beverages I've hunted and been unable to locate (even with various agents who are scouting stores in the area I never encounter):

1. Diet A&W Cream Soda - This is the granddaddy. I have been looking for Diet A&W Cream Soda here for YEARS! Diet A&W Root Beer is easy enough to come by, but no sign whatsoever of its cream soda cousin. Not even in the substandard 2-Liter bottle. What gives? When my husband and I went to Maine this summer, we cleaned two Hannaford grocery stores out of the stuff. I am stocked up for at least a few months. In Maine, they even have Diet A&W Cream Soda in the plastic bottle in the impulse buy cooler at the checkout line. Safeway, Giant, Harris Teeter - please take note. I want my cream soda.

2. Light Hawaiian Punch - When I was young, Hawaiian Punch was my favorite "juice." Forget that Hi-C crap. Hawaiian Punch was IT. I still love the taste of it, but I can't handle all of that sugar. My mom introduced me to the Light Hawaiian Punch when I was in Michigan last year. It's delicious. Tastes just like the original but without that gritty feeling on your teeth afterwards. Think I've seen it since then? Not a chance.

3. Faygo - My husband really wanted to have Faygo Red Pop at a barbecue we hosted this summer. We were having all of the old school stuff - Waldorf salad, homemade ice cream, etc. A 40 of Faygo would have been the perfect beverage to wash it down. But nope. Couldn't find it anywhere.

4. Labatt's Blue Light - Finally, an alcoholic beverage makes the list. Being near Canada, you can find Labatt's Blue Light ANYWHERE in the Detroit metropolitan area. It's like a Miller Lite but so much tastier. In Detroit, they serve it in stadiums on tap. In Washington, they serve it nowhere. And I do mean nowhere. You can go to a bar with 500 imported varieties. You will see beers from South Africa, Japan, etc. But you will never see Labatt's Blue Light. Surely, I can't be the only Michigander in D.C. Come on. Help me out.