Coffee and Travel

There have been many times on my travels around the country that I've had a desire for something yummy to drink. A tasty concoction of coffee, milk, and yumminess to make fantastic mochas or lattes just for me to enjoy.

In Ireland I had some wonderful lattes, just simple plain and delicious. No flavors, no sugar unless I added it to the drink. Regardless. the simplicity was wonderful and very enjoyable.

In Montana I had a mixture of crappy coffee and yummy drinks all designed to keep the one who drinks moving forward. In California on many different trips out there were some great places and some terrible places. All of which I wouldn't trade in the experience.

There are two experiences that I won't forget anytime soon. The first was in Seattle. (Imagine that, good coffee in Seattle.) The place was recommended to me by a dad and daughter who were going around Seattle looking for the best coffee around in a non-chain business. They'd turned up at the same crumpet shop just outside of Pike Place Market as my mom and I had looking for another excellent breakfast. We were all so sad when we learned they'd been closed that day. The dad however had great news, just upstairs from where we stood was a small coffee shop with excellent coffee. So off we went for our drinks to Storyville coffee. I ordered a mocha, mom a hot chocolate. The drinks were topped with foam designed to look like a heart. We were just so jazzed at this little bonus. I'd never had any design put on the top of a coffee before. We walked along the streets of Seattle enjoying our creamy, delicious hot beverages, perfect on a chilly, cloudy morning.

The second experience I loved was on the first day of what I've come to dub as "Epic Road Trip number 1." It was a solo journey I took driving from Phoenix to Fresno, then Yosemite, San Francisco, Sacramento, South Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, and home. My first day on the road was my longest day, over 8 hours of driving to get from Phoenix, AZ to Fresno, CA. I'd made it as far as Redlands, California just south of San Bernadino and was starting to drag. I'd been on the road for a few hours and still had a few more to go. It was time for a coffee stop and a break from the car. I didn't know where I needed to go but picked an exit at random and pulled into a shopping center. I figured at this point I could hunt up a coffee shop on my phone. Before I started my hunt I spotted a small hole in the wall donut shop. From my experience, oftentimes little places like this often had the best coffee drinks to offer. So off I went to this little place. I was so glad to once again be right about the offerings. I walked into the place and this small woman was behind the counter. She was so friendly and cheerful. I asked if they had coffee drinks like lattes and mochas and she cheerfully exclaimed "YES!" I  asked if I could use the facilities before I ordered, she said "YES!" When I came back out I asked for her input on the best drink, she said I should get the vanilla blended coffee. So I did. She then asked "You want a donut? You will have a donut." I opened my wallet but only had enough cash on hand to pay for the coffee so I declined the donut explaining I had just enough for the drink at that time. She smiled, "Okay, you'll get a donut hole then." Without even asking she hands me the donut hole, takes my money just for the drink and then heads off to make my coffee. She was just such a friendly lady and still today I smile a little to myself as I think about that little lady who was just so cheerful and told me to come back the next day for more coffee and donuts even though she knew I was just passing through. What a fun little moment of that journey and one I'll take with me.

It is fun to think back on my travels and remember all the little moments in looking for coffee or just the interaction with others while looking for coffee. So I guess, the end result is a rich creamy tasty treat to warm me up on cold days or cool off on hot days. But the biggest reward are those moments with other people and the memories made.

A Visit to the Gulf Coast

It was hot, it was humid, but it was gorgeous! I'd spent the day driving from Houston to Galveston, TX. I'd spent time on the beach after a fantastic lunch looking out at the pier turned amusement park. I'd watched school groups as they raced across the street barely kept in check and in the crosswalks by the teachers and chaperones as they desperately tried to keep the children's excitement at bay. I'd wandered through some gift shops and walked out on a large rock jetty and watched the muddy waters of the gulf coast churn.

Now I stood on another pier, just a little farther up the coast. I stood on the black and white checked walkway and listened to the screams coming from the roller coaster that roared overhead. I sipped my icy cold coffee drink as I wandered the Kemah Boardwalk of Kemah, TX. Although it was still quiet yet, there was an air of expectation of the amusement park. It was growing late in the day and families would  start to arrive as the work week drew to a close. I watched the Ferris wheel make a lazy circle only partially filled with amusement makers. I wandered the shops, enjoying the slightly cooler air while wondering why on earth they only had swamp coolers instead of air conditioner.

 Before long I found myself back outside wandering along the waters edge feeling the cooler air coming in off the bay and enjoyed the view of the water, the people passing by and the movement of the various rides. Several seagulls sat perched on the rails of the boardwalk as well as precariously balanced on the streetlights. There were a number that hung nearby watching closely for someone to drop some breadcrumbs or a treat of some kind just for their consumption. Then it happened. The trigger that turned the peaceful scene into potential competition for Hitchcock's The Birds. An unwitting passerby decided he wanted to feed the fish and purchased some food from a gumball style machine. The coins clinked, the gears ground and the young man pulled the food from the machine that fell into the bottom.

I could almost hear it, the cry of "Mine" much as in Finding Nemo coming from the seagulls. They came out of the woodwork, there were so many and they hovered, clambered to get to the young man with the handful of fish food. He had no shot in feeding the fish. He, his parents, and sister looked up and around with fear at the greedy birds that had surrounded them. I thought to myself, it might be time to move on. I don't want to get pooped on. As if my thought conjured the bird droppings, a white streak zinged through the air to plop just to my left.  I turned to hightail it out of the area before I became an unlucky target. Just as I turned the corner I saw the boy shriek "Go away" as he flung the food far away and his family headed in the opposite direction. There was certainly a lesson in that moment. Don't feed the wildlife, especially when there are seagulls involved.