,

It practically gallops!

Samovar-iance

It turns out that a pour-over is a good thing. I met a friend for coffee at Starbucks last night, with the intention of ordering whatever bold flavor they were serving. A glance at the urns showed they had the new Blonde Roast, the standard Pike Place Roast and Komodo Dragon Blend, presumably for the Chinese New Year.

Komodo Dragon Blend sounded good to me and not just because it reminded me of my favorite Bob & Ray bit. Unfortunately, the barista told me they had only brewed Pike Place, which is not my favorite. Sensing the delay in my response, the barista said she could make me a “pour-over” with the bolder blend. I felt like I was somehow settling for second-best but I agreed to try it.

I must have thought she was going to pour hot water over some leftover grounds. That was not the case. My coffee tasted great and inspired me to look up “pour-over” when I got home. It’s probably the best possible way to have a cup of coffee. Instead of coffee warming in the urn, I had a cup that was custom-made for me.

January 26, 2012 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 2 Comments 

Frosting the Snowman

Lulu's cupcakes - Santa hats and Christmas trees Lulu's cupcakes - snowmen Lulu's cupcakes - snowflakes In a very thoughtful gesture, my wife used her phone to take pictures of the cupcakes that were delivered to her office on Monday. The lady who delivered them said they were from Lulu’s, which doesn’t appear to have a website, just an email address. My wife knew I would be interested in seeing the cupcakes before she and her coworkers enjoyed their Christmas treats. The various designs were Santa hats, Christmas trees, snowmen and snowflakes.

If you’re in Knoxville and you enjoy a good cupcake and a good conversation, feel free to drop by a cupcake tweet-up later today. It starts at 1:30 p.m. at the Cup in Bearden. You buy your own cupcake but they promised us free coffee!

December 23, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment 

New Latte-tude

Vienna Coffee House looks like someplace I would go while on vacation. Instead of a beach locale, it is in the heart of nearby Maryville. I was enticed to stop by because of a mention on Twitter of their salted caramel apple latte. My wife and I told the barista that we want to come back when our coffee-loving relatives are visiting.

I had imagined a sea-salt garnish on top of the latte foam. The flavor actually comes from a shot of Torani Salted Caramel syrup mixed in with the espresso. The drizzle on top was regular caramel sauce. I tried to save a few calories by substituting nonfat milk for regular.

As we were getting back in our car, I heard a familiar voice saying hi to my wife. It was Kristin Farley of WATE. She and her family were bringing some friends to see the coffee house, just like my wife and I plan to do. Kristin told us that she recently did a story on the local coffee roastery and shop. Chemical-engineer-turned-coffee-roaster John Clark said he wants the coffee house to be his customers’ “third place.”

August 22, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

Stamp Site

Boys Town - World's Largest Ball of Stamps The choice of a Nebraska tourist attraction was a no-brainer. Boys Town was founded by a Catholic priest; it was the location of an Oscar-winning movie; and it is home to the World’s Largest Ball of Stamps. My wife found a reference to the stamp ball when looking online for free things to do in Omaha.

Boys Town - Frank Murphy at the World's Largest Ball of Stamps Boys Town - World's Largest Ball of Stamps warning The ball, which was featured in “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!”, was completed in the 1950s and is the centerpiece of a stamp-collecting display. A nearby workbench offers a “penny bin” of old stamps that kids can add to their own collections. A small message warns visitors to not add any stamps to the ball, which means someone must have tried it.

Boys Town - I bought a couple of postcards featuring the stamp ball and some air-mail stamps from the 1960s to use as postage. I also supported the cause by buying a pound of flavored coffee. I chose English Toffee, which I am enjoying as I type this. The clerk told me that their most popular flavor is “Jamaican Me Crazy,” which I found somewhat amusing since we were only a few hundred yards away from their behavioral health facilities.

July 23, 2011 | Filed Under Catholic | Comments Off 

Nebraska Five-O

The conclusion of my 50-state quest came as we drove across the Missouri River from Yankton, South Dakota, into Nebraska. My wife and I stopped at the Corps of Discovery Welcome Center in Crofton. The center is on a bluff with a nice view of the river, looking back toward Yankton. It offers clean restrooms, a map for visitors to mark their hometowns, and free coffee… when they’re open.

July 22, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 3 Comments 

Another Brick in the Wall

Wall Drug - enjoying 5¢ coffee The omnipresent billboards for Wall Drug on I-90 in South Dakota make you feel obligated to stop. You don’t want to be the one tourist who missed out, right? I’ve heard that South of the Border on I-95 in South Carolina uses a similar approach. Wall Drug offers free ice water and 5¢ coffee, which was surprisingly good. I had expected watered-down “church coffee” and ended up buying a second cup.

The word “overkill” came to mind several times as I walked around the various shops. I asked the sales clerks in the Souvenir Department how they could stand listening to the floor that squeaked every time a patron walked past. They said they could tune it out, until someone mentioned it. Oops.

Wall Drug - Jennifer's Facebook photo from 6/26/11 Wall Drug - bookmark is missing 7/7/11 My wife and I knew that we had to go to Wall Drug ever since our friend Jennifer stopped off there 11 days earlier. I joked on Facebook that she should hide something for us to find. She cleverly put a bookmark into a copy of “Some Awfully Tame but Kinda Funny Stories about Early Dakota Ladies of the Evening” and posted photographic proof on her Facebook wall. I found two copies in the bookstore but was disappointed that the bookmark was not in either one. Then I thought about someone who may have unwittingly purchased the book with Jennifer’s note inside. How will they explain that one?

July 20, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 2 Comments 

Twavelocity

No sooner does one vacation end when you start thinking about the next one. My next vacation will be the culmination of my quest to visit all 50 states. My final four are Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.

Planning is part of the fun and with the Internet, it can be more fun than ever. Like last year, I have been programming my WiFi clock radio with links to radio stations along my route. I am also looking for audio podcast feeds but have not yet found any that suit my needs. Some are outdated, others are video podcasts.

Last year I followed the Twitter feeds of the tourism departments of Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Washington. This year, I’m doing the same thing but different. Rather than just passively follow the feeds of my final four, I reached out and asked the departments to suggest must-see attractions.

Iowa enticed me with the Butter Cow at the Iowa State Fair but unfortunately the dates don’t line up with my trip. Nebraska asked what I liked and responded with a few suggestions.

North Dakota had a few ideas too and sent a link to the attractions page on their website. South Dakota either figured out or took a lucky guess that I would love a place that offers free ice water and five-cent coffee. It’s a famous tourist stop known as Wall Drug.

April 10, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment 

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