Judy. There are a lot of things I miss about the West. Certainly the hiking, the views, the lack of humidity, the wonderful people. But there's another thing I'd give almost anything to have here in the South: coffee shacks.
Drive by any parking lot--I mean ANY parking lot--and there's a tiny house, usually with windows on either side, and one barista inside making all kinds of coffee drinks and smoothies. These (usually) women are invariably pleasant, greet with a smile and a, "What can I get you folks today?" Sometimes you'll hear an "I'm gonna close this window to keep it cool, but I'll be right back," then she quickly and efficiently pops the window back open to deliver your order. Oh, my goodness, it makes getting a coffee easy! It definitely feeds my afternoon coffee addiction. No big box stores, although Florence Coffee seems to be the Starbucks of coffee shacks.
They are tremendously popular; sometimes the lines around the shack seems as long as any Chick-fil-A at noon, but if you're lucky, the line won't be so long, and even if it is, there's another shack a block down the street. The coffee drinks are invariably good. The barista often asks how may shots I want in my latte (big mistake one afternoon when I went for her suggestion of three). The prices are better, too; maybe having a smaller "shop" makes that possible.
Washington State seems to be the champion. Years ago I took photos of them everywhere we went. My favorite was "CAR WASH and ESPRESSO".
Still, Montana is no slacker. In these times of quarantine, it was a great way to pick up an afternoon coffee. In fact, Ted and I wondered why they're not here in the South. Does no one want to work there? Is the real estate too high?
Who knows. But Midwesterners and Southerners, you have no idea what you're missing.
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