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Pretty Good Hat

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A cappuccino with a flowery pour of milk on top, in a saucer with some spilled coffee. It’s on a sunny, light-colored speckled counter, next to a jacket and bike helmet.

Coffeeneuring is a community event of taking to the bike to celebrate fall’s moods, angled sunlight, colors, breezes — and tastes of autumny drinks. I came across it for the first time last year just before the end of the month-or-so time span that it’s run by Chasing Mailboxes. It was too late to participate, so I looked forward to it all year.

I was ready when the official rules dropped and then, disaster, or near disaster: I badly hurt my shoulder and couldn’t get on the bike the first couple of weeks. After a lot (seriously, lots) of ibuprofen over about ten days, and eventual confirmation that I hadn’t torn my rotator cuff, I got to go for a first gentle ride of Coffeeneuring Month today: Over to Olympia Coffee on a perfect fall day. This first ride was just about five miles round trip, mostly through a set of greenways that wind around the nearby neighborhoods. What a good start to this fun community event.

A wide concrete pier extends into the Puget Sound. In the distance under a mostly clear blue sky — just some whisps of light clouds — are the Olympics, with snow at the highest elevations.

A big golden brown croissant sits on a plate beside a cappuccino in an angled, tinted glass cup.

I got out to ride the 2 Line to downtown today, where I had a croissant and a cappuccino at the beautiful Boon Boona cafe that sits above the waterfront. What a beautiful spring day!

I love being able to walk to the coffee shops. This morning was chilly, still in the 30s when I made my way after my morning spins and grocery stop.

The back of a Fujifilm X100VI, a pair of lightweight dark gray gloves, and a cappuccino cup and saucer site on a wooden counter be∏hind a shop window. Outside is a bit of leafy autumn street lightly lit by morning sun.

My first trip of Indie Bookstore Day yielded a couple of books, a cookie and a cappuccino at Third Place. I’d say it’s a success! I’ll be trying to hit up all the indie shops in town over the next week to complete my passport book.

A cappuccino and a big chocolate chip cookie on an outdoor cafe table

The sign of a shop on a brick wall above the door. It reads ‘Third Place Books’ and announces Indie Bookstore Day.

A lot of things are kind of garbage right now, but I have this espresso pretty dialed in, and it tastes like graham crackers and dark chocolate. That’s delightful.

Mugs and plastic squirt bottles sit on a large rustic looking wooden table. In the background are a pair of very fancy looking espresso machine brewheads, built into a black countertop. The walls are cinderblock and decorated with shelves full of coffee and brewing equipment.

My wife got me a special Christmas gift: Espresso class at Anchorhead! This was so fun and educational for me. We started with a tasting exercise and then dug into the mechanics of espresso extraction, and I got to practice on the Big Kid Machine in the lab. I have lots to practice on my own (but not today; I am absolutely blitzed with caffeine). Gifts of neat experiences are the best!

December 22; the longest night of the year is behind us. I have a warm coffee, I’ve worked out and made myself breakfast, and I’m finished with work for a long rest.