With the combination of intense traffic as we neared Smoky Mountain National Park and not seeing a roadside rest since 100 miles ago, Sevierville was our final pitstop on this Thanksgiving escapade to the forest. Besides desperately needing to pee, I like to drink Via on the hiking trails and was fresh out. Great service and clean; an all-around beautiful Starbucks experience.
As I entered the door of this Lexington, KY Starbucks, I glanced at a decorative film on the door reading “Rediscover why we’re best friends.” I rediscovered this a few hours earlier….. after picking up coffee on our way out of Louisville from *another coffee shop*. We’re best friends because you, Starbucks, make good coffee. I could have used a little TP in the restroom to top off my experience at this makeshift roadside rest on the way to Smoky Mountain National Park for an excellent Thanksgiving getaway, but overall my Cher hair and I give Lexington a big thumb’s up.
Here you see that I’ve overstuffed my slightly-smaller-than-standard loaf pan this morning with a delicious cranberry bread for Thanksgiving. The lovely char smell now resonating through the house from the globs on the bottom of the stove are making me feel real good about myself. I guess we’ll just have to eat this one ourselves and make another for “company”. In spite of this miserable failure, this IS a great recipe:
Ingredients:
2 C. flour
1 C. sugar
1/2 tsp. each of baking powder, baking soda, and salt
3/4 C. orange juice
2 TB melted butter
1 C. cranberries (frozen, halved, and seeds rinsed out)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350-deg F. Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add orange juice to melted butter and add to dry ingredients until well incorporated. Fold in cranberries (add chopped walnuts to batter, if desired). Turn into prepared loaf pan and bake at 350-deg F for 60 minutes. This loaf freezes really well.
Add to this failure my previous pat of on the back in processing our jack-o-lantern to make canned pumpkin for homemade breads and pies. Apparently, the work schedule these days isn’t as conducive to pumpkin processing as it once was, and my brilliant idea to store the roasted inners at room temperature would (five days later) present itself as fermented, white-ish pumpkin goo. I’ll spare you photo documentation of this, and instead offer you the plan B for “homemade” pumpkin pie.
Any subscribers will be glad to hear that this ends the whirlwind update from “that other travel blog”. Bringing you this last Starbucks Around the World from Houston means I’m up-to-date (on Starbuckses, anyway) and I won’t be clogging up your newsfeed nearly as much. Although, I have to say, it’s been so fun for me to go through all of these memories. In the end, I’m sure you realize that it’s not about the Starbucks, or the coffee. This is about experiencing the everyday life and cultures of different places around the world. It’s about what is different, and what is very much the same – such as a daily cup of coffee. I hope you’re enjoying the ride as much as I am….
Disclaimer: Since Travelpod does not allow you to export blogs, I shall be bringing old entries to you slowly, but surely, through good, old-fashioned (and painstakingly arduous) Cut-and-paste.
Anyone who knows me well knows that I’m crazy about Texas (insert sarcasm here). Don’t get me wrong, I know a lot of nice people from Texas, but a seriously bad 48 hours in Dallas and general disdain for big hair have left me a little underwhelmed about the idea of making this state a destination spot. On the way to Oaxaca, our 30-minute stopover in Houston meant of course that we’d miss our connecting flight and end up hanging out at George Bush International Airport for 3 hours. At least it gave us time to stop off for the first (and presumably only) Starbucks hit in Texas. I think it was a green tea, actually.
In the end, George Bush turned out alright – the airport, anyway – and we got where we needed to go (with a surprise trip to Mexico City and an impromtu visit with Nancy’s Aunt). And according to our friend Shannon (the best thing from Texas, as far as I’m concerned), if ever there again after 10am there’s great BBQ in terminal C….
p.s. check me out with all my style points on Unstitched, a fantastically beautiful blog with a great series on traveling.
Disclaimer: Since Travelpod does not allow you to export blogs, I shall be bringing old entries to you slowly, but surely, through good, old-fashioned (and painstakingly arduous) Cut-and-paste.
Quite before the crack of dawn, this Starbucks stop is at O’Hare International Airport at the beginning of our beautiful trip to Oaxaca, Mexico in the summer of 2010. It was so early I don’t even remember what I drank, but I assume it was caffeinated and included a yogurt parfait.
I am rather glad to report that Oaxaca has no ‘Bucks, so you will only witness two entires on this adventure, both in airports. However, coffee was still prevalent on this trip-I witnessed an up close and personal view of for real “Shade Grown Mexico” on the side of a mountain near Pluma Hidalgo, Oaxaca.
Disclaimer: Since Travelpod does not allow you to export blogs, I shall be bringing old entries to you slowly, but surely, through good, old-fashioned (and painstakingly arduous) Cut-and-paste.
After an amazing (still-to-be-uploaded-to-Wordpress) adventure in the Smoky’s, nothing brings you back to “civilization” like a roadside rest and a strong drip coffee. Having little hope for a Starbucks store between the park and Louisville (a 6+ hour drive), we had stopped off in Jalisco, TN for a canned double shot at a gas station before finding this beauty in London, KY. Bam. One-stop shopping with a clean place to pee, a drip coffee, and a Steak N Shake next door.
Disclaimer: Since Travelpod does not allow you to export blogs, I shall be bringing old entries to you slowly, but surely, through good, old-fashioned (and painstakingly arduous) Cut-and-paste.
Well, if you look real close, there’s little old me at the big old Starbucks. Louisville was our stop off city on a road trip to Smoky Mountain National Park. A short walk from the hotel lead us to the Louisville Convention Center and the first hit in the Southern states. I made it a mocha since it doubled as my breakfast. Per tradition, I asked the barista if they carried city mugs and he replied with a slight southern tang, “Nope. Small market.”
Right.
In any case, the Starbucks experience and Southern charm are a very good pair. Big thumbs up for this little store in the big convention center in this little city in the big South.
Lauren Warnecke 
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