Mukilteo Musings

Misty Mornings and Coffee

A little mist is rolling off the Sound this morning into the trees. I love mornings like this where everything is damp and in bloom. Thick green foliage amongst the huge maple and cedar trees rise up from the steep ravine behind our house--it is a rain forest.

I had to ask my husband if it was fog or my cataract but after today I will not have to ask him that anymore. I am about to head to the University of Washington Medical Center to get it fixed; they will slice my right eyeball and obliterate my cataract-affected lens; they will suck out the pieces; and then place a little plastic lens implant inside. I had this procedure a year and a half ago on my left eye and I was not totally anesthetized so I watched the whole thing.

Anyway, back to coffee!! I am not allowed to have food and only clear liquids until 8 AM. They specifically told me black coffee was ok but "NO LATTES!" Yes, in Seattle as a part of pre-operative instructions, they must specify this to patients. This brings me to the topic of latte stands.

LATTE STANDS

I have wondered for a while if this was a local phenomenon. When I visited my son in Montana over the weekend, he said his friends from the East (meaning Minnesota to Maine) were surprised to see our latte stands everywhere in the Seattle area. Latte stands are usually cute little wooden house like structures built in a parking lot and all you have to do is drive up to the window on either side. Most of them have a line in the mornings. In a short ten to twenty minute drive (with no traffic) down Mukilteo Speedway to the ferry, numerous coffee options exist.

1. In store Starbucks in Food Emporium on the right
2. In store Starbucks in Albertson's on the left
3. Cute little drive up latte house across from Albertson's on the right.
4. A block off the Speedway and a block from Albertson's on the left--another cute little drive up house.
5. On the right, a cute little wooden stand called the Mocha-Teo
6. At the next intersection, an in store Seattle's Best at QFC on the left.
7. In the QFC parking lot, a cute little drive up wooden latte stand in the shape of a lighthouse. (Mukilteo is known for its lighthouse near the ferry dock.)
8. In the adjacent parking lot to QFC at Jiffy Lube on the left, a BRAND new cute little wooden drive up latte stand.
9. At the next intersection, a new Starbucks with a drive up window; they finally caught on!

You get the idea--yep every block. My favorite place is a coffee shop in Mukilteo where we locals hang out especially after Jazzercise. It used to be called the Mukilteo Coffee Company but now it is called the Whidbey Coffee Company. It is near the ferry; it is funky; and there is a lovely garden in the courtyard with nice views of Puget Sound. My guess is that the lines are long on this misty morning.