Coffee on the Road

At home I know I can always get Starbucks. I prefer the Starbucks dark French roast although that is not what they normally brew. So it is Verona or Pikes Place. "No room"...... meaning, "black".

On the road it is different, though. Gas station coffee is usually not the best. But it does do it's job. It keeps me awake and keeps me peeing. The pit stops I must make also help to keep me awake and forces me to use my legs every now and then. I think gas station coffee is the real reason why Starbucks does so well. After a cup of Shell gas or Mobile oil (which is what their coffee really is) I'd pay anything for a good cup of Starbucks. One thing about gas station coffee is that if you run short on fuel, just pour it in your gas tank. It might even be cheaper than real gas. Just make sure there is no cream or sugar in it. Why would anyone put cream or sugar in their coffee anyway? That's one of the great riddles of life.

Right now I am enjoying a 16 oz cup of Holiday gas station coffee while I am sitting at the Toyota dealership in Devils Lake, North Dakota. They don't have Starbucks here, but they do have Toyotas. Last night in front of the old McConnel farm house there were three cars parked.... all of them Toyotas. One was my daughter's, another was my other daughter's. And the last one was my wife's. Well, my wife's brother drove his Camry up from Denver. My neice drove her Corolla up from Longmont. My nephew drove his Camry up from Denver. Sheesh! We could start our own Toyota dealership and survive by selling cars to ourselves.

But I bet a Starbucks would also do well in this part of the country. Once these people up here taste real coffee there will be no stopping them. We could put the Starbucks right next to the Toyota dealership and have a real winning combination..... especially if it is out on highway 2 where other people who know what a Starbucks is will see the sign. Better yet.... we could sell Starbucks at the gas stations where people go to fill up their Toyotas. Na, those Priuses don't use much gas and we wouldn't have many visitors. But on the other hand we might sell more Toyotas.