Grants Pass - Oregon

I sit in a coffee shop, the blender roaring as a smoothie is being made for the newest customer. Songs from the past float in the air trying to stretch their melody over the sounds of a busy place. I sat here last year around the same time writing a post. Nothing has changed except for the local artists pictures hanging on the wall waiting for some coffee drinker to purchase them for a reasonable price. The girls behind the counter still have the don't mess with me look hidden in between their piercings and tattoos. They may not realize it but they are beautiful. The most interesting thing about a coffee shop is the people who wander into it. We are all here with a common tie-coffee- but our stories are all different. Take for instance the group of gabby women next to me. They remind me of the three girls in Mamma Mia. Older women who are gathered together for a wedding. They are laughing away the hours as they enjoy drinks that seem to match the personalities just in first glance. But then there is the quiet man in the corner. He is young, maybe fresh out of college. He has sat in the corner staring out the window, sipping his drink aimlessly. A look of thought stretched across his eyes. Sadness stains his face. What is his story? What chose him to take a seat there? What does the symbol falling from a chain on his neck respresent. We all have different stories, backgrounds, thoughts, experiences, hopes, dreams, but we are all connected by the need for coffee.

Following the last post, I mentioned Mukilteo. A strange place where the sun set splashing the sky with pinks and purples. The colors never disappeared. Just darken.

When we pulled up to the campsite, LakeView Motor Home, a car rested next to us. Inside to young guys, one with a guitar in his hands and the other singing the lyrics to "I'm yours" by Jason Mraz. After a little unloading the one asked me if I was into photography as I took snap shot after shot of the beautiful skies.

We compared cameras, my lenses were bigger, but his fish-eyed lense was cooler. They started to tell me how they have been traveling the U.S. just searching for life. I listened a thought "Wow, they are living." I wished them safe travels and joined up with my fellow campers at our site. The next morning I learned that the two teens- ages 19 and 21- were not all off on the their own like they led me to believe. They were following their parents. Impressive.

Every morning I need a coffee to get me going. After waking up in a tent I was eager to drive and get a coffee. There was this little shop that laid across the street from where we were pouring gas into our van. It was pink, cute, little, and didn't look to bad. I noticed the signs. Java Jugs. Next to the bold lettering were the silhouettes of some slender girl with hair long and blowing in the wind. Another sign next to it read "Hot coffee. Even Hotter Girls!" I was interested in what my eyes had just stumbled upon.

A line of men in their cars was being formed by the minute. The girls serving the coffee had nothing but a bra and lacy underwear on! I was shocked! We got in the car a to my surprise these little coffee houses were everywhere in the small town of Mukilteo. It made me laugh!

"Right now I am in Grants Pass Oregon, sitting in a coffee shop. So much has happened this last month i have been away that i dont want to go home. I love traveling to a new place everyday and meeting the coolest people. You may think that I have gotten homesick, but i really havent. The only thing i miss is my Mom and Gabrielle. My friends I have relized can certainly survive without me. Ha Ha." - Last years post.