The Day without Coffee

Before our camping trip I tried to be proactive, anticipating any major problems we might run into.  The only one I found was this:  No coffee for me!  Anyone who knows me at all, knows that if I don't have at least one cup of coffee in the morning, I get an excruciating caffeine headache, and I refuse to drink instant coffee...ick!  Always the problem solver, I devised a plan.  On our way out of town, we stopped at the local SBux and grabbed a 3 pack of Starbucks Via insta-brew, one for each day of our trip.

Saturday morning I awoke to Justice peeking out the tent door exclaiming, "What a lovely day it is in the mountains!"  I woke up, ready for our big day.  We climbed out of our home away from home and promptly started the campfire using the last of the charcoal, which I'd saved specifically for my coffee.  I poured my bottle of dasani water into the saucepan I'd brought from home and got that water boiling.  It didn't take long.  I poured 2 tablespoons of coffeemate toffee nut creamer into my "I LOVE MY KIDS" travel mug, and grabbed my pack of via.  You will NOT believe what happened next!

Instead of coffee, the package held three folded napkins.  Clearly, it had been a display.  There was NO COFFEE IN THE PACKAGE AT ALL!!

I survived.  I chased an 800mg naproxen with a caffeine filled Diet Coke and made it throught the day, but I was NOT happy.  I thought I'd done everything right.  Hmph.  We got back from camping on Sunday night.  Luckily, there were two days between my disappointing discovery and when I was able to go into my SBux.  I told the manager (with more than a touch of humor) my story, after letting her know how lucky it was for us both that I couldn't reach a Starbucks until I had already cooled down, and survived the unthinkable.  She was so mortified for me (between giggles, hers and mine) that she walked into the back, came out with a package, and said, "Here, have a 12 pack on me."  Love her.

Moral of the story?  The Karr Family will never camp more than 2 miles from the closest coffee shop.

The End.