The last thing i did in Southern California was beat Heather Perry in the Ultimate Barista Challenge in Los Angeles. I feel pretty good about doing that. Somebody had to..

so, i made it up to the NW for good (for now, at least). After spending nearly a month on the road, i'm still adjusting to not living out of a bag, a Eurovan, etc. My friend Kris, along with several other characters, had a great time traveling from Orange County to Seattle and back-- including lava tubes, Oregon coast sand dunes, redwoods, feral humans, British backpackers, awesome hitch hikers, San Juan Islands, and a grand-scale volkswagon meltdown in the mountains (red coolant... really?). And many other adventures... although i would have liked it, this wasn't a coffee-oriented trip, just an adventurous one, with its own agenda. I only got to visit Albina Press on the epic road trip. I later stopped by Verve in Santa Cruz and had the best macchiato since... the last time i was there. I want to pour drinks like Jared when i grow up.
(My 23 yr old spider plant got let out of the car in Portland)

(Above is me playing vehicular tetris with all my stuff before the move)
The following trip i made alone was far less thrilling, but it got me to Seattle in time for Coffee Fest, where i was able to collect a bunch of cash for making drinks at the torani booth (yeah, i did. But they were very generous and i got to hide behind a simonelli, rather than stand around and look stupid. I just made flavored lattes and looked stupid)... Still, it was nice to be here. After all, i came back home to spend some time with my family up here for a while before going back to work.
So now i get to explore the city. On Tuesday, i went to see Herkimer and had a very sweet, fluffy capp there. I gotta get back and cup with those guys some afternoon. I'm also going back to Portland to check out Cherry, Jana's place. My to-do list is getting longer every day- typical. I'm doing some catering work on the side to help cover my bar tab :) So, regardless of how weird it feels, i'm here now. With a lot to think about. I miss my cafe, but i know i'm heading where i'm supposed to-- i just don't know where.