Confessions of a Coffeeholic #0
Fueled by imagination, drive by spontaneity, this weekend getaway inspired me to write again.
The spontaneity of the heart. Split-second decisions at 8am on a Friday.
“Let’s go see King Tut in Chicago. It’s only an 8hr drive. We’ll rearrange our work day, work on-the-go.”
A challenge? Yes! Fun? It could be. By 9:45am we’re packed and northbound.
Flash back: A month ago, the ticket pre-sale event for the King Tut Immersive hits my inbox and it’s coming soon to Nashville. Thoughtful husband decides to make a surprise-the-wife purchase. Careless husband accidentally selects the wrong location 500 miles away. Surprise!
“When the alarm goes off, we need to stop so I can join the meeting.”
Spontaneity comes with a price. For us, it was to make sure that we find a rest stop to take some important work calls. We Waze our way to Providence Coffee House & Marketplace in Bowling Green Kentucky, arriving just in time for our 11am call. The car becomes her office space for the next hour plus, while I find a spot on the spacious and contemporary looking patio seating. It’s a beautiful day to be working outside.
#1 Indulge yourself in coffee & croffins
I walk towards the back entrance. There is a little girl standing guard at what looked like home-made banana bread and pies. I notice an empty table with playing cards laid out as if two people were in the middle of a game. I look around and see only one other person but he was clearly immersed in his work at a table further away from there. I find it odd but don’t give it any more thought. So I walk past the girl with a smile and go inside to get my coffee fix.
Character entrance: The Coffee Shop Owner
At one end of a large L-spaced counter, chatting with some walk-in customers is the shop owner. Also behind the counter is the owner’s daughter prepping the smoothie orders. The owner’s son is on the other end manning the espresso machine. It’s a family-run business.
Locally made chocolates, delicious croissants moulded into muffins called “Croffins”, fruit-based milk-less refreshing smoothies, and trade-marked coffee beans. This is the kind of place that 9-to-5ers like me hope our retirement would look like someday.
Spontaneity of the entrepreneur. I make a split-second decision to meet the owner and talk about my coffee subscription business. The owner makes time for us to discuss before driving away to a meeting. We share elevator pitches, exchange contacts and agree to connect virtually to explore opportunities.
As I walked out of the coffee house back to the car, I notice the little girl at the card table, playing solo. Impressive.
In the shadows:
The guy who was busy working on this laptop out on the patio when I had walked in was nowhere to be seen.
“Are we there yet?”
#2 Immerse yourself in a world of animation
We pull in to the Lighthouse ArtSpace Chicago. Valet parking only. With our priced gadgets thrown into a daypack we walk across to the venue for “the ground-breaking immersive King Tut experience” that “takes you on a mythical journey through the Egyptian afterlife”. Or so we hoped.
Character entrance: The Ticket Checker
Masked up and visibly tattooed, the ticket checker welcomes us to the show. Notices the bracelet I'm wearing while scanning our barcodes. My wife picks up on that, starts a conversation about crystals. They talk about the tourmalinated quartz on my wrist. In a split-second the conversation is disrupted by a voice in his earpiece. He hurries us to head up the stairs. It appears the last show already started.
25 mins later, we are on our way out back down the stairs. The ticket checker is now head-down face-resting on the desk, dozing off, in no mood to greet us a goodbye, seemingly disinterested in us, or our precious crystals.
In the shadows (in order of appearance):
The security guard who checked my backpack and allowed it in despite it being a prohibited item. The exit door attendant who reveals to my wife that the show is only 20mins long. The guy in the gift shop who willingly takes our photo. The group we ran into as we walked outside into a spell of rain, with their free umbrellas they got at the gift shop. The cash-only valet who asks us if we liked the show but clearly knew how we felt.
For the record, we found the King Tut immersive somewhat gimmicky, un-engaging, overhyped and disappointing. Immersive art shows are everywhere these days and Lighthouse Immersive Studios bring the best of them. So stay tuned to the Nashville or Chicago venues for their upcoming exhibits and immerse yourself.
“It’s Friday night in Chicago, and we have no reservations.”
#3 Ignite your culinary senses
For our one night in Chi-Town, we settled on fine dining at a steak restaurant. Bavette’s was only 2 blocks away so we walk over only to be turned down for the lack of a reservation. With hope fading fast we try our luck at RPM Steak. Yes! A table for two with a 10 min wait sounds good. 30 mins later we were seated.
The King Crab and Octopus appetizers were a promising start. Let’s splurge. The medium+ 12oz Japanese Wagyu raised in Australia was buttery indeed, but flavorless. Same story with the Salmon. The potent drinks helped numb our disappointment.
A backup plan emerged: Door Dash. Portillo’s for me. Indian pizza and momos for her. We will be there before they drop it off. We were late, and the case of the lost chocolate cake-shake will remain unsolved.
“I thought it was only a 2hr drive to Bloomington.”
#4 Activate your intentions with crystals
The spontaneity of the mind. Split-second decisions on the road. The power of German engineering. The audacity of the driver. Race-mode. Dangerous maneuvers. Near escapes.
It was close to a 4hr drive to B-Town. With only 15 mins until the crystal shop closes, hotel checkin can wait.
One flight up the stairs in a room on the right of this multi-storied vintage house, now a multi-business destination, is Moon Stones. An older lady is talking to a younger one about her Norwegian descent. She is worried that someone in her family could get called back to serve 8000 miles away.
Character entrance: The Crystal Shop Owner
The three ladies continue the conversation. We continue to browse this intimate room with a plethora of stones, pendants and rings, picture frames and vases, deities and many unique cultural finds.
The older lady is the shop owners mother. The younger one is a customer who shares a story about her Pompeii trip and a lava stone pendant. We pick a few Thai statues and a piece of petrified wood. Rule of thump: Pick what attracts you. It may be calling out to you.
The shop owner talks about them, and the conversation shifts to her boyfriend who made a Bollywood mix tape for a party last night at The Orbit Room - what some google reviewers call “a delightful hipster bar” serving “most delicious hot dogs on the planet”. He runs a record shop right below the crystal shop. She tells us that it will make his day if we would stop-by and talk to him. I take the bait.
In the shadows:
The man with a goatee who appeared out of nowhere as we walked out of the crystal shop. He tells us how to find the other door to the record shop. He had an all-knowing look on his face. Very confident man.
“I heard you played some Bollywood music last night.”
#5 Tune into the culture of music
Stepping down in to TD’s CDs and LPs record shop located in the basement of the building with that line definitely caught his attention. I guess I like making an entrance.
Character entrance: The Record Shop Owner
“How do you know about that?” asks the hipster-looking guy behind the counter. I reveal the conversation that took place above ground. He offers to send us the music he made and goes on to show us records of the South India music composer Ilaiyaraja and other uniquely Indian music composers, something that is not common knowledge in small-town America.
I sense a bond being formed around the love for music and the appreciation of various musical styles ranging from Bollywood to Bob Dylan to Azerbaijan and Syrian music to Pilipino street music. We share our background stories, exchange contact information, and decide to keep in touch thanks to our shared passion for the retro.
We proceed to explore this meticulously organized, culturally diverse, treasure chest of a shop that could very well be a portal that journeys through decades of musical adventures from around the world.
In the shadows:
Two guys in the back corner sifting through records, one face covered by a mask, both strangers in a record shop. We engage in a quick three-way chat across aisles about how the Harmonium works. In the end the masked one remarks matter-of-factly: “Music has the power to bring people together.” So true.
“How many shots for your Cortado?”
#6 Find your creative space within
We find a doorway in the record shop that opens up into a quiet working space lit only with lamps atop tables. It wasn’t busy but was certainly occupied with mostly students with laptops and books. I lead my wife excitedly through this space to get my coffee fix.
Never have I been asked if I need one, two or three shots in my Cortado (generally a two-shot drink). So I say “Doppio!” and notice that the cost of espresso drinks by # of shots is specifically called out on the menu. The amount of caffeination is clearly left to the customer, which is a good thing for a college town I would say.
Soma Coffee has a wide variety of coffee beans (all roasted to order in Wisconsin). The coffee house was bustling with students and visitors seated in front of the coffee bar, in the working space we came through, and out on the porch. With just 2 to 3 barista’s they worked through the orders quickly. That’s impressive.
“It’s easier to sell them if they are smaller in size.”
#7 Chase after your artistic calling
We step out of the coffee shop into a side street which also served as the frontage to an art gallery. I urge my wife to check it out while I bring the car around. Soon enough I walk in to the 70s built home. Nature had an artwork on display right outside on the side walk - a bed of fallen autumn leaves in shades of amber perfectly arranged for the passerby. Two ladies on the porch swing welcome me in.
The Venue had every room filled with colorful art big and small, of varying styles, by multiple artists. I find my wife exploring the only pencil sketches displayed in one of the rooms. We notice that there are no charcoal paintings in sight, a technique she is good at having created many intricate portraits constructed meticulously by focusing on where the light hits the subject.
Character entrance: The Art Gallery Owner
One of the ladies on the porch was the owner. It was their family business, and the venue used to be her husband’s law firm. We hit if off on a conversation about the pencil artwork and why charcoal paintings are difficult to sell. Marketability of art depends on its size, the smaller they are easier to sell. She shares that customers like to literally feel the painting, which is impossible with charcoals that need to be protected behind a glassed frame. It was a very rewarding conversation especially for my wife who needed the inspiration to reawaken the artist in her.
I further learn about the gallery owner’s escapades in India as a young women. She had very fond memories of South India and meeting Kiran Bedi, the first woman in India to join the police force and scale to professional and political heights.
We must have spend an hour in the gallery just chatting away with her and her friend who joins the conversation at some point. A conversation that started with art led its way to Indian culture, history of B-town, if books and writing, to recommendations the best places to eat. It was the first time I felt I was making such a strong connection to a place and the people so quickly, in first couple of our visit. There was something about this place that felt homely. I knew this is bound to be the first of many future getaway trips from Nashville TN to Bloomington IN.
In the shadows:
There was an unseen man’s voice echoing through the gallery clearly speaking to someone on the phone. In the final few minutes before we would make an exit, he reveals himself as if though his part was to certify for us that Samira’s Afghan cuisine is the where we should dine that night.
We pull ourselves away from the gallery and proceed to our hotel checkin, and that night at dinner we get to taste the best Baba Ganouj, Manto, Pallao and Kebabs paired with a bottle of the Moscato from the local Oliver Winery.
“The spontaneity of it all was the best part.”
As I reflect back on this trip, recalling the moments that made it unforgettable, never had we been so aligned in the spontaneity of it all, by putting aside pressures of work, never-ending chores, and the to-do lists, to go off on this weekend adventure. Traveling through 4 states in 3 days, a crazy idea that popped into my head at 8am on Friday came to an end at 8pm on Sunday when we finally got home.
There is a lot to cherish and look back upon, and I have tried to capture the essence of it in this post as best I could. But what I would hold close to heart the most are the characters we met, our new found friends who I hope to meet once again to pick-up where we left of.