Shaving can be the most boring part of the day.  I mitigate the ennui by drinking coffee while I shave. Being a low vision kind of guy, legally blind, I don’t have a need for a mirror, so I can shave in the kitchen or living room or wherever.  My normal routine is to shave my right cheek, take a couple of sips of coffee, shave the left cheek, take a couple more sips, and keep this up until done. The balance of the coffee is cold by this time, but it’s still coffee. While enjoying the aroma and taste of the coffee, my mind wanders, and I daydream and sometimes get constructive and try to plan the next story for my blog.

This morning, I got to thinking about the many places Pat and I have enjoyed a delicious cup of coffee. Some of the stories have been told already, so this time, I’ll just concentrate on locations. Our coffee drinking took place across a fair amount of the globe. We feel that for a working-class couple, who never had more than a 2-week vacation, that we’ve covered a lot of ground. From Montreal, Canada, in the North to Paris, France in the East, to Mazatlán, Mexico and La Paz, Baja California in the South, and Okinawa, Japan in the West, we got around!

I’ll try to only list recognizable places but will add places where we have been individually as well. Here we go:

Montreal, London, Warminster, Berkley, and Bath-all in England, Paris, Memphis, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Wichita, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Fort Worth, Waco, San Antonio, Houston, El Paso, Denver, Durango, Taos, Santa Fe, Gallup, Las Vegas, Scottsdale, Sedona, Prescott, Yuma, San Diego, Capistrano, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, San Francisco, McKinleyville,  and Palm Springs, Oahu, Lahaina, Kauai, Midway, Kwajalein, Guam, Iwakuni, and Okinawa.

Some of our journeys were done separately. Pat has been to London and Paris twice, and I have only been there once. She has been to Washington, D.C. and Seattle, Washington, and I haven’t seen either of them. She has also been to Victoria, British Columbia. I have also had coffee in Peal Harbor, Kwajalein, and Okinawa. Another solo trip for business was to Cleveland and Detroit.

Lots of fun and lots of coffee!

Dave Thomas

3/5/2026