STARBUCKS WELLINGTON!
We spent the final two nights of our whirl wind tour of the North Island in Wellington. We were hoping to finish out the trip with some great shopping for the kids to help relieve the home sickness and boredom lingering after the tour through the volcanoes the day before! After walking our butts down a size, and not purchasing any new clothing to speak of, things got critical. Heather decided to take Laura back a store they had seen earlier. I was given the task of retrieving a Starbucks Latte, tall, one sugar. The raw sugar, not the refined sugar, Dad! OK! I got it! I head of for the nearest Starbucks, repeating the order over and over so I won't screw it up. [Yes, Karla, the memory loss has progressed here in the Southern Hemisphere! And no, the pills aren't working!!] As I stand in line, I keep repeating the order in my head, "Tall Latte, raw sugar, Tall Latte, raw sugar, . . ." I don't want to screw this up! I feel like I'm in line at the "Soup Nazi's" place in New York! When it comes my turn at the counter, I clearly express my need and the girl taking the order gives me a strange look. She can tell I'm troubled by something. I let our a sigh, she smiles. I now feel obligated to explain but before I can begin, she says, "Are you alright?" This is the universal Kiwi salutation, but that's another story. So I explain my quest and how I'm on a mission to get my grieving teenage daughter who is a half a world away from her home and friends and who is having trouble coping with the change, to get her a cup of her favorite coffee from her favorite store! I explain how a taste of home, Starbucks, will help relieve some of her pain. The clerks are now all intently listening to my dilemma. One pips up some advice; "You should take her shopping!" Well, I let it go. However, this was certainly the friendliest coffee shop I've been in yet and the reliable quality of a Starbucks Latte was to help my daughter through the day. Good-Old Starbucks! Always good to have a taste of home!