Best Places for Coffee and Oatmeal Before It Is Too Late

I got an idea for this blog from a new book I saw reviewed in the Wall Street Journal. It is a huge book about the best places to eat in America before it is too late. The authors researched it themselves and said they "just drove and ate" all over America. My kind of vacation! Most of the food, however, is not very nutritious. Just good and gut busting. I have eaten at one of their top 15 places. It is a Clamshack in Ipswich, Massachusetts where we lived while I was going to seminary. You have to have a taste for fried clams to appreciate this place. I never developed one. I looked over the other 14 and decided there was not one worth a special trip. But, I saw a need for another kind of book that highlighted more nutritious choices. What I have in mind is oatmeal which I eat every morning for breakfast. On our last road trip which was this summer, I tried to find the best places for oatmeal every morning. Since I also like good coffee in the morning, the oatmeal place had to serve good coffee, too, if it was to gain a top rating in my book which has only been published in my mind. I know this is a very small niche market, coffee and oatmeal. It may only be me. My wife doesn't even appreciate it! But in the chance there is someone out there....

There are plenty of good places to find good coffee in Kodiak, AK where I live. Unfortunately, the best oatmeal I can find here is the stuff I make: Snoqualmie Falls which I buy way overpriced at Safeway. When we travel I usually load up on it and bring it home in the luggage or I buy some in bulk. I like the kind that is thick cut and has big, substantial, oat flakes with a nutty flavor that keeps its texture when cooked. No mushy, instant type stuff for me. Likewise, I like strong, bold coffee. No cream, no sugar, no nothing, but the coffee. Here in Alaska, I like Kaladi Brothers Red Goat.

So when you travel from here on a road trip, the first town you hit when you get off the ferry is Homer. Homer has some great restaurants and one very good place for oatmeal. It is Duncan House Family Diner in the center of town. Great hearty oatmeal topped with all sorts of great stuff like walnuts, and blueberries. The coffee is just ok. So, if you are traveling north which most people do since it is the only way to go from Homer, you will need a coffee stop about 90 miles north in Soldotna. There is a Kaladi Brothers coffee shop just off the main drag as you pass through town. I think you turn left at the police station and then take your next left when you get to Safeway.

When you get close to Anchorage you may be hungry again and a good place to stop for lunch is in Girdwood at the bakery near Alyeska. The coffee is ok but the cinnamon buns and sandwiches on homemade bread are great. In Anchorage, there is a Kaladi Brothers at New Sagaya Market and it is sold at Snow City Cafe, the best place for oatmeal in the city. They serve a big bowl of thick cut oats with a tray of brown sugar, granola, and raisins alongside. You can order fresh blueberries or a banana on the side. And as I said, they serve Kaladi Brothers coffee. It's a combo that is hard to beat.

On the road north, you can make another coffee stop at the Kaladi Brothers coffee shop in Wasilla just off the main drag in the Safeway parking lot. From there it is a long drive to Fairbanks. In the Denali area there is passable oatmeal at the restaurant at the Creekside Cabins and pretty good coffee. That's a good thing because there is not much else there except tourist places.

In Fairbanks, the best place for oatmeal burned to the ground this past year. The good news is that they are rebuilding. It was the College Restaurant near UAF. So, your best bet is to hit Alaska Coffee Roasters on Geist Road between Pizza Hut and a big MacDonalds. They have the best coffee in town (maybe the state - I need to do some more taste tests) and great breakfast pastries and sandwiches.

If you travel out of state in the Great Northwest, there are no shortages of great coffee places. I have not found too many good oatmeal places though. I can say that Stumptown Roasters serves some great coffee in Portland and several outlets around the area. If you get near the coast make sure you stop at Five Rivers Coffee Roasters in Tillamook, right across from the Cheese Factory. The people who own it are great to talk to, there is great coffee to sample and you can take a fresh roasted pound of coffee home with you. I often order their coffee to enjoy at home (Fogcutters blend is a personal favorite but most people find it too strong, Barbs Blend or Sportsmens Blends are milder). The best place for oatmeal I have found is at the Bobs Red Mill outlet and restaurant in Milwaukie, a suburb of Portland. If you want a break from oatmeal, which I even do sometimes, as long as that break includes pancakes with real maple syrup, you can try The House of Hotcakes just over the Ross Island Bridge in Portland. It is a cool place (no atmosphere which really makes for great atmosphere!) with heaping portions of everything breakfast and ok coffee but coffee is not what you go there for!

I plan on continuing to explore the Great Northwest and Alaska for other oatmeal and coffee places as we travel.

A Tale of Two Churches (maybe Three)

This is a story about two churches or, maybe, three, depending on how things turn out. The church in the story has been around a long time. It is a pretty traditional church. It looks like a church with steeple, a cross and pews. The pews became an issue. The pews had been in the church as long as anyone could remember. In fact, most people could not think of a church which did not have pews so that in some people's minds: churches = pews. In due time, some outsiders came along and it had been their experience that churches could have chairs. In fact, they preferred chairs when given a choice between pews and chairs. They kind of thought it foolish to have pews when you could have chairs. They thought since Jesus was seated next to His Heavenly Father he was seated on a chair, presumably. They brought this up when the church discussed whether to get rid of their pews and replace them with chairs. Not to be outdone, the people who preferred pews came up with a Biblical reference as well: somewhere it says, many are called but pews are chosen.

Still there was a third group in the church that was at odds with both these groups. And as long as they were discussing options for seating in the sanctuary, they just wanted to point out that the first Christians neither sat in pews or chairs! They stood! So, if we want to be truly Biblical, let's get rid of the pews and chairs and stand. Many times the Bible refers to God's People as standing in the presence of God. Their favorite hymn was Standing on the Promises.

At the last church meeting to discuss whether to keep the pews or replace them with chairs or get rid of both, a committee recommended a compromise plan. Half of the sanctuary seating would be chairs, half would be pews and one other section would be set aside for the Standers. Much discussion ensued. People left the meeting frustrated because they failed to agree on who would be up front, the pewsitters, the chairsitters or the standers.

It is hoped that this issue can still be resolved or where there is one church now, there will be three soon. A church of pewsitters, a church of chairstitters and a church of standers, each one feeling that they are the most Biblical. And there are already enough churches that believe that.

What Price a Life?

Donte Stallworth ran into a 59 year old man who was on his way home after working all night at a Miami construction site this past March 14. Stallworth had been drinking all night. He was driving his luxury car; Mario Reyes was on foot crossing the street. Police estimated Stallworth was going 50mph in a 40mph zone. His blood alcohol level was .126 well above the Florida limit of .o8. Stallworth stopped after he hit Reyes and called 911. His lawyer said, "he acted like a man and took responsibility for his actions." Too bad he didn't take responsibility for his actions before he got in the car and drove drunk. Did he act like a man then, too? Driving drunk? For his crime, Stallworth was sentenced to 24 days in jail. He will probably be suspended by the NFL at the start of this season for a few games, forfeiting some salary. His insurance companies settled with the victim' family avoiding a lawsuit.

Not long ago another NFL player was convicted of operating an unlawful interstate dogfighting ring. Michael Vick, a superstar quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, was vilified in the media for his horrible abuse of the dogs who were used for his dogfighting promotions. For his crime, Vick served almost two years in prison and was fined 1 million dollars. He is awaiting word when his football suspension will be lifted although his former team has already said they do not want him back.

So two cases. In one a human being is dead and in another some dogs are abused and killed. In one a night of pleasure results in a dead father and husband and in another someone's pleasure results in maimed or dead animals. Few people have firsthand experience of dogfighting. It is not a common pasttime. Most people probably would be repulsed by it. Dogs are very popular pets and most people see them that way. Vick's hobby appalled people.

Stallworth, on the other hand, was involved in a pasttime many people can relate to. Having a few drinks at a their local bar. Many people have picked up their car keys and driven home after enjoying those drinks. Alcohol is big business in this country. It earns a pass in most drunk driving cases. No one is going to go to bat for someone who abuses animals. No one shakes his head and says, oh well that happens. It clearly does not need to happen. However, when it comes to having a few drinks and driving, oh well that happens. When someone is killed, oh well that happens.

Donte Stallworth feels terrible about the tragedy he caused. Michael Vick says he feels badly, too. There is no good reason to cause a dog to suffer. There is no good explanation for why someone gets into a car after a few drinks. But, in this country, if you do, and if you are rich, you can get away with murder.

Father's Day

Dear Dad,
It's been ten years since you died. The memorial date is right around Father's Day this year. I still think of you a lot, especially on Father's Day. Now I get calls or cards from my grown children and small grandchildren. I am the Father, the Grandfather, but I know that a big part of who I am as a Father/Grandfather is due to your influence. So that's why I think of you, especially on Father's Day. I know I didn't always heed your advice when I was younger but you were my main role model. I appreciate most I guess the way you treated Mom with respect and love. I don't think I ever heard you raise your voice to her. I am sure you had disagreements and I knew when things got silent between the two of you something was not quite right but our world was rock solid because of your faithfulness to her and our family.

I know there were a lot of things you could have been doing. You worked hard with many long nights in the office or on the phone. But, you were there to coach our teams and take us on camping trips every summer. You modeled putting family first. I have tried to do the same.

I remember getting up early most mornings and finding you up already reading your Bible or praying in big chair in the living room. I know we gave you lots to pray about as you drove during the day or pulled off the road so you could concentrate more on your prayers. I knew God was real to you. I didn't always care for the churches we went to and I don't remember much about what was said or done there but what sticks with me is that you and God had a relationship. I wanted that, too.

I wish you had been a little more patient with me. I marveled at the way you were able to fix almost anything at home. It seemed like we never bought anything new because with a little tinkering you could fix it. I guess it was easier to do it yourself than teach me. To be fair, I probably didn't seem too interested either. I often wish I had more of your practical skills.

Back in the day you grew up men didn't show a lot of affection. Your affection for Mom was mostly private and we didn't do a lot of hugging as a family. I was glad when the ice broke finally when I was grown up. I could tell when you realized it was ok to hug it meant a lot for you to give me a hug when we met somewhere for breakfast or visited in each other's homes. It sure meant a lot to me.

I enjoyed listening to the good times you had when the couples you were friends with came over for a night of games or conversation. The laughter that filled the home was intoxicating. I loved those times. I wish there had been more of them. I guess life was pretty serious then, too. Church was serious, I remember. Maybe it was the threats to our faith and way of life we felt that made us more wary than joyful. I appreciated your smile and easy laughter with people. You enjoyed being with people and no matter where you were you could get a conversation going with someone. I think I may have inherited that from you. I enjoy getting to know people, too. I am still trying to laugh more though and I think you wanted to, as well.

Your job took you away a lot and you didn't have too much "leisure" time. Those Saturdays when you took me along to visit the farm equipment dealers you called on were special times. Of course, what I liked the most was when we stopped at the diner for a fried cake and coffee - milk for me. But I dunked my fried cake just like I saw you doing. It must be noted, however, that we did not like it when you interrupted our vacation trips to stop at one of your dealers. Those stops seemed to take forever!

I wish your thriftiness had been passed on but I have to say I am a bit more loose with money than you were. Maybe it is a reaction to your thrifty ways. Marcia is the thrifty one. She is always chiding me about buying a daily paper or a cup of coffee when we could make it at home and take a thermos with us. Like you did. With the way the economy is going, the lessons of thrift you tried to teach me may come in handy. It may come to buying day old donuts and finding a place where they sell senior citizen coffee for a nickel!

Thanks for the memories this Father's Day, Dad!

Alaskan Road Trip

In a couple days, we, Marcia and I, will board the ferry, the Alaskan Marine Highway, as it is known in tourist brochures, and head over to the mainland for a week - long road trip. It is one of those unique Alaskan vacations. From Kodiak, there are not many long road trips you can take that last very long. So, you have to get off the island. We are going to do a loop from Homer to Anchorage to Denali, to Fairbanks to Tok and back to Anchorage and Homer. That loop is about a thousand miles. Which qualifies as a long road trip. We have some favorite places to revisit. We don't have a schedule or an itinerary. Just wandering. We have not driven the Tok to Anchorage leg since we moved here ten years ago and that was in the winter. We stopped in the Troopers office in Tok for a road condition report and they cautioned us about a big storm heading our way. Fortunately, we never ran into it and it was sunny all the way. As we approached Anchorage I was looking for the exit ramp that would lead us into Anchorage. What a surprise to discover the freeway just ended at the city limits. We were there! It was only the first of many interesting surprises in the days ahead as we learned about our new home state. Alaska is like one big town. You run into people you know from all over the state whenever you are traveling. You can shop at Safeway and bank at Alaska USA just like you do in Kodiak. You are a long way from home but everything seems familiar somehow. We will pick up some Kaladi Brothers coffee, sample the bread at Great Harvest, stay at the cabins overlooking Denali, watch some Alaskan baseball at Growden Field in Fairbanks and walk the Homer spit before we board the Kennicott for home. Oh yes, and there might be a stop at a bookstore or two or ..... and, of course, oatmeal at Snow City.

Summer Reading

Summer is the time for reading on the beach. Well, anyway, in other parts of the country it is. Here, in Kodiak, we don't see too many people reading on the beach. Tidepooling, hiking, volleyball, fishing - yes to all these Kodiak beach activities but lounging in the sun with a good book, not so much! Still, summer is a good time to catch up on some reading. This summer with our ample sunshine, so far, has been a good time to sit on the deck and read. And since Kodiakans can read in the outside light til almost midnight! One can catch up on a good deal of reading.

So what to read. There are many lists to choose from. The New York Times and most major newspapers offer summer suggestions. Books and Culture, an arm of Christianity Today, has had some good suggestions. Some people (full disclosure: two) have asked me for some ideas, as well. I have chosen to catch up on some fiction over the summer. So far, I have read The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall which is a wonderful story that reminded me of another of my favorites, A Prayer for Owen Meany. It is a story of tragedy and forgiveness. A must read, I think.

I have read two books by Elizabeth Berg who I had not read before. Her focus is mother and daughter relationships, at least in these books. I enjoyed them and I think a mother and daughter would benefit from reading them together ( Home Safe and We Are Welcome Here). Marcia is reading them now but, alas, she has no daughter to read them with. Maybe a daughter in law.... I am thinking of just the one.

The Known World by E.P. Jones was a Pulitzer Prize winner a few years back. It is a story about life in one small corner of Virginia pre-civil war. But it is about life everywhere, anytime, too. Highly recommended.

Of course, I have to be reading some theology, too. I hope to get through Dallas Willard's new book, Knowing Christ Today and finish N.T Wright's Justification while I am away next week. N.T. Wright makes whatever subject he is writing about clearer to me. In Justification, he has opened up some passages in Romans and Galatians that have puzzled me for a long time. Dallas Willard is Dallas Willard and everything I have read by him has been worth my time.

Here are some other recommendations from previous summer reading lists: The Long Walk by Slovomir Ravicz, Original Sin by Alan Jacobs which is kind of a theological history of this doctrine, People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, Fieldwork by M. Berlinski ( a clash of missionary and anthropology cultures in southeast Asia), Bury the Chains by Adam Hochschild which is a history of the British antislavery movement with special focus on the evangelical impetus to it, and The Way is Made By Walking by Arthur Paul Boers which is about pilgrimages especially the one Boers made and the insights into practical Christian living derived from it.

That's probably a good start. Happy summer reading whether on the beach or the deck or inside during the rain, fog and drizzle. Let me know your recommendations!

Life in the Parsonage

We are having quite a bit of work done on our home this summer. There was quite a bit that needed to be done. It's just that there was no time, money or manpower (it is mostly men that work on houses here) to get it done. This summer the decision was made to get some things done at the parsonage. Which is what our home is. A parsonage is a curious phenomenon. They used to be quite popular but most churches have sold their parsonages and give their pastors a housing allowance so they can buy their own homes. And keep them up themselves. A parsonage is a big burden for a church. Not only do the church people have to keep up their church facilities, they have to keep up another house, too. That they don't live in. Most people find it challenging enough just to keep up with their own home maintenance. So since they don't live in the parsonage themselves and they have plenty to do already, it is easy for them to forget about the parsonage.

There are not many jobs that come with a home. Barack and Michelle get one and the Palins do, too, although they have caused hard feelings by not living there much since they would rather stay in their own home in Wasilla. I can understand fully. I don't know if Michelle has to work through a committee if she wants to replace the hall carpet or add a front storm door. But pastors usually do. One of the most frustrating things about living in a parsonage is that it is your home, but it isn't. Some committee takes care of it. That means if something gets done, it may not be the way you would like it. It is the way the committee likes it. And you many want something done but the committee doesn't see it that way. After all they are paying the bills, so it makes sense that they get to choose how much to pay for a remodel or whether to give the pastor the hot tub he asked for.

That's another thing about parsonages. I have heard people complain about their pastor's expensive tastes when it comes to redecorating parsonages. "Well the new pastor's wife had to go out and get all new flooring when the old stuff was perfectly fine for the previous pastor's wife!", someone I know said about her pastor. What kind of a home should a pastor live in? He needs a toilet and a shower but what about a hot tub? I go back and forth. Sometimes I feel sorry for myself because I don't have the home I want but then I feel like you ungrateful wretch, at least, you have a roof over your head.

Some church folk feel like the pastor with a parsonage has a pretty sweet deal. All expense paid living. He or she never has to worry about rising fuel bills or failing appliances. On the other hand, he/she is forfeiting the benefits of home ownership. As this pastor gets older I am realizing that we have no house to retire to! No equity built up either. It's a thought that brings some mild anxiety. Had we lived in the same house since we were married, we would own it by now. And it would be ours, the way we want it.

I am glad for the house we get to live in. I thank God every day for the blessing of that house. Too many people in the world live in substandard shelter. And I appreciate the maintenance that is being done on it this summer. I don't own it and had no reason to expect that the work would get done. There are lots of places to spend that money. But I also look forward to the day when we will buy our own home, humble as it may be, and then my wife can tell me whether I can have a hot tub or not.