We didn’t plan on visiting Public Domain on this cold, dry, windy, invigorating ride. Four of us aimed for the new Barista spot in the Pine St. Market downtown, but found that this counter did not sell any pastries, and the shop in this food arcade that was supposed have baked goods, was under renovation.  Thus, we headed to the sister Barista shop downtown on SW 3rd, but found it didn’t open till 9, so resignedly went to Public Domain.

Resignedly, because our impression of Public Domain from 5 years ago was that while the shop had great window light, and wonderful craftsmanship, seating was primarily via stools at tall but tiny  tables, or at the window, making it difficult to converse and the shop feeling cold.  Well,…. in the interim PD introduced some smaller tables and chairs that have made a world of difference.  The result is a shop with a much more friendly and relaxed vibe, and we four spent a delightfully good hour-plus there as the time flew by.   (ps, usually our coffee drinkers don’t review a shop’s coffee quality, but today all three of them were mightily impressed and pleased.)

Today’s discussion covered a range of topics, surprisingly none of them political:  M spoke highly of the Ken Burns documentary on Jackie Robinson and his wife, and the recent John McCutcheon concert where he was reminded that 30+ years ago – when his son J was just a tyke – McCutcheon invited him to join him on stage for a duet;  D talked about R’s and his rewarding car trip to CA, how this has spurred an interest in owning a camper van, that Ojai and Davis were highlights, and the preponderance of crystal/energy shops at Mt. Shasta; G mentioned that on special occasions he used to make talismen out of gems/rocks for friends undertaking new ventures, and was struck by the self-selective process we all use when deciding where to visit or relocate, to places where residents already share values similar to our own;  H chimed in on the vortexes of Sedona, and how thought-provoking he found the plays “Marjorie Prime” and “Pen/Man/Ship.”

603 SW Broadway                                publicdomain.com