On this sunny but BLUSTERY and frigid ride to Capitola it often felt like we were riding into rough 15 mph winds.  We took  a circuitous route via Hollywood in order to reach Capitola which – as the bird flies – is no more than 1.5 miles from our home base at Wilshire Park.  Capitola has inhabitated the cozy Extracto/Prescott site for some 9 months and undertook a minor remodel of the space, adjusting the ordering counter, plus adding a wall-length bench and large group table in addition to painting since taking possession of the site.

We’ve long enjoyed the intimate feeling of this site when it was Extracto but also realized that its small size limits how long  patrons can feel comfortable hanging out there when it gets crowded.  Nevertheless, we covered a lot of ground in today’s discussion and felt pretty comfortable, except for sitting on the hard wooden bench past 30 minutes.

Our discussion started with DM’s enthusiasm for Wash. Governor Jay Inslee’s campaign  for president focusing on the dire need to address climate change, and our wondering why he didn’t more quickly squelch the proposals for increased oil trains in Vancouver, Longview and elsewhere.  That led to DM telling us how in college he worked as a switchman in a rail yard, almost losing his leg when he was wedged between two cars that were about to bump into each other.  And that led to M telling us another hair-raising adventure from his youth: when jumping a freight train just after college he threw his backpack onto the train only to slip, fall in a hole, and salvage himself just before missing the train entirely.  His dilemma was now that he was 15-20 cars behind his backpack’s car, and needing to delicately navigate his way forward; this took him 2 stressful hours.   We closed by reporting on recent ultra satisfying cultural experiences of the past week: The Irish music band Lunasa playing at Alberta Rose; the groups of Veronica Swift, Steve Turre and Chris Potter at PDX Jazz; and the theatrical world premier of The Delays at the Shoebox Theater.

1465 NE Prescott                                                  capitolacoffee.com