Whenever my wife and I travel the northern end of the Florida Turnpike, we have enjoyed stopping at the Okahumpka service plaza and grabbing a Starbucks. My choice is a decaf mocha and Jean usually grabs some kind of an herbal tea. This has been a tradition for the last decade or so as we connect to I-75 from our home in Palm Bay, FL.
Only this last trip as we headed off to the Florida Panhandle for a week long vacation at Santa Rosa Beach broke the tradition we have held for the past 10 years or so. Beyond our control, as we excitedly walked into the Okahumpka Plaza setting our taste buds for our expected liquid treats, we were aghast (okay maybe it wasn’t that bad) when the small rented space that used to be occupied by Starbucks was now leased out to Nature’s Table. What! When? How could they?
Surveying the situation after a brief feeling of despair, coming to the realization that my decade long Starbucks routine was now over, I spotted a Dunkin Donuts and remembered their coffee had once been the highlight of a long past weekly sour cream doughnut and java routine. Okay I thought, it’s not a Starbucks but I’ll give it a try. After all, America runs on Dunkin Dounts, right?
So the barista whips up my decaf mocha Dunkin Donuts style and to my surprise I could hardly tell the difference. Yes, the tradition may be broken, but it’s all good because it’s still vacation and at least Okahumpka is really fun to say. Pronounced “oak-a-hump-ka”, go ahead try it. It’s almost as fun to say as is Nicaragua.
Tags: highway 30a
i can’t believe you were disappointed because they changed to a nature’s table!! What did Jean eat/drink? I also like to say “Moriarty”!
Hey Wendy,
I rarely drink coffee any longer, but when you’re expecting a Starbucks, even a Nature’s Table won’t do. Jean just had water.