Did you know there were so many flavors available in coffee? The folks at Counter Culture do. This is in their cupping/tasting room, as part of their training materials for their customers (i.e., us).
Here’s one of the two roasters at Counter Culture.
Mmmmm….coffee. I did in fact have to be restrained at this point. Thankfully there wasn’t a beer tank nearby, or I would have run in circles till I dropped dead, like the dog in the Devo song (or in the poem in Ancient Rome, whatever).
Making coffee for me in the tasting room. I think this was my fourth cup in the first 20 minutes I was there.
Does Counter Culture have a coffee break room? You bet!
After a couple days in Durham and surroundings, it was off to Knoxville to see the Sunsphere. And as a totally random streak of luck would have it, my alma mater Cal Bears were slated to play the local university in gridiron football, that very weekend.
First thing Saturday morning, we conducted a competitive spot check of the local bars. They passed.
The Vol Navy was in the house…er, on the river.
We of course had to have our picture taken with a large, inflatable Smokey, which is, if I recall correctly, a hound of some kind that serves as the mascot for the university’s teams. While you can’t quite make it out in at this resolution, I believe that the pup’s “sweater” is signed by Philip Fulmer. I can’t remember why we thought having Shellie (on the right) in there would improve this photo, but for some reason it worked out that way. Interestingly, the captain of the boat wouldn’t let us opposing fans set foot on deck, because the one time she had done so, the Volunteers had lost. In the event, her superstition was not contradicted, as the Vols ultimately beat the Bears by a score of 3,000,000 to 18 (approximate).
Neyland Stadium is really nice. We learned that it’s pronounced “Nee-Land”.
Many people don’t know this, but the Unversity of Tennessee has the nation’s leading Gratuitous Punctuation department. I met several Professors of Superfluous Quotes and a PhD candidate in Plural Apostrophes.
We were a veritable OCEAN OF BLUE…
… or maybe not so much.
There was a beatiful sunset on both the stadium and the Bears’ preseason top-10 ranking.
Meanwhile back at the (Cane Creek Farm) ranch, the only goats were actual goats.
The piedmont area outside of Mebane is really beautiful. Here are some of the Cane Creek Farm pigs grazing.
These pasture-raised pigs are curious and friendly. Plus they seem to get on well with the chickens.
We took six pigs to fulfill their life’s purpose. Here a couple of them are hanging out in the trailer as we get ready to go.
It was, of course, a great trip to both NC and TN. And we still have some of both the pork and the coffee I brought back, so come on in and try some.