Cold Morning Sojourn To Red Cup Cafe Mukilteo

Working from home is pretty dang awesome if you ask me. However, every once in a while you need to get the heck out of the house before the cabin fever sets in. Little things start to get annoying:

• While trying to answer a dozen e-mails or so, you notice the dishes are piling up. The clean freak in you is pulling their eyelashes out.
• The dogs are staring like you haven’t taken them for a walk in two years.
• The DVR is getting full and you still haven’t even watched all of Breaking Bad.
• A package is going to be delivered and you feel it necessary to check the porch every five minutes.

That’s why every once in a while you have to leave the homestead and brave the wilds of a local coffee shop and/or breakfast establishment (Maybe even a brewery or two). Thank the lord we’re so lucky here in Washington to have places like the Red Cup Cafe.

What’s the deal with noise levels?

One big problem people generally worry about when working in a coffee shop or a restaurant is the loud factor. How the heck can you get work done if there’s a dozen people in conversation around you? Interestingly enough, at least for me, that kind of conversation quickly turns into white noise. It’s a comfortable level of chatter that gently stays right below the surface. Only occasionally does someone’s bombastic speech override your happy place.

There’s always headphones too. It’s pretty acceptable these days in most workplaces as well as coffee shops, to plug your ears in and tune out the world. Just make sure not to be a jerk to your barista, or a jerk to people around you, or just a jerk in general. No one likes jerks.

And there’s coffee too!

With a name like Red Cup Cafe, you better make sure you have red cups. They definitely got that right. Here’s the part of this blog where I should go on a rant about the delicate treatment of the bean, the subtle way the foam transforms the bitterness of the espresso, blah blah blah.

Sad thing is I’m not a coffee guy. I usually panic when confronted with the person taking my order and all that manages to stumble out is “Tall Americano…” As far as tall americanos go, this one was just fine. Red Cup also has a pretty robust breakfast and lunch menu mostly involving soups and sandwiches.

If you’re in the area, you better stop by! What’s better than sipping on a warm drink, watching the ferries go in and out, and people trying to avoid slipping on icy sidewalks!

Token Mukilteo ferry camera op…

Sorry. My guess is there’s close to a billion of this same photo spread throughout the social media landscape. Oh well, if you’re there you might as well.

At least only a handful of people saw me taking this shot and thought I was a tourist.

All in all I was able to get work done, enjoy a good cup of coffee, and watch a Washington icon do it’s job. Pretty nifty for a Monday morning. Don’t be afraid to explore your fine local establishments and try your hand at getting some things done.

Hint: Just in case you’re ever in Mukilteo, don’t forget to also try the following: Ivar’s, Arnies, and Diamond Knot.