As the world is still on pause, one of the ways I’ve found to connect, mix things up and support businesses I love, is through traveling at home. Travel for me is a life force – even if it’s just a drive to a neighboring state. It always makes me feel more whole in some way, and refreshed. One way you can still travel is through food and drink.

One example is your morning coffee. I love drinking coffee in the morning, but have also come to look at it as my morning/daily special ritual. My morning coffee is a time for me, and only me. I’m usually the only one up in the morning in my house, and it’s my time to enjoy a great-tasting hot beverage while reading, thinking, or sometimes writing or checking email. It’s my time to quietly enter the day.

One way I’ve been able to expand this experience even more is by making coffee that’s special to me in some way. And many times, that means a coffee blend from a city I love. One example of this is the coffee from McMenamins in Portland. I’ve made my love for Portland no secret over the years, and drinking coffee from McMenamins has become a way for me to be there without being there.

And when I can’t get to Central California because of a wildfire or health pandemic, I order coffee, preserves, wine or other treats from the area. For me it’s a way to connect with the places I love, enjoy tastes I love and support places I hope to visit again in the future. I’ve done this in the past, ordering sweets, mixes and goods from places around the country I miss. It’s a relatively inexpensive way to connect with places you love, compared to the cost of a plane ticket.

Anyway, I thought I’d share this, as I recently ordered a fun batch of coffees that I’m anxiously awaiting. And waiting is half the fun – you get that little rush from travel anticipation or tasting one of your favorite treats as a nice holdover until you can do the real thing again.