Starbucks Shutting Down 6 Texas Stores

Living in the land of corner coffee outlets here in Salem, it's hard to imagine that Starbucks is shutting down stores. Six will shut down in Texas - Brownsville, Laredo, Dallas, Rosenburg and Waco and two eventually in Austin.

Now, when I was living in the Texas motherland, I drank coffee like there was no tomorrow, but sometimes it was just too danged hot outside to work up a hankering for a cup of java. Iced tea usually won out to hot coffee.

Now, living up here in the hinterlands, I drink coffee throughout the day. I am on a permanent caffeine buzz. Oregonians love their coffee like Germans love their beer - lot's of it and all the time.

I've never stopped to count the number of coffee outlets here in Salem, but that would be a nice trivia question. Anyone got the answer?

I have returned from the mountains.

My family and I headed for the hills last week. Clear Lake Resort to be exact. Now, let me tell you something. Never ask an Oregonian how much snow to expect when you head up the mountainside.

I asked, and the person on the other end of the phone said, “not much.” Not much? When we arrived at our cabin we were staring 3 to 4 feet of snow in the face. The driveway and roads around the camp were clear, but let me tell you, in Texas, that would have been a heap of snow.

Still, it was beautiful. The people were friendly and except for a raging hailstorm followed by a typhoon, it was relatively peaceful.

If you get a chance, go check out the place. Absolutely beautiful.