One of the hardest things for my wife and I when traveling is finding good coffee. On our short road trips to Washington we usually bring our coffee, creamer, sugar and coffee maker with us. That way we know we’ll have access to coffee that we like and we can make it at will. I don’t recall the last time I used a hotel coffee maker and had it taste even remotely good.
The only thing worse than no coffee is foul coffee.
When we made our trip to Tennessee we found ourselves in a dilemma: Where to get a good coffee? Sure the VRBO we stayed in had a coffee maker. There was coffee in the cupboard. But we didn’t trust it.
So we hit the internet to find a local coffee shop close by. We found Bud’s Farmhouse Coffee. (I don’t use Facebook but Bud’s doesn’t have a regular website.) The map showed that it wasn’t too far down the road from us and we probably drove by it on the way in. So the next morning I set out to find Bud’s.
Instead of turning around to head out of our neighborhood the way we came in, I decided to be adventurous and go forward. To my surprise, the way I chose popped me out onto the parkway I needed to be on. As a bonus, there was a grocery store right there. So I took the opportunity to pick up a pack of Charmin. Tender tushies call for soft tushy paper.
Mission accomplished. Off for the coffee!
I turn onto the parkway and head towards Bud’s. It’s going to be on my right-hand side so spotting it and getting to it should be easy. I drive and look and look and drive and no Bud’s. I drive a little further and see a sign that might be a coffee shop so I pull in.
It’s not Bud’s.
But it is The Donut Palace! So I stop in and pick up a few donuts. Since I’ve never had their coffee, I decide to continue the hunt for Bud’s. Side note: The donuts were pretty good!
I know that The Donut Palace is past Bud’s, so I head back the other direction. I still can’t find it. I pull into a shopping center parking lot, pull out my phone and look it up again. I’m close to it! Very close! Close, but no cigar. The maps says I’m almost on top of it. I head back the other way again and turn down a street that’s supposed to be near Bud’s.
No Bud’s.
I go back the way I came and thought that the shop has to be in the shopping center where I stopped before. So I pull back in and slowly drive through the center. And like a beacon, there it was: Bud’s Farmhouse Coffee! It was neatly tucked in next to a larger store. I literally drove right in front of it on my previous excursion through the shopping center.
Bud’s Farmhouse Coffee not only has good coffee and an array of tasty-looking treats, this family owned business is run by very friendly folks. I plan on stopping in again the next time I’m in Oak Ridge.
(Photo by Charlie Firth on Unsplash)
