I arrived in Boulder in November 2018 with a $50 Town Pump card in my wallet. Google had given me the impression that the gas station was the closest thing Boulder had to a coffee shop, a state of affairs I lamented to my former boss; she bought me the card as a going away gift. Happily I soon discovered The Sweet Spot (and eventually spent the gift card on gas and string cheese).
I remember well my first visit to Kayla Holman’s coffee and bake shop. She was waiting on customers ahead of me, and their banter made it clear that they knew each other well. I felt conspicuous standing there, as Boulder’s likely newest resident yet still a stranger in town. Moments later I left feeling welcomed and, holding what would become my usual Americano, walked across the street to become editor of The Boulder Monitor.
That day was almost 18 months and hundreds of cups of coffee ago. I have left only a few more of the latter before I start driving homeward to Maine. Circumstances made the decision to leave easy, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to leave, for if there is one thing that will stick with me about Jefferson County it’s that I felt welcomed from day one.
