Mission Impossible

It was my flex day today and the kids & I had planned a special day to the Aquarium.

Usually we go to Tim Hortons on our special day - but because we were going into the city I decided that this warranted a change of pace & a stop at Starbucks.

Under normal circumstances I drive around until I find a drive thru Starbucks. Bringing the children into a place with silly shelves in the middle of the store and hot beverages is a retail nightmare. Weaving in and out of the parking lot is like playing chicken.

So we get onto Kinsgway..... searching for Starbucks with life saving drive thru. No can do. There are Starbucks everywhere, but none with a parking lot (in the event that I decided to tease fate) or drive thru. We get all the way to the Aquarium turn off. I make the radical decision to go over the Lions Gate bridge on the misinformed idea that the folks in West Van are more civilised.

But again no Drive thru. Kids are sleeping now. I have been driving for 1 hour looking for a drive thru Starbucks. I can TASTE the caramel machiato. I am sure the kids are dreaming of banana bread.

I head over to North Van. Surely these folks have herds of soccer mummies looking for a caffeine fix. Again NOTHING. I wonder how the Starbucks remain full. There ought to be a revolt. Drive Thru Starbucks for the city - not just the Burbs!

Finally after 1.5 hours of driving I find a Starbucks with a drive thru (on Hastings no less on my way back to the Aquarium after declaring defeat). By this point I am too hungry to contemplate a coffee. Kids are still asleep. We drive on to the Aquarium. Where I collapse and forget the packed lunch and order a $30 cafe lunch for us.

Damn you Starbucks!