Location, Location, Location

It’s Monday. Bring on the coffee. Here’s a coffee suggestion from @visithocomd on Instagram.

First off, I kind of like “How do you HOCO?” It’s catchy. And the thought of meeting up with a friend at Lake Kittamaqundi for coffee and conversation, especially on one of these gorgeous fall days, is very appealing.

And yet. Something was bugging me. Can you guess? Here, in the center of the map, is Lake Kittamaqundi.

Map from HoCoGov

And here, from Google maps, are the distances to Roggenart and Little Market Café.

Maybe it’s because I’m far too literal, or maybe it’s because I have been reading too many detective mysteries, but my first thought was: why would you get coffee there if you were going to Lake Kittamaqundi? It’s counterintuitive.

Years ago I saw the film “Diner” with someone who had been born and raised in Baltimore. What I remember is that the filmmaker’s use of Baltimore locations really bugged him. The film is driven by the friendships of a group of young men. My friend said that, if you went by the local exteriors they used, those young men never would have known one another. The houses and neighborhoods were incompatible in a way that only someone from Baltimore would know.

The Instagram post from @visitHoCoMD is appealing. It promotes local businesses and places to enjoy. There is not a thing wrong with it. I want to be clear on that. It’s not them, it’s me.

But my brain couldn’t let it go. Why those coffee shops? I brought it up with my husband at dinner.

“Why would you get coffee there if you were meeting up at the Lakefront? It would be closer to get coffee at Whole Foods or maybe even the Wilde Lake Starbucks!”

“But those places aren’t unique to Howard County,” he said.

Pause.

He’s right, of course. Roggenart and Little Market Café are local businesses and can give you an experience you can’t have from a mass market chain like Whole Foods or Starbucks. And that’s what VisitHoCoMD is all about.

So, in the spirit of VisitHoCoMD, here are two more suggestions for coffee near Lake Kittamaqundi:

Café Columbia on Sterrett Place has coffee and all kinds of crepes.

The Third, right at the Lakefront, will have coffee and baked goods from Apple Core Bakes and Chef Jamila Wright. (I don’t know their regular hours of operation yet.)

My weather app says that we’re going to have a long stretch of sunny days starting on Wednesday. Call a friend. Make a plan. For more ideas on local fun, you can check out Visit Howard County at their website, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

How do you HOCO?

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