A Date With Coffee, Roses & Ramen

 One day, three stops, and a very full stomach

Hey divas! Let me tell you about the day that was had today, divas! Starting my day with a caramel latte WITH whipped cream on top was the perfect beginning, and the rest followed afterward! I had a dream about that coffee.  Simple days like this make me feel like Drew Barrymore enjoying the rain. 

After the caffeine fuel, Moon and I headed to the rose park, which was only about 10 minutes away—maybe, don't quote me on that. We were worried about rain, but thankfully, it was just cloudy skies and a humid day. We entered the park and were greeted by a lovely vine-filled arch with roses scattered all around it. I wanted to walk the path first, while Moon wanted to see the roses first, so obviously, we did what I wanted first. 

While walking the path, we saw two sneaky squirrels, gorgeous, fully green trees, and people walking their dogs. Further down, we were met with a little baby creek, and obviously, we had to be quiet by the creek so we wouldn't upset Mi Tia lol. I'm showing my age with that line right there. 

Also, fun fact about me: I count every squirrel I see on walks. I don't know why, but once I spot one, I immediately start keeping track. So naturally, these two had to be added to the official squirrel count. 

After quietly passing the creek, we saw people grilling, but that honestly made me pause because it was humid and damp from the rain earlier, and this was the perfect day to grill? Nonetheless, we headed further down the rose park path, where we were met by cyclists ringing their bells and the Arlington Loop section of the walk. 

While walking the Arlington Loop, we met more runners and cyclists, and I couldn't help but wonder, in this humidity, is this really the perfect day to ride or run? Does the grind ever stop? And why do some of these people run funny?  These were the thoughts going through my head as they rode and walked by.

Further down the loop, we saw a bridge, and underneath it was the same creek we had seen earlier. Somehow, it was even more beautiful from this view. I couldn't take in the pretty sight anymore because this humidity was too much for me. Luckily, Moon found a really good shortcut, but I was wearing worn-down Crocs, so my patience was wearing down faster than I could reach the end.  Also the squirrel count at this point was 4 now including one black squirrel! how rare? 

Heading back to the beginning of the trail, of course we had to see the pretty roses and all the other beautiful plants. It was such a lovely sight. The flowers were still wet from the rain that morning, which made for some really pretty pictures! 

We headed back to the AC-filled car and headed off to the ramen spot that Moon raves about so highly. I’m a picky eater but willing to try anything once, so ramen it was! 

We parked and waddled over to the ramen spot, and the place was actually very pretty. It was semi-crowded, but luckily, we landed ourselves a booth. I started glazing over the menu, searching for an exit... I mean, something safe to eat, because this picky eater was struggling to find an option.  But hey, we try everything once! ♡ 

After securing the safe option—aka chicken ramen with extra eggs and Moon got chicken ramen as well, but spicy. We waited for our bowls while making small talk + brain-rot talk. 

Also, I couldn’t decide which sushi I wanted because everything screamed “scary expanded palate taste,” and I’m not ready to deep-dive quite yet. Sushi aside, the ramen came out, and it was really pretty. The taste was something else! Not in a bad way, but not in a good way either. 

The noodles were very good. The broth needed more seasoning, and the chicken was chewy and tough. The eggs were jammy but good, but the greyish-and-yellow yolk kept taking me out of it.  Still, I rose to the occasion like a big girl and ate everything I could. Now that I'm writing this i could be yucking someone else's yum so nonetheless it was good. 

After all that said and done this day was more than i can ask for and I'm so happy i got to experience it.

Final squirrel count was 5 ;)