I’ve mentioned my fondness for Spindrift sparkling water in passing, but haven’t given it the blog real estate it deserves. Because when a shelf in the basement looks like this, you have to admit to yourself you have a full-blown addiction.
Eight rows, six deep, some of them double-stacked: there are 83 cans on this shelf. Plus two unopened eight-packs on the shelf above and several cans in the fridge. If this stuff had alcohol in it, you’d be staging an intervention.
(They do make Spindrift Spiked, actually.)
As far as obsessions go, Spindrift is a pretty healthy one. Fresh-squeezed fruit. No added sugar. Lightly carbonated. Most cans average 3-7 calories. There’s a wide range of flavors for endless variety. And best of all, Spindrift is delicious with only a few rare exceptions (cucumber, I’m lookin’ at you). My current faves are peach strawberry, Nojito, spiced apple cider, and strawberry lemonade.
I’ll never forget the first time I tried Spindrift. Tara and I were exploring White River Falls State Park in central Oregon one cool summer afternoon in June, 2017. It’s a part of the state we rarely visited; I’m surprised I didn’t blog about our day or share this awesome photo.
Maybe there’s just so many beautiful waterfalls in the Pacific Northwest I became desensitized to ’em.
Actually, I’m going to do something out of character and share a bunch of photos from that day. Better seven years later than never, amirite?!
While the namesake waterfall is pretty spectacular, the big draw for us was an abandoned power station. We probably spent an hour just exploring the place, which had lots of rusting equipment, not to mention some colorful graffiti.
(Don’t ask me about Cumlux. I don’t know, and quite frankly, probably don’t want to know.)
After hiking to the waterfall and back, we began the long drive home. Our timing was perfect, as storm clouds started to gather. On the dry side of the state east of the Cascades, rain doesn’t always reach the ground.
At one point, we stopped into a convenience store to grab a snack and something to drink. This was years after I’d given up soda, so I was in the mood for something light and refreshing. This little hole-in-the-wall gas station in the middle of nowhere was selling a sparkling water I’d never heard of before, so I decided to give it a try. I walked out of there with not one, but two, cans of Spindrift. Blackberry and lemon, I believe.
“You don’t even like sparkling water,” Tara said, eyeing me dubiously as I cracked open the blackberry. “Why did you buy two?”
“In case this turns out to be the best sparkling water I’ve ever had, and I can never find it again,” I replied. “At least then I can look forward to having another.”
Thankfully, I was only half right. My love affair with Spindrift began with that first sip and continues unabated to this day. I drink one can pretty much every single day. I’ve tried other brands over the years – La Croix, Polar, etc. – and none of them come close. The fresh fruit really does add great flavor. Spindrift is hands down the best. This is not a paid product endorsement, I swear!
(The S. Pellegrino I like is unflavored mineral water, which I consider a different category.)
Welp, after barely a drop of rain all month, the first day of autumn erased our precipitation deficit in one fell swoop.
We ended up with over 3″ of rain since midnight, starting out with some early morning thunderstorms and gradually transitioning to a gentle, steady rainfall that lasted until mid-afternoon.
What a welcome and unexpected gift! Our yard was turning brown and crisp, and in fact, I haven’t busted out the John Deere all month. I’m guessing that’ll change next weekend.
Thankfully, this put an end to our hot spell, too. It was 91° yesterday, guys. All last week was in the upper 80s, too. That’s brutal for late September. But check out our current temperature:
Almost 28° colder than it was 24 hours ago. Nice to give our A/C a break. It actually feels like fall for a change. Perfect timing, Mama Nature!
All that plus we’re grilling ribeye steaks for dinner (don’t worry, it finally stopped raining) AND the previously 0-2 Broncos beat the previously 2-0 Buccaneers today. On the road in Tampa Bay.
Could this day be any better?!
Mark My Words 
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