I forgot I hadn’t added last weekend’s Coffeeneuring ride until I went to copy the details for this week’s. So you get both rides for the price of one!

Ride #7: Saturday, Nov. 16, evening
Friendship Café (2434 18th St., N.W.)

I decided that while I wanted to get ride #7 in, I also didn’t want to go especially far. I’ve been curious for a while about Friendship Café, which is located on the main drag in Adams Morgan, across the street from the bar where I sometimes go after one of my volleyball league’s games.

I am a sucker for macarons, and have tried most of the ones in D.C. I like the small dainty ones less than I like bigger ones that require more than a solitary bite to disappear.

Friendship Café’s macarons are a little bigger than the small ones, but also not quite as large as the big ones. They have a good amount of buttercream and taste of what they claim to be and come in unusual flavors. I hemmed and hawed for a long while before making my choices.

In the end, I opted for (clockwise, from right) PB&J, Earl Grey, and blueberry yogurt and paired them with a cup of tea. All were delicious, but I probably shouldn’t have eaten all three at once.

Had I known there were pinball machines upstairs at Friendship Café, it would not have taken me this long to visit. I love pinball, although I’m not especially good at it, and like to keep track of where to find machines to play on when I’m in a crummy mood. (It’s cheaper than both bowling and therapy.)

The shop is conveniently located near several bikeshare stations, and I availed myself of two of them. There are also racks on the sidewalk you can lock up to.

With two things I love, I’m sure to return to Friendship Café. I look forward to trying more of their flavors!

Total mileage: 4 miles

Ride #8: Sunday, Nov. 24, afternoon
Java Shack (2507 Franklin Rd., Arlington, VA)

I had to return an overdue book to the Arlington County Public Library, so decided to pair that with a Coffeeneuring Ride for my final qualifying day of the year.

As with most of my rides, this, too, combined a couple modes of transit. I biked down to Foggy Bottom, where I caught the metro over to Virginia Square. I walked over to the library, paid my 30-cent late fine, and then took bikeshare over to Java Shack.

I recollected that Java Shack, a decades-old institution was closing soon, and since I’d never been, I thought I ought to rectify that before it was too late. I hadn’t realized soon was today at the end of business.

Yes, my final Coffeeneuring stop was also my final stop’s final day in existence.

That said, my hot chocolate was very tasty, and I got to sit outside and read for a little bit, despite the autumnal chill to the air. The man I walked outside with remarked that it would be hard to imagine the neighborhood without the coffee shop, and I overheard the baristas saying that lots of neighbors had stopped by over the course of the weekend to wish them well.

Neither the fading light nor the growing chill (nor the fact that they were due to lock the doors) encouraged lingering over-long, so I hopped back on bikeshare for the last few blocks to the Courthouse metro station, where I caught a train home.

Total mileage: 2.85 miles

2019 Coffeeneuring Totals

Previous rides: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6
Total mileage: 29.97 miles
Drink breakdown: 1 milkshake; 1 milk tea; 1 chai; 1 hot cider; 2 hot chocolates; and 2 teas
Treat breakdown: 3 croissant; 1 “pop tart”; 1 muffin; 3 macarons (although all in one visit)
Neighborhoods visited: Adams Morgan, Georgetown, downtown, Clarendon, Courthouse, Navy Yard, and Union Market
Theme within a theme: New-to-me, local, indie coffeehouses