Doughnut Dawn Patrol

This morning Andy was kind enough to get me up at 6:30. I stumbled bleary-eyed into his room to find him standing in his crib with an excited look on his face. As soon as he saw me, he started shouting, "DOE-NA! DOE-NA DADDY!" My memory began to kick-in as I realized that I had promised him and Katie that I would take them to Krispy Kreme this morning (provided they were good and went to bed on the previous night.) Andy's doughnut-siren-warning system must have also alerted Katie, who was on the scene quickly and rallying to go. Clearly outnumbered and unable to stiffle such a powerful insurgence, I quickly gave-in to the doughnut dawn patrol.

It's hard to determine what is the best part of the Krispy Kreme experience -- it might be the the free envalope hats, or the surreal lab-like clean-room white environment, or quite possibly the amazingly hot and gooey doughnuts that melt in your mouth... but for kids, I think the climax of that place has got to be watching the magical automated doughnut making conveyer machine. Katie and Andy love to stand there, noses pressed against the glass, and gaze in wild wonder, as globs of dough are mysteriously transformed into thier favorite tasty breakfast treats. (It doesn't hurt that they give free doughnuts to kids, and the whole thing comes to $1.99 including my doughnuts and coffee.) The only real downside is that inevitable sugar rush that can result in some serious cat-herding on the way out.