A Trip To Mecca

For most kids the first word that they say is something like mama or dada or bottle. You won’t believe this but my first word was Coke. I guess I was a focused kid who knew what I wanted and it was a Coke. I always remember coke being in the fridge when I was a kid and man it was gooooood. It was like the nectar of the Gods. Oh to be a kid and drink full calorie Coke and not gain weight. Those were the days.

Well, these days I still enjoy an occasional coke but it's diet now. Converting from regular coke to diet coke wasn’t a pretty process. It took quite some time to get use to drinking diet but I’ve finally acquired the taste for it.

A couple of months ago we discovered the Holy Grail of coke machines in our fair city of Marysville. At the local coke distributor they have soda machines outside of the plant which has 12 oz cans of Coke products for………..

drum roll please………..

One thin quarter!!!

Making a trip to this soda machine is like making a trip to Coke Mecca. The word has definitely got out about Coke Mecca because I’ve never been there when someone else hasn’t pulled up to get a soda. There’s a constant stream of people buying sodas. In fact if you get there after 6 at night both machines are usually sold out.

When we take a trip to Mecca it’s really a roller coaster of emotions. As you drive up to the machines the first thing you do is look at the red letters under the coin drop. If it says Sold Out you attempt to hold back the tears as you make the long drive home in a dejected state. If it says Ice Cold Drinks there are sodas left and you’re in business. The next step is to grab your quarter and try not to do an obnoxious happy dance in the parking lot on your way to the machine.

You can’t go wrong with a Diet Coke or a Coke Zero but my personal favorite is Diet Coke with Lime. Diet Coke with Lime is the best but they don’t actually have a button for this flavor. What they do have is a mystery flavor button. This button is for the left over sodas that probably fell off trucks at the plant. If you’re really lucky and press the mystery button a bright shinny Diet Coke with Lime will pop out of the machine. It’s a lot like hitting the Coke lottery.




So if you’re ever in Marysville just ask anyone for directions to Mecca and they’ll know exactly what you’re talking about. Remember to bring plenty of Quarters with you.