Close Enough Counts in More Than Just Horseshoes

August 2022

It turns out that some sentimental items can be replaced - in a way. I got a Sea Lion Caves mug in a swag bag on one of my very first press trips over a decade ago. And though it would be the first of many collected over the years, it quickly became my go-to coffee receptacle and in short order, the only mug I used until it was claimed by the fire.

I’m sure any hot beverage drinker can relate. It had the perfect weight and balance. The handle was the proper shape and contour for my preferred, thumb - two fingers - two fingers holding style. It was broad-based, dark blue, and beautiful.

A few months ago I was driving down the coast to research a story and figured I would stop into the gift shop at the Sea Lion Caves to see if they still carried it. I inquired up front, describing the mug as best I could. The lady working the register told me she didn’t think so but pointed me in the direction of the mugs so I could see what they had. And lo and behold, sitting on the bottom shelf and tucked in with some newer though clearly inferior mug models, was this beauty. My mug.

I know it's not the exact same mug. But yeah, it is.