Two steps forward and three steps back . .

We thought we had the red tape behind us with the health department approval and that it would be clear sailing ahead. Our next step was to get our building permit from the county. We naively thought this next step would be an easy putt because Tom had done such a wonderful job keeping them informed. Hah! You see, before even purchasing the building, we went to the county and shared our vision and plans for Tomari's Coffee Shop and asked if there would be any hidden concerns. Of course not! The county official seemed very supportive and even excited about the prospect of a coffee shop in the vicinity and looked up the address for us all the while happily and helpfully discussing. We then received a resounding thumbs up with a "best of luck" to boot! Tom in his infinite wisdom and friendly nature kept dropping by the county to keep them posted on our progress every step of the way. His visits always ended with assurances that things were "looking good". Here we sat, confidently believing if we could just get past that health department approval we were golden and progress was really going to rock.

Silly us!

Striding into the county office last week Tom handed over the plans thinking there would be a quick walk-through and he would be leaving with permit in hand. Hopes dashed when he was told there would be at least a 3 week wait before anyone could even LOOK at our application for a permit AND, it seems, we are now suddenly being told that a) we are "building" on a flood plane (never mind the fact that the building has been there for decades), and b) that there is a limit to the amount of "repair" cost you can expend which is based upon the value of the building according to the department of planning and zoning - which, by the way, we have already handily exceeded.

We spent the weekend drinking heavily.

But, it's now Monday and Tom is off to the county! Wish us luck!