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| - Located in the corner of a strip mall behind a Walgreen's and in front of a car wash, El Oasis has some of the most friendly and happy-looking employees around. The store is pretty clean with lots of seating in front of a colorful, slightly weird and poorly drawn mural of palm trees on a sandy beach. The chairs are also brightly colored, and there's a little area with smaller chairs for kids.
There's a drive thru window on the side of the building - maybe a remnant from a previous shop? A bulletin board with Spanish ads and community information hangs on the wall behind the counter, just far enough that you can't really get to it from the customer side. It makes you wonder who it's for, since no customer can stand in front of it to read what it says.
While you're peeking over the counter, squinting at the words on the bulletin board and wondering why anybody would bother putting up flyers there, you feel a chill from the glass panel your hands are on. You catch a whiff of something spicy from the cup your friend is holding. You hear the nice lady behind the counter ask what flavor you want. Your heart skips a little as you rattle them off, not realizing what you've just said. No matter. It's the usual, the same thing you get every time you come here.
And when she hands you your pine nut, cheese, and mamey triple scoop of milk-based ice cream and your guanabana and spicy mango chamoyada, you realize that in this brief moment, in this small Mexican ice cream shop between the Walgreen's and the car wash, your life is complete. There's nothing better than this.
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