We spent Wednesday afternoon at the Eastside Book Cafe. A barista at the local Starbucks directed us there when I asked if she knew of a place that had free wi-fi.
And it's a cozy little cafe. There were nice seats with small tables. And, of course, books everywhere! On wall shelves, on credenzas, and even in the bathroom. Although I'd think twice before buying a book from the bathroom.
I had chai with soy and Ian had hot cocoa. Then we settled down -- me downloading information about geocaches in the area, and Ian watching (and giggling at) YouTube videos. We got hungry a few hours later, and we each had a big mug of tortilla soup and a tall glass of mango smoothie.
We spent the next two days (Thursday and Friday) geocaching at the north shore. We found six total. There were a couple that we had to give up on because we couldn't figure it out. And we should have been more stealthy; one woman thought we were vandalizing a sign because we were looking behind the notices. Most people who saw us were very friendly though.
Ian got tired so we decided to head back to the hotel to play a few games of pool after a short nap. We found a menu for Kujo's at the hotel lobby while playing pool. They served standard American fare, like burgers and hotdogs. But Kujo's is the only other place we found that had free wi-fi, so off we went. Well, I was expecting a traditional burger joint. Maybe a sports bar and restaurant. Well, it was a really small place. More like a mom-and-pop diner. And the menu we were handed had an extra section for their specialty -- quiche!
Ian ordered chili and a meatball sandwich, which turned out to be HUGE! I ordered a quiche with salad. Well, let me tell you about my meal. It's not as big as Ian's dinner. But the quality was comparable to a four- or five-star restaurant. The salad greens were incredibly fresh. And not your traditional lettuce salad, no, sir. It had a variety of greens in it. And on top were fresh sliced strawberries, peeled sections of mandarin oranges, and halved red grapes which were incredibly sweet. I don't know what the dressing was, but it was very good as well.
Next to the salad was the quiche. I ordered the one with spinach and pine nuts; they were out of the spinach and bacon kind. And I got a whole quiche. Well, not the regular pie size, but a small version that's probably 3 to 4 inches across. But the surprise came when I bit into it. The crust was your regular flaky crust, but the filling was ... oh, my God! ... to die for! It was so fluffy and light and moist. It practically melts in your mouth.
The chef and owner (I would guess his name is Kujo) came around and asked how we enjoyed our meal. I complimented him about the quiche and I asked him what his secret was. He said it *is* a secret. I guess that was a stupid question. But now I can't wait to get home and try to recreate that recipe.
On Saturday, we left the hotel at 3pm. I took a different route. My GPS took me through San Bernardino on the way to the hotel, so, on the way back, we took smaller highways that passed Baldwin Lake (which is really a dry lake bed). This was actually a better route because it didn't have as many switchbacks and hairpin turns. And it was a more scenic route. We got to I-5 at Bakersfield as the sun was setting.
Normally, I'd be very worried about driving long distances at night, but I'm beginning to develop a taste for night driving. Besides, I-5 is mostly a straight line. It would have been incredibly boring during the day.
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