Highlights?
Easy drive up the 5 to Dunsmuir. Luscious, yummy dinner at the Cafe Maddelena.
Think cool nights, heat from the kitchen, and the most relaxed wait staff. Think fresh butter lettuce, delicious wine, and two slices of beef that fulfill the hope of a carnivore who has a focus more on taste than on on quantity. A sauce that has been reduced to the sort of practical perfection that causes almost inaudible sighs.
Next morning breakfast at the Hi-Lo Cafe in Weed, CA. Family owned - third generations
Yes, they have all sort of innuendo chotchkies for sale in the cafe.
I suspect she's not a native of CA. She is Southern sassy enough to make breakfast fun. James tries to move his plate to help her serve him coffee. There is an awkward moment when she thinks she know where his cup is but he has moved it to help her.
She tells him, "Don't help the waitress". She is no nonsense. Breakfast is better for it. And I am tickled to hear her with the customers.
Breakfast? Well, the eggs are okay, but the bacon. Oh, my. The bacon. I shouldn't enjoy it so. But how can I not enjoy it? This is real food that is served to locals and to truckers. My mouth smiles form the memory of the taste.
Love traveling with James. Best road companion. Talking about deep things, talking about things that really don't matter except for the sharing. I even love when he naps.
We enter the State of Jefferson. Somewhere in the north of CA and in the south of OR. Too wet to be a raisin in the sun, but a dream deferred for some. I hope those loving the idea aren't holding their breath waiting for statehood. Might not happen, but I'm zooming past just in case it does. Definitely not a liberal part of the state.
We continue north and I get to enjoy Black Butte. Good lord, I love the remnants of the volcano. I suspect the appreciation I feel for the plug helps my geophysicist honey put up with all my humanities stuff. One day I just might take a walk up towards the top of it. Not today.
Continuing on to Portland, daughter and family, and general good times. Dinner, hugs and kisses, talking and sharing; not trying to make up for lost time, but definitely a chance to draw closer; to ask the smaller questions that bring family closer together. What books are you reading? When do we feed the cat? Where do you keep the doggy treats? Who all is coming to the birthday party tomorrow? Dancing watching a grand daughter dance El Jarabe Tapatio with some assistance from the dog makes it so wonderfully intimate.
Good night Chucho the dog and Tasty the (sometimes present) Cat.
Tomorrow's going to be a big day - birthday party-wise.
Most images are from topic website or were shared on web with anonymous or no credit.
Not sure who took Chucho's pic.
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