The Road to Baja Page 2

Saturday (I'm say that more for myself than anything.)  A rather uneventful day so far.  

Our hotel offered a complimentary breakfast, as many do.  One took a look at the packaged biscuits and gravy, the luke warm yogurt and rock-hard boiled eggs and we decided to set out in search of real food.  

One of our conversations the previous night was with a lady at the local bead shop.  Somehow our conversation strayed to food and even touched on breakfast. This lady insisted that you could only experience the meaning of life by breaking the night's fasting at the Crescent Cafe in downtown McMinnville.  She also warned us that if we weren't there by 6:00AM, we would find patrons lined up out the door and around the block, thus probably missing the morning meal and having to settle for lunch.  We didn't expect to be able to sample the Crescent's faire because it was already after 8:30!

In our search for an alternative breakfast cafe, we almost went past by the Crescent because no hungry mob engulfed the sidewalk near the front door.  Apparently we were very fortunate to have hit a lull during the "off season".  

Seating for us happened to be immediate.  Small groups did gather by the door as we were dining, waiting for their turn. 

The food was very good, rather rich, all freshly made and mostly organic.  Yum!

Fully satisfied, we pressed on.  We made our way to the coast and eventually holed up in Coos Bay, Oregon.  

The drive down was more of the torrential wet and blustery weather that we have so far experienced.  Along with the slow coastal road, it made for a long and tiring day. 

A couple of beers at 7 Devils Brewing took the edge off and gave us some time to research a place for dinner. 

We hadn't eaten since breakfast, other than a hand full of peanuts.  We were getting a little hungry.  The food that kept passing by us at the brewery was making us think that we should perhaps stay seated and just eat. 

I had stopped in Coos Bay on a trip a dozen or so years back.  At that time, I ate at a fantastic little seafood restaurant, The High Tide Cafe just outside of the city in Charleston, OR.  We thought about giving that a try but also found a number of other possibilities that were as enticing.  We settled on The Coach House.  

Steak, Prawns, Ribs and Grilled Oysters later, we knew we had made a good choice.  Over stuffed, we headed back toward our hotel and took a walk around town since the rain had let up.  A night-cap later and we're good for the night. 

Tomorrow, we'll head to California.