Eureka!

October 9, 2011

Eureka, California

Eureka!  We found it!  The Elks Lodge in Eureka, California, that is...

Yesterday was another easy driving day, about 115 miles south on US-101.  We stopped for fuel at one of the local Pacific Pride card-lock outlets and were soon parked at the Elks Lodge in Eureka, California.  Since we'd stopped here overnight with our friends Wayne and Eva last fall, we knew enough to stay on US-101 through town and not have our GPS route us through a series of residential streets.  When I checked in, the bartender told me about the Friday night steak dinner, so I signed up for the 6:30 PM event.

We could see things starting to perk up around 5:30, so we headed over early and found a nice spot at the "Friendly Corner" of the bar after buying our "cook your own steak" tickets.  Geri asked the bartender how the process worked since it was our first time here.  The response: "You brought your own steaks, right"? got Geri good; the look on her face was priceless! 

At 6:30, the Dining Room opened and everyone picked out their rib-eyes and headed out to the barbeque pit for seasoning and grilling.  Geri found us a table and got salads.  Once the steaks were deemed "done", we got our sides and were soon joined by an interesting local couple since seating is "family style".  We had a nice conversation, then Geri and I retired to the bar for a final glass of wine to cap off a nice evening.

Yesterday, we relaxed, made a Costco run (haven't seen one of those for a while!), watched a little baseball until the rain delay, and I did some Blog updates.  Today, we're going to explore Eureka and the area a bit as soon as I finish this entry.  Tomorrow, we continue our journey south...