California: Black Bear Diner

Tuesday, 30th July, 2013.

Twelve of us, plus our luggage, plus a vast amount of wedding equipment, which included Laura’s very large dress, set off in three cars from San Francisco to the wedding venue near Lake Tahoe, a drive of about four hours.

A great deal of credit is due to the car packers, who with organisation and determination managed to insert an enormous amount of paraphernalia into the cars, including all the people.

 

For a touch of serious Americana, we stopped at the Black Bear Diner for lunch.  While waiting for everyone to arrive, those of us already there took pictures of each other outside the diner, surrounded by bears, stars and stripes, listening to American music from the sixties.  I think I heard “Sloop John B” at least six times.  Not that I minded.

Once we left San Francisco, the weather, which had been foggy and cold, suddenly became sunny and hot.

 

 

 

 

Surrounded by more bears, the twelve of us were soon comfortably installed.

 

For a typically Americana experience, Laura suggested we try Chicken Fried Steak, i.e. steak fried in breadcrumbs, like chicken schnitzel, and drenched in a kind of white gravy.  Three of us ordered the “small” size, as opposed to the regular, which also came with a cup of hearty soup, and a corn muffin.  By the time we had finished the soup and muffin, there wasn’t much room left for this “small” dinner.

We also weren’t very popular with the rest of our party, who had to wait for their dinner while we ate our soup and muffins.

 

Anna and Zoe shared a chocolate milkshake.

Well, that was Zoe’s plan.

 

Zoe was persuaded to settle for her own dinner.

 

With a black bear-paw serviette under her chin, that wasn’t too bad.

Well fortified, we all then set off for Lake Tahoe.