After driving down the coast from our teaser visit to San Francisco, we arose in San Jose with fierce appetites. While I'm on record with some harsh words to say about fast food, I will also swallow my pride in the name of regional or cultural specialties. This, our lunch at the In-N-Out Burger, fell into both categories: first, for its lack of availability anywhere besides the west coast, and second, for its subtle cameo in The Big Lebowski, which I personally believe to be the greatest comedy of the 1990s.
The menu at this place is strange. Four items appear on the board - a hamburger, cheeseburger, double cheeseburger and fries. But having been briefed before our arrival, we were not fooled by this ridiculous facade. The menu actually goes much deeper than advertised; as this Wikipedia article explains, a whole litany of items are available if ordered correctly from what appears to be a 'secret menu.'
We each ended up with a double cheeseburger, "animal style," which meant it included lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles and some kind of beige-colored secret sauce. The cheese-and-bacon fries were also smothered with this unusual substance. More notable than the mediocre food was their unusual penchant for biblical references on their paper products. This one reads, "Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God." How this relates to my lunch, I do not know.
Downtown in San Jose, we spent part of the afternoon inside the Tech Museum of Innovation, a fairly large science museum with a pretty small crowd on this particular day. There was plenty to keep us occupied, but I guess we didn't really feel like studying science with such beautiful weather outside. It wasn't long before we hit the road for the short drive up to Santa Cruz.
Oh, what a beautiful day it was. Our time gap between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans was a long one, and the mood along the shore on either side of the country is just unspeakably pleasant. As soon as we pulled into town, we walked down to the beach to dip our feet into the water. It wasn't exactly swimming weather, but the temperature was perfect for a leisurely stroll up and down the boardwalk.
Especially as a kid, when the arcade was like heaven on earth, I loved visiting the boardwalk back on the Jersey Shore. This one here in Santa Cruz had the same feel as the boardwalk back in Point Pleasant, where my dad and my grandparents used to take me during the summers. At this point in my life, the video games took a backseat to the food stands and the generous alcohol policy that merely required us to keep our drinking to within the confines of the property. Nooooo problem.
The evening approached and we sauntered away from the boardwalk and down the wharf, accosted by a street musician or two along the way. The road was lined with seafood restaurants, almost all of which boasted nearly identical menus, with minor changes in price and drink selection. As we neared the end of the wharf, a chorus of distinct honking noises were coming from underneath the walk, belonging to a large group of sea lions who'd made their home in the wooden supports beneath our feet.
Dinner was a real treat. We ate at the Dolphin Restaurant at the end of the pier, where the menu wasn't cheap, but it was worth the money. Their clam chowder was almost as good as the bowl we shared back in Provincetown, and each of our seafood entrees were sensational in their own right. Believe me, fresh halibut tastes even better alongside a saucer of drawn butter.
A beautiful ocean scene accompanied us on the walk to the car. The next day marked the first day of the Outside Lands Festival back in San Francisco, and we'd secured a room on the southern side of town for the night before we began enjoying the festivities.
The next morning, however, would bring us to a very unexpected turn of events. More on that from Sarah coming soon.
-Tom
The next morning, however, would bring us to a very unexpected turn of events. More on that from Sarah coming soon.
-Tom
