After having a little taste of SUP at Gull Lake the previous afternoon, the Missus was up and ready to go at sunrise the next morning. After getting organized, I thought that heading to Silver Lake early in the day might work out well. So, we headed out. We had no problem finding parking near the Silver Lake boat ramp and the Missus was off and ready to go in no time at all!
Like the day before, I took a walk, taking in the beauty of Silver Lake. I loved the light and reflections at this time of the morning.
It was breathtakingly beautiful.
And all you have to do is turn around……
Silver Lake is home to the oldest "resort" in the Eastern Sierra's; formerly known as Carson's Camp which was established in 1916, it is now the Silverlake Resort which has cabins, an RV Park, and most importantly (to me) a store and cafe, which opens at 7am.
There were folks waiting in when the place opened at 7. I decided to take a walk along the lake and returned about 20 minutes later.
I walked into the shop and over to the entrance of the cafe. I was going to write my name down on the waiting list, but I was waved on in. There were some seats at the bar, so I lucked out.
I loved the very "old school" look of the place!
The guy expediting behind the counter was super efficient and quite nice. Of course, I had to start with a cup 'o Joe, right?
Be it Folgers, Maxwell House, Kirkland, or whatever, I enjoyed this!
There were lot's of choices on the menu, I started looking over the specials.
Since I sat right across the window, I could see the breakfasts coming out. Some looked pretty hefty and I really wasn't in a position to head back to the motel for a nap. I did want to have a couple of items and I knew what to order when I saw the special.
So, I got the "Fisherman's Breakfast", nicely priced at $9.99.
With not too much of anything, I could try the biscuits and gravy. The gravy wasn't too salty or greasy, the texture was on the lighter side of things, but it wasn't bad. The egg was perfectly easy over, the yolk having no off flavors. The breakfast potatoes nice and crisp on the exterior, the breakfast sausage routine. This was good enough to bring back memories of old school – diner breakfasts I'd had in my younger days.
It wasn't too much and actually was better than I had thought it would be. No wonder the place is so popular! There were about 8 people waiting in line as I left.
Silver Lake Resort Cafe
6957 Hwy 158
June Lake, CA 93529
As I walked back to the boat ramp I could hear the whistling of air being released…..as I figured, it was the Missus deflating Her paddle board. I had perfect timing! Once squared away, the Missus told me "it's too early, we need to do something else before lunch, and you need to burn off your breakfast!" Luckily, I had something in mind. We headed north on the 158 loop, then turned north on the 395 to Lee Vining. From there we headed west on Tioga Road, which was somewhat familiar to us as we had driven here when we visited Yosemite in 2021. Tioga Road heads to the Tioga Pass entrance to the park. We wouldn't be driving quite that far. We took a right onto Saddleback Lake Road and eventually after driving a bit on a dirt road found some parking and the trailhead to Gardisky Lake.
I believe I mentioned before how the Missus enjoys Her non-switchback straight up and down trails. Well, according to Alltrails, this was but a 1.8 mile out and back, but with a 750 foot elevation gain.
At the beginning it was rather easy.
Yes, it was a climb, but the views were quite nice.
Walking alongside the river flowing downhill; it was apparent that the winter snow and ice was still melting. And this was in July!
The portions with all the rocks and boulders were the hardest. You had to be aware not to twist an ankle or fall here.
At the top it really looked like an Alpine Meadow. I guess this is why folks call the area the "Switzerland of California".
The Lake itself is not very large.
But with no one in sight, we did not see anyone else on the trail, it was quite peaceful. Check out the snow still hanging around the lake!
We didn't run into anyone else hiking on the way down either.
All in all, a steep, but very nice short hike.
Now the big question was; where we were going for lunch?
Thanks for stopping by!
When the Tom Cat first opened, Miramar Naval Air Station was the military base nearby. Close to the Pacific Ocean, the base housed aircraft and squadrons which were assigned to aircraft carriers stationed in San Diego. Among those aircraft was the F-14 Tomcat, hence the bar was initially a hangout for Active Duty and Retired military. The base also was home to TOPGUN, the nickname for what was the Navy Fighter Weapons School. (There was a base realignment in 1993 and in 1996, TOPGUN moved to Fallon, Nevada, while the various Naval aircraft, squadrons and training were relocated to several bases and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar was made official.).
So now, the Tom Cat is a Sports Bar.
A simple, two sided menu is available. We did notice a chalkboard with some specials, at the bar.
We decided to order the fried mushrooms ($9.25) from the appetizer menu. The serving is quite large and very well made- light cornmeal based batter, surrounding large, meaty mushrooms, properly fried. It's served with an excellent Ranch dip.
Then we ordered the Tom Cat Signature Wings ($13.25). There are eight flavors to choose from and "Tom Cat Style' (grilled green onions and fresh jalapeño slices) has the highest spice level, three chilis, but the nicely crisp wing breading was not spicy if you didn't eat the fresh jalapeños. Four large flats and four large drums and a lot of carrots and cucumber, this was certainly a meal in itself. 
The Cobb salad ($14.95) was nice to share. Bacon, turkey and Blue Cheese crumbles, a hard boiled egg along with other vegetables and lettuce (as well as a squaw roll) in this deceptively large (deep) bowl made this also a quite large meal. 
The fried oysters were an interesting touch, I guess it was there to replace the usual egg yolk, and of course BLC is a seafood based restaurant. but we didn't care for the fishiness it added to the beef which was almost mushy. The horseradish cream was excellent; adding the palate and nasal cleansing pungency to things. It seems like everything was minced too finely. The fries were crisp and lightly dusted with what seemed to be the "BLC Spice". In this instance it seemed to work fairly well.
Here is the breakfast menu from a few months ago. Lunch and dinner is also served here.
Well, look at this from the breakfast menu- avocado toast, which comes with two eggs any style and a side of fresh fruit (or hash browns) ($13.49). A good quality multigrain toast topped with freshly sliced avocado and roasted cherry tomatoes. This was a surprisingly tasty and filling breakfast.
The Mister chose a Waffle Combo ($16.49). A strawberry cheesecake topped Belgian waffle with two eggs (over easy), two sausage (or bacon) and hash browns. I liked the waffle (plain). The batter was crisp on the exterior and had a malt/vanilla flavored fluffy interior. The strawberries were very flavorful-see the pink (not white) inner part? The sausage was standard with a nicely crisped skin and the hash browns were not watery and also had a good crisp. 
Coffee is $3.99
It turns out that this establishment is a recipe testing, preparation and catering kitchen to the family of New Zealand inspired restaurants in San Diego: Bareback Grill, Queenstown Public House, Dunedin North Park, Raglan Public House and Queenstown Bistro…none of which Kirk or I have visited (yet)
Walk in and there's the menu on the wall in front of you. Turn to the left, meet Mack, order, pay and find a seat. 
I noticed this "Mackstar" beverage ($2) described on the wall and decided to try it-an excellent blend of English Black tea and fresh (sweetened) lemonade. The liquids are different densities so when delivered to the table, we were able to try the excellent black tea separately from the lemonade; each is good on its own and when stirred, the combination is very nice-could still taste the tea.
The "Soup and Sammie" ($13) was my choice. Tomato basil soup with pine nuts and herbs, topped with sour cream-thick with chunks of tomato,so fresh, delightful. The bowl is low and deceptive. There is plenty. 
Two types of cheese on toasted sourdough with mayonnaise, avocado, lettuce and tomato. Excellent.
The Cobb Chop salad ($12.50) was really good; fresh (flavorful; I've been buying some bitter lettuces lately) Romaine topped with warm grilled herby chicken breast, chopped bacon, avocado, tomato, hard boiled egg and Blue cheese chunks.
The salad was served with fresh made Caesar dressing (delightful, non-burning garlic) or we could have tried the Pepper Ranch (next time). 
"Sounds of Success". presented by 
Unsure about this float, but the 'spotter' in front is easy to see, as is the 'driver' near the back (with the ToR safety evaluator seated next to him). You can see the slot where the Spotter looks out in the above float photo. 
Also unknown is this float, with an intricate 'skeleton' which may have some interesting mechanics attached.
Well. Of course we stopped. 
The walls and ceiling are covered with nostalgia. After ordering and paying, we got our beverages and found a nice, clean table. Our food was brought to us. 
The breakfast menu is pretty simple. The complete menu at the Drive Thru has me wanting to return.
Realizing I haven't had a breakfast sandwich in a very long time, I jumped at the chance to try a sausage breakfast sandwich on rye ($8.99). flat omelet style eggs on toasted, thick slices of rye with four skin-on breakfast sausages, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise…just a wonderful sandwich.
The Breakfast plate with a hamburger patty, three eggs (over easy) and real hash browns ($9.99) was The Mister's choice. Oh, we both really appreciate the char broiling of a patty and the seasoned grill here produces a wonderful flavored burger.. The eggs were perfectly over easy and the soft boiled potatoes, crisp fried on a flat top grill were just wonderful. Of course The Mister also chose rye toast-an excellent bread, filled with rye seeds.
What caught my eye, on the counter were these