Russian River - Day 5

More Pub Food & Sasha at the Beach

This morning we decided to celebrate our 8th anniversary somewhat according to plan. We had originally thought we would go over to the Russian River Pub for dinner on our anniversary, but last night watching the game sort of threw us off. So, we went over for lunch. We picked some food that was marked on the menu that had been featured on the show, to see how it measured up to the hype. Here's a link to the clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uue8SwdKc_8

Here's our review of the place and the food, and we justed watched that clip again.

The place still looks just like in the clip. Not sure where the pinball machine ended up. The ladies room really is that clean. Even Steve had to check it out.

After re-watching the clip, none of the food mentioned are items that are marked on the menu. There is no Mexi-Burger on the menu, although the Spicy BBQ Burger does look like what they showed. There is no tri-tip burger on the menu, nor is the Ahi salad. And none of the items featured on the menu as "Showcased on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" except the wings and the Pesto Chicken Breast are in the clip. So we sort of felt like we got duped.

We split a Spicy BBQ burger, a Prime Rib sandwich, and of course more wings. The burger was so-so, the sandwich was pretty good but a little bland, and the wings were very good again.

Our consensus: it was average at best. Maybe they have a different cook, which we could understand, but to completely change or delete items, and claim other items on the menu are what was shown, is a little underhand, as you can see in the photo I took of their roadside sign, they still promote that they were on the show 5 years ago. Perhaps they should re-watch the clip and update their menu.

After lunch, we drove back out to the coast to Blind Beach. The sky was clear and sunny on the way out, making us hopeful to be able to get some nice photography in. The huge rocks and waves crashing against them are really dramatic, but by the time we actually got to the coast, it was overcast. I don't think it ever clears up at that part of the coast. Oh well.

We walked on the beach for a mile or so, and Sasha had a blast, running in the sand, smelling rotting seaweed, and nosing dead crabs. But she was terrified of the water. Pretty sad for a dog who lives in San Diego. She just would not go near the water. All in all, a pretty good walk and we had fun watching Sasha alternate between utter joy and terror.

When we got back to the campsite and were relaxing, we had a good opportunity to observe some RVers a few sites down. They were in a huge motor coach, but didn't seem to be enjoying it. The rig looked immaculate, but after they parked, the guy took over an hour wiping it down while his wife sat inside and wrote in a notepad. Maybe she was grading his performance.

Then they put out their awning and dragged out 2 chairs. Nothing else. They positioned the chairs facing the RV, and sat there without talking to each other for several hours. She kept taking notes, and he just stared off into the distance. Now we felt like we were being graded. Steve had tried to engage them in conversation earlier, but basically got short answers just a step above a grunt. We did notice that they did talk to one other RVer, who just happened to have a nice huge motor coach too. We could hear them complaining about the camp from where we sat, so I guess they have higher standards that the rest of humanity.

Later in the afternoon a very nice older couple parked in the campsite next to us. We struck up a conversation with them, so maybe they were slumming it this week. They were fascinated by Eco, so Anja gave them the grand tour, showing off her organizational skills. It was only the second time they had taken their RV out, so they asked Anja to go over to theirs and give them some tips on how to organize better. As it started to get dark, we made campfires and sat outside for a few hours chatting. Steve seems to have gotten his pyro mojo back, as the fire was damn near perfect.

Tomorrow, same channel!

Walk on the Beach

Watch Out, Waves!