Geocaching and Lambert's Cafe'

We've been hiding out at the lake for the past few days getting some R & R.  Pretty much all I've done is park my butt on our dock and fish for bluegill.  Yesterday Louie asked me if I was up for a little road trip.  Did someone say Road Trip??  I didn't have to be asked twice.

Last fall we had driven to Missouri to go geocaching and stumbled across a restaurant that sounded pretty cool, but it wasn't open when we were there.  We resolved to go back this year and check it out.  So I loaded up the GPS with a few geocaches and off we went.

However, the powers that be decided it would be fun to try to keep us from reaching our destination.  The bridge going over the Mississippi River was closed due to maintenance and there was no other close way across.  Fortunately I had tossed my I pad into my caching bag, so I whipped it out and quickly re-routed us. First we had to drive north up into Illinois, and then we were able to cross the river before swinging southwest and heading into Missouri.  It was a bit of a detour but we were determined.

First we stopped and grabbed 3 geocaches.  One was a cache we had tried to find last fall and ended up blanking on it.  Today we had better luck and made the grab....

 The 3rd cache was really excellent.  Unfortunately I can't show it to you or tell you anything about it because I plan to bring my parents there the next time they're at the lake and I want them to find it themselves.  I'd really hate to spoil the surprise.  But here's a link to the cache page  in case you'd like to just check it out.  If I know my mom, she's already hitting the link as we speak and checking it out.  LOL!

Louie didn't eat any breakfast before we left, so by 11:00 he was starving and we decided to head over to the restaurant.  It's a good thing we did too.  We got there at 11:15 and it was already getting crowded.  We got seated immediately, but by 11:45 the restaurant was full and there was line forming.  The name of the restaurant is Lambert's Cafe' and their claim to fame is that they throw softball sized dinner rolls at you from across the room.  How fun is that?

Server grabbing a roll and winding up....

Once you catch your roll another server comes around with containers of Sorghum molasses or honey butter.  You spread a napkin on your table and she plops it right into the middle of the napkin and you snack on that while you're waiting for your food.  I'd never had Sorghum before and I didn't really know what it was, but I tasted it and decided it tasted like apple butter.  I'd definitely have it again.

Another server comes around with fried Okra that you eat the same way....

There's a lot of stuff to look around at while you're waiting, like license plates from around the United States, and antiques, and trains running around the rafters...

Once you get your meal, they come around with more sides for you like black eyed peas, fried potatoes, and macaroni & tomatoes.  That's all in addition to the 2 sides you get on your plate with your meal.  Believe me, it's a lot of food, and good food at that.  Louie had the chicken and dumplings....

 I had the meatloaf....

And I added the fried potatoes - my dad would LOVE these!

Ok, that was way more food than I could ever eat in even 3 meals, so I had plenty to take home and Louie and I split it for dinner...

So it was a good day - geocaching, a fabulous lunch and I didn't have to cook dinner - it doesn't get much better than that.

I highly recommend Lambert's Cafe and they have 3 locations to choose from.  Mom and Dad, we'll be going there next time you come visit us at the lake.  Bring your geocaching bag too!