--> Eureka, Montana

Cafe Jax: a good place to eat in Eureka.

I would happily have settled in for another day at last night's Prestige Inn, even though the pool was only fair. But we pressed onward toward Eureka. The scenery was pleasant enough, but traffic was heavy and the drive was not amenable to the use of "cruise". Bob is doing all the driving, and today was not what I'd call a good road day.

Stipped at the Duty Free (one cigar, a bottle of Johnny Walker Red, maple leaf earrings) and crossed the US border shortly after noon and made the short hop to Eureka for lunch. The Café Jax is unassuming from the outside but it has a good menu and very personable wait staff. Summer students have returned to school so the servers worked hard to keep up with a steady stream of customers. The restaurant was still full at about 2:30 when we slid behind the counter for our meal.

Heather, our server, told me quietly that she is "not a very good waitress", but I thought she was delightful. The former owner of the restaurant sat down beside us and we dissuaded him from his plan to take Amtrak to New York City -- maybe one way, we said, but not round trip. I felt energized for the last leg of the trip.