Unlikely finds in the most Likely of Places

             Likely, California

The road sign welcomed us to "Likely,California" population 200 and elevation 4,447 feet.  As with many of the small towns on our road trip through the Western States, a single blink and you could miss the entire town.  It was the The Most Likely Cafe, just a couple doors down from the Likely General Store,  where we stopped for a late breakfast.

 The Most Likely Cafe has a Facebook page on which they list the Chef as Rodney Weed and public transportation to be "walking, horses and hitchhiking".  Serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and coffee, they say walk-ins are welcome, which is good, as that is what we were.

Being the third and fourth customers just before high noon, we sat on stools at the counter and our waitress paused before asking, "Did you want menus?" That didn't make much sense to us until three local fellows showed up for lunch.  To a person,  she knew what they wanted. "You want cottage cheese today?" she called out to one. "If you've got enough," he responded.

She poured their iced tea from a pitcher kept in a refrigerator at the end of the counter; the type you'd have at home, including the display of several children's drawings held on the door with magnets. For our requested ice water she dropped the large bag of ice cubes on the floor in front of us to break them up with a crash that jolted the senses, but it got the job done.

We ate our meal (two eggs, hashbrowns and toast, $5.75) while chatting with her about the area's weather, winter snowfall in this unincorporated community in Modoc County in northeastern California about six miles from Lively Mountain and the collection of salt and pepper shakers (her mom's) that lined the shelves. 

Some may wonder why even write about the stop as there was nothing particularly exciting about the meal or the conversation, yet, we found the experience itself to be most memorable.  It was this kind of small-town experience we set out to have on this road trip.  And it clearly illustrates that sometimes the best travel memories are made in the most un-"Likely" places.