Road Trip to Mammoth Lakes, CA- where to lunch, caffeinate and stock up on sweet treats!

We regaled you with tales of our snowy escapades at Mammoth Mountain over Easter weekend last week.  Mammoth, the closest recognized ski resort to LA (5 and a half hours Northeast), is a bit of a bitch to get to.  In the past we have left LA around 5pm on a Friday to sit in traffic and do the loooong drive mostly in the dark.  With Good Friday off, we seized the opportunity to make the drive a fun road trip having been recently inspired by an article in Travel + Leisure mag, a source we contribute to and deeply respect.

Off we went Friday morning burning rubber in the hopes of getting to Lone Pine, CA in time for lunch at the Alabama Hills Cafe which closes at 2pm.  Although we called and walked into the modest looking diner-esque restaurant at 2:03pm we were told cheerfully that the kitchen was closed and all they could do for us was offer us baked goods from their glass cases.  Sort of pissed, we ordered some fantastic looking cinnamon buns and ham and cheese croissants for breakfast the next morning.  The town of Lone Pine does not have much going on.  A pic of "Main St."....

A bit desperate, we turned to Yelp for help and wound up having disappointing sandwiches at a place along the main drag not worth mentioning.  We did however brave the dubious interior design (padded floors anyone?) of the Espresso Parlor a few doors down and were smitten with the Caramillas (coffee with a kiss of vanilla and caramel), lemon cake cookies and friendly staff.  Hepped up on sugar, we motored on.

We were keen on wanting to check out Keough's Hot Springs just outside of Big Pine, CA-- T+L had made it sound old school and lovely.  Hmm.  More of a public pool vibe.  No thanks.  We skipped it and the inevitable skin fungus we might have acquired...

And we continued on.  The last "big town" 45 minutes South of Mammoth, is Bishop which looks like a cosmopolitan metropolis after the string of small towns preceding it.  We were ready to get to Mammoth at this point, but Spellbinder Books and Black Sheep Espresso Bar looked worth a visit.  And Schat's is a decadent bakery with an outpost here as well as in Mammoth.

The next morning we heated our pastries from Alabama Hills Cafe and they were deeeelicious.  Next time, we are going to get there in time for lunch!

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