inspired
Scotland. The land of haggis and kilts. At least that’s what most people think of when they hear about Scotland. Unless if you’ve watched Outlander. In that case, you probably think of Jamie Fraser, shirtless, on a horse, galloping through some lushes green forests… Anyway, …
Hall Winery 401 ST HELENA HWY S On this day, my friend had invited me to a wine tasting at one of her favorite wineries. As a member of their wine club, she is allowed to treat us to a free tasting once a year. …
Around Halloween last year, I went to the city of Columbia for the first time. For those of you who don’t know the geography of California, it’s located about an hour outside of Yosemite. Most of the area is populated with different campgrounds and hiking trails. But more importantly, it’s where the Gold Rush was taking place in the 1850’s. I’m not sure how big of a deal the Gold Rush was for school children outside of California, but it was a major topic during our state history studies in 5th grade. We dressed up, did fake gold panning, churned butter, made candle wax… They really transported us to the 1800’s. Knowing what a big deal the Gold Rush was to California, it made visiting the “Gem of the Southern Mines” and a Gold Rush boomtown that much cooler.
It’s hard to believe that this was really how the towns were built almost 200 years ago. And that Columbia was one of the largest towns in California at the time! The park looked like a movie set I would see in Universal Studios. (It doesn’t surprise me that scenes from Back to the Future III were filmed in the area.) I’ve seen old Western films before, but never really thought, “this was a real thing. America really looked like this.” It’s silly to say, but the old west movies have done a good job because the set designs looked exactly like this historic park. Note: The town has been rebuilt a few times due to fires and deterioration.
We spent a few ours walking through the park and going inside each little store. The staff in these stores are actually dressed up for the time period. It’s a cute place to shop and the stores are real places you can buy from! My favorites were probably the candle store and the candy store. Both have A LOT of goodies inside. Across the street from the candle store, back on the main street, was a place to make your own candles! They were closed for the day when we went, but it would be a fun activity for kids and candle lovers.
The City Hotel is one of a few hotels in the area, however, this is the one located right on Main Street in the park. The woman working at the hotel on this day told us a bit about the history of the hotel while we looked around the rooms. We didn’t know this before, but she said the hotel is haunted and a very popular place for guests to stay the night around Halloween. Lucky us for coming in October. If haunted hotels are something that excites you, the room rates were very reasonable and the bathrooms have been modernized. Almost everything else in the hotel is accurate for that time period.
We didn’t look inside the Fallon Hotel and Theatre. But it’s by the famous Jack Douglas Saloon where you can try sarsaparilla, order dinner, and watch a show before going to bed. This hotel seems larger and had room options from $115 to $50 a night. Hopefully this one isn’t haunted too…
Close to the Columbia State Historic Park is the Moaning Caverns Adventure Park. I have a previous blog post that mentions my visit to the Caverns. I recommend visiting both if you are planning a trip to Colombia or even just driving through with your family.
Happy Halloween! Let me know in the comments if you’re going on any spooky trips this month.
-Ayla♥
Let me start off by saying this was my first time leaving California since 2018. I was so excited to book these tickets and FINALLY go on a trip. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about Covid though. I had so many …
I wanted to share with you pictures from my day in an area of San Francisco many of you may not know of. Mission District is a part of San Francisco that even I rarely find myself in. I am a major foodie, so the …
I said in a previous post that I was going to start writing more travel posts about places that are near me in California. This is me finally delivering on that promise. As you probably guessed, I am avoiding any long distance travel due to the Covid virus. Something about sitting in a plane within close proximity to strangers while wearing a mask does not sound appealing to me. I already get claustrophobia on planes and wearing a mask in addition to being in a plane? No, thank you! I hope you all understand the reason behind my lack of content. And for now, can enjoy seeing places in California (more specifically, the Bay Area) you may not know much about.
Downtown
My mom and I started off the day by going to Downtown Livermore for lunch. We wanted to get something to eat before going to the wineries. Plus, I saw this hole-in-the wall Mexican restaurant advertised in an old magazine that I really wanted to go to.
This was my first time in Downtown Livermore. It was a cute area with many small stores and restaurants. I can imagine meeting my friends here every week if we lived in Livermore. It would even be a nice place to go out on a date in the evening.
The restaurant we went to was El Charro Mexican Food & Cantina. The decor for the restaurant was really nice. Definitely didn’t look like a hole-in-the-wall from up close. El Charro is famous for it’s enchiladas with made-from-scratch sauce. So of course, I got the shredded chicken enchiladas. Which our waiter replied to with, “good choice.” Everyone around us seemed to be ordering margaritas so those must be good here as well.
The chicken enchiladas at El Charro were good, but the leftovers! Omg, amazing! Enchiladas must be the lasagna of Mexican food—tastes better the next day.
After lunch we walked over to main street to check out what else was in Downtown and to get some mango milk tea. We can’t be going to the wineries dehydrated! XP
Wente Vineyards
The drive to Wente Vineyards was easy and scenic. Rolling hills and miles of new grape vines all around us. I noticed a trail along the road where a few people were running. Such a nice idea for people who want to drink at the multiple wineries on this road! They could just walk to each one and call a cab at the last one. Granted that the weather is nice.
You’ll pass by a few other wineries on the way up to Wente, but it will be hard for you to mistake it thanks to the big sign at the gate.
Wente Vineyards is known as one of the prettier and more famous vineyards in Livermore. One of the employees told us that people who visit this vineyard are not only from California but all over the world!
As soon as we arrived, I started snapping pictures. The grounds are large and beautifully kept. I loved seeing that they have their own garden and use the produce grown there for the onsite restaurant.
As I was taking pictures of the flowers in the garden, an employee came up to us. I was worried he would tell us we aren’t allowed back here since everyone around looked like an employee. But he actually asked us if we want him to open the wine cellars so we can look inside! He was so nice and waited for us to look around and take pictures.
Other employees would drive by and wave at us while we walked around. Another greeted us at one of the outdoor tables and said he’ll be around if we have any question. Everyone was very welcoming except the woman working at The Vineyard Table and Tasting Lounge on this day. She said I wasn’t allowed to sit and take pictures without a permit. Which I thought was strange because it wasn’t like I showed up in a wedding dress with a professional photographer. She seemed to be the only employee bothered by us so we left the patio right away and walked over to The Grill and golf course instead.
The Course at Wente Vineyards can only be described as large and picturesque. If I knew how to golf, I would definitely be going here to play all 18-holes. You’re surrounded by large hills, ponds, and probably a mile of grape vines. I was happy to find out they teach golf lessons on the course. Including a Ladies Beginner Golf lesson!
After checking out the Golf Course, it was already getting into the later afternoon. We decided to drive to the next Vineyard. I had planned to go to Concannon Vineyard, but unfortunately, they were about to close. But lucky for us, Tesla Road, where Concannon was located, has a bunch of vineyards and wineries! We ended up popping into Mitchell Katz Winery at Shadow Hill Vineyard since they didn’t close until 5pm.
Note: Hours were shortened at wineries due to Covid-19 when we went. Make sure to check their websites for updated hours and make a reservation.
Mitchell Katz Winery
Mitchell Katz has a lovely backyard barn feel to the winery. The vibe is relaxed and cozy—which I love. I overheard they do a movie night which sounds like fun and worth checking out!
If you’re looking for a relaxed winery where you can sit outside and freely walk through the vineyards, I recommend Mitchell Katz.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my day in Livermore and seeing some of the wineries. I am not an avid wine drinker so I couldn’t give you much of a review on that. But if it helps, I know a few people who are and they all recommended Wente Vineyards in addition to a many others in Livermore.
I can’t wait to go to more wineries when the grapes are growing on the vines! And hopefully I’ll finally visit Concannon next time!
-Ayla ♥
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The city of Monterey is a popular weekend getaway for those living in Northern California. However, the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium attracts visitors from all over. Possibly because it’s the best aquarium in the world! And I’ve heard this said by an oceanography professor, so …