Left Weed, CA
Railroad Park Resort, Dunsmuir
Olive Pit, Corning
Beautiful meadow on State Route 128
Dean & Deluca, St. Helena
Yountville Inn, Yountville
Today’s travels started with a surprisingly good waffle at the complimentary continental breakfast at the Quality Inn & Suites in Weed, CA. We left about 10:15 and noticed what I thought was ash from a nearby forest fire, but was actually SNOW! It didn’t stick, but was cold enough to cause flurries on the freeway.
Shortly after getting on the road, we made a quick stop at the "Railroad Park Resort" in Dunsmuir, CA. It’s a nostalgic look at old railroad cars which have been converted to motel rooms. There are many more there than I thought at first, and they did a great job of keeping up their paint and making them look good. I got some great pictures there, mainly because of the AMAZING Siskiyou mountains in the background. We checked the prices in case we wanted to stay there on the way back, but at $100 per night (off-peak) it’s a bit steep.
Back on the road, we had a short two hour drive to the "Olive Pit" in Corning, CA. Thanks to Julie Deluca for this great recommendation! I bought some garlic-stuffed olives which are yummy! The Olive Pit has been there since 1967 and has hundreds of variations on olives.
Along State Route 128, we stopped at a random spot along the winding road that overlooked a small river. The grasses were tall and flowing and there was a giant tree that was perfectly shaped for photos. All along the highway from the 5 freeway to St. Helena, the wildflowers were lovely and abundant.
In St. Helena, we stopped at Dean & Deluca, a famous gourmet deli, in Yountville, CA for some delicious sandwiches and snacks. I got a turkey-bacon sandwich with havarti cheese on foccacia bread. When I ate it for dinner later, it SMELLED as good as it tasted!
Finally, at about 4:15, we got to our hotel, the Yountville Inn. This place is gorgeous! All the buildings have beautiful stone facades, and our room had a full-size stone fireplace, a giant bathroom and maybe the best part, a private terrace with comfy furniture, overlooking a small creek just feet away. We sat and enjoyed California’s warm March weather.
A few hours later, we took a drive through the vineyards, where we got some more beautiful pictures, and even ran across Diane Disney’s Winery, Silverado. When we came back to our hotel, we watched an episode of Dexter, season 3, then went for an hour long soak in the hot tub.
In all, a fantastic 2nd day! Tomorrow – San Francisco!
