Day 1

We flew into Sacramento late in the afternoon and picked up a new 1999 Nissan Pathfinder at the airport to take on our tour of the California Gold Country. We drove into town and deposited our luggage at the Sterling Hotel -- a lovely 12-room Victorian hotel conveniently located near all of the historical attractions in Sacramento. We then drove through the city to look at the capital buildings and historic "old town." Though Sacramento is currently the capital of the state, it was not at the time the Gold Rush started. Prior to 1854 the capital was in the picturesque port town of Monterey. Driving around Sacramento you get a wonderful sense of how the area evolved and what it was like 150 years ago.

The Sterling Hotel is less than three blocks from the state capital and is popular with both professionals visiting the city for business and couples looking for a romantic getaway. The Sterling has a smaller sister property nearby called the Vizcaya. The Vizcaya has nine rooms, four with jacuzzi tubs and three with fireplaces. Both properties are very popular wedding sites.

We had dinner at the Chanterelle restaurant located in the Sterling Hotel. It is considered one of Sacramento's finest eateries. Our seafood pasta and rib-eye with Jack Daniel sauce on pasta entrees were delicious. The desserts were incredible. Don't miss anything made with chocolate. It is the house specialty.

We retired to our room early to take advantage of the large jacuzzi tubs that are in every room in the Inn. But if you have the energy after sight seeing, Sacramento has a lively night life with lots of clubs and coffee houses. Most of the best ones are close to The Sterling and some are within walking distance.

After a quick continental breakfast at the Sterling Hotel we packed the Nissan Pathfinder to begin our exploration of the California Gold Country.

Before leaving Sacramento we paid a visit to Sutters Fort, now called Sutters Fort State Historical Park, which is about a mile from The Sterling Hotel. Sutter established the fort in August of 1839 and it was to be the basis for his "New Helvetia" colony. The grounds and buildings of the fort were restored by the State of California between 1891 and 1893. All that remains of the original fort is the central building. There are demonstrations of daily life at the fort and displays of tools, used by James Marshall at Coloma as well as memorabilia from the Donner Party. Our morning visit to the fort showed us first hand the reason Marshall began the logging and wood milling which facilitated his discovery of gold -- the fort is loaded with wood structures. The park is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and the entrance fee is nominal.

At midday, we left Sacramento to head for the Gold Country -- specifically the town of Sutter Creek -- about 60 miles away. When leaving Sacramento on Highway 50, watch the map as the intersection from it onto Highway 16 is a bit convoluted. From Highway 16 we turned onto Highway 49 -- the main road through the Gold Country, named for the 49ers. The drive is lovely and a perfect one to experience the car-like qualities of the Pathfinder. We rolled through lovely, hilly countryside with interesting terrain. This area is close to the San Andreas fault. It is easy to imagine precious metals coming to the surface in the area. If nothing else, cruising Highway 49 is an interesting trip even without taking many detours. But a few are fun and interesting to round out the trip.

On the way to Sutter Creek we stopped in Amador City. Highway 49 runs right through this tiny town. There are lots of fun antique shops including the Seven Sisters filled with both Gold Rush memorabilia and collectibles. If you love costumes, don't miss the Victorian Closet. If you've ever wished to buy the items in museum costume exhibits, well here is the chance. Proprietress Sally Knudson has the most fabulous collection of purchasable, authentic, antique, historical wardrobe for both men and women we've ever seen. While many of the pieces she sells are from England and Europe, she also has a wonderful collection of Gold Rush era, locally-made dresses, suits, shoes, buttons, lace, linens and quilts. Don't miss the jewelry displays and the special clothing collections -- some with their documentation intact. This is a "must see" for the antique collector. Oh yes, she also runs antique shopping tours to England every year -- we want to go!

Just a few miles down the road is the town of Sutter Creek. The town is named for John Sutter (the builder of the Sacramento Fort and New Helvetia Colony) who first visited the area in 1846 and also later prospected there for gold. The Old Eureka Mine, one of the most profitable of the Gold Rush, is located nearby. North of Sutter Creek is the Lincoln Mine which made a lot of money for Leland J. Stanford, who is best known for founding Stanford University. Stanford was also a former Governor of California and co-builder of the Central Pacific Railroad.

Historic buildings line Highway 49 which runs through the center of town. The Bellotti Inn, which first opened for business 1858, is considered to be the oldest continuously operating Inn in the California Gold Rush Country. Other significant historic buildings include the Brignole Building which dates from 1856, the I.O.O.F. building which dates from 1865 and the Sutter Creek Methodist Church built in 1862.

Sutter Creek is filled with wonderful shops, antique stores, ice cream parlors and restaurants. One shop of particular interest was the Fine Eye Gallery filled to the brim with wearable art, fabulous jewelry and unique art. The store had been nominated as one of the United States' 1998 Top Retailers of American Craft by Niche Magazine. We also enjoyed the unique house wares and handmade furniture at Passages. There we purchased soaps and lotions. On the same main street is a delicious old-fashioned ice cream parlor. Don't miss the handmade fudge if you're a chocolate lover.

We stayed at the Sutter Creek Inn, a bed-and-breakfast in the center of Sutter Creek. The main building was originally constructed in 1859 and was expanded to its current size in 1966. The Inn is a series of reworked cottages surrounding an old Victorian mansion. There are nineteen rooms, each with a private bath and air conditioning, which can be handy as summers in the Gold Country can be quite hot. Nine of the rooms have fireplaces.

We had a lovely, large room with windows overlooking gardens on all sides. The main feature of the room is the hanging bed. Yes, the bed hangs suspended from the ceiling on chains. The gentle swaying provides a deep sleep and an interesting alternative to a normal bed. And the bed can be stabilized for those who don't care to sleep in motion. The property has lovely gardens and lots of nooks and crannies where a couple can hide to sit together or lay in a hammock and read. The innkeepers had ginger cookies and lemonade available all day. In the afternoon there was port wine. Though we didn't have breakfast at the Inn, the dining room was large and lovely and could handle quite a crowd. We read through some of the breakfast menus and they sounded delicious. We'll be sure to have breakfast on our next visit.

Before dinner we were treated by Nissan to a special wine-tasting event at the Inn, put on by Don Hartley of 49 Vines. They brought 25 different California Gold Country wines. Being one who likes reds, my favorites were a cabernet sauvignon, a luscious sweet muscat canelli and a fabulous Sesquicentennial appellate.

In attendance at the wine tasting was Les Kelly -- a Gold Rush era historian. Kelly is the author of several definitive books on the region including "California's Gold Rush Country," and the excellent Falcon Guide "Traveling California's Gold Rush Country." Les is also a 27-year veteran of Nissan. He gave us an overview of the region's history and was helpful in planning the next few days of our trip, making sure we saw the most important sites and historical locations.

After the tasting, we walked around the corner to Zinfandels for a wine-tasting dinner with 5 courses and 6 more wine offerings -- a little too much wine for one evening, but delicious nonetheless. Zinfandels is known as one of the finest restaurants in the region. Chef Doug West designed a fabulous menu that began with prosciutto and melon, herb potato pancakes with a creme fraiche and peach chutney, filet mignon with a mushroom port sauce, salad and fruit tarts. Each course was accompanied by at least one wine offering. My favorites were: the 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon from Charles B. Mitchell and the Sauvignon Blanc from Boeger.

Another historian and author, JoAnn Levy, was invited to dinner. She specializes in the history of the women of the Gold Rush and has written several fascinating books on the subject. She moved from table to table recanting the history of women in the wild west. And, what a history it was -- the women who made up only 10% of the population were often among the wealthiest citizens providing food, lodging, clothing and supplies to the miners -- and yes, a few participated in the sex trade, but not many. The miners may have never struck gold, but they needed to eat, sleep and have a bath from time to time. So, the women entrepreneurs did quite well.

After dinner we strolled around the town to walk off dinner. Though we didn't enter, there were several local bars open and at least one theatrical performance. One of the more interesting looking bars was Ron and Nancy's Palace which is located directly across Highway 49 from the Sutter Creek Inn. The bar occupies a saloon building dating back to 1897. The proprietress at the Inn had information on attending the local performances and visiting the regional events that happen throughout the year.