Winchester Mystery House

We've been trying to get into this house for a couple of years now, but they've been sold out. This time we stayed in California for a few extra days after New Years, so we got in!

You all know the story behind the house right? Sarah Winchester built it after the death of her husband William Winchester. She was heiress to the estate and $20 million (equivalent to $507,172,414 today) plus a 50% holding in the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. She spent the money constructing this house in San Jose California for 38 consecutive years.

Photo from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Winchester  Some wording and info from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Winchester

 Sarah was convinced she was cursed and the only way to alleviate it was to continually add on to her home. The noise from the construction was meant to scare evil spirits away. And all the staircases to nowhere, doors that open to a wall, confusing corridors, and multiple rooms, were built to confuse the ghosts. And Sarah had a thing for the number 13. You can see it being repeated around the house. 13 steps, 13 window panes etc. Her will was even divided into 13 sections and signed 13 times.

Before the great San Francisco earthquake in 1906 the house towered seven stories over what is now Silicon Valley. The quake trapped Sarah in her room, and she took the earthquake as a sign that she should stop building on that part of the house so the tower was never reconstructed, and the damaged rooms were closed and never finished or fixed. Photo from: https://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/blog/explore-more-of-sarahs-lost-tower/

Sarah spared no expense either. The built-in cabinets and other woodwork is detailed, she brought in expensive hardy flooring that is still walked on today, and the stained-glass windows are from Tiffany's in NYC, even the wallpaper in one of the rooms has crushed stone in it (can't remember what kind) so that it sparkles. It's quite a fine house on the inside. I enjoyed the tours, appreciated seeing what money could buy back then, and the stories about Sarah very much.

Here's the kicker. I can't show you ANY of it because unfortunately cameras are no longer allowed inside. (I totally understand why.) But by viewing the details on the outside you can certainly get a feel for things.

Below is a photo of one of the kitchens we later walked through. I snapped it before the tour began. Shhhhh. I love how she put windows EVERYWHERE. You'd think the inside of the house would be dark but it was quite bright in so many of the corridors and rooms because of the many windows in walls and ceilings. (The windows in the ceilings of the kitchen were so Sarah could watch and listen to her kitchen staff from the rooms above.) There are more glass panes in this house than there are in the Empire State Building. And to some extent I would like to mimic what she did in my "dream house."

Below: Part of the extended tour includes the basement where one of the ghost resides. He is often seen carting coal around the corner. Permission was granted for this photo.

These are the main entrance doors...which you walk through on the extended tour.
I mean, wow.

 Double doors to a gift shop...

 doors to the carriage house and atrium...

 skinny doors...

 and fat doors...

and doors that open to let light in...

 and doors to nowhere.

Below, Adam is pointing to Sarah's main bedroom (she had more than one so the ghosts wouldn't be able to find her.) She passed away here in her sleep due to heart failure.

You know, even though we took two tours, the house is so big...we STILL didn't see all of it. In most cases it's for safety reasons, or it was never finished being built. Like that passage over the drive? No idea what that is; wasn't on any tour.

You should go if you get the chance. You'll NEVER see anything like it. And what a unique story! 

Yes, I know there's a movie out...but it got really bad reviews so I haven't seen it yet. I want to...but you have to be in a certain mood to see a REALLY bad movie ya know?

They're Back!

My images are back, my images are back!!! (Anna dances around and claps her hands.) Photobucket fixed their mistake (after getting rid of the guy who made it in the first place) AND MY BLOG IMAGES ARE BACK!!! I just KNEW something would change.
They've re-thought things and their mission is to "bring back customers and regain their trust." Ha!
I think I get to keep all my past photos on Photobucket for free, but will have to do a little more research to be sure. (If it won't be free, at least with their better pricing plan I won't have to pay $399 a year! Sheesh.)
Read about it here.

New Year Bruschetta Bar

Dad's brilliance brought us a bruschetta bar for our New Year dinner. 

It was as good and as fun as it looks! There were SO MANY different toppings and flavor combination possibilities! We had to label several of them, especially the cheeses and jams.

So if you ever need a party meal idea...here you go. You're welcome. And of course, provide more bread than you think you'll need. 

We've come a long way from campfire dinners! Yay!

Monroe Ridge Trail

Dad suggested a hike on the Monroe Ridge Trail, it's about a 3 mile trail within the boundaries of the Marshall Gold Discovery State Park. (Where James W. Marshall found shining flecks of gold in the tailrace of the sawmill he was building for himself and John Sutter in 1848...this sparked the California Gold Rush.) Adam had never been to Coloma and I was feeling guilty for all the "California experiences" he's never had. So we took Dad up on his suggestion.

Map from: https://getoffyourgass.com/monroe-ridge-trail/

We had difficulty finding the trail head but once we did there was no doubt...

it starts off with some serious gains (totals about 673 feet) and even some built-in steps along the way.

Below: Adam trying to guess where we are on the map. Are we close yet?

Below: The view on the North side of the ridge. Not even close to the vista yet, THAT'S on the OTHER side of the mountain.

Finally! Two picnic benches mark the vista point. 

We're here! Snap a selfie!

Can you see the river in the photo above and below? That's the south fork of the American River.

We should have packed in a brunch. But we didn't...so with no reason to linger (Adam isn't big on lingering)...back down the mountain we went.

Some of these areas are likely gorgeous in the late spring after the leaves have grown and wild flowers are showing off—but this was over winter, still, we enjoyed it and it was a cool day.

We could have continued down by taking the monument trail, and we wanted to. But trees were being felled over the area so it was closed. We followed Marshall Parkway instead (the one way road marked on the map) back down to the car. 

Below: The Marshall monument (which you can see peeking above the trees from the trail.) 

 The road takes you through some historic parts of the town. Gravestones...

 Old church...

 Jail.

 We earned Lunch!

After the hike we went downtown to Placerville for lunch at the noteworthy spot: Timmy's Brown Bag.  Open during lunch hours. It has great Yelp ratings. I wish we had something like this here. We ate there three times over Christmas vacation. (Note: the menu changes.)

Some advice: They have some interesting combinations, but don't be afraid to try them. If you like the ingredients, you'll probably like the combinations they've come up with. 

The only complaints I have are: 

#1 the menu is IMPOSSIBLE to navigate both what's printed and what's posted in the shop...so be patient. 

#2 they sell out of items (each time we went they were out of something.) So again, when you have to navigate the menu a SECOND time because the sandwich you wanted is unavailable, take a deep breath and be patient with the menu. 

This was our favorite: Ham, homemade apple butter, extra sharp cheddar, fresh apples, beet horseradish slaw, whole grain honey mustard sandwich on ciabatta bread. 

If you go, tell me what you got and send a pic!