Tiny Towns: Georgetown, CA

This is the first post to answer the question posed by the title of the blog, left, right, or straight? To which I say: depends on when you ask! (*Asterisk indicates related photo below the post!)

A couple of random turns put us on Hwy 49 South out of Auburn (towards Placerville), with the goal of finding other towns in the same area, but that require getting away from 49. (Don't get me wrong, 49 South from Auburn to Placerburgville is a lovely drive. Coloma is home to Marshall Gold Discovery blah blah Park, a nifty little place.) But for that particular route, been there, done that. So we veered onto Hwy 193 in Cool (yes, there's a place called Cool, California), and off we went.

Some day we'll have to repeat this trip and continue on 193, but when we saw the Main Street area of Georgetown, we had to stop. The first thing of particular note was that there are parking spaces down the center of the roadway. I've only seen this once before, in a small Mississippi town, and find it quite amusing! We parked (not in the center) and went in Frog Pond Antiques & Gifts*, a nice place with a varied collection. Not too much junk, not too much fancy-pants overpriced stuff. Across the street is the small but well-kept Worton's Market (basic groceries, full service food/deli counter, and a mish-mash of gifts and collectibles thrown in the mix). Next to the Market is the Georgetown Hotel and Saloon*, which has been updated over the years, but with a notable effort to retain an old West feel. We hoped to peek into the hotel area, after we gave the saloon a quick try, but either went to the wrong door (though it had the word "HOTEL" in the window above, so...) or else they don't unlock the front door before a certain time. There is also a small dining area, with something like 8 tables available. The last place we peeked around was across from the GH&S (and thereby completing the four corners of our wandering in the area) was the Corner Kitchen*. Maybe we will go back when they're open and give it a whirl!

There is actually a bit more to see and do in Georgetown, and I hope to go back and wander around more, but maybe when it isn't in the high 90s... Had we stuck to our "plan" (follow the highway), we would have found ourselves in Placerville more quickly, but the lady working in the antique store mentioned a beautiful reservoir further out Main Street-turned-Wentworth Springs Road, and some place called Uncle Tom's Cabin*. Well...how can you pass on such a thing?

Off we went and, if you decide to check out UTC yourself, be ready for the uneven (LOL) dirt road that you have to follow to reach it and choose your mode of transport accordingly! It is a self-styled bar, which is to say there is a bar with a handful of stools, as well as a couch and recliners and such. The bar offers canned beer from the fridge, as well as sodas and water. Their Facebook page indicates candy and chips, coffee and hot cocoa, though the old guy that was in charge when we went was what you might call "the silent type," so a can of beer and a can of soda did us just fine! There is more to the property, and one notable aspect of their decor is the hundreds of $1.00 bills stapled to or hanging from the ceiling* and just about every surface. If you go, be sure you have at least a single dollar bill and add yours to the stash.

Back on the main road, we continued the scenic drive through the foothills* until we were deposited onto Highway 50, just east of Bridal Veil Falls and Fresh Pond, CA. From there, it was the usual drive back into well-traveled areas as we made our way home.

I'll give you this little extra part for free: somewhere along Wentworth Springs Road, we passed Camp Chiquita which inspired one of our not-really-famous made-up songs, to the tune of the Piña Colada Song:

If you like Chiquita Bananas...
And wearing fruit on your head.
You might be Carmen Miranda...

(Sorry, that's all I remember. Feel free to ad lib from there!)

First stop in Georgetown: the antiques store!

The most adorbs Georgetown Hotel & Saloon

Corner Kitchen (awesome car was incidental)

Uncle Tom's Cabin (non-Harriet Beecher Stowe)

Dollars and hats and bras, oh my! (The ceiling of UTC)

The lovely foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains,
just northeast of the Pollock Pines area.

Camping to Chill Out (or How NOT to Get to CA Hwy 1)

Once again, we happened to have planned to get out of town for the weekend when - as fate (or Mother Nature) would have it, the temps were going up to triple digits, nearing 110. Since we'd been planning this weekend in advance (celebrating the fourth anniversary of our first date ❤), we decided to go camping. And to get out of the heat, that means camping by the coast.

Don't tell anyone I told you this, because it doesn't seem to be on as many radars as other places, but the little campground at Manchester State Park (CA) is awesome! They have something like 40 camp sites, basic use stuff: a few "toilets" (see: outhouses) scattered about, though no sinks or showers, fire pits and a parking space per campsite, with a water spigot between every other campsite (give or take), and ample space for a large multi-person tent (or more than one, depending). You can't camp on the beach, but it's less than a half mile from the coast, so you get all the cool breezes and you can hear the water. #perfect

We got the best campsite (sorry, not telling which one that is...you'll have to sleuth your way into finding it!), and just had a chill couple of days (literally and figuratively). Temps ranged from 50-65, it didn't rain while we were there, and was overcast the whole time (bleh), but still amazing compared to the heatwave we'd run away from. While camping isn't a "do nothing" endeavor, we largely stayed at our campsite and just enjoyed each other's company. Our venturing out largely amounted to going to a local grocery-and-hardware store, and doing a small bit of back road driving. (See also: an hour or so sitting on the beach and just watching the ocean.)

Hot, freshly cooked food was enjoyed at all meals (he is a whiz even over a campfire), along with snacks and some adult beverages. (If you've never eaten a baked potato that was baked via rolling it in aluminum foil and letting it sit in hot coals for the afternoon, you do. not. know. what you're missing. Not even kidding.)

The trip was lovely...with one notable exception. The quote-unquote "short cut" we took from Boonville to Manchester, via Mountain View Road. Hey, Google maps: bite me.

I've driven up and down Highway 1, so believe me when I say, I know from switchbacks and sharp turns, hilly roads and driving s l o o o o o o w. But shoot me in the face, there's just something about Might Vomit Road that makes you question your entire need to travel. Or breathe. Never again, I say, NEVAH! (No, seriously. Unless the next-best option is impassable due to washout? Neh. Verr.)

So, Manchester State Park Campground? GO!
Mountain View Road shortcut? Have you not READ the paragraph above this?

#campfire

Home away from home

Lovebirds

Happy California cows