My California Adventure - Sonora

Many years ago my grandfather moved to Sonora, California. There was a point back in 1994/1995 that my family and I lived in Salida, California - only an hour drive from Sonora. Now in Arizona, I try my best to make at least a few visits per year to see my grandfather and to get away from the disgusting Arizona heat. The drive from Gilbert, Arizona to Sonora, California takes us about fifteen or so hours, depending on how many stops we decide to make along the way.

Last week we made one of these visits to see my grandfather. Most of the time we spend up there consists of my grandfather driving us to different attractions and landmarks, such as Yosemite, Ironstone Vineyards, or even Mark Twain's Cabin.



One of the days spent in Sonora this trip consisted mostly of us walking up and down the main street of downtown peeking in antique shops and the like.

One of the shops, Funky Junk -

is where my grandfather, who builds birdhouses and butterfly houses, sells some of his creations.

My absolute favorite place in downtown Sonora is Legends Books, Antiques & Old Fashioned Soda Fountain. The shop contains one of my favorite spots - an underground passageway full of old books.

Another staple of downtown Sonora is the Veterans Memorial Hall and Military Museum.

My grandfather designed the Korean War Veterans memorial stone.

And you can see his name on the list on the back - Earl N. Bailey USAF.

Of course, no visit to Sonora - or California in general - is complete without dinner at my favorite pizza stop - Round Table.

And I left with my own little set of treasures from one of the antique shops. (Pewter and only $2 each)

Next week I'll post some pics and whatever info I can find on some of the old books I brought back from California. (One of them was purchased from the Legends bookstore, but I am going to hold off on showing it until I can dig up some info on it.) Some date back to the 1800's, they are so old. And since this blog is about writing and self-publishing, well, they will fit in perfect around here.

My California Adventure - Ironstone Vineyards

Last week I took a trip up to northern California to visit my grandfather. He lives in the little town of Sonora near Jamestown and Columbia. The area is rich in gold rush history and old west memorabilia, and I enjoy every moment I spend up there in the cool weather and nostalgic environment.

This recent trip though was a special treat not only because my brothers were able to see my grandfather together - which hasn't happened in a long while - but also because I was able to get my hands on some very interesting, very old books. I'm going to be showcasing some of these books over the course of the next few weeks. I still need to go through the stacks that I obtained and do some research on their origins.

In the meantime, I thought I'd highlight some of the more interesting parts of my trip, beginning with our journey to Ironstone Vineyards, located in the Sierra Foothills of Murphys, California. I've visited Ironstone many times before, and each time I am amazed at how serene the location is. There are times when I am there that I completely forget I am in California and feel as if I'm in another country, such as Ireland or Italy.
Nestled in the midst of rolling green hills, Ironstone is more than just a vineyard...


It is home to thousands of plant varieties and species. We were lucky enough to visit in March, which is when Ironstone rolls out the 'color parade' with over 300,000 daffodils to signal the coming of Spring and to spark off their annual celebration of food, wine, art and flowers.

Ironstone also boasts the world's  largest crystalline gold leaf specimen in the world, weighing in at a whopping 44 lbs. They have the leaf in a glass case in an old bank vault - which seems appropriate enough.
















Wandering the Alhambra Music Room, we always check out the splendid collection of art and antiquities belonging to the Kautz family - owners of Ironstone Vineyards.

There is also a terrific wood lattice walkway I never miss the chance to walk through.
 















I always enjoy my visits to Ironstone. If any of you are ever in their neck of the woods, I highly recommend visiting the vineyard.