Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Bridal Veil Falls

Boy howdy, we sure have a lot of scenic spots involving water in El Dorado County.  Here is another one...Bridal Veil Falls.   The falls are along Esmeralda Creek and drop 67 feet and then disappear under the highway.


Location: Pollock Pines, El Dorado National Forest, El Dorado County
Height: 67 ft.
Distance: n/a
Elevation: 3400 ft.
Season: Apr-Jun
Difficulty: it is flat, just a pullout on Hwy 50
Lat/Long:38.76528, -120.49102
Directions:Along Hwy #50, 19 miles east of Placerville (or 5.5 miles east of Pollock Pines). The waterfall is along the roadside.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

I had to post about this as I am a reader and can't believe places ban books.  As an art form, books should challenge you to see the world differently.....like geocaching!  "Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States.

Intellectual freedom-the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular-provides the foundation for Banned Books Week. BBW stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints for all who wish to read and access them.

The books featured during Banned Books Week have been targets of attempted bannings. Fortunately, while some books were banned or restricted, in a majority of cases the books were not banned, all thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, booksellers, and members of the community to retain the books in the library collections. Imagine how many more books might be challenged-and possibly banned or restricted-if librarians, teachers, and booksellers across the country did not use Banned Books Week each year to teach the importance of our First Amendment rights and the power of literature, and to draw attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society."

Top 30 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009:

1 Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
2 Alice series, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
3 The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
4 And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
5 Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
6 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
7 Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
8 His Dark Materials (series), by Philip Pullman
9 TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Myracle, Lauren
10 The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
11 Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers
12 It's Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris
13 Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
14 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
15 The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
16 Forever, by Judy Blume
17 The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
18 Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
19 Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
20 King and King, by Linda de Haan
21 To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
22 Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
23 The Giver, by Lois Lowry
24 In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak
25 Killing Mr. Griffen, by Lois Duncan
26 Beloved, by Toni Morrison
27 My Brother Sam Is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier
28 Bridge To Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
29 The Face on the Milk Carton, by Caroline B. Cooney
30 We All Fall Down, by Robert Cormier

For more books and information visit The American Library Association (ALA) site:
http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedbydecade/2000_2009/index.cfm

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Fall Fun at the Amador Flower Fair

Don't miss out on a great place about 30 minutes from our Placerville bed and breakfast - the Amador Flower Farm! Saturday and Sunday, October 2 and 3 from 9-4 pm they will have food, fun and free tram tours of the farm. Also in October they are having a Daylily sale with 50% off hundreds of varieties. Of course they will also have the pumpkin patch and corn maze again this October.



Saturday, September 18, 2010

Albert Shafsky House B&B wins Top Blog award

 From Online Schools, "Many people are choosing to stay at a bed and breakfast over a hotel because they offer similar accommodations at a comparable rate to hotels. Moreover, even though some hotels offer a continental breakfast, bed and breakfasts offer a full, homemade gourmet meal each morning that their guests love. Each of our bed and breakfast winning blogs provides countless amounts of information on the best bed and breakfasts places to stay all around the world. They explain the benefits of a bed and breakfast and describe the atmosphere of “home” is greater than that of a hotel. Therefore, if you’re planning a trip and searching for some great places to stay, these blogs are a great resource to make your bed and breakfast experience even better."

We are very happy to be considered a top blog.  We have written about our experiences as innkeepers for the last several years on our blog Innside Innkeeping and hope to provide insight into the life of an innkeeper as well as fun things to do in El Dorado County.  Our Placerville bed and breakfast has also won awards for Best Breakfast and has been voted the best inn by readers of the Mountain Democrat in Placerville.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Back to wineries...E is for EDWA

Okay, so I did not find a winery in lovely El Dorado County that starts with E....any takers? But we do have EDWA, aka the El Dorado Winery Association. They are a group of winemakers (not all of the County wineries belong) who put on our famous Passport weekend every Spring.

Their next gig is coming up soon, maybe in a town near you...if you happen to live near Danville, CA. More below....

THE SIERRA FOOTHILLS WINE TASTING EXPERIENCE

Presented by the Wineries of the Sierra Foothills
3 - 6 p.m. Sunday, September 19
Blackhawk Country Club in Contra Costa County
If you or your friends live near Contra Costa County or the Bay Area, don’t miss the opportunity to taste a multitude of fine wines from the Sierra Foothills, being poured at one beautiful location on Sept 19.
To celebrate California Wine Month, El Dorado’s vintners are teaming up with Amador and Calaveras to present our first joint wine tasting at the luxurious Blackhawk Country Club in Danville. More than 40 foothills wineries will pour their finest wines, accompanied by delicious, Mediterranean-style finger foods and live flamenco guitar music.
Advance tickets are available at www.sierrafoothillswine.com for $35 or at the door for $50.

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Placerville Main Street Events

If you want to keep up on all the latest events happening just steps from our bed and breakfast, please visit the Placerville Main Street Events page. So many fun things happen in our town! Why not join us for one of them?

Monday, September 06, 2010

ALA | Banned Books Week

ALA | Banned Books Week As long as you read something! But banned books are pretty cool....and some that are on the list will shock you....

Thursday, September 02, 2010

B is for Boeger Winery Inc.

Our friends at Boeger make great Barbera and if you have not tried it, get in the car and come to Placerville right now! Specializing in unique varietals and blends since 1972, they offer a combination of historical location and modern innovation. A fabulous, friendly, knowledgeable tasting room staff, divine outdoor areas for picnics or events, beautiful visitor center, gift shop and the historic old cellar. They offer complimentary and reserve wine tasting daily from 10 am to 5 pm. Boeger Winery is only 5 minutes east of the Albert Shafsky House Bed and Breakfast. Tell them we said "hello".