Thanksgiving and geocaching in Placerville

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Albert Shafsky House B&B

Find more than Thanksgiving leftovers by geocaching in Placerville! You will never look at the world outside the same way.

PLACERVILLE, CA, August 14, 2009 -- Albert Shafsky House B&B to offer geocaching with the innkeepers this Thanksgiving.

This Thanksgiving you can find more than turkey and stuffing in Placerville. The Albert Shafsky House Bed and Breakfast is offering a "How to Geocache" over the holiday weekend with the innkeepers. Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunt, where you use a GPS to locate a cache that has been "logged" into Geocaching.com. Fun for all ages, there are plenty of caches in the gold rush town of Placerville to keep you busy all weekend.

The $150 package includes:

special check-in reception
introduction to geocaching and hands-on experience hunting for caches
tips for successful "finds"
Geomate.jr. for guests to use and take home (one per room)
supplies to make your first "hide"
** 3 nights lodging at the Albert Shafsky House B&B in Placerville (AAA rated and number 1 on Tripadvisor) not included in package - rates will vary depending on your room choice
The Geomate.jr. is preloaded with 250,000 geocache locations in all 50 U.S. states and is a great way to get started in the world of geocaching. The festivities will begin on Thursday at 6 pm with wine and nibbles at check-in. Learn how to cache after breakfast on Friday, then head downtown with the innkeepers to find your first cache of the weekend. Saturday after a delicious breakfast, we will create your first hide (materials provided), be shown how to create a free account on geocaching.com, and look up hints and tips for finding more caches. “Geocaching is not only great fun for kids and adults alike but an excellent way to explore any neighborhood” said Warren Hewerdine, Senior Director of Marketing at Apisphere and co-inventor of the Geomate.jr, “By offering a geocaching program like this, the Albert Shafsky House B & B is not just offering a great way for their guests to explore the local area, but introducing them to an activity that they can enjoy long after their visit.”

For still more reasons to visit, Placerville will be starting the holidays off with a tree lighting on Friday, November 27th from 5:30-8:00 pm which closes Historic Main Street to cars and offers music, entertainment, Santa, stagecoach rides and shopping for that special gift. Saturday, November 28th the shops on Main will welcome you with coffee, cider and seasonal goodies to tempt you...and maybe you can find the cache at the Historic Bell Tower too!

The innkeepers of the Albert Shafsky House (Rita Timewell and Stephanie Carlson) have been hunting for caches for over a year and have over a hundred "finds", large and small, near their award winning bed and breakfast. "It gets us out of the inn, and let's us see the world (and our neighborhood) in a new way" said Carlson. The inn has three guest rooms, each with private bath, offers wine, wireless and of course a delightful breakfast during your stay.

SOURCE: Albert Shafsky House Bed and Breakfast

CONTACT:
Albert Shafsky House Bed and Breakfast
Email: stay@shafsky.com
URL: http://www.shafsky.com

For more information about the Geomate.jr: email warren@apishere.com or to to www.mygeomate.com

Some of our favorite restaurants near the Placerville B&B

Here are some of our favorite places for a night out...and their weblinks so you can drool about what you will have for dinner after Rita's great breakfast at the Albert Shafsky House B&B.  All but Zachary Jacques is just a short stroll from the inn.

Cafe Luna, a cozy, friendly place--with big house salads and outstanding food.  They do not have a traditional website, but have started a blog with menus and recipes. 

Hey Day Cafe 

Heyday is a small family-owned-and-operated restaurant established in January 2007, in the gold rush era town of Placerville, California. Their aim is to provide a relaxed, friendly gathering place for locals as well as visitors to our foothill community.

Sequoia in the Bee-Bennett House

Sequoia is a beautifully restored Victorian, with fine dining and sense of history. 

Zachary Jacques
With all the charm of a French Country Inn you will feel right at home while you indulge in the robust flavours of French countryside cooking.

Kindle books and innkeepers

I have now had my Kindle for about 3 months and have to say "I Love It", best product I have purchased in a long time.

What is a Kindle? It is like an IPod for books, and yes, it can "read to you" if you like to listen to books on "tape". I find reading very relaxing and is something that I am always asking our guests..."What are you reading?". Now I will have to start asking, "What's on your Kindle?"

In the short time I have had it, I have downloaded a number of books, via the FREE whispernet feature that works with Sprint's cell phone coverage, and have downloaded a large number of classics for free via the computer.

You can find great tips for books in many spots online like the Kindle Reader, or the Kindle Guide, or from Amazon's Kindle blog.  Just yesterday I wanted to look up a passage from "The Prophet" by Kahil Gibran and had the whole book on my Kindle in under a minute and for less than $5.  All while sitting on our back porch!  How cool is that.

The reason I think the Kindle is so great is that I have run out of places in the bed and breakfast for more books and so this way, I can read all I want, when and where I want without having to worry about where they will be stored later.  Plus it is better for the planet to not cut some many trees down....

Gas, Snacks and Slug Gulch Red

Gas prices are going up and one of the El Dorado WIneries close to our Placerville bed and breakfast wants to help you out. Over the Memorial Day weekend for 11-5 in their tasting room they will be releasing Slug Gulch Red for $9 (case and club discounts apply) and if you bring in a receipt for gas or diesel purchased during the Sat-Mon they will add an additional 5% discount to your wine purchase at Oakstone Winery.

Kindle and bed and breakfast innkeepers

I have found a solution to the problem of space for my personal collection of books-- the Amazon Kindle.  This wonderful little devise can hold 200 books on it, and since I love to read, it is practically perfect for me.  There are still a number of books that will stay in the guest area of the inn--in fact nearly all, but my collection will be e-books for now.  Plus Rita won't know how many I have purchased!!!

I am not suggesting that innkeepers get rid of their books that guests enjoy, but if your personal collection is getting too big for the space in your quarters, you might want to consider purchasing a Kindle and having "more room at the inn".

The Kindle has made living at a bed and breakfast so much easier, and since you can download and read a new book without leaving the bed and breakfast, it saves us time and gas as the nearest large book store is about 20 minutes away (a lifetime for some innkeepers).

Start a blog and toss it

Great article the other day from Remarkablogger about starting a blog, learning and tossing it as a practice blog...without feeling bad.  Michael Martine states " The objective of a starter blog is to get in, learn your lessons, and then get out. Take what you’ve learned and then plan a “real” blog." Amen.  Your first try does not have to be your last, and if you don't like it, you are not overly committed to a domain name, traffic, etc.  

Afterall, innkeepers have plenty to do without starting a blog, but you might get hooked and really enjoy it as a way to reach out to others and impart some of your passion about innkeeping to a wider audience than those who walk thru your doorway.