Today (Thursday, December 6, 2007) Grandpa and I came through Donner’s Pass in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on our way to Reno to see a long-time friend who worked with Grandpa way back in the 50s. We traveled through snow, following the truck pictured here, and thought of the dreadful snowstorm that occurred back in the 19th Century, which caught the Donner Party by surprise and forced them to struggle to survive until spring or until the end of their lives. We had been in Nevada City, California for a Victorian Christmas Holiday with Elderhostel. (I believe it is our 26th vacation with this fine organization!)
While we were there, a crime was committed in our hotel; a hotel built in the 19th Century and that has not changed much in its approximately 150 years. It’s location, right in the middle of this small town, is perfect for the tourist. About a half block from our lodging was a small park, crawling with homeless people. (Hear that, Heather? You could find a full-time ministry here.) During the night, a man in a black sweatshirt, with its hood up and nearly covering his face, stole through the halls of the hotel and less than 10 feet from our doorway, pulled a rollaway bed from its compartment and took a nap. Leaving in the morning, he strolled past a suitcase a guest left momentarily at the top of a stairway and decided to take it with him. When it was discovered missing, everyone in the hotel put together what information we had and pieced together the story. Two hotel employees remembered seeing this man leaving with a suitcase, so they tracked him down. When the thief saw one of these men, he fled and the luggage was redeemed, but that was not the only exciting thing that happened on our excursion to Nevada City.
We visited a gold mine museum and the gold mine itself. We heard a talk by a veteran miner. We heard and learned enough we could become miners ourselves – but we won’t because it sounds like drudgery. Nevada City is drenched in history and we absorbed a lot of it. The town (not including the Indian culture there) was born of the gold rush in 1849 and is full of tales of both the good guys and the bad guys with a surprising number of prominent national figures thrown in. It was interesting to see how the California politics connected with our national government. We got a good look, too, at some of the local talent. One married couple did an evening program on The Golden Years of Radio. We also enjoyed a trio of musicians singing and strumming Appalachian music and a group of Christmas Madrigals from the local high school. On the last night, Nevada City closes two of its streets to traffic and holds a Victorian Christmas. There were booths with vendors of edibles and non-edibles. (We bought popcorn for our room.) Carolers were everywhere; including a choral group dressed in Victorian garb singing beside a living nativity tableau. There were dancing groups and lone children playing violins. The best part was that all we had to do was walk outside our hotel doors and we were there; playing a part in a Victorian Christmas.
About this hotel: it was historic and lovely, however, - why does there always have to be a however? – to survive its amenities, or lack of, a guest really needs a sense of humor. Our 3rd floor room was not, repeat NOT, serviced by an elevator. Strong water pressure was as rare as the elevator. The bed, genuine antique, fell apart and had pillows as thick and fluffy as the sheets. There was no light to read by. One night I arose from my extra-hard chair to turn on the light; and realized it was already on. When Grandpa and I discovered the sleeping guest outside our door, we merely thought the hotel rented him sleeping space, which shows our lack of faith in the management. Oh well, you can’t have everything. The program was superb and the group of Elderhostelers was easy to live with, so we rate it five stars and would recommend it to anyone 55 or over. (Guests should bring along a reading lamp and a fire escape ladder.)
I can’t leave without telling you how much we’ve enjoyed Uncle Dave, Aunt Helen, Matt and Marsha. We’ll start seeing them again tomorrow. Remember………
Nevada
City
at
Night
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