Great Weekend

(I didn't want to announce that we were leaving this last weekend on my blog. So I apologize for not posting and commenting. )

We had the best weekend! We spent 4 days in a small town named Murphys. What a charming little town it is. Murphys, like many towns in the Sierra foothills started as a gold rush stop for miners. Now it is known for its beautiful historic downtown and wineries.

The weather was perfect. We were invited to a friend's cabin for dinner and had great bar-b-q, spent time with wonderful friends, we swam, we shopped, we fished (well, my husband and kids did), we ate great meals. We met a burro named Clarisse. And that was all in the first 2 days.

On Saturday we went to a Ironstone Vineyards for music and fireworks. The wine was great, the music was rockin' and the fireworks were spectacular.

The fun didn't end there. Sunday we decided to visit Columbia State Park. Just down the way from Murphys, it too is steeped in gold rush history. We panned for gold but only came up with small pieces of turquoise and garnets. My daughter loves her little gems though. We bellied up to the salon there and drank sarsaparillas.

And on the way home we all (3 families) went zip lining at Moaning Caverns. Oh my! I am so scared of heights but I was not going to let the day go by without trying this! (And my 9 year old son did it first, who was I to chicken out when he can do it.) I went tandem with my son and it was an experience I will never forget.

I had a great time this weekend. But going overnight in an unfamiliar place is hard on your green conscience. Does the motel recycle? How do I refill my Sigg bottle? Is that organic? Can we walk there? Where can I keep left-overs? Is there a Starbucks? (oops, that's not green, but I still want to know.)

In my next post I will let you know my ups and downs of trying to stay green in Murphys. And I don't mean "Irish" green either. Although, as you can tell with the name, Murphys is very Irish.