Road Trip to Camino

April 11-13, 2008 -- Five-thirty in the morning is early by my standards, but when you have to get on the road for a seven-hour drive up to northern California, ya gotta do whatcha gotta do. Luggage? Check. Snacks and water for the road? Check. Dog food? Check. Portable, fold-up Labrador Retriever? Check.

Once again, Truman proved his mettle as a traveling companion on the road to Camino, where we were headed for a "work weekend" at the forest-nestled home of my boyfriend's spry-but-not-quite-spry-enough-to-sweep-pine-needles-off-her-own-roof octogenarian aunt Inge.

Aside from traumatizing Inge's little dog Sadie and creating MORE work for the weekend by meeting the screen door at ramming speed, Truman was a very good house guest. He enjoyed the sights (different kinds of birds!), sounds (new barking opportunities!), and smells (wow! whose poop is THIS?) of the forest.

After the house and yard projects were complete, we explored the nearby town of Placerville (known as "Old Hangtown" for obvious California Gold Rush-era reasons). We visited the Thomas Kinkade gallery (Kinkade grew up in Placerville); the oldest continuously operating hardware store west of the Mississippi; a cozy little used book store; and the historic Cary House Hotel. Here's Truman posing on the landing of the staircase in the hotel lobby:



One uniquely wonderful part of our trip is that since Wolf's dad and aunt emigrated from Germany, Inge introduced us to lots of authentic German cuisine, both home-cooked and at a favorite family establishment, the St. Pauli Inn in Pollock Pines, where I ate schnitzel and sauerkraut on the outdoor deck overlooking the American River. No, I did not share. Truman does NOT need the cabbage.

Tomorrow, you'll see some photos from our favorite part of the weekend....