We struck Gold on this visit to US state – and you should too
It has been 25 years since I visited the States and the last time I was in America, I was getting a selfie with Minnie Mouse at Disney World in Florida.
So what better way to reintroduce America to me as an adult than to head for California's Tuolumne County – the heart of Gold Country where thriving Gold Rush towns put the region on the map. Here, you'll meet real life cowboys and cattle ranchers. Sadly, none I could take home to mum.
After 10 hours on an Aer Lingus flight direct from Dublin to San Francisco, we travel around three hours to Sonora, the largest town in Tuolumne County. This quaint town offers a glimpse into the past with their preserved saloons, historic buildings and museums.
Our first stop is bedtime. We arrived at The Inn on Knowles Hill, a gorgeous boutique bed and breakfast hotel overlooking the town of Sonora. It's been 14 hours since I last saw Ireland and I was looking forward to my bed.
We were immediately greeted by owner Rhonda Buess, who runs this charming hotel with her vintage car obsessed husband Fred.The couple have been married since 1992 and have spent over $1M renovating The Inn on Knowles Hill - and boy, does it show.
The Inn is 12,500 square feet of home away from home. I've never slept in a bed with the softest of pillows and the most comfortable mattress. It was so big, I joked I'd need a ladder to climb in.
After a peaceful night's sleep, it was time for breakfast. But this was no grab and go situation – I was in America now. For every guest, Rhona prepares a two-course breakfast that sets you up for the day.
For our first course, Rhonda served us organic bosc pear poached in cardamom spice, filled with vanilla bean creme with raspberry coulis and toasted almonds. Our second course arrives – Aebleskivers (Danish pancakes) served traditionally with raspberry jam and Chantilly cream. The dish was accompanied with Knowles Hill eggs florentine, a recipe designed at The Inn and some turkey bacon.
The food isn't the only thing that kept us talking on our trip – The Inn is steeped in history. Rhonda tells me: "The house was built in 1927 for a Swedish man called Charles Segerstrom. He had stock in the West in a lumber company. He was president of Royal Bank. He had hotels in San Francisco, but his primary money making was from mining.'
Rhonda explains that each of the eight rooms at The Inn are all named after the famous people who have stayed there, including President Herbert Hoover, Supreme Court Justice, Earl Warren, Helen Keller, Ruth Bryan Owen and Melvin Belli.
'We've even had Motley Crew," she boasted.
Most people who buy a hotel nowadays want to modernise it – but Rhonda and Fred wanted to restore it back to the roaring 20s. They are the third owners and bought the house in 2005. The previous owners had decorated it hot pink.
"We opened in 2012. It took about seven years to get ourselves established.'
Guests are not only treated to Rhonda's excellent cooking skills but they will also be accompanied by Fred downtown in one of his vintage cars. He owns several vintage Rolls Royce's which he proudly shows off out the front of this charming must stay hotel.
After a peaceful night's sleep, we took a trip to Railtown 1897 State Historic Park where we met train enthusiast Daniel Lewis.The train station welcomed the first steam train back in 1897 to crowds of 5,000 and is a hit with fourth graders on school tours.
From April until October, the train station runs excursion train rides as well as The Polar Express, which runs in November and December and "always sells out," said Daniel.
The station was also home to some of Hollywood's 200 famous films, including High Noon, Back To The Future III and Petticoat Junction.
'Locomotive No.3 is by far the most famous here. She's been in more movies and TV shows than in Hollywood. Hollywood loved it. It has a classic style and it's cute.
Sonora is also home to Columbia's State Historic Park, which is another hit with kids. But for the adults too, the western themed town features plenty of restaurants and bars to keep cool from the Californian sun.
After digging for some gold at Columbia, thirsty travellers can head to Indigeny Reserve to sample some cider from the local orchard.Indigeny sits on a stunning 160-acre preserve and apple orchard and is a hit with locals, especially on Valentine's Day.
Our tour guide Cassandra takes us through the fruits of their labour from this family run business, which employs just 12 people, and was started by retired couple Jay and Judy Watson. Cassandra brings us through the process of harvesting the apples from their 30,000 trees.
'When we are harvesting our apples, we are harvesting over 52 varieties. 'Each year is different, depending on the seasons, whether we get a lot of water, whether our blossoms did great that year, we can range about 300,000 pounds of apples to a million pounds of apples. And so when we're harvesting, we harvest everything, even the imperfectly, perfect apples. This whole entire range here we have about 30,000 trees.'
As well as feeding the cider thirsty customers, Indigeny feeds a plethora of wildlife from harvested apples that hit the orchard floor.After a day of tours, we head downtown – courtesy of Fred in the Rolls Royce – and arrive in style at a local dive bar, where my colleague hustles a few unsuspecting locals in a game of pool.
The next day, we leave Sonora and head to Yosemite National Park for two days hiking. Yosemite is well worth a visit for any traveller who loves the outdoors. It's an hour and a half from Sonora and the views are breathtaking along the way.
The side of the park we're exploring is the road less travelled. We met our tour guide Gabriel for a two-hour hike to Hetch Hetchy – an hour and a half from the popular Yosemite Valley.
Hetch Hetchy, whose reservoir supplies the water for all of San Francisco, is a hidden treasure that lies in the northwest portion of Yosemite National Park. It's a jaw-dropping trail, way less crowded than other areas of the park, and is a perfect weekend backpacking trip for any level of experience.
It sees fewer than 100 visitors a day, compared to the 19,000 day tourists to Yosemite Valley. And to rest your tired legs after, there's Rush Creek's Lodge and Spa.
The hotel is the newest Yosemite spa resort, featuring incredible indoor and outdoor spa elements inspired by the natural beauty and power of Yosemite. But for those who prefer to sleep under the stars – Evergreen Lodge Yosemite is the perfect spot and just 20 minutes from Hetch Hetchy.
Pick from family cabins, glamping tents or couples cabins – but be warned those who glamp need to remember the dress for the elements for bed. It gets very cold at night in Yosemite. Evergreen Lodge also offers all guests complimentary smores for that real American experience as well as heated saltwater pool and hot tub amongst the pines.
The next day, we headed for the Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias for a blissful two-hour hike amongst the two dozen mature giant sequoias. This strenuous walk is worthwhile when you come across these giants in the middle of the forest.
After our hike, we head for a quick lunch stop at Around The Horn for a tasty American Hot Dog. And to quench your thirst, this bar offers a beer flight so customers can explore all the bar's different craft beers on offer.
We head back on the road to shake our tail feathers on the last stop of the trip – The Chicken Ranch Casino.
This casino underwent a massive $400 million renovation and caters to all your entertainment needs. It's non-smoking and its general manager Todd DeRemer spent 14 years of his working life managing a casino in Las Vegas, so he decided to bring his 33 years' experience in the gaming industry back to North America.
The Chicken Ranch Casino also features a 209 Sports bar with 3D video aspect all around – it is the only one in North America as well as a Wahlburger – the second one in California and sales are eighth in the entire nation.
Forget heading to Vegas, this hotel, which opened in July 2024, has 197 eggceptional rooms with 22 suites – including one called The Mother Pucker that features a golden chicken that players rub for good luck before heading downstairs to gamble.
'About 70 percent of people who stay at the hotel are players,' says Todd as he reveals the casino had two massive wins in March. One jackpot was $863,000 and the other for $823,000.
The Chicken Ranch Casino also has a stunning Fine Dining restaurant called Perch Rooftop Dining and also has a shallow pool, which will host major parties in the future.
For my first time back to America in 25 years, this was the perfect reintroduction as an adult exploring. Yosemite was definitely a highlight of the trip, and I look forward to returning again.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Dublin airport operator warned over passenger cap breach
Dublin Airport operator DAA has been issued with an enforcement order by Fingal County Council for breaching the 32 million annual passenger limit, despite a High Court suspension of the cap. An Bord Pleanála imposed the limit on airport's capacity in 2007 as a condition of allowing it add a second terminal. The move was meant to allay fears over traffic jams on roads to and from the airport, which have since been upgraded. State company DAA applied to the council for permission to increase the cap to 36 million and 40 million in separate applications, but has yet to receive a decision from the planning authority. However, in April the High Court effectively suspended the passenger cap pending the outcome of a legal challenge relating to the limit taken last year by Irish airlines Ryanair and Aer Lingus, and Airlines for America, which represents US and Canadian carriers. READ MORE The cap was breached last year when 33.3 million passengers came through the airport. The council has now issued DAA with an enforcement notice which allows a two-year period to comply with the passenger capacity conditions. [ Aviation regulator drops measure from winter travel plan Opens in new window ] 'The two-year period provides an opportunity for DAA to progress their planning applications to increase passenger capacity at Dublin Airport or take such other steps as they consider appropriate to achieve compliance,' the council said. In response to complaints received that the conditions were breached in 2023 and 2024, the council's enforcement unit initiated a formal investigation to assess compliance. 'A warning letter was issued to DAA, providing them with an opportunity to respond, which they did,' the council said. 'Fingal County Council acknowledges the operational complexities presented. However, the information submitted by DAA does not constitute sufficient grounds to prevent further action. The investigation has determined that a breach of the relevant planning conditions has occurred and remains ongoing.' A DAA spokesman described the issuing of the enforcement notice as a 'sorry indictment' of the planning system. 'The fact that Fingal County Council is sending us an enforcement notice regarding 32 million passengers when passenger numbers will be north of 36 million this year and heading towards 40 million before the end of the decade is a sorry indictment of the mess that is the Irish planning system, particularly when it comes to the most vital piece of transport infrastructure on this island,' he said. DAA said that until the 'broken' system was overhauled the airport was effectively 'hamstrung' and unable to grow Ireland's connectivity. It has called for a complete scrapping of the passenger limit and for the airport to be classified as strategic infrastructure, placing relevant decisions in the hands of a national planning body and not a local authority. 'When it took up office, the Government committed to acting speedily to identify and implement a legislative solution that would remove the passenger cap from Dublin Airport,' the DAA spokesman said. 'The Minister has since also said he will bring forward legislation to solve the cap issue, dispel uncertainty and maintain connectivity for Ireland – and this can't happen quickly enough.' Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien last month said he hoped forthcoming legislation could bring an end to the dispute.
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Irish Independent
Big increase in winter flights at Dublin Airport expected after cap suspended
The number of seats that will be available on flights in and out of the capital will rise to just under 17.9 million for the season, a 23pc increase on last winter. Last winter, just under 14.4 million seats were set to be made available by carriers as the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) decided to limit numbers to ensure Dublin Airport adhered to its annual 32 million passenger cap. While the number available next winter is expected to shoot back up to 17.9 million, that is still below the near 18.4 million that were being made available for winter 2023-2024. Aer Lingus intends to have more than 4.7 million seats available this winter. That's 560,000 more than last winter. Ryanair will have 7.54 million, compared with the 6.25 million it had last season. Other international operators, from Gulf carriers Emirates and Etihad to US airlines including United, Delta and American, will have hundreds of thousands of extra seats available between them. Dublin Airport's passenger cap is due to a planning condition attached in 2007 to the construction of Terminal 2. However, this year Dublin Airport will handle about 36.3 million passengers, following decisions by the High Court that effectively paused the cap while certain matters related to aircraft take-off and landing slot allocations are being examined by the European Court of Justice. It is not likely to deliver a ruling on those matters until summer next year. Dublin Airport's slots are managed by UK-based firm Airport Coordination. Its initial co-ordination report for the coming winter period, which covers October 26 to March 28 next year, shows the dramatic increase in the planned seat availability now that the IAA cannot, for the time being at least, limit the number at Dublin Airport. The report shows there was demand for 103,020 take-off and landing slots for the season, with 102,754 allocated. New slots for the period were requested by a slew of airlines, from Aer Lingus and Ryanair, to Hainan Airlines, Emirates and Etihad. Ryanair remains by far the biggest operator at Dublin Airport for the season, with 39pc of allocated slots for the winter. Aer Lingus has 23pc. Emerald Airlines, which operates the Aer Lingus Regional service, has just under 13pc. The largest non-Irish long-haul carrier out of Dublin is United Airlines, with 1,080 slots for the winter, followed by Emirates and Qatar Airways. The report from Airport Coordination notes that some new destinations which intended to be operated next winter include routes to Albania's capital, Tirana, as well as to Rabat in Morocco and a direct service to Derry. The Government has pledged to have the cap removed. While Transport Minister Darragh O'Brien has suggested legislation will be brought forward in the autumn to address the cap, it could take some time before it is removed. Dublin Airport is set for its busiest ever summer, with passenger numbers expected to surpass 10 million for the season. It expects to have a number of days where passenger numbers will significantly exceed 100,000.
The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Aer Lingus launches new winter cities sale during heatwave with cheap Christmas market spots from €31
AER Lingus has launched a major winter sale with flights to top Christmas market spots from €31. The Irish airline has slashed flights to a number of destinations across 1 Passengers can book their Christmas market flights early Credit: PA:Press Association Passengers can travel to top spots including Frankfurt, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Zurich, Geneva and Milan from €31.20. The valid travel period is from October 1 to April 30. Aer Lingus said: "With a multitude of destinations waiting to be explored, there's lots to look forward to across Europe!" "Check out our incredible European city break offers – fly from only €35.99." READ MORE IN TRAVEL And Aer Lingus has issued a major warning to a number of their loyal customers who may be The Irish airline is reminding its three million AerClub members to check their account balances. So far this year, AerClub members saved over €3million using Avios to book flights with They can also use their Avios to save money on upgrades, hotels and other travel experiences. Most read in News Travel Avios is the reward currency of AerClub and can be collected when members fly with Aer Lingus and partner airlines, as well as when they shop with affiliated retailers including Deliveroo, Brown Thomas, ASOS, I'm an Aer Lingus flight attendant - here's a look at our newest flight direct to US destination from Dublin AerClub members can also collect Avios seamlessly by linking their Whether you're grabbing a coffee at Jump Juice, hopping on an Aircoach, or bagging some holiday essentials at Lifestyle Sports or Skechers, you'll collect Avios on each purchase, bringing you closer to your next adventure. Aer Lingus Chief Customer Officer, Susanne Carberry said: "At Aer Lingus, we are committed to rewarding our loyal AerClub members in meaningful ways. "All our members can secure discounts through Pay with Avios or redeeming Reward Flights, allowing them to use their Avios to maximise their benefits and make every journey more rewarding. "From booking flights and upgrading to Business Class to unlocking unique travel extras, we encourage our members to explore the full potential of Avios and turn their travel dreams into reality." TRAVEL HACK Frequent flyers will also love this And it's available at three busy airports this summer. The Irish airline has been offering an evening bag drop perk that is perfect for early morning flyers. With many sunrise flights leaving every day, airport lines can build up quickly. But If you are leaving in the early morning, you can now check in your bag the evening before your flight. This perk works perfect for anyone who lives nearby or is staying close to the airport.
