Ok, where were we now?… Ah yes, hangin’ out in Gold Country with this beautiful group of people! With the unfortunate exception of Heather’s husband Darin, who had to work, but with the very welcome addition of her lovely sister, Adie, the gang departed Placerville on Sunday morning to journey on toward Nevada City (Amber, Graham, and Mycie’s neck of the foothills).
Speaking of which, the sun was shining brightly on them there hills as we wound our way along historic Hwy 49. A perfect clear day for breathtaking views of rolling hills and gorgeous vistas. About midway, we all converged for a pit stop in the historic little town of Coloma.
While waiting for Milla, Heather, and Adie to catch up, the rest of us wandered the short distance down to the river’s edge to watch Clover and Mycie run around and play with sticks and stones and sand.
The dress Clover was wearing actually happened to be a hand-me-down from Mycie, that came with my birthday package from Amber the year before :)
This photo of Mycie and Charlie is one of my favorites of the trip.
I wore my new little plaid dress, cozy pastel cardigan, and leather and chain owl necklace… all new-to-me Crimson and Clover/Flaming Hag Folkwear treasures from the previous day.
After the solid week of rain, hail, and snow leading up to this day, I think we were all feeling pretty blissed out on just being able to sit along the river bank and soak up some much appreciated sunshine.
With the arrival of Heather, Milla, and Adie, the whole group took a stroll over the American River by way of a one-lane bridge.
Heather, Adie, and Graham enjoying the gorgeous view.
Milla held tight to the little ones as we made our way along the bridge with it’s dangerously large open gaps along the sides!
Ah, the boys… sadly, this is the closest thing to a group shot that I got of them, and Darin wasn’t even there for it! At least Amber got this shot, but we really did drop the ball I think in not getting them all to pose together. Not that they minded, I'm sure.It bears mentioning though, that they were all really great about this whole thing. A real top-notch group of menfolk we've got ourselves, none of whom knew what they were in for with this whole crazy meet-up masterminded by a bunch of giddy wives.
They deserve a ton of praise for coming along on this decidedly estrogen-charged ride and remaining good-natured and open to the experience throughout our sisterly adventures. There wasn't nearly the amount of eye-rolling that us girls had anticipated! Not to mention, they are a super laid-back and funny bunch of guys, always a bonus!
Speaking of giddy wives!
Group shot of the ladies in the town of Coloma, where gold was first discovered in 1848, triggering the 1849 California Gold Rush. A location rich in history when it comes to hunting treasure. A fitting spot for us girls, treasure hunters of a different sort, to come together!
Essentially, that is exactly what brought us together, our love of finding treasure, mainly in the form of vintage clothing, and the urge to share that love with other kindred treasure huntresses. Who knew that in the process of doing so, the most cherished finds would turn out to be each other <3
Yeah, I’d say we struck gold for sure ;)
As soon as we reached Nevada City, we hightailed it on over to Ike’s Quarter Café, where Adie’s husband Art works, for a super yummy lunch (during which I was apparently too hungry to take any pictures, ha, a rare moment on this trip.) We were also joined by Amber’s good friend and shop model, Suuzi, who turned out to be every bit as warm and lovely in person as she appears on Amber’s blog.
Nevada City showed remnants of recently snowy days as evidenced by the roof of our sweet rental cottage. This is where myself, Lucas, Clover, Milla, and Charlie would be spending the night. It was perfectly located just steps away from Nevada City’s ridiculously charming downtown too!As we settled in at the cottage, our lovely friend Nicole did indeed show up with her wonderful family in tow! Leaving Lucas behind to enjoy a wee nap, the rest of our growing gang set off to meander along the idyllic streets of Nevada city.
Our route downtown took us on a peaceful stroll through a little old snow-dusted cemetery just up the road from our cottage.
With headstones dating back to the 1800’s, it made for a picturesque photo spot…
with the sun peaking through the trees…
and these little sprites frolicking amongst the spirits of Gold Rush days.
We made our way to the 130 year-old historic National Hotel, oldest continuously operating hotel west of the Mississippi, where we met up with yet ANOTHER beautiful bloggy lady, Sadie Rose! She was just checking into the hotel, after a drive up from Chico to join our ragtag crew.We took advantage of the lovely seating area in the lobby to get a group photo of all the ladies, from left to right: Me and Clover, Adie, Heather, Amber and Mycie, Milla, Nicole and Kama, and Sadie, our newest addition!
Nicole and her family… seriously stylin’ clan that they are!
Another favorite photo from the trip… there’s just something about sweet lil’ Mycie charmin’ those dark bearded men I guess!
Just as we were saying hello to Sadie, it was time to say goodbye to Adie (short for Adrienne, thus pronounced such that this sentence rhymes :)
As the lobby filled up with barefoot little girls running wild, gal's a'chatting, and the ever present photo ops, Charlie wandered off (an endearing tendency of his btw, in fact, if he hasn't wandered off, chances are he's napping ;) only to be discovered downstairs taking full advantage of the amazing old timey bar w/ constellations of shiny Christmas balls hanging from the ceiling tiles!Unfortunately, Sadie's little boy Asher began feeling a bit under the weather as they arrived at the hotel, so they decided to rest up in their room before joining us later to hang out.
As the sun began to set we made our way back along the quaint streets of Nevada City. Under cotton candy clouds, we admired the perfectly eclectic mix of lovely architectural styles exhibited by the homes and churches along the way.
Peeking into dreamy shop windows,
and stopping every two feet or so for more photo ops, aren’t these two adorable?!
After stopping into a candy shop to pick up some hot chocolates for the walk, Lucas tracked us down, and just in time, as Clover had decided that walking up the hilly streets just wasn’t for her anymore. My hero!
Back at the cottage we all settled in for another cozy evening together… beer, snacks, families, friends, kids jumping on beds, grown-ups laughing and telling stories. It was another totally fun night and the addition of Nicole and family, Sadie and her son, and Amber’s friend Suuzi, who we’d met earlier at lunch, only added to the merriment. Another group shot of all the ladies, check out me and Clover surrounded by all those beauties!I was struck by how unique all the girls and their individual personalities turned out to be, yet how we all seemed to fit together in a way that felt somehow complimentary. It was really neat to be surrounded by a room full of people, most of whom had never met in person before that day or the day before, and feel the kind of warmth one might experience hanging out at a party full of close friends.
And yeah, I felt like I would have liked to have been more outgoing than I was that evening and to have connected with some of the girls more than I did, but that’s just part of my unique personality, for better or worse, and to be honest it’s not unlikely for me to feel that way even at a party full of people that I have known for years. I’m a weird combination of someone who is not totally comfortable being social, yet for the most part loves being around people. Anyway, enough about my social quirks…
Later that night… sisters bundled up and circled in song, surrounded by tall trees and the silence of the moonlit cemetery, it's hushed souls… moments of connection did occur, moments that I felt privileged to be part of :)
As the night went on hugs were given, goodbyes were said, until it was just the Missas and the Millas again… off to bed.
The next morning we checked out of the cottage and walked back down to Ike’s for what was arguably one of the best breakfasts of my entire life…
SO GOOD.
Unfortunately this awesome little shop wasn’t open, so we had to settle for peering in longingly through the window.
After another quick visit to the National Hotel, since Lucas didn’t get to see it the day before, we headed out of Nevada City with one final stop to make…
Amber, Graham, and Mycie’s sweet little miner’s cabin in Grass Valley! Where we found Amber and Mycie having a quiet morning together in their lovely and cozy home.
I was completely charmed by their wee dwelling, where earthy touches mixed with bits of vintage whimsy in the most wonderful ways.
Our final ladies group shot :)
With the end of our bittersweet little visit, came the reality that our special weekend was really coming to a close and it would probably be some time before we'd all get to see each other in person again. Not that that has stopped us girls from already scheming up ways to make this happen again sooner rather than later!
Milla and Charlie came back with us to Santa Rosa and spent one final night before waking up at the crack of dawn to head on up the coast. Of course I was sure to wake up at the crack of dawn too, to send my friend off with a nice long hug and and a maybe not-so-dry-eyed goodbye.
So now I’ll quote myself from the comment I left on Milla’s post, 'cause what better way to sum it all up than with my own sappy little metaphor, right?
“…those first silly little comments we made about each other's outfits (though we had no idea of their power and potential at the time) were actually small seeds that have since sprouted and grown and branched out and blossomed, and propagated... spreading new seed and bringing us here to this beautiful garden of calico and kindred spirits! It's all a bit mind-blowing, don't you think?”
Indeed... and in the best of ways!
