Outside of Santa Barbara, up the San Marcos Pass, there is a former stagecoach stop. The Cold Spring Tavern, built in 1868, brings one back in time to the Old West.
Cold Spring Tavern, opened in 1868.
A scenic drive led to this now popular restaurant where reservations are needed. We had lunch reservations set for 11:30 a.m., as soon as it opened.
The Cold Spring Tavern, a Wells Fargo stagecoach stop.
It sits all by itself on this old stagecoach route, on Stagecoach Road. We found parking in the rocky, rutty unpaved parking lot that held about ten cars. After the lot is full, cars line the streets for a long way…which was the case by the time we left.
The bar portion of Cold Spring Tavern.
I love eating outdoors, and this restaurant offered outdoor seating, but I thought it would be more of a unique experience to eat inside this original tavern. It had multiple, small rooms.
There are several rooms inside this tavern. We were seated in the room with the fireplace.
We were led to a room with a stone fireplace, and the fire was blazing. It was windy and cool outside so the fire felt good, and added much to the ambiance. We had the room to ourselves for a short while. We placed our order and sat back to relax in this unique and quiet setting. The food was tasty.
This outdoor space, in the back of the tavern, is used for receptions etc. The building in this picture is a road gang house, built for the Chinese road gang who built the toll road through the San Marcos Pass.
The sign for the Road Gang House.
We know friends from Northfield who were married at the Cold Spring Tavern, back in 1973. We thought of them while we were there.
The Cold Spring Tavern.
After lunch we drove another route home, through wine country and then back to Santa Barbara, along the Pacific Ocean.
We were on our way to visit our youngest son and his family in North Carolina. Another road trip…YAY.
As the daylight came to an end on the shortest day of 2021, we found ourselves in the southwestern region of West Virginia. It was very scenic, and we were going up, and over, and down the “lesser” mountains (of the Appalachian Mountains), like a roller coaster, with a lot of curves too.
The sun was setting and the conditions were just right for a gorgeous sunset…poofs of clouds, reflecting the sun, catching the rays, turning red.
It surrounded us, and it lingered for a several miles! It was magnificent. I felt I was on a Disney ride, driving through a sunset.
It was dark when we drove into Charleston, West Virginia where we stopped for the night. The next stop…grandchildren!
Last month we went on a Sunday Drive down Highway 61 towards Winona, Minnesota. The sun was shining bright and we enjoyed the scenic views of the Mississippi River. Because it was late March, the trees had not budded out yet, and we saw a lot more of the water than driving the same route in summer or fall when the trees are full. It’s a beautiful drive anytime of the year, but I it was nice seeing more of the river this time.
The Mississippi River.
Our first stop was Lark Toys, a very unique and fun stop. Lark Toys is a toy museum, a retail store with a large selection of wooden toys, vintage-style toys and a fine book shop. The museum has glass enclosed displays with all sorts of games and toys from bygone years that prompt many memories and a delight to see. There is an indoor carousal you can ride, a candy store to buy old-fashion candies, and an ice cream shoppe.
Inside one of the glass enclosed display cases of antique toys in Lark’s Toy Museum.
Our next stop was the Marine Art Museum in Winona. It seems an unusual place for such a quality museum, but I assume it’s because of the two colleges in Winona, and probably a generous donor. It is on an inlet of the river, close to downtown but in a more industrial part of town. The tagline on their website is “Great art inspired by water.” I like that because I like water, and I like art.
MMAM: Minnesota Marine Art Museum.
The museum has permanent displays and changing exhibitions. Some works of Fred Somers, a talented and inspiring Northfield artist, were on display the day we were at the museum, and also an exhibition about the Titanic, with art pieces to go along with that tragic story.
Exhibitions change which provides new artworks to see, but the permanent displays are wonderful too. I don’t know much about art…I never took an art history class (but wish I had). I really enjoy admiring the artwork. I marvel at those who can paint. I often think, “this piece started out as a blank canvas!” A lot of the pieces (but not all) in the museum focus on marine art, thus the name.
There were two ship’s figureheads in the lobby of the Marine Art Museum, reminding us to wear our masks.
There are two permanent collections: American artists and European artists. The American collection is “historical works by American artist spanning the length of the nation’s history”. I don’t know many American artists, but I’m learning. The European collection had pieces by artists I recognized, such as; Monet, van Gogh, Degas, Renoir, Picasso and more.
Understandably photographs were not permitted (except in the lobby). There is a nice gift shop where I bought some postcards.
This is a post card I bought in the museum gift shop. I liked the colors and style of this Renoir painting, from the European collection.
It’s worth the drive to Winona to check out this interesting and amazing museum.
On our way to the north shore we always take the scenic drive instead of the expressway from Duluth to Two Harbors. It may be a slower route, but it is, as the name describes, a scenic route along Lake Superior. About half way between the two towns is a non-descript building that looks more like a house than a store. It was called Practicals, Collectibles & Antiques.
The nondescript building for a store.
We’ve been stopping at this unique store for years. We enjoyed browsing around and visiting with the owner who was always there. He was friendly and welcoming and recognized us. We knew he was a retired military guy who wintered in Texas but would spend his summers in his shop right across the road from beautiful Lake Superior.
A view of the lake.
The interior of the store was lined from floor to ceiling with thousands of used books and old vinyl record albums. Shelves outlined the perimeter of the store, which displayed antique dishes, collectibles and “practicals”. We always looked forward to stopping at this quaint shop. We would usually buy a couple of books at about $1-2 a piece.
One year we apologized for only spending $2 but he graciously said…the north shore gets a million visitors a year…if each one spends a $1 that works for me…however, I run this store because it’s fun…not for the money.
The For Sale sign for Practicals, Collectables, & Antiques.
This year at the turnoff we noticed the large hand-written “For Sale” sign in the yard. The building was locked and empty, and we were a bit sad. I guess we knew it was coming sooner or later but it was too soon for us.
While at the cabin we searched for additional information about the store. We found a local TV news program had interviewed the owner in Spring 2018. We learned the owner’s name is Ed Johnson and that he was loved by many (we were not surprised). We learned he ran this store for 26 years and at the time of the interview he was 76 years old.
If you look closely, you can see an outhouse in the back. There was no running water in this building. The public restroom was an outhouse.
One other fond memory I have of “Mr. Ed” is from years ago, before we got to know him a bit. My mom and I would occasionally take weekend trips together and I remember bringing her to his shop once. She was using a walker at that time and she required some extra care. He always welcomed people into his store. This time, when my mom and I left the store, he came to the door to say good- bye, and then he said to me, “thanks for taking such good care of your mom.” I don’t think any other person in the world ever told me that and it really meant a lot to me and brings tears to my eyes this day. A simple act of kindness.
“Cheers to Ed!” We trust he and his wife are enjoying their retirement.
