Fredericksburg - Texas

North of San Antonio and west of Austin lies our F destination of Fredericksburg,Texas.

 

 

 

 Known for its German heritage and its surrounding wine country, Fredericksburg is a wonderful place to escape for a bit of weekend shopping or wine tasting.  

 

 

 Main Street is lined with "Old West" architecture. It almost takes you back to the mid 1800s when Frederickburg was founded. If only those trucks lining the street were horses, right??

 

 

 

 But my favorite part of visiting Fredericksburg, was this beautiful garden found in the middle of town.

 

Gardens, architecture and wine, who could ask for more from a small Central Texas town!

 

 

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Eureka!!

 

 E is for the town I currently call home, Eureka CA. Frequently confused with the imaginary town that hosted the TV show of the same name, the Eureka where I live has a history more in lumber and less in science fiction.

 

 

 The Carson Mansion, built by lumber big shot John Carson, is one of my favorite buildings to photograph. The eclectic Victorian architecture draws my eye every time I stroll past.

 

 

We are lucky enough to have a park with a beautiful Redwood Grove right here in town. Sequoia Park is a beautiful place to spend a morning with my camera watching the light filter through the majestic trees.

  My favorite thing to photograph in Eureka comes around every July. Sequoia Gardens grows the most gorgeous array of dahlias I have ever seen. You can find me there at least once a week through the summer months  perusing the different colors and photographing these beautiful flowers.

I count myself lucky to live in such a beautiful area, with so many different things to see.

 

 

Travel Tuesday - Historical Woodland California

 

 

In the past couple of weeks, we have had the chance to finally venture out of the area and do a bit of local sightseeing(socially distanced and masked of course) during our search for our new RV. Our most recent shopping adventure took us near the historical California town of Woodland.

 

 

The County Seat of Yolo County, Woodland was originally inhabited by the Patwin.  A native people who moved into the valley area from the north, the Patwin enjoyed the warmer climate along with the rich farming soil found this central California valley. The Patwin people enjoyed their solitude until the early 1800s when British and American trappers made their way to the area in search of beaver and otter pelts. The trappers found what they were looking for and unfortunately they also passed on a disease which decimated the Patwin.

 

 

 

 

 In the Mid 1800s Frank Freeman acquired the then "Yolo City Store" from Henry Wyckoff with aspirations of building a large trading town for the large grain producing area.  In 1851 Freeman fomally petitioned a post office for "Woodland, CA."  Freeman's wife Gertrude thought the name was perfect for the wooded country that surrounded the area when she suggested it to her husband.

 

 

The Woodland Opera House, designed by San Francisco architect Thomas Welsh, was built during 1885 and opened 1886.  It was the first opera house in the Sacramento Valley, and the center of theatrical entertainment for the large farming community.  Little did they know tragedy would destroy the building less than 10 years later.

 

 

 

 

 

Behind the Woodland Opera District, in the Chinese section of the alley, fire broke out on July 1, 1892.  The flames were fanned by strong winds and, in addition to a block of homes, the Opera House along with businesses along with a large area of Main Street were destroyed. Due to the ongoing country wide depression, people feared rebuilding might not happen. Luckily,  David Hershey and other prominent businessmen of Woodland pulled together to rebuild, not only the Woodland Opera House, but by 1896 the rest of Main Street was ready for business as well!

Join me next week for a walk down Woodland's Historical Main Street!

 

 

Historical Data collected from:

https://strollthroughhistory.com/about-us/history/ 

https://woodlandchamber.org/woodland-history-2/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodland_Opera_House