The Featherbed Railroad blog is about things that are happening in and around one of the most unique resorts in Northern California - the Featherbed Railroad. For those who like blogs and social media stuff, this is a fun follow that we promise will have some good deals and fun ideas for planning your visit.
View from the top
With the absolutely beautiful weather that we've had this January at the Featherbed Railroad, a number of our guests have decided that a nice hike would be in order. It seems that a number of our guests are really intrigued by the hike to the top of Mount Konocti.
Mount Konocti is the largest peak on Clear Lake towering over the lake it helped to create many thousands of years ago. While considered inactive, Konocti is not a dormant volcano as the largest geothermal plant in North America sits on its south slope (sort of) and provides 725,000 megawatts of electricity - enough to power all of San Francisco!
In 2011 the County of Lake purchased the land leading up to Wright Peak, which is at the top of Mount Konocti, and has been working hard at building trails up to this incredible spot. Now you can trek the 4 mile trail up to the top of the mountain and take in views that are just incredible. The Konocti Trails website has details about hiking Konocti.
Considering the fact that you will be peering through the cleanest air in all of California, the view is amazing and we've seen photographs where you can see so far you take-in the curvature of the earth. It's incredible.
Building a Bus at the Featherbed Railroad
One of the questions we hear the most is "what's there to do while I visit the Featherbed Railroad?"
Typically we answer by offering up a list of the wineries, hiking trails, restaurants, antique shops or other permanent area attractions. We are happy to make reservations, as needed, or provide maps and guides to area attractions.
But Kim & Alex had a better idea. Their plans while visiting the Featherbed Railroad were to build a VW Bus! This was no ordinary Bus, either, but a really spiffy and quite detailed Volkswagen Camper.
Okay, it was a Lego kit so no grease, oil or gasoline were involved. That being said, the couple do actually own several full-size VWs but this was going to be a project for indoors.
The perfect caboose for such a project is Celebrations as it has the dining nook which gives the ideal amount of space for building such a project.
Building this Lego VW Bus is no small matter. There are over 1300 pieces to this puzzle and the instruction manual for the completion of this project encompasses several volumes. It's a good project.
Christmas 2011 - Birth of a New Tradition
We're not big fans of forwarded e-mails, but we recently received this and couldn't help but want to share.
As the holidays approach, the giant factories overseas have been in high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of goods - merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor. This year can be different. This year Americans can give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands. Yes there is!
It's time to think outside the box. Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese-produced wrapping paper?
Almost everyone gets their hair cut, for example, and that money stays on these shores in the hands of an American business owner who spends it in their community. How about gift certificates from your local American hair salon or barber?
Gym membership? It's appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some health improvement. Many people use the new year as a jumping off point for a healthier future and you can help with a gift certificate to the local gym.
Best Themed Resort
Visitors to BedAndBreakfast.com, the leading website for bed and breakfast resorts around the world, recently voted the Featherbed Railroad as the best themed resort in the country. While there are hundreds, if not thousands, of themed bed and breakfasts, the Featherbed Railroad was chosen from among them as a favorite. The voting was based on response to a survey mixed with favorable guest reviews on the site.
“With all the choices they have, we are totally thrilled that the readers of BedAndBreakfast.com chose us,” said Featherbed Railroad’s co-owner Peggy Barthel, “We were thrilled when we found out!”
Of course some of those who voted were you, the people who read our blog and stay here frequently. We really are appreciative and want to say thank you for the great reviews and all the recommendations.
Haunted Bed and Breakfast
Whether you believe in the supernatural or not, the editors of USA Today once again cast the specter of fame on the Featherbed Railroad as they announced our being one of the 10 Best Places to Sleep with a g-g-ghost. Does that make us a haunted bed and breakfast?
Some folks think that all this talk of haunting and spooks is a bunch of ridiculous nonsense. Indeed we have hundreds of people who stay in our popular Celebrations room every year, and nobody mentioned seeing anything out of the ordinary.
But that doesn't change the fact that several people did mention having seen someone in a striped outfit in the room.
That begs the question about this photograph taken as we prepared the room for its transition to Halloween decorations. Is this really a photograph of something out of the ordinary, or just a Photoshop trick?
Christine Hutt
You may hear a new voice when you call us; that would be Christine, our new addition to the office staff. Christine has plenty of experience organizing private events, most of which center around food. She loves to cook and earned a certificate in cooking after taking an intense 12 week course from a professional cooking school. Besides cooking, she is a passionate gardener and enjoys entertaining friends in her home. She is a people person and is here to help you make your plans and have a great stay at the Featherbed Railroad.
Stuck On You - our new magnets
Our partners at Deneen Pottery are very creative folks when it comes to making things out of ceramics. Recently we got a shipment of magnets bearing our logo for our gift shop and we were so thrilled, we had to share them. These magnets are made of the same quality ceramic material as their hand-made mugs. The obvious difference is that these don't hold a cup of our wonderful coffee, but they will stick to your fridge, car or even that plate in uncle Fritz's head. Trust us on the last one.
Each hand-made magnet is slightly different and they sell for just $10 with the government's share. Deneen Pottery shipped us a case but they've been going home with lots of people so get yours while they last.
Linda Becker-Bayhi
Local artist Linda Becker-Bayhi did a beautiful job of capturing Easy Rider in an original oil painting. We've seen this painting in the courthouse for some time and always loved it so this morning Linda brought it by and hung it in the dining room. You can see this beautiful work of art when you stay with us. If you'd like, Linda will even be happy to sell it to you as well.
We hope to see you soon where you can enjoy this work of original, local art as well as others.
Al Fresco Dining
A guest staying with us this weekend mentioned that there used to be dining Al Fresco in the past. Our response to that was that we will be happy to take Al Fresco's reservation if he wants to stay. They told us that meant that there used to be outdoor dining.
Ohhhhhhhh - and what a great idea!
So today we pressure-washed the front porch and put several tables out there. What a perfect place to enjoy breakfast! This morning all the outdoor tables were occupied and the guests told us they loved the experience.
On the same day as the Al Fresco suggestion, another guest said they really enjoyed smoothies at another B&B. That's a good idea, too!
So today we had strawberry-banana smoothies this morning, which really turned out well with our German pancakes and roasted garlic chicken sausages.
We love suggestions and these are two great ones!!
Clear Lake Algae Update
Worried about the algae on Clear Lake? Well, we have come up with a solution that has worked really well here at the Featherbed Railroad. We just go in the pool!
No, really, Tony did think of a method for breaking up the algae mats off our beach.
It’s very simply a big rotary sprinkler along with a floating fountain that we operate with lake water. It may look funny to be “watering the lake” but in essence what we are really doing is aerating the mats and breaking them up. The newly-formed Thrive! Lake County group of business owners is interested in our idea, and are developing a contest to promote the idea to everyone around the lake! There is talk of a challenge involving lights and more - we might turn the natural beauty of Clear Lake into a haven for creative fountains!
What Causes the Algae?
Honestly, for many, many years Clear Lake was plagued by tailings from a mercury mine that was a legacy of the California Gold rush. Mercury is used in gold mining and we were one of the many sources in California. It used to be fashionable to just dump your excess pollutants in a nearby body of water and Clear Lake was that body of water.
Scarf and Bandana Painting
We've been having Diana Liebe from Serendipity join us on Tuesday mornings at 10am for workshops on painting silk scarves or bandanas. These fun workshops under the trees are a great way to get your artistic side some exercise while also creating a unique souvenir of your stay at the Featherbed Railroad. Whether you're a budding Michelangelo or just like pretty colors, this hour-long artistic adventure is a fun exercise in hand-made creations.
WIne Release Party
Join Tony and the folks at Tulip Hill Winery for the final wine release of the year.
Francis Ford Coppola features local sites in Twixt
Famous director Francis Ford Coppola has spent a great deal of time locally and we can now share the news of what he's been up to as the trailer for the upcoming movie Twixt has hit YouTube. The thriller, featuring a big-name cast including Val Kilmer, was filmed all over the area including at our local friend's the Woodpecker right here in Nice. Here's a brief glimpse at the trailer for this movie:
Lakeport Cardboard & Duct Tape Boat Races
Once again Lakeport was home to the annual Cardboard and Duct Tape boat races. Essentially, you can only use the two aforementioned materials in the construction of your boat. There are several age categories and boats ranged from some old appliance boxes to elaborate cardboard crafts.
Clear Lake weed removal: County takes bold steps
Boating, sailing, swimming, fishing, kayaking, jet skiing, wakeboarding, waterskiing – the list of fun activities on Clear Lake goes on and on. To make sure residents and visitors enjoy a great summer on Clear Lake, Lake County’s Board of Supervisors recently took a bold step by allocating substantial resources to reduce the summertime growth of aquatic weeds.
Scott DeLeon, newly appointed Director of the Lake County Department of Public Works, also oversees the County Water Resources Division, and along with a new Director comes an aggressive new weed abatement plan for Clear Lake. “This summer we are taking a much more proactive approach to control aquatic weed growth on Clear Lake,” DeLeon said. “We are targeting treatment in specific areas such as around public boat launches, resorts, and higher-density residential areas.”
DeLeon explained the treatment areas will create a network of weed-free recreational areas that include Shoreline Lanes, Boating Lanes, and Water-Ski Lanes. The Shoreline Lanes are 50 feet wide and will run parallel to the shoreline. The Boating Lanes will be 50 feet wide and from 1,000 to 2,000 feet in length so that boaters may easily access the deeper waters of Clear Lake. The Water-Ski lanes will be 300 feet from shore and run parallel with the shoreline. The creation of these lanes will make Clear Lake more enjoyable for all lake users.
New Photos and website redesign
You may have noticed something new with our web site. While not a complete redesign, our new site was inspired by a slew of new photographs of the room taken by Nathan DeHart. Nathan and his sister, Whitney, spent the day with us detailing lots and lots of photos.
Nathan has an incredible eye - we saw him move items literally by millimeters - and it really makes a difference. Watching him take dozens of pictures, evaluate those pictures to the minute details, and then move things here and there just slightly make for absolutely beautiful pictures. The new pictures are on TropiCaboose, La Loose Caboose, Casablanca, Celebrations and Wild Wild West.
We are really happy with these new pictures and hope you are, too.
In the picture above you can see Whitney holding flowers up that will ultimately appear in the mirror in the photo and there's Tony holding up a light. Down below Whitney makes sure everything looks good as Nathan check the light, focus, exposure and more.
Caboose red coffee and tea mugs
Our ceramics partner, Deneen Pottery in St. Paul, Minnesota, recently informed us that they had developed a new ceramics color for their mugs - caboose red. Seriously. Well, sorta. They notified us that we could now order our Featherbed Railroad mugs in a very red color and we jumped at the chance to order mugs in what we call caboose red.
We figured they'd be pretty popular and we weren't wrong with almost a whole box of them flying off the shelf in the first month. Wow. But this is a pretty terrific color for the mugs.
We also have decided to order a few cases of the popular blue-and-white mugs, which you can use in the dining room. At the recent innkeeper's conference one of our fellow innkeepers indicated that the mugs weren't very popular and we asked why their guests didn't get attached at breakfast.
"Oh, heavens, I wouldn't use them!" We think we've found her problem - these sturdy mugs are safe for your dishwasher, microwave and are great insulators of coffee, tea and we've even been known to enjoy soup from them ourselves.
National Train Day
Amtrak has created a new national holiday with the hopes of generating more interest in train travel. National Train Day features railroad-themed celebrations all over the country and the Featherbed Railroad is hopping aboard, also. While we won't have spokesperson Gladys Knight stopping by that we're aware of, we will have cookies out and be playing our usual mixture of train songs on our radio station.
We will also be happily giving tours of our cabooses and even taking your picture in front of our new sign.
American Lung Association give Lake County top marks
When it comes to clean air, Lake County definitely has it and it looks like we've won an award for the cleanliness of our air once again. The American Lung Association's latest State of the Air report has given Lake County an "A" grade, ranking it among the top places nationwide for clean air.
The 2011 report, which includes lists of the nation's most polluted metropolitan areas, was released Wednesday as reported in Lake County News. For several years Lake County has been ranked a top clean air county and this year was ranked number six for cleanest counties based on year-round particle pollution. That's an even more impressive award when you think that only two counties in California even made the list despite our having 25 counties in the state.
Furthermore, our ranking went up from 10th place in the 2010 report. The only reason we weren't ranked higher was due to the Walker fire and several other regional forest fires which caused air quality warnings. Otherwise, you can breathe easy on your visit to the Featherbed Railroad.
Trains Along the ceiling of our dining room
With the remodel of our lobby and addition of trains along the ceiling of our dining room, we thought we'd show you this progress video for the trains. This fun project has resulted in a new layout that goes from the lobby to the dining room. Climb aboard and head around the rooms but first, a little fun with the progress of the project.