Mercer Caverns and Murphys Hotel
On our last trip to the cabin we did some pretty touristy things by going to some historically touristy places. Mercer Caverns was open for public tours in 1885.
Tour guides would have to hold this in their mouths with the candles lit to light their way, rappelling down the cave with tourists.
And back before they had respect for the living cave the owner would let the visitors sign their names on the walls. Well, they had some respect then because the names were signed with gloves on so the limestone will continue to grow.
My new favorite roadtrip/camping/traveling casual outfit is this 90s denim and rayon romper (thrifted) paired with this cozy 70s space dyed hooded cardigan (from Moon Zoom Vintage in San Jose). My vintage 40s cotton tourist scarf (from the Sacramento Antique Fair) also makes its way into a lot of my traveling ensembles, acting as an eyeglass cleaner, sweat rag, hair wrap, neck warmer/sun protector, and just a plain old cute accessory.
On the way back to the cabin we grabbed a couple beers at the historic Murphys Hotel. I just visited their website to add the hyperlink and saw that this place is haunted! Now I have to go back so I can try to hear some ghost stories. I knew the place was old (being in continuous operation since 1856), and that people like Mark Twain had stayed there, I even heard the walls still had some bullet holes, but no one told me about the ghosts!
The next day Ben and I did what a lot of some of the visitors who stayed at Murphys Hotel did; we visited Big Trees State Park!
This might be the biggest tree I’ve ever tried to hug. It was the first time Ben and I went on the North Grove trail. It’s self-guided with a little pamphlet you can get. The trees there are really the biggest I’ve seen. It’s an incredible site. Sadly the park has a few examples of utter destruction with some of the largest trees there being cut down to make a dance floor, or to be shipped overseas to be placed in a fair, but it’s that history that’s interesting. I wonder what people in 150 years will be pissed about with what we’ve done to our planet. Yikes, probably way worse than making one dance floor out of a giant sequoia.
Wearing my 1940s rayon playsuit shorts (wore the full set last year to the lake) probably wasn’t the most practical, but who cares!
Do you live in the Bay Area? Know people who do? Please come out and tell anyone who might be interested about my show Comedy Stylings! It’s a really fun show that combines comedy, fashion and vintage! It’s this Friday at 8PM in the Mission. There’ll be some really great comics on the show, plus a vintage pop-up shop with items from my personal collection!
