To celebrate Cristy’s birthday I booked us a weekend at Jackson Rancheria Casino RV Resort. It’s a very nice resort located just outside Jackson, Ca. We’ve been there once before when we first got our travel trailer but it’s been a couple of years. It’s just as nice now as it was then.

We packed up Friday morning and headed toward Gold Country in the Sierra Nevada foothills. We jumped on Highway 88 and took it all the way up to Jackson. We had called ahead and they said it was fine for us to arrive before the 3pm check-in time. We got there around 1:30pm and found we had been given a beautiful cul-de-sac spot near the entrance of the park. I thought it might be noisy but they told us it’s actually pretty quiet up near the office. She turned out to be right.

As is my custom on arrival day, after setting up I took a nap. I was lulled to sleep by the sound of raindrops on the roof and thunder lightning. Now, if you don’t live in the central part of California you won’t understand how rare this is for us. There are always thunderstorms in the mountains due to orographic lift of the ocean breezes coming from the Pacific. But the Central Valley rarely gets thunderstorms. So hearing the thunder as I was going to sleep was very nice.

Later we decided to drive into town for dinner. We ate at an unremarkable Mexican restaurant. It was just okay. So I don’t want to call them out on the blog, if you find them, you find them.

Saturday was celebration day for Cristy’s birthday and was pretty packed, for us. First we drove into Sutter Creek which is a historic mining town near Jackson. Cristy did some shopping at the small shops lining the narrow street. We stopped by the farmers market and bought an onion to cook with our steaks back at the trailer. Then we decided to look for coffee and boy did we find it! If you are ever in Sutter Creek plan to stop by Choc-O-Latte. I got a caramel latte and Cristy got a macha latte and they were both DEE-licious. The folks were super-friend and NO MASK REQUIRED! We sat at a small table near the window and finished our coffees before heading back to the trailer to cook lunch.

Once back at the trailer I fired up our Blackstone Griddle and started frying up the onions, steak, and some snap-peas. Again, the grass-fed sirloin was delicious. We enjoyed our leisurely lunch and then made plans to kayaking on Lake Tabeaud near Pine Grove. We got to the lake and spent about 45 minutes paddling around before it started getting cold and windy. By the time we had packed up the kayak the sun had come back out and it was starting to get hot. Spring time in California. We drove in to Pine Grove and stopped at Munnerlyn’s Ice Creamery. Cristy got a pint of dairy-free chocolate chip ice cream (made with coconut milk) and I got a strawberry milkshake. Again both were delicious.

Afterwards we headed back to the trailer and took a before-sunset walk around the RV Resort on their “nature trail”. It’s paved and circles the park. There’s not much nature but it is a beautiful walk.

After we scrounged for dinner we watched a movie and turned in for the night. It had been an eventful day so no problems falling asleep.

The next day (Sunday) Cristy’s actual birthday we listened to church online and then packed up and headed home. A very enjoyable but short weekend. We could do this for weeks and weeks! Can’t wait until my birthday trip next month!