Travel Hotels marga@lacabe.com

Stay: May 2008 I am convinced by now that my friend Lola and I, when traveling together, at least, have great hotel karma. We don't usually know where we'll end up when we take one of our weekend trips, so we don't make hotel reservations in advance - not necessarily the best of strategies. Still, we've been lucky. A couple of years ago, we took a weekend trip to Tomales Bay and found the charming and affordable Continental Inn. Then last year, we chanced upon the West Sonoma Inn in Guerneville, a very comfortable and cute hotel. This year (May 2008), however, we were really lucky because we decided to go to the Gold country the same weekend that the Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee was going on in Angels Camp - unbeknownst to us. This meant that every hotel and B&B for a hundred miles was full (and we called enough from the car to verify that) and we were running the very real risk of having to go to Sacramento for the night (and cutting our trip short!). Alas, at the last minute we found that the Sutter Creek Inn had one room remaining - and that the very accommodating manager was willing to hold it open for us. We scored! The Sutter Creek Inn is a lovely largish bed & breakfast, featuring a large home with several rooms in addition to lovely cottages. The house has a large kitchen and dining room and a beautiful library/lounge where you can comfortably read or play a game while waiting for breakfast. Despite the fact that the Inn was full, the house was pretty empty. The grounds are also lovely, with a myriad of little patios and seating arrangements, and even a couple of hidden hammocks. But ultimately the room is what matters and ours was very nice. It featured a double bed (which Lola took) and a single bed, which were quite comfortable. There were a couple of dressers and mirrors, and magazines available for perusal. The attached bathroom featured a claw foot bathtub, and I had a very relaxing bath. Shampoo and soap were provided. Breakfast in the morning was served at a set time (I think 9 AM) and consisted of scrambled eggs, a quiche, sausages, fruit and (I think) mini-muffins. As a non-egg eater I'd have liked more carbs, but the majority of the people seemed quite happy with what there was. The coffee was good. We paid about $117 for the room for one night after tax, which is really a great deal for this kind of accommodation. I wouldn't hesitate to stay here again. Sutter Creek Inn 75 Main Street Sutter Creek 209 267-5606 http://www.suttercreekinn.com/