Our time here in California has been wonderfully sweet! Although we flew into San Francisco, we didn't see any of the city other than driving north to get across The Golden Gate Bridge. We had a couple of appointments to keep while we were here, so we had to plan our site seeing around them. Our bed and breakfast served us an INCREDIBLE breakfast each morning, and then we found a local place to eat dinner each evening, all very scrumptious.
We did some more driving around town on Wednesday, and then spent Wednesday evening getting packed up for a very early flight Thursday morning. Before we left I took some pictures of The Gerstle Park Inn, the bed and breakfast we stayed at. You can click on the link below to go to their website -- we stayed in The Sunrise Suite.
The Gerstle Park Inn
We did some more driving around town on Wednesday, and then spent Wednesday evening getting packed up for a very early flight Thursday morning. Before we left I took some pictures of The Gerstle Park Inn, the bed and breakfast we stayed at. You can click on the link below to go to their website -- we stayed in The Sunrise Suite.
The Gerstle Park Inn
Tom on the front porch of the carriage house, the building we stayed in.
Each morning, we would walk down a path to get to the main house where breakfast was waiting for us. Here is a picture of the first pathway on our walk.
The next path segment of our walk.
We passed this tree every time we came to and from our room. If you click on it for a larger picture, you will see two little gnomes playing checkers in the tree.
The last segment of our walk before we reached the parking lot.
There were very few plants and trees I was familiar with in California, but these rosemary bushes were very identifiable, and were very beautiful growing over the wall of the parking lot.
The main building of the inn.
A picture of the leaded glass front door to the entrance of the inn.
The foyer
The main meeting room
Another view of the main meeting room, with Tom reading the newspaper in the background.
The dining room where we enjoyed our breakfast each morning.
The inn had a rocking chair front porch, and was so peaceful to sit on.
Another view of the front porch
The gardens around the property were beautiful! At the back of the property was a fruit grove containing limes, apricots, apples, peaches, plums, and figs.
Another view of the front garden
We are so glad to have been able to take this little trip!
The little, red Mustang that Tom went zipping through the mountains with. He enjoyed it, but concluded at the end of the trip that he is still a Camaro kind of guy.It was a wonderful trip, but we were certainly glad to be back home with our kids Thursday night!
I didn't have the kids do anything with the garden while we were gone, so Sarah and I had lots of picking to do when we got home -- okra, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, tomatoes and watermelon!
This is what happens to cucumbers when the gardener goes out of town! We made a double batch of cucumber soup with this one alone.
I think figs are most luscious fruit on the earth that God created! Figs have come into season here in the south, and my taste buds are in heaven! Our friends, Wayne and Judy, have a large fig tree in their backyard that is loaded with them. They are out of town and have invited anyone who wants to come and pick them to do so. I don't have to be asked twice! These beauties had just been washed and were headed to the freezer. They will be used in numerous recipes in the coming months, and are also wonderful treat to pop in to ones mouth after they have thawed a bit. My love for figs is pathetic -- I actually dream about them. Yes. You read that right. I have had dreams about figs . . . . .The following is a history of the inn for when I put these pictures into a scrapbook. You are welcome to read further, but I just wanted to let you know that there isn't any information about our trip beyond this point.
The Inn was originally part of the Sloss Estate, which together with the Gerstle Estate next door (now Gerstle Park) were two of the most beautiful homes in the area. These estates were built by Louis Sloss and his brother-in-law, Lewis Gerstle. Both men were natives of Bavaria and married sisters, Sarah (Sloss) and Hannah (Gerstle).
Louis Sloss came to California in 1849. He traded in some of the flourishing mining towns, but early in the 1850's, went to Sacramento and joined Gerstle in the wholeswale grocery business. Louis Sloss was one of the founders of the Alaska Commercial Co. and its first president, while Gerstle was the vice president. The company was granted exclusive rights to 20 years to conduct sealing operations on the Pribilof Islands by the federal government. This lease had a reputed anuual income of $1.25 million. When gold was discovered in Alaska, the company expanded into a great trading enterprise, including six salmon canneries and ninety trading posts.
At this time Sloss and Gerstle had their homes in San Francisco on Van Ness Avenue. In 19881 Gerstle purchased a 4.6 acre of property in San Rafael as a site for a summer home for $15,000. In 1883 Sloss purchased the adjoining 4-acre property for $6,500. The Gerstle's built a series of houses on their property as their family grew, however the Sloss house was concentrated in one building which at one time had 36 bedrooms and 16 bathrooms. The home eventually accommodated four generations of Slosses. In 1895, a second home on the estate (currently the main building of the inn) was built by the Sloss' son, Leon, after his marriage.
No fence or barrier of any kind divdied the Gerstle and Sloss properties. Members of the two families wandered freely from one garden to the other, the children playing together, and the younger members of the families using the tennis court (still existing in Gerstle Park). The families entertained extensively and were know for their festive parties. The families usually moved to San Rafael late in April and returned to San Francisco in September or October. The men commuted to the city daily by either train or ferry, traveling to the station by horse and carriage. Both Gerstle and Sloss died in 1902. The two sisters Sarah and Hannah were inseparable companions all of their lives.
In the 1930's, after the death of Mrs. Gerstle, the heirs deeded the Gerstle Estate to the City of San Rafael for a park. The buildings were demolished. The Sloss home was left to the Evangelical Lutheran Church which used it as a home for the aging called "The Lodge." The building was dedicated on May 14, 1933. The home was managed by Arnold Leonard Sr. and his wife Anna. The church sold the property to the Leonhards during World War II, and The Lodge became a temporary home for scores of Air Corps families.
In March 1955, the main house was destroyed by a fire set by an arsonist. This portion of the property was later sold to a developer who constructed the townhouses known as Lodge Lane in 1980. The second home continued to be run as a boarding house by the Leonhards through the 1960's. The Leonhard family lived in the carriage house which was converted to a family home in the 1950's. In the 1970's, after the death of Mrs. Leonhard, the Leonhard Estate leased the property to the operators of a drug rehabilitation center.
In Jue 1995, the property was purchased from the Leonhard Estate by Jim and Judy Dowling. The Dowlings did a major restoration of the property and opened it as the Gerstle Park Inn in December 1995.
Louis Sloss came to California in 1849. He traded in some of the flourishing mining towns, but early in the 1850's, went to Sacramento and joined Gerstle in the wholeswale grocery business. Louis Sloss was one of the founders of the Alaska Commercial Co. and its first president, while Gerstle was the vice president. The company was granted exclusive rights to 20 years to conduct sealing operations on the Pribilof Islands by the federal government. This lease had a reputed anuual income of $1.25 million. When gold was discovered in Alaska, the company expanded into a great trading enterprise, including six salmon canneries and ninety trading posts.
At this time Sloss and Gerstle had their homes in San Francisco on Van Ness Avenue. In 19881 Gerstle purchased a 4.6 acre of property in San Rafael as a site for a summer home for $15,000. In 1883 Sloss purchased the adjoining 4-acre property for $6,500. The Gerstle's built a series of houses on their property as their family grew, however the Sloss house was concentrated in one building which at one time had 36 bedrooms and 16 bathrooms. The home eventually accommodated four generations of Slosses. In 1895, a second home on the estate (currently the main building of the inn) was built by the Sloss' son, Leon, after his marriage.
No fence or barrier of any kind divdied the Gerstle and Sloss properties. Members of the two families wandered freely from one garden to the other, the children playing together, and the younger members of the families using the tennis court (still existing in Gerstle Park). The families entertained extensively and were know for their festive parties. The families usually moved to San Rafael late in April and returned to San Francisco in September or October. The men commuted to the city daily by either train or ferry, traveling to the station by horse and carriage. Both Gerstle and Sloss died in 1902. The two sisters Sarah and Hannah were inseparable companions all of their lives.
In the 1930's, after the death of Mrs. Gerstle, the heirs deeded the Gerstle Estate to the City of San Rafael for a park. The buildings were demolished. The Sloss home was left to the Evangelical Lutheran Church which used it as a home for the aging called "The Lodge." The building was dedicated on May 14, 1933. The home was managed by Arnold Leonard Sr. and his wife Anna. The church sold the property to the Leonhards during World War II, and The Lodge became a temporary home for scores of Air Corps families.
In March 1955, the main house was destroyed by a fire set by an arsonist. This portion of the property was later sold to a developer who constructed the townhouses known as Lodge Lane in 1980. The second home continued to be run as a boarding house by the Leonhards through the 1960's. The Leonhard family lived in the carriage house which was converted to a family home in the 1950's. In the 1970's, after the death of Mrs. Leonhard, the Leonhard Estate leased the property to the operators of a drug rehabilitation center.
In Jue 1995, the property was purchased from the Leonhard Estate by Jim and Judy Dowling. The Dowlings did a major restoration of the property and opened it as the Gerstle Park Inn in December 1995.
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