Visiting another Columbia!

I spent a glorious day in another Columbia....Columbia, California! It was a charming place with a downtown area restored to the original 1850s look. At the same time, the bank (which featured a heavy antique safe and other period furnishings) had normal tellers and an ATM machine tucked off in a niche on the side street. Some of the shops were just display areas. There was a view to a dental office, the old Wells Fargo Station, a museum, a fire station, and livery stables. But, there was also a wonder General Store that was fully operational. I even bought sassafras tea there. I bought scented soap and candles from the proprietor who made them. There was a school group panning for gold. The theater was closed but has a regular season and is used by local groups for other productions. There was an ice cream shoppe, a miner's cabin in some interesting rock formations, several historic homes, a tea cafe, and a fabulous bookstore. The owner of the bookstore was Floyd D. P. Oydegaard who was all dressed. (There should be a slash through the capital "O" but I don't know how to import foreign fonts on blogger!) He was wonderful about posing for pictures. His website is: www.columbiagazette.com. In fact, the town has a website of activities and amenities: www.columbiacalifornia.com. I walked up to the hilltop cemetery near the old, two story schoolhouse. It was full of interesting graves, some maintained by the Odd Fellows organization. There were even wooden crosses as markers and sea shells on other graves. The entire town a blend of old and new. One of these pictures is of a broken down, over grown fence. It was on private property that just suited the look of the place.