Sonora, CA…Six golf and travel journalists experienced the hospitality of Tuolumne County history, attractions, lodging, dining and entertainment last Wednesday as part of the first Gold Country-sponsored Golf press trip designed to showcase the region’s superb golf and a lot more. The Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau often hosts media to the area to give them a first-hand experience of all that the area has to offer.

The journalists, covering radio and magazines and online travel outlets, were treated to a wonderful lunch at Banny’s with a tour of the Mountain Springs Golf Course, Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, a tour and tasting at Indigeny Reserve and a saloon-hopping evening set in Jamestown’s storied bars. The progressive dinner moved from The Willow to the Jamestown Hotel, the National Hotel and Restaurant, and ended at Stogies Gold Country Lounge for what was billed as “cigars and conversation with a local icon and know-it-all”, who was the ghost of Mark Twain, performed by Mark Twain impersonator and performer McAvoy Layne from Incline Village, Nevada. Stogies owners, Phil and Cindy Herrero delighted and welcomed the group with a special “Mark Twain” cocktail, said to be his favorite.

Both the National Hotel and Restaurant and Jamestown Hotel provided lodging. On Thursday morning the group headed to Mariposa County to complete their trip. Also joining the group was Matthew Poole, a journalist from LocalGetaways.com in the East Bay who overnighted at the McCaffrey House Bed & Breakfast in Twain Harte.

This is the second familiarization tour sponsored by Yosemite Gold Country /Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau and partners this year. In February, ten representatives from the San Francisco Travel Association, the city’s convention and visitor’s bureau, were shown the “front door” of Yosemite National Park for Bay Area residents, a visit to Groveland, Sonora, Tuolumne, Jamestown and Columbia. The trip educated the tourism and marketing group to the close proximity of Tuolumne County, the most direct route to Yosemite, and promoted a partnership to bring more visitors to the County.
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