After a bit of a rough start, mostly due to California’s unpredictable Spring weather, the BAMA drivers rolled into their final destination, Filoli, Woodside, CA. The skies turned from rain to nice white fluffy clouds and blue sky.
The group divided up into another three groups and followed very knowledgeable docents throughout the house and gardens. The story of Filoli (an acronym for Fight Love Live) is of a great San Francisco family, the Bourns, who made their mark in CA history with gold mines and the Spring Valley water company.
The second family who owned the home, the Roth’s, were in transportation (R/R). The house tour included history of the two families who lived in the beautiful countryside estate. Many of the furnishings were owned by the families or were from the same time-period and were donated for exhibiting at Filoli.
In 1975 the house was bequeathed to the National Trust for Historic Preservation with an endowment. Its expansive gardens are maintained by 14 gardeners and hundreds of volunteers. The daffodils and tulips were in bloom, the trees were just budding, and the air was crisp from the fresh fallen rain.
The tour ended, of course, in the lovely gift shop, where we could purchase mementos, including a plant or two, of our visit to this CA treasure. The resident peacock also made his appearance.
We enjoyed lunch in the small café munching on salads, sandwiches and scrumptious desserts. Afterwards, we parted ways, tired and satisfied after a wonderful afternoon together in the California sunshine. For more information about Filoli go to: https://filoli.org