We are located in the Gold Rush town of Sutter Creek (the Jewel of the Mother Lode), Amador County, and offer a picturesque cottage for visitors. Based on the comments of our visitors, our cottage's claim to fame is the solitude here next to a creek that runs all year - very peaceful with no traffic noise, even being close to downtown Sutter Creek!

Our one bedroom cottage includes a living room, kitchen, and bath and you can enjoy your own deck over the creek. Unlike a B&B, we have no formal breakfast time you have to meet – we provide you with a continental breakfast that you can take at your leisure. You can relax on the deck or you can choose to take the short walk (1,500 feet) to downtown Sutter Creek. In town you can browse through antique shops, stop at the cheese store, enjoy wine tasting, and take a walking tour viewing some of the historical spots of interest like Knight’s Foundry, the intriguing Monte Verde Store, and the charming Sutter Creek Theater. You can take a break and have ice cream or you can partake of high tea. In the evening, feel free to make your favorite B.B.Q. on the deck or dine out at a wide variety of places in Amador County. At the end of your day and it’s time to snuggle down for the night, many of our guests open the bedroom window and listen to the music of the creek and the peeping frogs while they are lulled to sleep.

Speaking of music, we built our cottage in 1990 as a place to live while developing our property and the home we live in now. We don’t have just any home, however. Our home was custom built to house a very unique collection of automatic musical instruments. Guests of the cottage are invited to see our marvelous collection of "machines," as John calls them, dating from 1900 to 1929. The machines play paper rolls with perforations to trigger the piano, and the additional instruments, all at the right time. These coin-operated instruments were built for use in taverns and bars in the early days and were not meant for home use. Obviously, that’s not the situation in our case!

When you enter our house you will see a little upright piano with clear glass and no keyboard. It is a PIANINO made by Wurlitzer in 1907. Drop a nickel in and it comes to life. Vintage nickels from the same years as the machines are used to play the instruments. Next you will see a SEEBURG KT SPECIAL. This John calls an “orchestrion” because it plays several instruments besides a piano: drums, xylophone, wood block, castanets, symbol, and a triangle and was considered the ballroom favorite in 1923. Next to it is an ENCORE BANJO. Yes, another 5 cents will make it come to life and it too plays from a paper roll.

There is more! When you step down into the big room you will see it is full of these wondrous music machines from the past. There is a COINOLA C-2 that is also an “orchestrion” with the piano, flute pipes, drums and more. Next to it stands a big, tall SEEBURG ''G.'' Wow, does it come alive when a nickel is dropped in! The piano, violin, flute pipes, drums, and triangle start playing “42nd Street”, from the musical. There is a regular player piano as well. Another great sounding instrument is the EMPRESS ELECTRIC manufactured in the U.S. and sent to Mexico. It accepts only 5 centavos and plays Mexican music. The xylophone in this machine is excellent, along with the drums and other instruments. A very early SEEBURG juke box is ready to take your nickels any time! This is a transition piece from pianos to juke boxes.

And there is even more! It’s on the main floor of the house – all you have to do is ask for the upstairs tour as well. We are members of Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors' Association (AMICA), www.amica.org . TOO MUCH FUN AT THE MOTTOROS'!

We look forward to being your host and hostess at our little cottage in lovely Sutter Creek, CA.

We are not a typical Bed and Breakfast. You will be provided a continental breakfast that you can eat at any time. Because of the full kitchen, you may prepare your meals to fit your schedule.

Continental Breakfast

Seasons Open: Year Round

Range of Rates: $118 + 10% city tax = $129.80 per night; two night minimum

We own the cottage which served as our home while we were building the home we live in now. It became a cottage in 1996 and it is on the same property as our current home.

There are no specific ADA adaptations that have been made to the cottage. We have had one guest who used a wheel chair and was able to manage, with help, to enter and leave the cottage.

This is a no smoking cottage.