Scenic Delta Tour
Brunch At The Historic Ryde Hotel
Sunday July 9, 2006
Tour the delta and drive by Grand Island
Mansion where President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and President Ronald
Regan once visited. The Mansion is the largest private estate in northern California.
The mansion has been featured in publications as National Geographic, Sunset Magazine, Playboy Magazine, Victoria’s Secret Catalog, and Macy’s Furniture Catalog. Unfortunately due to
scheduling we will not be able to stop there (we’ll drive by real slow though), then continuing on the delta roads we
will arrive at the Ryde Hotel for brunch. The hotel is located at 14340 Highway
160, Walnut Grove, CA 95690. Their phone is 916/776-1318.
The
Ryde Hotel was built in 1927 at the peak of prohibition era. It was an opulent establishment, complete with beauty salon and
barbershop that served as a riverboat way station. It was also rumored to be a bordello. There was even a trap door in the
floor that allegedly opened to reveal a tunnel running under the road to a hidden doorway at the river’s edge. Speculation
mixed with fact generated a good amount of notoriety that brought with it a certain cache. The Ryde attracted celebrities
of all types from presidents and politicians to movie stars and mobsters.
Although the menu changes weekly, Brunch is $21.95 per person, half price for children 10 and under. Price includes
house champagne, orange juice, and coffee. Visit their web site @ www.rydehotel.com.
Driving Instructions: Take Highway
4 East toward Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood. Just past the Hillcrest exit, take the next exit which is the continuation of Highway
4. At the signal, turn right and proceed a short distance and look for a Carl’s
Jr. and a Standard gas station on the right. Then look for Nick Rasshushin’s
big blue ’57 Fleetwood in the parking lot between the two. Arrive by 10:30
a.m., get gasoline and be ready to leave at 11:00 a.m. It should take about one
hour for the tour to arrive at the Ryde Hotel by noon in time for the Sunday brunch.
If you don’t want to join the back roads tour, you can simply plan to arrive at the Ryde before noon. But in any case, let Nick know you are coming so he can inform the restaurant.
RSVP’s were due by June 26th, so if you have not already contacted Nick and you want to attend, you’ll
need to contact him to see if the hotel can accommodate your late reservation. Nick’s home phone is 925-672-6221 and
his cell phone is 925-890-0190. You can also contact the hotel directly for brunch availability.
