Day 25 - Free Day in Sacramento, CA

We awakened to a sunny, but very windy free day!  As a good breakfast is the best way to start the day, chefs Hex, Sandy, Spence, and Madi prepared eggs in a bag accompanied by toast and coffee. The eggs are squished up together in a zip-loc bag with any fixings you want, the excess air is squeezed out, then the bag is boiled and viola – a hearty breakfast!

After the meal, our group split up to do whatever struck their fancy. Some, like Ted and Doris, Emily and Wayde, Carol, Tom and Catherine, Virginia, Jim and Rae Anne choose to chill out – do some laundry, go to Walmart, Costco, or IKEA, do some paperwork, organize photos, find a restaurant to try, just a little of this and a little of that. Lula and Gerald got the oil changed in their unit – so exciting!!! 

Joe and Donna found a health club to work out – you know one can never be too health conscious! 

Brian and Marilyn enjoyed time with one of their kids. Larry and Ada went geocaching. Susanne and David were really adventuresome and drove to Lake Tahoe for the day. 

Our staff, Hex, Sandy, Spence, and Madi met up with some other Adventure Caravans staff in the area and shared some ideas and stories! And some of the more energetic pups among us enjoyed a romp in the wonderful, fenced dog area. 

By the time of the 5 PM social and travel briefing, everyone was ready to hit the road in the morning. 

Submitted by:  Jim and Rae Anne Hamp #9

Day 24 - Sacramento, CA

As we boarded the bus and headed to Old Sacramento, the wind was blowing and throughout the day it got very windy. We picked up Neal, our guide for most of the day.













 


We headed over the beautiful Tower Bridge to continue on our tour. This bridge raises and lowers as needed for boats to go under.

Many of the buildings in Old Sacramento are the original ones that have been restored. Because the Sacramento River was always flooding, the buildings were raised to keep the basements from getting water in them.  One of the buildings that housed the daily newspaper, The Daily Union, was where Samuel Clemens once worked. We know him as Mark Twain.

The 1856 Leland Stanford mansion has been beautifully restored. Stanford tried to donate money to Harvard but, being from the west, they ignored him.  So he came back home and started a school in California, and named it Stanford. We all know what a great and prestigious school it is.

Until 1849 nobody was in this area, and then 125,000 people came looking to get rich by finding gold.  Not many got rich from gold, but many did in business. In 1850 California was made a state and in 1854 Sacramento was made the capitol. After many floods and delays in construction, finally in 1874 the building was declared complete. 

The statue under the rotunda is of Christopher Columbus holding a ball representing the world being round and Queen Isabella of England who loaned the money to build the building. 

Over the next years they outgrew the building and with new earthquake laws in effect, they tore out much of the interior and re-built. In doing this they removed linoleum and discovered beautiful tile underneath. The newly restored floor has a very discreet signature in one of the tiles.

On down the hall we went into the Assembly room and past the grizzly bear outside the Governor's chamber. The grizzly bear is the California state animal. 







To our amazement, Miss California and Miss Teen California were just coming out of the room from visiting the governor. The men in our group got very excited.

Back on the bus, we traveled to Capitol Park where we visited the Peace and Freedom Rose Garden and Vietnam Memorial. 














Then passed Sutter's Fort before heading back to Old Town for lunch. Virginia and I ate on the deck of the Rio City Cafe overlooking the Sacramento River where we once again had one of our favorites, seafood.

Being re-energized for our afternoon tours, we headed down the street to the Railroad History Museum and the Discovery Museum. The railroad played a very important part in the history of the west.

In 1862 Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act which started the planning and construction of the railway. The Central Pacific Railroad started in Sacramento and went east. The Union Pacific Railroad started in Omaha and went west. The crews faced harsh weather, problems with Native Americans and many delays. There was always competition from both sides to complete the 1777 miles the fastest. It took six years to complete and on May10, 1869 they drove the last spike, which was made of gold. 

The Transcontinental Railroad was complete and began service in five days. This opened a whole new world of transportation to settlers who could start new town and cities and ship machinery and agricultural products back and forth. Life was good!!

What do you suppose this guy is saying?

Submitted by:  Carol Gosline #8

Day 23 - Travel Day to Sacramento, CA

Today is a travel day so we are "on the road again". That's good because the campground for San Francisco/ Napa was the Sonoma County Fairgrounds-a substandard campground at best. There was no Wi-fi, no cable TV, only one antenna TV station (all news), and rustic bathrooms/ showers. In addition we rode a bus over an hour each way to get into the city.  Adventure Caravans could have (should have) found a better place.

To get to Sacramento we got on the 101 south and immediately hit heavy traffic-real stop and go. As soon as we turned onto Hwy 37 the traffic cleared.On the way we stopped at the "Jelly Belly Candy Company"

This was great fun. We took the factory tour and saw how they make millions of Jelly Bellys every day. It takes about a week to make each one.They showed us the process to make each one just like the others, If they are misshapen they call them Belly Flops and sell them at a reduced price.

They had some great pictures made from Jelly Bellys.

Ronald Reagan was a big fan of Jelly Bellys.

We found the Sacramento West KOA without any problem-Great, it has both WiFi and cable TV.

Submitted by:  Tom and Catherine Gasser #7

Day 22 - San Francisco/Napa, CA

GOOD MORNING RV TRAVELERS

Well we started out this morning to go to the Napa Valley Wine country, and Winston Jr was excited about going especially on the train (he loves trains).  However, he over slept and missed the bus.  He called me and wanted the bus to turn around and come back to pick him up, but it was too late.

We were started by engineer Joe blowing his train whistle meaning “ALL ABOARD”.  

We had several dignitaries along from Texas; Roses & Bobby and of course our resident engineer Joe.  We left the station with everyone in good spirits and looking forward to a gourmet dinner.

Hex tried to pass along some information at the station, however each time he started to speak, the P.A. system would override him and drown him out.

With everyone safely on board, our waiters began taking our orders for a fantastic meal.  Each table had a beautiful orchid on it for us to enjoy as we ate our meal.

The train ride was smooth and the crew in the kitchen was working like a hive of bees.

The passenger cars have all been restored and were in tip top shape.  The dome observation car that we all rode in was great and has a superb view of the Napa Valley.

The vineyards that we saw as we rode along are so well cared for it is hard to believe they do all the maintenance as well as the picking of the grapes by hand.  Whew what a job.

Now on to the Sutter Home Winery for wine tasting as well as a purchase here and there.  

There is a display of some of the machinery that is or was used in the wine making as well as one of the huge barrels the wine is stored in.




And finally a beautiful sunset to end a very spectacular day.

HAPPY TRAVELS!

Submitted by:  Ted & Dorris Ellett #6