Blogs from Sacramento, California, United States, North America - page 6

Sunday 31 May this is from Sacramento but as I have updated San Luis Obispo today earlier this will be short with merely a few snaps as it is already 1am. Sitting in the sitting room in a very comfy old chair in the Hostel Sacramento - first HI I think I have stayed in for years and years. This is a 1898 mansion so worth it for that reason alone - the room is tiny for $57 with a single bed - but the public downstairs areas are amazing (and wifi). Found it by accident heading for cheap nasty modern motels no doubt. Have hopefully organised a car for 4 days from tomorrow to go Yosemite direction etc - the extras like CDW will kinda add up but we will see (in California I think ... read more

Water use is a huge issue in California. Those in the north think those in the south shouldn't get it because the south is a desert. Those in the south think they have a right to water from elsewhere because people live there and require water to live. In the middle is one of the prime agricultural lands anywhere on the planet. Water is what makes this fertile valley possible. When you drive Interstate Hwy 5 from the Bay Area to Los Angeles (or back) you are constantly in the presence of the California Aqueduct. It is an artery of this precious liquid. State government is in charge of who along the route from north to south gets access. Not everyone agrees with decisions made in Sacramento regarding water rights. Some folks voice protest. Without getting ... read more

Thank you for joining us on this journey. We (KC and I) have been home a week and unfortunately falling back into our same Rancho Murieta routines. However I am going to try and change it in subtle ways - for example in the next week I will be doing two photo trips half day to a full day in length. I will of course have my photo dog with me (he does not do staying behind well). KC is doing much better, still hates being left alone either at home or in the car, but seems more comfortable and less scared. The photos posted on the Blog were of lower quality than the original to speed-up the upload process. The original copies (500+) were over 2 MB. I converted the Blog photos to about a ... read more

After our whistlestop trip back up to San Fran for the Alcatraz tour we headed to Sacramento for a night, choosing this as a stop on our way to Yosemite. We arrived at the YHA late in the evening and the hostel was amazing. It is in a huge old mansion building and decorated with antique-looking pieces like huge gold edged mirrors, kitsch sofas and other things. Very atmospheric. The hostel wasn't very busy and Leanne ended up being the last one up so it was up to her to turn off the lights. It was really spooky and there were shadows everywhere that looked like people. As I walked up the grand staircase I felt like I was being watched. Then I had to find my bed in the female dorm. All sorts of things ... read more

My memory bank is working overtime today remembering the road trips of my youth. My mother was a high school English teacher with the summers off. Our summers in the 50's and 60's - for my mother, my sister Claire and myself - were filled with road trips all over the Northeast, visiting friends and family, and exploring new places. Getting ready was a multi day process. In an era before clothes dryers you had to be sure that you left an extra day to do the laundry in case it was raining outside and you couldn't hang the laundry out. You were strictly told to wear old clothes the day before you left on the big trip so you didn't get your good travel clothes dirty. It was always a challenge to find that old ... read more