We're back! January 21 - 24, 2018

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THE BASICS

We flew back to Sacramento on Sunday, January 21. After two Uber rides and a good night's sleep at a motel, we arrived at the storage area where we left our vehicles three months ago. Both started right up! We proceeded to an RV park and spent the rest of Monday unloading and organizing. Tuesday we drove east to Truckee for walking and a nice lunch, then home through Donner Pass. Wednesday we met up with James Henry and Alice at a Marysville coffee shop for advice on our itinerary and lunch. Then we all visited the Empire Mine state park in Grass Valley and enjoyed a good tour.

THE FLUFF

Our flight from Manchester was at 11:30 AM and it was nice to be more leisurely than our usual predawn scheduling. During our stopover in Baltimore, a man approached us and asked if John was the same man who had delivered a tribute at a memorial service in Durham yesterday. Indeed, John is that man! We chatted with the man, who was a nephew of our friend Dick. The flight to Sacramento was about six hours, long but endurable. A mom was encouraging her little son to scream "Wheeee" as he constantly ran up and down the aisles, but that wasn't really disturbing, because he was happy.

Our ride from the airport to a motel was only our second Uber ride. It amazes us that they are so prompt. A good night's sleep, then another Uber ride to the storage lot. We thought we were "home free" when both vehicles started right up (and there was no evidence of animal visitors inside the RV). So we started off. However... the Corolla would not move. It really surprised and puzzled me. Finally we discovered that a rear tire was not moving. Through our decades together, John had trained me well to always set the emergency brake. I didn't happen to know that when you leave a vehicle in storage, you should not set the emergency brake or it might freeze up. So John patiently removed the tire, hammered and lubricated, and the tire at last rotated. Just a slight delay...

We had brought the allowed two free suitcases each, so there was quite a lot to unpack, as well as the containers where we had hidden the stuff we left in the RV from possible creature invasions. But it was a cool, showery, gloomy day outside (so much for "Sunny California"), so we managed to do a good amount of settling in.

Checking the weather, John found that Tuesday would be the only sunny day in the next few, so we made our trip to Truckee then. We stopped en route in Auburn for coffee and a sweet at a place we remembered from last October. But the sign on the door said "closed for maintenance." So we walked into town and took a chance that The Pub served coffee. It did and was indeed quite full. Then on to Truckee, observing the periodic signs of increasing 1000 foot elevation. Truckee is a touristy town, also close to several ski areas near Tahoe. And lots of trains pass through, even Amtrak. John had chosen Marty's Cafe for lunch because it was well-rated, and a stop on Marty's culinary career was Kennebunkport Maine, where he prepared some meals for the Bushes. While waiting on the porch for a table, we talked with a man who was going to take an Amtrak train to Chicago that afternoon, and then on to Springfield MA for a huge model railroad event. A fun coincidence for my railroad fan of a spouse. The meal was very good, and for the first time, I believed that I was truly in California: John ordered a hamburger with, as usual, extra mayonnaise. They don't provide mayonnaise! He could have garlic aioli instead. Ironically, there was a bottle of ketchup on the table, and ketchup is the major forbidden item on a Chicago hot dog, which I had ordered.

We chose to take the old road, through Donner Pass, back toward Sacramento. Just outside Truckee, there is a substantial museum about area history. We passed it and in trying to turn around, ended up on some frozen snow. As our wheels spun, trying to back, John said, "I guess there's a reason for so many four-wheel drive vehicles..." It was a very busy road, so I had to get out to signal when it was safe to peel out. We made it and returned to the museum. Good displays and a very good film about the awful fates of some members of the Donner party.

Back on the road, and we wove our way to the pass. By now, the sun was bright and the view from thousands of feet up across Donner Lake and the surrounding mountains was spectacular. As we drove back westward, we saw many trucks going eastward - since heavy snow was forecast for Wednesday at higher levels, we assumed they wanted to get to Nevada before they would be subject to mandatory chain use.

By the way, we must see "Lady Bird." People out here are all abuzz since the film is set in Sacramento, written and directed by a Sacramento woman. As soon as Oscar nominations were announced, billboards all around the city congratulated her for the five nominations.

Wifi service at this RV park is rather spotty, so we had a bunch of problems connecting with Alice and James Henry about getting together on Wednesday. We had met them camping during the fall, and since they live north of Sacramento, planned to meet up for the day on Wednesday. (They're the ones I had energetically warned about how dreadful the "hogback" stretch of Route 12 is, beyond Bryce in Utah. They later reported they had liked it so much they drove back and forth over it five times.) The Wednesday rain and cold forecast dampened some possible plans, so we started by meeting at a nice coffee house in Marysville. We discussed possible itineraries for us; as natives, they know California well. We had lunch and then, since rain had held off so far, we drove east to Grass Valley, where we visited the Empire Mine site. It was quite an amazing place; elegant buildings for the owners who nonetheless had to endure round the clock heavy hammering of blocks from the mines to start the process of separating out the gold. And all the windows had lead panes to protect the glass from the frequent dynamite explosions underground. Everything seemed huge to me, and I always get chills when I imagine those Cornish miners very deep underground for so many hours. The rain held off until just after our tour ended, but it was so gloomy that we all just headed back to our cozy abodes (no stop for coffee and a sweet...).

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