California — Sacramento

Driving across Sonoma and Napa valleys, we passed field after field filled with carefully arranged grape vines growing in impossibly dry dirt. The sun was bright and the air was hot and dry as we made our way to Sacramento, the state capital.

Sacramento is a lively, growing city with clean streets and sidewalks, winter weather that seldom dips below freezing, and hot summers (over 100°, but it's a dry heat). Sacramento is also a city of big trees, which are beautiful but kept blocking the satellite signals our GPS needed to direct us. It became confused, uttering such complete nonsense that we turned it off and navigatged by the seat of our pants. After a bit of driving around, we found Mary H. and Brian at their cheerful duplex apartment. We sat in the shade sipping cold drinks while Menominee explored the back yard.

Next day, Mary and I went to see the State Railroad Museum (Recommended). It's in a beautiful building displaying about a dozen shiny, fully restored engines and cars, which we wandered around at our leisure, reminiscing over train-related events from our childhoods, talking with the volunteer interpreters, and catching the last half of a narrated tour. We walked through a Pullman car (the kind with upper and lower berths that you see in old black-and-white movies), sat in the cab of a million-pound steam locomotive, and viewed the solid gold spike that's a duplicate of the one driven to complete the transcontinental railroad.

One evening we went to a delightful restaurant called the Tower (Recommended), which served delicious food (I had Korean BBQ ribs) outdoors under trees in the warm air. We sat and ate and talked and it felt like we were in paradise. California is like that.

Napa

Leaving Sacramento, we stayed overnight in the town of Napa and Sunday morning I found the UU fellowship there. The minister welcomed me at the door and after the service several members of the congregation chatted with me and invited me to their potluck picnic in a park. Well! How could I resist? I stopped at a grocery for chips and salsa and had a great time with the very happy and friendly people at the picnic.