Travel Diary

Since my flight wasn't until 8:20 PM, I would need to do something for the day. The others weren't able to meet up so I would be going it alone. I checked out at 11 AM and somewhat regretted missing the breakfast. But I also like either fasting or going about the day with a little hunger.

Now the hotel was a little remote. I could have taken Uber to Old Sacramento, but I figured it would be a good chance to get some exercise walking. The only downside was having my backpack, which wasn't too heavy since my computer wasn't in it but still added several pounds to my back—or to my feet I should say, since my feet got fairly sore from the extra weight.

I loaded up Old Sac in Google Maps and then headed out. It would be about 4 miles, so it wasn't too much distance. In the first area I didn't really have any sidewalks which was pretty annoying, but then walking became safer for the most part. There were definitely some sketchy areas, but finally, I made it to a bike path or walking path that was very enjoyable. Those kind of things really enhance a city. That continued for a few miles, and then I was walking through some neighborhoods until finally reaching the Sacramento train station. This was a real train station with people getting on and off trains, but I kind of wanted to see it, since sometimes the insides are pretty spectacular. This one was ironically rather dull. One thing I noticed was a sourdough sandwich shop nearby (Sourdough & Co). I checked that out and it was extremely tempting. For $12. I could get a decent sized sandwich. It just looked and smelled so good. But I also figured there would be plenty of chances to eat later, so I passed on that and walked into Old Sacramento.

The first thing I saw was the train museum, and it was a place that I've always been meaning to visit, but never actually went inside. I popped in and found the price to be very good. It was about $12 and an excellent value for the money. I bought a ticket and went inside. Although the first thing I did was find a chair in the reading/book section and rested there a bit. Again my feet were pretty sore. But then I mustered up the strength to go walking around. The trains were outstanding and very impressive mainly for the sheer size of them. But the place has a lot of great information about the early days of trains and the people who brought the industry of life, even covering the surveyors that had to go through the mountains and choose the best paths to carve out for the trains. They also covered the Chinese immigrants who came over. They actually seem to spend a lot of extra time on that—maybe trying to make up for past actions. Very well. All good.

I visited the section where you went through the cars, and there was often a worker inside who knew a lot about the history, so you could ask questions. I found the mail car to be very interesting and stayed there a while. The sleeper car was really cool too, and even the dining car was really intriguing, especially getting to see the menus and what people paid. Speaking of which, when adjusted for inflation a first class trip could be several thousand dollars. Yeah you had to be somewhat wealthy to be riding in style back then.

Upstairs, I visited the model train section, which was really nice and learned about that hobby which is pretty huge. They even have all sorts of different train sizes and kits that people can buy or build. It seems like a very rewarding past time.

But then I finally headed out to walk around the city more. I rested for a while to give my feet a break. And then walked down to the river. The Sacramento river really isn't very exciting there. Just not much to see and nothing terribly scenic. I guess the only thing you could look forward to would be a nice sunset. But nothing else. I walked by the Delta King riverboat that we had dined on two years prior. But then I was getting very thirsty for a beer. I didn't want to pay too much money and most places simply won’t post booze prices and force you to go inside, sit down, and then finally either ask or get a menu. Annoying really. So I was going to find nearby 7-Eleven but then found a Round Table, which also sounded good…pizza! So I went inside.

The location was downstairs and it seemed like a place that people went to if they didn't want to spend too much money. The place was in the best of condition, but it also didn't seem like it was going to be closed down or condemned. The pizzas were way overpriced so I looked at the beer menu and found that for six dollars I could get a pint, and that was a fair price since I would be getting to sit down and rest for a while. I even bought an IPA. But again, beer isn’t as exciting to me now, so this will become more rare.

After my respite there, I headed east and into the arena part of the city. There are quite a few shops there for supporting the sports stadium. I walked onward and found…a Taco Bell! I got a few things to eat as I was pretty hungry at that point and the prices there can be pretty good if you order the right stuff. Oh, and it turns out they even sell booze there. But it was more than what the beer cost at round table. Kind of surprising. Hard pass.

Then I headed over to the capitol. It was funny because that part of town definitely has some impoverished people and the issues that go along with that. But I got to the capitol, and got a few photos. The weather was really nice. I had last visited that spot around 2006, so 20 years ago. It was getting late. I summoned an Uber and headed to the airport.

I think I even dozed off a little bit on the ride over as I was pretty tired. I then went through security and over to the chairs near the windows to relax. In time, we boarded and took off. Again, no first class upgrade, but I did get the chocolate bar and pretzels, which I consumed right away as I was still quite hungry. And I was getting quite cold too. Airplanes can be so chilly. I think I already had on my pullover, but it was still cold so I ordered hot tea for my drink which helped.

We landed in Seattle and even had to park at S-Gate, which was very unusual. Quite a delay in getting off the plane. But once we disembarked, I took the trains and got over to the parking garage and then quickly walked to my car. I was glad I wasn't taking the train because the idea of another hour in the cold didn't suit me too well. But once I got to the car, I got the heater turned on and I was nice and comfortable once again. My parking fee was about $72 and for the most part that drive home had not much traffic as it was about 11 PM. Vacation completed. A dinner show and a meet-up with friends, and a day of learning about trains. Good times.