Sacramento - Day 28 & 29 - March 11 & 12, 2015

Said good-bye yesterday to Pacific Shore Condo, San Diego and Jason after he dropped us off at the airport. Had a stop in LA before we arrived in Sacramento at about 7 pm. The flight from Sun Diego to LA took all of about 20 minutes.  Chris met us at the airport and gave us a brief tour of the area. The airport is about 10 miles out of the center of San Diego and her apartment is in midtown within walking distance of the Capitol her work location. We had dinner at the Burger and Brew and called it an evening. We had to be at the Capitol at 9 am the next morning.

ours was in there someplace.  Their system is a bit different in Cali



What no BOGO?  Well as long as they have a well crafted local brewski ... and they did!

 

The newlyweds - lol

Christine showed us her office before she went with us on a VIP Tour of the Capitol.

First pair of long pants I've had on since we left

It was just the 3 of us with a guide who gave us all kinds of interesting facts and history of the Capitol.

sample of how the old capitol looked before renovations in 1906 and 1975

Arnold, AKA the terminator, (no idea how to spell Schwarzenegger) brought and bought this bear from Austria.  It's called bacteria bear and with the 1000's of grimy fingers that touch it daily it's advisable to not touch. We didn't.

In the ceiling of the Capitol - the guide explained the significance of all the figures in California history

senate chambers

youthful Columbus

youthful Sue ....

Chris then left us to go to work and we looked at some other exhibits, watched a couple of short films in the theater and browsed in the bookstore. From there we took our own tour of the gardens which are beautiful. Sacramento is the city of trees and we witnessed so many different varieties around the Capitol. The flowers were also lovely and blooming - hard for a Northern New Yorker to imagine. The grounds, probably more than 15 acres surrounding the Capitol, were also dotted with many statues dedicated to those who had served - some through the military, some through fire service etc. The ones dedicated to the firefighters and the Viet Nam Memorial were especially poignant for us.

Camellia similar to what we had in North Carolina 

These next ones are for you Dad

Since they began keeping records in the 1860's 1000's of firefighters have died during the course of their duty in California.  Almost both sides of the wall have been filled with the names of the fallen firefighters symbolized by the jacket and helmet.   

Very impressive Vietnam Memorial

We also went into the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament but they were having mass. A glimpse of the church was enough though that we would like to return later when we can see more.

Walked back home to Chris' apartment and waited for her to come back from work.



Not enough walking or I need to do some sit-ups which I haven't done since we left NY.  Entering Christine's "gated" apartment area.  Nice and safe although it's in a lovely neighborhood about a mile from the Capitol.   

After Chris got home from work she went to a boot camp workout and we went along and walked around McKinley Park while she exercised. The park is really nice with running trails, a lake, playground, rose garden etc. From there we went out to a Thai restaurant. Sorry no pictures tonight it was gone before I knew it. We'll see how Ron and I do on our own tomorrow as Christine has to fly to LA for the day to do a presentation.