Its wonderful scenery on the way over to Napa but the
traffic is another story all together.
It’s mostly stop and go, or at least it was on this Friday morning. Come to find out that Sonoma County was having
a HUGE Fall wine festival and that’s why I couldn’t get a room for one more
night in Sonoma. That might explained
the traffic but I couldn’t really stop to get any beautiful scenery pictures
along the stretch because of the traffic and there were no turn outs. Though, I would not blame them for having no
turn outs or parking along the road. It
would’ve been packed with picture takers.
I decided to take the turn to go north for a quick refuel
and to check out the actual city of Napa.
The downtown area of Napa was very busy and very cosmopolitan. Some parts almost felt like a Rio Dio
Drive. Parking was definitely an issue
and I had hoped to be over to Sacramento by late afternoon. So I didn’t stop and visit Napa city, but it
was a nice little place to drive through.
 |
| Photo- My first experience of heavy traffic just a mear 40mi outside Sacramento. |
I worked my way over on the interstate towards
Sacramento. It was about 40 miles out
that the traffic in all four lanes came to a complete stop. Then, it would start for a bit and then
stop. It was interesting because drivers
would put on their blinkers to get over and other drivers would let them right
on over. THAT would never happen in
Utah. In Utah you would have to head
over towards the other lane, put on your blinker. Then, you usually get honked at and yelled at
too. A great deal of the time there; if
you are not in the right lane then you are just screwed. Here in California, so far, the mentally is
like… Sure, come on over, we’re all in the same boat now. Or at least that's what it seems like so far.
When I got to Sacramento, I took a quick drive by the house
where I would stay for the night. It was
a place that I had found on airbnb.com site. It was still earlier than what I had told the
host and so I decided to explore a bit.
I found the local mall and checked it out. I was hoping to find something food wise that
would appeal for a late lunch. It was
some interesting people watching but didn’t find any food places that appealed.
Next, I drove on a levee road that ran along the river. At first, there were marinas, restaurants,
and bars. As I went further along, on
one side there were nice homes with really nice landscaping. On the other side, there were farms and later
on a larger area that had construction crews grading a high raise area. It looks like they were planning some kind of
development.
 |
| Photo- People relaxing and sunning on the sandy beach of Sand Cove Park. |
I swung by a park along the levee road called Sand Cove
Park. There were people swimming and
sunbathing along a sandy section of beach.
You could see a marina down the river and the other way the river turned
a corner. It was a nice little area to
relax.
Later in the early evening after a quick change of clothes and
asking directions from my host and his girlfriend, I went down to Old Town
Sac. It was a Friday night and of
course, Old Town was packed. I drove
around looking for an off street parking for a bit, but no luck. I ended up parking in a pre-paid parking lot
but had to go out on to the road and do a U turn at the light. Check this out they had a U Turn Only Lane
with a sign. I was thinking that we
could use more of these in the world.
 |
| Photo- Old Town Sac in the evening. |
Old Town Sac is about a 4 to 5 block area in downtown
Sacramento that has an old western town feeling. The sidewalks are boardwalks and the
buildings look like older brick or painted wood from a bygone era. It’s a very touristy place to visit but it
was rather fun people watching and there are quite a few restaurants, pubs, and
eateries in the area. I checked out the
menus to several as I walked around.
I ended up eating at the Bar in Fat City Pub and
Restaurant. It had a wonderful interior
of a highly polished old wooden bar with mirrors, tin stamped ceiling with a
stained glass area, and light wooden floors.
There were several other details that just made it a fun place to sit
and look around. The food was pretty
good too. I had a Cajun pasta dish that
was nice and spicy flavorful combination.
I also enjoyed a couple of mixed specialty drinks from their drink menu.
I ended up talking to a married couple, Lisa and Ray, who
were up for a romantic weekend from a township that was about 45 min drive
away. Lisa was teasing Ray that it was
to distract her from some painting that need to be done in their house. Awe! I said is it working? She laughed and said no but it was nice of
him to try anyway. It was fun talking
with them. I finished my lemon drop
martini and told them to have a wonderful weekend.
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