Old Sacramento ... How You Have Changed!!

I stood outside the rig yesterday morning and watched the trotters warm up on the track next door.  It looked like a fun ride to me, but try as I might, I couldn't figure out how to get over there!!  As I sipped my coffee, I was surprised to hear my neighbor start his diesel engine.

Since his rig was plugged in to everything and his car wasn't hooked up, I couldn't figure out what the problem was.  Thirty minutes later, I was becoming just a might annoyed by the fumes.  I'm not kidding ... at the thirty minute mark, they finally began to disconnect the rig, put everything away, hook up the car and take the dog for a nice long walk, all while the engine was STILL running.  They must have more diesel money than I do.  SIXTY-FIVE minutes later, they pulled out.  I think he's been parked in too many truck stops!!

I forgot Mr. My-Rig-Needs-An-Hour-To-Warm-Up when I made my first stop at what else ... a quilt shop.  The owner was an RV'er with a fifth wheel, so we had a great talk as I checked out every shelf.   I think I've discovered a new motorhome use in the down times ... Quilt Shop Hops!!  If you go to all 15 stores, they give you free fabric, then enter you in a drawing for $1500 MORE!!!  Just what I need ..... more fabric!!!  At any rate, I finally decided to purchase this quilt kit and headed off for lunch to soothe my grumbling stomach.

It's fun to check out new and interesting places to eat ... and Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives is a good place to pick up some new destinations.  I was SO set on a Garlic Steak Sandwich made with fillet mignon ... but when I pulled up to the location, I sat in the car (with my doors locked) and cried!!  Yup this is the place, the door being under the little green awning on the right.  There is no sign ... but this is Jaime's Broadway Grill.  It was packed by the number of cars out front.  I'm not exactly a scaredy cat, but this day it got the best of me.  This is not in a great neighborhood, so after much consternation, I headed off to Old Sacramento.

Joe's Crab Shack won the coin toss, and I tried to be good by ordering Mahi Tacos.  Highly overrated, the fish (which you can barely see, the pieces were so small) was so overcooked it was tough.  The chips however, were GREAT!!  My self control didn't last long once I saw the S'mores dessert ... chocolate cake covered with graham crackers, Hershey's chocolate pieces and roasted marshmallows!!  Fate was against me however, because the waitress was so slow, my parking meter was about to expire.  Trust me, you DON'T want a parking ticket here.  

My table view was pretty nice, even with a drab cloudy sky.  See that big rusted pipe sticking up on the left??  The docks slide up and down those pipes as the tide comes in and out.  The wharf part of Old Sacramento hasn't changed much over the years.  

When I turn around to look the other direction, this is what I saw.  Mrs. Goose had a nest inside the top of this pipe.  Every once in awhile she would peek out to see what was going on.  We played peekaboo for about an hour!!

Beyond the goose is the Sacramento Bridge .. a beauty painted to match the gold found here at the beginning of the gold rush!!  It's a gorgeous bridge ... if your boat is a little too tall, just honk your horn and they will raise the middle section.

Once out on the streets, I found this little park at the original street level.  This was a candy store before it was destroyed, with many of the pillars still standing.  The building next door was raised up on timbers to the current street level.  On the other side, they just built another floor on top and used the bottom floor as a basement.   I suppose they raised the street and buildings to stay above the water level in wet years.

This view shows just how high the streets and buildings were raised.  There are still many original buildings in Old Town, but unfortunately, most of them are empty.  I guess you can only sell so many T-shirts.  Quite a few homeless have moved in, shaking cups for change and laying on the street corners.  That's certainly a tourist deterrent!!

Looking towards the train museum, these buildings still remain as part of the museum exhibits.

Since all the buildings have basements, as you walk along, you can look down the stairs into the darkness to find Speakeasys, hookah shops, vapor lounges and tattoo parlors.  Vapor lounges???  Yup ... pull up a chair at the bar and breathe in whatever makes you happy.  Mostly oxygen I hope!!

In fact, there were more tattoo parlors than anything else.  It's a sign of the times I suppose but hookah lounges and tattoo parlors don't draw tourists with money to spend in order to keep the town afloat.   Empty store fronts everywhere were definitely a sign of a bad economy!!  That and the drunks stumbling down the wooden sidewalks were a turn-off for the tourists.  Restaurants seem to be doing okay, but I remember when you couldn't walk into any of them without a reservation.  Every one I saw only had a few customers, including Joe's Crab Shack.

A quick shot of the excursion train before it left the station.  

Since I missed the S'mores dessert, I stopped in at Rock Mountain Chocolate Factory to find these bird nests of yummy goodness.  Ahem ... there were two at one point.  One WAS delicious peanut butter covered marshmallows with rice krispies and chocolate chips.  This one is CHOCOLATE covered marshmallows and rice krispies!!  It's a breakfast bar and good for you!!!

It was getting late and I knew traffic would be a bear ... it always is in a three mile section on the Capital City Freeway, usually due to two or three fender benders.  I made it home just in time for a lovely NutriSystem dinner and two cups of veggies.   I'm getting a little tired of the salads day after day after day ......... but since I now have to make up for two huge chunks of candy, I'll have to suffer!!  

Since my friend from this area can't meet with me today, I'm again on my own.  I'm thinking a quick trip to Auburn might be a good start to my last day in the Sacramento area!!