Always Dreaming WINS!!!

I'm not much of a Race Horse person, especially when it comes to betting on one to win.   It's just too  difficult to let go of that hard earned money.  I actually went to the Belmont Stakes, the last race of the Triple Crown some years ago in New York.  Big Brown was running.  I may have mentioned this story.  I placed a bet on him because he had already won two of the three big races and was expected to be included among the greatest race horses ever to win all three.  My bank account was ready.

Unfortunately, I had to leave early, to the boos of the crowd and passersby, when I discovered the train that takes you there, doesn't leave until the race is over.  Thanks to a nice policeman, I was able to find a really scary cab driver to take me to the next train station for an hour's wait in a seedy neighborhood.  I listened to the race on my phone, hoping I didn't die that night.

Big Brown lost .... badly.  That pretty much ended my race horse betting career.

Meet Always Dreaming, a beautiful little three year old colt that outran everyone yesterday on a wet muddy track in the first of the 2017 Triple Crown races.  This is a training picture.

THIS is a picture of him on the far right, winning said race.  Why does it matter you might ask?  Because Madonna Needleworks in Morgan Hill, where I'm going today for some help on one of my biggest needlepoint creations, told everyone to name the winner on Facebook.  If your pick won, you got a discount on your next order.  Can you believe it?  I picked Always Dreaming, because I'm always dreaming about the canvases in their store that I cannot afford.  I WON!!!!  Yay for me!!!

With that morning excitement over, I ate lunch while the puppies snuggled on the couch.  The temps dropped to 54 this morning.  Thanks to Mister Ed, I found the "fan only" button on my A.C. control and turned it on with the back door open.  In just 15 minutes it was nice and cool inside, whereupon I turned it off.  Gotta love those tips and tricks!!

When I mentioned gearing up for my trip on Sunday, I did realize it was Saturday.  It takes me that long to get everything organized and all my ducks in a row so I can leave for the day, not to mention gathering up all my needles and miscellaneous chatchkees to use in the class.  That also included my weekly vacuuming.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my puppies with a capital L, but the dust and dirt they bring in the house is beyond comprehension.  Most of this is actually Jessie hair.  She should be bald ... but no, she grows more overnight, just to shed it all over my floor.  This after only ONE week!!

With that chore done, I went outside to sit in the sun and read, which lasted all of five minutes.  Cooper thinks OUTSIDE means play time.  Yes, his good collar is hanging in the closet so it will stay clean.  I threw the ball until my arm gave out.  He never seems to get tired.   What I wouldn't give for his energy!!

I spent the rest of the day making the next critter panel ... a cute little panda chewing on bamboo.  I've only got three to go before the final reveal.  Then I have to figure out how to sew them together straight.  If it turns out well, this just might be an entry in next year's fair.

So I'm off to drive over the Path Of Evil, over the hill to the land of a million vehicles, bad roads, cranky drivers and my needlepoint store where I have a discount waiting.  It's a great day at Kissack Castle.

A Fabulous Morning

When you wake up to puppy kisses, roll out of bed and see the reflection of THIS in your windows ...   it's PRICELESS.   What a magnificent way to start the day!  I grabbed my coffee and ran outside to sit on the patio and admire God's work.

It never lasts long enough.  In a mere five minutes it was gone with the wind.  How lucky was I to witness this amazing sunrise.  

That's when I turned and stepped on one of these critters.  OHHHHH GROSSSSSSSSS!!!  That's not exactly what I said, there were lots of expletives thrown in for good measure.  I hopped over to the wet lawn to try and remove most of the goo.  Yuck ... it was almost enough to make me throw up.  So much for the fabulous morning!!

I walked on my heal to the back room sink where I sat on the counter and scrubbed for what felt like an hour with the stiff bristle brush I clean the dog bowl with.  It's all I had.  Half a cup of laundry detergent later (it was the only thing I could reach), I determined it was safe to walk again.  It gives me the willies just thinking about it.

Back outside, I saw there were LOTS of them wandering around the damp concrete.  I would get out my salt shaker, but that just makes an even bigger mess to clean up.  I did that once when I lived in town. I salted every snail in site.   The next day my lawn looked like it had chicken pox because everywhere I put salt, the grass died.  I learned my lesson.  Hopefully they go away soon, since there's nothing in my yard they like to eat, except maybe grass.

My traumatic experience behind me, I went back to my embroidery.  I was having trouble with the thread picking up the bobbin thread.  Every third time, I had to rethread the machine.  With the correct bobbin holder and new thread from the Fresno store, it's working MUCH better.  Here's the latest little zoo quilt animal.

In the afternoon, the gardeners finally showed up.  I played my cards well.  Tell them what a great job they do edging the lawn, then blast them for not adjusting the sprinklers.  I mean really, it's so obvious with the huge brown spots on the lawn.  I felt a little better since I noticed my neighbor has the same problem.  At least we match!!  I'll run them this morning just to double check.

In spite of my dedication not to eat carbs, I had all the ingredients for another round of paella look-alike.  I cut the rice part in half and added two big chicken breasts to the shrimp and turkey sausage.  Once done, I measured out small servings into containers for the freezer.  If I can just control the portions,  I should be in good shape.

By the way, did I give you the Cheesy Potato recipe?  Want to have your best friend eat lots of potatoes and weigh more than you?  Here's how to do it and it's SO easy.  

Melt one cube of butter ... off to a good start, right?

Lower heat and blend in slowly 2 cups of sour cream, stirring continuously

Raise heat slightly and blend in 3/4 pound of sharp cheddar cheese until melted.

Place a 30 oz package of frozen hash browns in a large bowl.  

I defrosted them a bit first, making it easier to mix.  

Pour the sauce over and stir quickly.  Place in 13 x 9 pan

Bake in the oven at 375 for 45 minutes, broil for 5 minutes to brown top

Forget about the part where I only had one cup of sour cream and had to beg for more from the group.  I made this for the rally and they were gone in a flash.  The men especially loved it and they don't care about the pounds it adds.   

I'm happy to say the bump on my head is much better but still tender to the touch.  I'm still able to remember to turn the alarm off in the morning before opening the doors, so I guess there's no permanent damage, except to my ego.

Today I gear up for another trip over the hill to Morgan Hill for a Sunday needlepoint lesson.  Seems if you want to attend any classes around here, it's a 90 minute drive, which means more diesel.  This time I'll check Gas Buddy.

Happy Cinco De Mayo!!

Does anyone know what the 5th of May is all about?  Well I figured I'd just look it up and give you a little history since there's not much else exciting going on around here.

After the Mexican American War and the Reform War (Liberals against Conservatives who wanted to keep the church and the government as one), Benito Juarez issued a moratorium on debt payments since the treasury was empty.  Don't you wish you could do that??  France, Britain and Spain said no way Benito, and landed forces in Veracruz demanding payment.  Britain and Spain agreed on a payment schedule, but France's Napoleon III decided to make Mexico HIS.

The 6,000 strong French Army attacked the poor Mexican Army of 2,000 and guess who won.  The Mexican Army crushed the French, the premier army in the world at that time, on May 5th near Puebla, Mexico.   Thus came about the Cinco De Mayo celebration.

Unfortunately, it was short lived, as a year later, the French returned to take control, but that didn't keep the people from celebrating their victory every May 5th.  So get your margueritas and your tacos on and lets have some fun!!  That means another run to the grocery store for me, but this time I'll skip Walmart.  At least it comforting to know I'm not alone in the Walmart boat.

My trip to Fresno yesterday was uneventful, thank goodness, as I found the place right off the bat.  It's a huge building full of fabric and more machines than you can count.  I would expect to see this store in Phoenix or maybe San Francisco.   This picture is from the book they gave me that lists all the events for the next three months.  

I was quickly hooked up with Barbie ... yup a blond lookalike ... but this girl had brains!!  She knew absolutely everything about my machine.  I sat there for an hour while she showed me all the cool adjustments and how to find them.  This thing is like a computer!!  I wish I could have signed up for some classes, but I'm not sure what my schedule will be.  It makes it a little more difficult when you  have to drive 1-1/2 hours to class each day.  Guess I'm just getting lazy!!

With the correct bobbins, needles and more thread, I headed off back home .... starving!!  This diet thing isn't working so well for me.  It's hard to know what to eat and what NOT to eat.  I've cut out bread and potatoes almost entirely and am trying for meat and veggies.  Actually I had ONE Taco Bell taco in mind, but couldn't find one.  Since I needed fuel, both diesel and food, I hit Jack In The Box next door.

This is a Bacon Swiss burger.  Good heavens it was yummy!!  I peeled off the bottom bun and decided I wouldn't eat the whole thing.  That was pretty difficult, but I did throw about a quarter of it away.  I didn't try their fries since I'm off potatoes.  Not that it's working, after all this time I still have only lost three pounds.

On the fuel front in California, look out folks.  They are out to rip you off.  If I see a station I might stop at in my rig, I check it out first when in my truck.  I stopped at the Pilot Station near Madera to find fuel at $2.99 a gallon.  Not bad, so I put 30 gallons in my truck.  It was then I discovered the 76 Station one block away that had diesel for $2.45.  I thought Pilot Stations were cheaper!!  

They certainly sell more fuel to the big trucks!!  Even with their discount credit card, it's still MUCH more expensive.  To make it worse, I can smell that crappy diesel every time I drive the truck, which I have to smog on Monday.  It will be interesting to see if it passes with a tank full of crappy fuel.

Back home, I was out in the yard making further sprinkler adjustments.  The gardeners finally got the message when I stuck a big pipe in the ground with a large note taped to it ... PLEASE FIX SPRINKLER.  They did.  It works great, watering the neighbor's entire driveway with maybe three drops on my lawn.  Are these guys dumb or just incompetent??  Wouldn't you try it and see if it worked??

It's been in the mid 90's the last week, up to 94 yesterday.  With my last couple of crazy PG&E bills due to watering the entire neighborhood with the broken sprinkler, I turned both my AC units off.  This is my new air conditioning system.  It does double duty ... it keeps the door open for the puppies in the morning and it brings in cold morning air (68 degrees) to my 77 degree house, cooling it down nicely, which lasts the entire day.   About 9:30 am when the temperatures equalize, I turn it off and shut the door.

With another storm predicted by late today, the daytime high will be around 63.  That's a pretty far jump in one day!!  I'll be able to turn my mini AC off for awhile.  In the meantime, I'm gunning for the lawn crew, after which I'll hit the grocery store for taco material.   It's time to CELEBRATE!!

In The Line Of Fire

Grocery shopping should be an enjoyable experience, right?  Seems this week I've been in the line of fire on several fronts.  Yesterday I escaped by the skin of my teeth!!  Here's the sight of the first encounter ... the Magic Kingdom of Bingo.

The second encounter took place at one of two places to purchase groceries in this area ... well three actually, but as you go down the totem pole, the names on the cans become unrecognizable and the vegetables look like rejects from the harvesting wagons.

Since I needed pillows and dog food, an odd combination, I first stopped in at Petco.  Food for my dogs has officially become more expensive than what I eat.  Nutro, which used to sell for $30 (22 pound bag) has "reformulated" their product to be all natural, grass fed non GMO (whatever that is) lamb with no-pesticide rice.  That same 22 pound bag now runs $50 ... but WAIT ... you get $5 off for being a Petco customer.

The bag I ended up with was 30 pounds and cost me $59.  The canned food I add (just a couple of tablespoons) used to be 99 cents each, lasting about 4 days.  The price just jumped up to $1.99 per can.  

I could buy cheaper dog food, but in case you never noticed, what goes in, comes out.  The better food you buy, the less there is to pick up, not to mention the "bad food that can kill your dog" factor.  Maybe I should start feeding them primo hamburger ... I think it would be cheaper.

Next stop ... the big W.  There are two in this area, one of which you never step foot in the door for several reasons.  There seems to be an inordinate number of stabbings and shootings, not to mention lots of stealing.  You will find dozens of empty makeup packages hidden all over the store while the products went home in someone's purse.  

If you buy anything at all that comes in a box, if it isn't sealed (which it never is) parts will be missing guaranteed!!  I can't tell you how many things I returned things to that store.  The new Supercentre built not far from my house is a tad bit better, and even though I KNOW better, I went to get groceries there yesterday.

With half a basketful, I went looking for a checkout counter.  Should be easy to find, they have 25 of them.  Trouble is, only two are open.  As I wandered down the aisle past the first one, I spotted FIVE management type employees standing there looking at the two open lines, each with seven people waiting to be checked out, carts full to the brim.  Maybe they could call someone?

It's okay though, I'm not in a hurry, so I wait patiently.  HA!!!!  Fifteen minutes later NOT so patiently, I watched as the checkout girl ran eighteen WIC tickets through her machine.  I took out my phone and took pictures of the lines and the management types just standing there (which I won't post due to privacy and all that stuff).  When they saw me pointing my phone at them, they jumped into action.  I should have done it earlier.

Suddenly there was a new checker heading to the cash register, followed by three baskets full racing to see who could get there first.  I got caught in the line of fire.  They crashed into my cart and shoved me aside as they fought to be first in line.  Good grief!!  You take your life in your hands when you shop here!!

By the time I got home, it was 90 degrees outside and most of my groceries' pull dates had already expired.  The good news is I was safe and sound in one piece, and the puppies liked the new food, which is probably just the same as the old but with a new fancy bag to hold it.

While in Petco I did find something for Cooper.  I'm definitely NOT into dog clothes, nor are the dogs, but this little bow tie collar was just too cute to pass up.   

With a totally uninteresting rest of the day, the puppies and I watched the Giants take the series from the Dodgers in their own stadium last night.  It was a fitting end since the Dodgers beat the Giants 13-5 on Tuesday.  It's also pretty amazing, since most of our guys are hurt and several are Rookies to the field.

Although I'd like to stay home today, OUT of the line of fire, I really need to head off to the big town of Fresno to gather the paperwork on my embroidery machine.  With a high of 93 forecast for today, I think summer has arrived!!

Head Bashing!!!

I know we've ALL felt the pain and headache of head bashing.  Try as we might, it's inevitable when you have an RV.  I've trained myself to be extra careful around the rig, especially when the slides are out.  I consciously pay attention when getting stuff in and out of the bays.

On the other hand, when the slides are NOT out, there's still that off chance you will whack your head on SOMETHING.  On Monday when I returned home, that SOMETHING was the fifth wheel attachment to my horse trailer that lives about four feet off the ground.  My rig parks next to it and my electrical cord stretches out underneath.  Despite my carefulness (I walked bent over for several feet) I still came up right under this unmovable steel object hard enough to knock myself silly.

MAN that hurts!!  Try as I might not to touch it, because that only makes it worse, I rubbed it to be sure it wasn't bleeding, which of course made it worse.  Head bashing is NOT on my list of fun things.  I went inside and laid down on the couch, sending a text message to a friend to call in an hour and make sure I was still alive.  They obliged.  I lived.  I now have one more big bump on my head to add to the already existing SIX!!

Last night was Magic Kingdom Bingo time.  I think that bump on my head caused me to go bonkers on the Moneychanger.  Another bang on the head would have been better than the exchange that occurred.  Here's the deal ... first card $5.00.  Additional cards $2.00.  Bring your receipt so we know how much to charge you for the additional ones you want.  

"You didn't give me a receipt" are the famous words spouted off, as well as you didn't give me a red ticket for the drawing.  Believe me, it happens so many times, we are extra EXTRA careful to give everyone their change, their cards, their receipt and their red ticket.  This is serious business for them.

During the "you didn't give me a receipt" excuse, the Moneychanger came up and inserted his nose, in an extremely rude fashion, where it didn't belong.  I've seen it (and been the recipient of it) many times, but have always chosen to ignore it.   I finally charged $2 since the lady said she had already purchased THREE.  Now the rude Moneychanger gets in my face about what difference does it make.

He's right ... the $3 difference makes no matter to me or the Elks.  It DOES matter to the other 102 people in the building who paid $5 for that same card.  If she goes back to the table and tells everyone, which she most definitely will do, we'll have ten more people trying to cheat their way into paying less than everyone else.  The Castle Lawyer and I have been running this for seven years.  It has taken us six years to get the crowd where they don't try to cheat us at every turn.  You can't imagine the shenanigans they try to pull!!

The Moneychanger just kept at it ... I was bashing my head against a brick wall and it hurt.  I finally told him I wasn't discussing this with him.  He said a lot of bad words and walked off in a huff, mad that someone talked to him the way he talks to everyone.  He went straight to the King.  Thirty minutes later, the lady came back and apologized, paying the additional $3 because she lied about having already purchased three.  I didn't take her money.  I explained to her it's not about the money ..... it's about being fair to everyone else.  She agreed and so did the King.

So you KNOW that ruined my night's sleep, not to mention the actual bump on the head I have!!  I'm hoping the Moneychanger will quit using that four letter word six times in one sentence and will treat people, especially women, with a little more respect.  That's like spitting in a river, but maybe next time he'll at least think about it.  I'll just count cards for the next few weeks while the head bashing bumps heal up.

My plan for the day is to do absolutely nothing!!  Impossible, I know, since I need groceries and a few things for the Arizona house.  Escrow will close in 15 days assuming everything is good with the inspections I had done yesterday.  For now, I'll just sit on the couch and relive that conversation 25,000 times ..... what I SHOULD have said!!!  Let it go Nancy, in the long run, it just doesn't matter.

Experience The History

After a hair raising drive East on Highway 50 out of Sacramento, I arrived at Old Town Folsom.  I say hair raising because I was going 70 mph .. the speed limit is 65 .. and literally everyone was passing me like I was standing still.  I now know where the "California Drivers" reputation comes from.  Eeeeeeek!!

I went a little early looking to gather some photos and was surprised to see most of the parking already taken.  Having Sunday morning breakfast on the streets of Folsom is apparently a must.  If you go for the shopping, it doesn't open until 11:00.

Although we were supposed to ride another train, the tracks washed out and our tour was cancelled.  Instead I walked around the depot area getting a feel for the Gold Rush town.  I was particularly interested in the Pioneer Village with it's working craftsmen, but of course it was Sunday and they were closed.

As a group, they will ride any train ... and I mean ANY train.  The Golden Spikes gathered over at the City Zoo and made all the little kids wait while they took a ride on THIS little train.  

In the meantime, I wandered around town loving all the old buildings that still remain on Sutter Street.  There's something for everyone, including housewares, olive oil, antiques, and of course my favorite, FOOD!!

This is Hop Sing Palace Chinese food, complete with original doors and brightly colored PINK napkins on the tables.  I rather imagine it was like this in the old days ... anything to attract attention and customers.

This is gold country and this town was originally named Granite City.  Joseph Libbey Folsom purchased this property from the heirs of San Francisco merchant William Leidesdorff, providing a place for gold miners heading to the Sierra Nevada foothills to purchase supplies.  He lobbied to build a railroad line to Sacramento, bringing even more people to the area.  

It's definitely a colorful little town, keeping many of the sights and sounds of yesteryear.  

The Sutter Street Theatre resides in this building.  Don't let your change jingle as you walk along ... I was hit up a couple of times for food money .. although very respectfully I must say.

They have a very small Folsom Historical Museum that on this date had quite a display of old quilts, made in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  Some of these were just amazing, having been all hand sewn and quilted.  They even had some you could purchase for very reasonable prices.  I've never seen THAT before.  Alongside the quilts were some vintage clothing, like this wedding dress that would fit a 15 year old.  It was the tiniest thing I've ever seen.  It shouldn't surprise me however, since my grandmother was married at 16.

Here's a closer look.  She must have come from a wealthy family.  The entire front is encrusted with beads.  

This quilt was found in a plastic bag in a garage sale.  After hand washing, it's a beautiful example of what a needle and thread can do in the right hands.  This one is dated back to the 1800's.

There are some hands on things in the little museum, mostly gold related.  This butter churn sure brought back memories.  I used to sit on the kitchen table and turn the handle until it got too hard to move.  The cow was milked and the milk strained through cheesecloth to remove little things like hair and bugs, before putting it in the ice box to chill.  The cream would rise to the top of the pan, where we used a round piece of tin to remove just the top layer.  That went into the churn, where the wooden paddles inside would agitate it as we turned the handle until it got thick .. voila ...BUTTER.

Just for information purposes, this does NOT come apart.  It was simply rinsed and left to dry.  The butter was then left out on the kitchen table.  Putting it back in the ice box meant it would get hard as a rock, making it unspreadable.  I used to sit on the kitchen table and eat it by the handful.  YUCK!!  For years after, I couldn't eat butter at all ..... margarine became my staple.

There were all kinds of people who were adventuresome and willing to do anything to make a living, unlike today where people expect a free handout.  The husband of this lovely couple became disabled and couldn't work.  His resourceful wife did what she had to, trading her favors for cash.  Eventually, she transformed their little chicken ranch into a brothel which she ran up until the early 1900's.  

This is one of her advertisement pictures.  Pretty racy for a time when you weren't even allowed to show your ankles!!

Outside, still hoping the Pioneer Museum craftsmen would show up, I took pictures of the turntable used in the old days.  Today it's just for the sake of history, as it doesn't turn engines around any more.

Also a small museum, this passenger car didn't get the memo.  10:00 am is the new time according to the townspeople.

If you're interested in anything Christmas, they have it in this little store.  As you walk through, it just goes on and on and on!!    I'm not sure this peacock turquoise tree is my style, but it was very pretty.

You know I can't pass up an ice cream store, so when I came to Snooks candy and ice cream, I had to stop.  More rocky road, although I think they left out the rocky part.  It was a delicious breakfast anyway.

Here's the best part .... the candy.  I'm not really much of a candy person, but when I saw this rocky road fudge, I just had to try some.  Good heavens this stuff is amazing!!!  It's so good I may even have to try making it myself!!

By then I was getting rather hungry for lunch, so I braved the breakneck speed highway and returned to the RV park.  There is one more attraction here that is definitely worth a look see, and that is Folsom Prison.  That's right, the one Johnny Cash sings about is here for your enjoyment.  It will have to wait for the next trip however.

It was a rather boring trip back home, ending in some head bashing, just in time for the Magic Kingdom of Bingo.   Woohoo!!! 

So Many Trains ... Who Knew??

The Sacramento Valley's population exploded once the trains were running the tracks.  Adventurous people and gold miners came in droves to the West Coast.  More and more trains came into being to handle the people and products being shipped all around the country.  In fact, there were so many trains changing names I won't go into the details.  One of those trains is now the Sacramento River Train running North towards Woodland that still runs today.

I arrived early as usual to get some pictures before the crowds showed up.  This was touted to be the Wild West Train Ride, so I was expecting to see a few horses in the bushes.

I never did see the horses, but I did see the Conductor walking up to the cab as I snapped away.  I struck up a conversation because that's how I roll.  Actually, I'm very shy .... it was he who asked if I wanted some pictures from the cab.  Are you kidding?  OF COURSE!!!  

Up I crawled to the tiny cab area where I took a few pictures while we talked.  The conductor started out as the computer guy who one day decided to volunteer in the maintenance department.  He liked it so much, he's graduated on up to every job available.

About that time, the Engineer stepped into the cab, rather startled to see me there.  I told him all about our club, so he proceeded to tell me all about the engine.  Built in the 50's, it's like an old Chevy Truck he said ... easy to work on.  Sit down, have a seat and blow the horn.  I was in 7th Heaven.

That is until he opened a door in front and said LOOK ... we even have our own bathroom.  TMI was my first thought, but sure enough, there it was.  Who knew???

We all checked in to our own fabulous dining car before wandering about the train as it rumbled down the tracks heading North.  Box lunches will be served later.

Alongside the way were tiny towns that weren't really towns.  There were maybe one or two houses since most of this area is ag land, growing walnut and almond tees.  

Totally reminiscent of my days riding the train to Bakersfield as a kid, it swayed back and forth as I walked like a drunk from car to car.  Finally I found the open side door where I spent most of the trip looking for wildlife.

There was lots of evidence of the recent California rains with the river overflow heading downstream.  The train lumbered across the bridge slowly while the river thrashed below.

This is where all that water was coming from.  I'm not sure what this river is ... possibly the Feather??

The Sacramento River was still at almost flood stage, rising every day now with the snowpack melting.  Many of the homes alongside the river's edge got wet feet.

Further up there was so much water, it completely covered this roadway that was drivable just two days earlier.  

This is  LOT of water flooding everything as far as you can see.  That long bridge in the distance is the I-5 freeway.  Normally this is ag land growing rice.

Finally ... time for lunch.  When I heard it was being served, I headed back to my table to find my lunch ticket gone and no lunch.  Everyone pointed to the front of the train, so that's where I headed.  All I found was one sick girl from the rocking and rolling.  I walked all the way to the back before finding the Food Guy, who walked me all the way to the front again for my chicken salad.  This is Panera food, so I KNOW it's going to be good.

As I sat down, the rest of our group told me not to look too hard for the chicken because there was none.  Apparently the early morning risers at Panera who fixed our box lunches, can't read worth a darn.  Not only was there no chicken in the salad, there was no bacon on the turkey-bacon sandwiches, with one even being ham and cheese.  Seriously??  Apparently when it was reported, the manager wasn't the least bit concerned.   I think we're owed a big refund ... this plain jane salad certainly wasn't worth what we paid!!

About that time there was a robbery on the train.  I never did see the horses, or hear any for that matter.  Apparently these modern day robbers came in their vehicles.  Lilly Langtry cried as the bad guy stole the bag of gold with the Sheriff hot on his tail.  I heard the commotion, but was too busy taking pictures of this hawk across the river.

The bad guy shown here is dying after loosing his gun to the Sheriff.  When he exited the train running right by me as I walked to my car, he was shot not twice, but THREE times.  He performed a great dying scene, moaning and groaning next to my open window, as he got up for the fourth time.  With the show over, he used my car windows as a mirror to make sure his hat was on straight before jumping in HIS car.  Now THAT was a wild west show!!

Next up, yet another train ride that I passed on.  It was the Sacramento Southern train that runs from the Railroad Museum down the tracks and back, about a 45 minute ride.  At least this time I didn't get lost on the way home and I didn't have a puppy mess to clean.  SCORE!!

Believe it or not, there was ANOTHER train ride scheduled for yesterday, the Placerville and Sacramento Valley Railroad leaving out of Folsom California, just up the road.  Unfortunately they had track that was washed out from all the rain and the trip was canceled.  I spent the morning in Folsom anyway, getting a slice of rocky road fudge and a few pictures for you for tomorrow.