roadtrips

Road Trips

Sacramento, California - Over spring break last year, I drove to Sacramento, CA, with many stops along the way. I was looking for warmer weather and found it the first night of my trip. As you cross over the mountains in Grants Pass, Oregon, you slowly descend into northern California and the sun begins to shine. This was secretly a trip to scope out my future home, so when I crossed the border into the sun, I was so excited. My first night Grizzly Bear (poodle) and I camped at Lake Shasta. While it was still raining at home, I was sleeping in sixty degree weather with my tent open staring at the stars.

Next, I drove through Redding and Red Bluff and felt an immediate connection with the farming area (I pass back through on my way home). Then, I drove all the way through to Sacramento, passing through orchards and olive groves as I went. Sacramento was a warm inviting town. I stayed at an international hostel (poor Grizzly had to sleep in the car). I visited the capitol building where Arnold Schwarzenegger works. There were bag-pipes playing outside and I wandered with Grizzly through the beautiful campus park. My favorite plants were the orange trees. I spent time walking along the river boardwalk and visited old Sacramento which looks like an old western town with covered wooden sidewalks.

There wasn't much I could do in the big city with Grizzly so I took him on side trips each day. The main trip was through wine country. I drove to Calistoga to see the Old Faithful geyser and their fainting goats (I didn't have the guts to scare them into fainting). I got a bad impression of Californians when a blond lady tailed me in her black Prius after I accidentally ran a stop sign. She pulled up next to me at Calistoga and I let her wait awhile before acknowledging her existence : ) She said, "When you're in California, please stop at stop signs and go the speed limit!" Like I'd really want to visit again when there are witches like her roaming around.

The next day we drove all the way home. On trips I tend to take my time getting there and then blast through to get home. I stopped again in Redding, which seemed more city like this time, especially after I read the no-dogs-allowed sign at their biggest park. So, I headed west and crossed the mountains to the coast. I passed by a big beautiful lake and through a couple of quaint little towns in the woods that reminded me of home. Once we were at the coast, we stopped along the way through Oregon. Grizzly was so happy to run on the beach after being cooped up in the car all this time. The Oregon beaches were amazing, especially the dunes.

Once home, I felt great to have explored northern California to have realistic ideas about where to move someday. I liked the Shasta area, the mountains west of Redding and the coast. Next time, I will make a more focused trip exploring these areas. For now, it is still just something to dream about.