The past few days in Sacramento have been a lot of fun. All but one of my favorite places is still here, but all the cooks, bartenders, and waitresses are gone. And almost every restaurant in the city has remodeled or painted or changed their sign. Everything is familiar, but it's changed enough to seem strange and a bit disorienting. Like if you woke up and found that someone had moved all of your furniture around. My friend Lynn's old office downtown where I worked briefly is now a hotel room which you can rent for $159 a night. I stopped by to see my old friend Alan at Megami and he still makes the most unique and tastiest sushi I've ever had, by far. I went to the Streets of London, where they still have Fuller's ESB on tap, but they've added Sausage Rolls to the menu, which I've not had since I left New Zealand. They also had battered pickles which were delicious, although different from what they serve at the Jolly Roger in Ballard. The Farmers' Market is still going on every Sunday, and that's probably what I miss most. That and the sunshine. The markets in Seattle just can't be compete with this one. The variety and quality of the produce is amazing, and it's typically about half the cost of a supermarket, or less.
Yesterday I went for a ride out on the river delta. The weather was perfect and the landscape is beautiful. There are lot of neat little towns out there, although most of the shops are only open on weekends. The roads are built on top of levees so you can see the river on one side and fields stretching out below you on the other. When I get old I might buy a houseboat and live on the delta, and ride my bike along the levees until I miss a turn and careen headlong into a centuries-old orange grove. After that ride I can't wait to get to New Orleans and see the Mississippi River delta.
I got to spend some time with my old boss at Avis. I even helped him wash a car or two while I was there. When I walked in the door Marvin, who replaced me, was on the phone with a customer having the exact same conversation I had a thousand times before, and I have to say I don't miss it for a moment.
Today I'm packing up and leaving Sacramento to head for Turlock, a beautiful gem in the Central Valley, where I'll be visiting a few more old friends.
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This is an interesting trip you are on. I think maybe I could get in to a trip like this. What's your MBM? (Miles Between Meals)
ReplyDeleteTell me that conversation was about the car with the best cup-holders.
ReplyDeleteIf you hit an orange grove hard enough you make red orange juice! Yay retirement! Yes . . . I'm still not funny. Anyway. . . washing cars with your old boss, eh? That's cool. If I had to wash cars with my old boss I'd use gravel. I hear it really brings out the resentment in a paint job.
ReplyDeleteGreg
Runs in the family, live to eat, ride to eat, heck, let's just eat!
ReplyDeleteOl' Unk Bear would like that trip you're on for sure. But he's too weenie to quit his job and take off, aren't you, Bear?
I'm happy Sacramento was nice to visit, even if it was warm and sunny and things changed but didn't change. I hear it's going to be way hot down that way today. Keep hydrated!
Miles between meals varies pretty significantly depending on the day. Sometimes it's 300, sometimes it's 0. Haven't really calculated the average yet.
ReplyDeleteAs for cupholders...I really prefer the Monte Carlo. But alas, no, it was just another boring conversation about the rental cost defaulting to a higher daily rate after the weekly rate expires.
I prefer the Monte Cristo.
ReplyDeleteI don't know....put your cup on that and it squashes!
ReplyDelete