California 2025 

I had just completed a trip to northern Arizona with Team SNaCk + 'R' = Team SNaCkeR. Upon completion of our southwestern adventure, Norma headed back to Savage while I flew to Sacramento to spend time with my mom.

Stepping out of the Sacramento airport, I enjoyed the mild, sunny October weather. Not too hot and not too cold. It was a good temperature for being outdoors.

This trip was a little different than most because Norma was not with me. That meant I could be very focused on what I wanted to get accomplished to help Mom. The following was on my "to do" list:

Take Mom out to eat.

Help Mom get rid of big stuff she doesn't need to make room in the garage and the shed.

Take Mom to a performing arts show.

Have Mom get together with some relatives.

Check/update Mom's computer.

Do general house maintenance.

I knew there would be more but this was a good start.

I've sold a lot of stuff online. I have my way of doing things that is very thorough but also time consuming. So I got started on this right away. This involved

Determining what Mom wanted to get rid of, giving priority to things taking up the most space.

Figuring out what worked, what was easily fixable, and and what was broken.

Trying to give things away to folks that were close to Mom.

Determining how much to charge for things to sell.

Taking photos and writing up descriptions of everything.

Posting ads in Facebook Marketplace, Freecycle, and Craig's List.

I spent most of today and tomorrow working on all this. Here's a photo of Dad's and my old weight training equipment. Making money wasn't so much the goal as just finding a good home for things. We wanted to avoid throwing things in the landfill if possible. Initially I asked for some money for the weights but nobody was interested, so instead I listed it for free and found a father with a teenage son looking to improve his physique.

The most difficult thing to get rid of was Dad's old golf clubs. He had three bags, ~60 clubs, balls, and other miscellaneous things such as a ball grabber on an extendable pole. I found a non-profit organization that specializes in teaching young people how to golf. I reached out to them but they weren't interested because the clubs were so old. I know golfers tend to have money so I didn't think I'd find any takers. One big challenge is that Dad was around my size and golfed left-handed. So that really limited who could use the clubs. Would I find a home for them before I departed?

After spending most of the day preparing to find homes for Dad's old things, it was now time to take Mom out. We had dinner at The Coconut Thai Restaurant / Drunken Noodle in Midtown Sacramento. That was her first time eating Thai food. Like a lot of older people, Mom is a creature of habit so I figured it was good to take her someplace she wouldn't normally go.

After dinner, we drove a short distance to the B Street Theatre to see a play called "The Art of War."
Sun Tzu's fifth-century military treatise, "The Art of War," is powerful enough in its original form. Add humor, middle-aged couples, and fish, and you've got a clear winner. The world premiere stage adaptation of The Art of War by Dave Pierini is chock-full of scheming and surprises, making it one of the best B St. Theatre offerings of the season.
- from Broadway World - Review: THE ART OF WAR Claims Victory at B St. Theatre

Prior to the show, we walked around the theater, looking at the art on display.

Regarding the performance, I thought it started out a little slow and predictable but that was just to set the stage for what came next. Midway through, things became unpredictable and remained that way until the end. Not sure if Mom liked it but it held her attention. I enjoyed it and I think Norma would have too.

I spent most of the day preparing to sell or give away things at Mom's house that she didn't want.

I also looked through some stuff Dad had that I felt was too special to give or sell such as his hand-powered key duplicator. Dad learned locksmithing skills and could pick a lock, take it apart, and switch around the tumblers to make a key of his choice work. I never saw him use this key duplicator and I don't know how he acquired it. I felt the best place for it would be a tool museum such as Huntington, Hopkins & Company Hardware Store in Old Sacramento but I wasn't able to contact them during my visit. Their hours are very limited.

During my time visiting Mom, we went on several walks in the neighborhood. She keeps a really good pace and has no problem walking two miles. At 90 years of age, that's pretty admirable.

This gave me a chance to see the old neighborhood. Perhaps the biggest change is that a lot of people (including Mom) have done away with their lawns and replaced them with rocks gardens. Many have incorporated desert plants which need very little water.

The other change is the abundance of "Little Free Libraries" or similar things for sharing books. Mom says she makes good use of them. She reads a lot. I suppose that is part of the reason she is so sharp.

I like to get out on the water whenever I do a trip. I reached out to Steve to inquire about where I could rent a SUP or kayak and he pointed me to Lake Natoma Paddle Rentals at Black Miners Bar. I met him there. I reserved a SUP and he reserved a kayak. The place was supposed to open at 0900 but nobody was there. I called and spoke to the manager (or owner?) who seemed shocked. A little after 1000, someone showed up and we got our boats.

Ken brought his own kayak and launched a short distance away at the Buckeye Rock ramp. Steve and I paddled over to meet him. Steve was in a dreadfully slow rental sit-on-top kayak.

The three of us paddled upstream on Lake Natoma.
The Lake was created by Nimbus Dam across the American River. Lake Natoma is a regulating reservoir for releases from Folsom Lake.
- from Recreation.gov - Lake Natoma

Much of the upstream portion of the lake is lined by boulders, making for some scenic views.

The three of us paddled as far upstream as we could legally go. We stopped once we reached a sign that read
Folsom State Prison
No Trespassing
Violators Subject to Prosecution (602 pc)
Warden

From this turnaround point, we had a clear view of Folsom Prison. This is the place that Johnny Cash helped make famous with his song "Folsom Prison Blues."

My dad was born in Folsom back before the dam was built. It was such a small town that if you needed to see a doctor, you went to the prison because that's where the only doctor in town worked. Today, it is a booming, affluent community.

Paddling back downstream, I noticed that the leaves on the trees were starting to change color.

Ken made his kayak from a Pygmy boat builder kit. He let Steve and me try it out. It is lightweight, fast, and reasonably stable.

Here I am at the Rainbow Bridge (background) and the Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail Bridge (foreground).

Further downstream the terrain changed to be less bouldery and more cliff-like.

Ken was familiar with the area so he took us on the east side behind some islands. Back in the main part of the lake, we saw a bald eagle. While common in the Chesapeake Bay, this was my first time seeing one in the Sacramento area.

The original plan was to paddle for two hours and then go out to lunch but we changed it to be out on the water for three hours and skip lunch. We all preferred paddling to eating.

Testing electrical equipment was pretty easy. Just plug it in and if it runs, then it probably works. But things with a combustion engine are different. I tried to start Dad's old yard vacuum. I put just enough gasoline in it to start it but it did not. In fact, the starter cord would not retract. I ended up offering that for free and was a little surprised that someone wanted it, especially since I remember Dad using it back in the 1970s.

The other gasoline-powered equipment I tested was a really big edger. I don't recall Dad ever using it when I was at home. My guess is he acquired it from his friend John B. when he passed away. The edger was much too big for Dad's yard. It was more of a professional landscaper tool. When I put gas in it, the gas simply leaked out. I didn't feel it was worth my time to try and fix it or figure out the problem so I simply listed it as free. That was a mistake. New, these things sell for over $900. About a dozen people reached out to me about it and I was able to get rid of it easily.

Dad had two chainsaws. I didn't bother to test them out because cousin Cindy's husband said his Lion's Club could use them. So we simply set them aside for Cindy to pick up at a later date.

I joined my cousin Jodi for a walk along the American River starting at the Olive Avenue entrance of Sailor Bar, near Sacramento. She pointed out various things to appeal to my environmental and historic interests.

Here we are near the parking lot. Nearby, one can see piles of river rocks called "tailings." These are the discarded rock and gravel left over from large-scale gold dredging operations. Between the late 1800s and the mid-20th century, massive dredges scooped up the riverbed, processed the gravel to extract gold, and then dumped the remaining unwanted rock in large piles along the shorelines and riverbanks. The water used for this dredging left channels in the sides of the river wall which can still be seen today.

During our walk, we stopped to move some river rocks to help the salmon migrate upstream to spawn.

Jodi pointed out bedrock mortars along the river. These are places where Native Americans ground acorns, nuts, seeds, and other plant materials into a coarse meal or flour. This area was primarily inhabited by the Nisenan, who are also known as the Southern Maidu. They inhabited this region for thousands of years, relying on the land for hunting, fishing, and gathering acorns.

We saw a couple of turkey vultures. That was it in terms of wildlife.

Looking through the garage and shed, I found some interesting things. One that took awhile for me to identify was a stove pipe damper used to adjust the draft of the stove. When I was a young kid, my parents got a wood burning stove. It had a damper which I never saw because it was always in the chimney. Was this it? Hard to say. They eventually got rid of the stove and replaced it with a pellet stove, which Dad hated. So the damper could have also been from that.

I trimmed the back hedges and fixed a section of roof soffit that was hanging loose. Then I did a quick inspection of the roof and gutter.

While in the backyard, I checked the birdhouse that I made and installed for my parents a few years ago. There was a nest inside which surprised Mom. But nearby I also saw a pile of feathers as if some predator had killed a bird. I saw lots of poop from some animal that appeared to be around Daphne's size. I asked Mom about this. She was aware of it but didn't know where it came from. Maybe on my next visit I will install a motion sensor camera to find the answer.

I took Mom to the Sacramento History Museum. She hasn't been there for awhile and I don't recall ever being there. If there's only one thing you know about Sacramento history, it should be that the gold rush built and shaped the town.

Here's Mom and me in an earth-moving bucket at the entrance of the museum. It makes a not-so-comfortable chair.

We toured the museum and then did their Underground Tour. I did this with Norma a few years back. I think it has since improved with the guides now dressing in period attire and being very animated. On this tour, we had a chance to explore excavated foundations and enclosed pathways hidden since Sacramento raised its streets in the 1860s.
Early Sacramento's waterfront location was prime for commercial success, but was prone to severe flooding. The city also fell victim to repeated fires engulfing its hastily constructed buildings composed mainly of wood and canvas [possibly from Savage Mill?]. In 1850 the new city experienced its first devastating flood and in 1852 the city was again wiped out by high water. It was apparent that drastic measures would have to be taken if it was to be saved.
In 1853 a mammoth project was proposed to raise the city above the flood level. The ambitious and expensive proposal was not fully accepted until another devastating flood swept through the city in 1862. Within a few years, thousands of cubic yards of earth were brought in on wagons and the daring scheme to raise the street level began. The original street level can be seen throughout Old Sacramento under the boardwalks and in basements.
- from Old Sacramento Waterfront - History

Behind the museum was an earth-moving claw. I don't know how it was used, but given Sacramento's gold mining roots, I suspect it was used for this purpose.

Here's me with the claw. Though I'm not wearing it now, if you've ever wondered why I sometimes don a cowboy hat, it is partially to pay tribute to my Sacramento roots. Sacramento is the oldest city in California, incorporated in 1850.

Fun fact: My favorite movie cowboy, Sam Elliott, was born and raised in Sacramento.

That evening, we had dinner with Steve and Kelly at Sakura Grill & Buffet. I've noticed that older folks seem to like buffets more than younger people. That is certainly the case for Golden Corral, which we didn't visit. Personally, I like buffets because I am able to try out a lot of different things in small portions. So maybe I am old.

During one of the walks that Mom and I did, we saw a really pretty multi-colored hibiscus growing in someone's yard.

Many people in Mom's neighborhood have citrus trees bearing lots of fruit. Not something I've ever seen in Maryland.

I spent most of the rest of the day working on Mom's computer and getting ready for my flight home.

My flight home went fine. It was a non-stop redeye flight. Norma picked me up and brought Daphne, who was most happy to see me.

I pretty much accomplished everything I set out to do on this visit. I wasn't able to get rid of everything that Mom wanted me to pass off but I did manage to find homes for most things. I was not successful with the golf clubs. That's a tough one.

On a future visit, I'd like to

Set up a game camera in the back yard to see what critter is coming to visit at night.

Sometime before October 2027, buy Mom a new computer. Hers is from 2011. I renewed her virus protection for two years. Because of how old her machine is, I couldn't go the standard route.

Talk to her financial advisors to make sure everything is hunky dory.

We spoke about a river cruise. I might fly out to get her for this. I need to look into options.

As always, it was great seeing Mom but it was also good to be back home in Savage with Norma and Daphne.