I had a list of "to do" stuff for my mom that I was focused on getting done. Thus, I made no plans for getting out on the water or doing any hikes. The first few days of my trip were dedicated to helping Mom. After that, my schedule would lighten up a bit but I still wanted to keep things centered around her, but in a way that we could both enjoy.

Mom is very physically fit and active. She goes to the gym regularly, does Zumba, and walks a couple time a week. I didn't join her for the first two activities, but we did do some walks together, including a 2.5-miler in the neighborhood where I found a turkey feather.

Mom and I did an early morning walk in the affluent Gold River community in Sacramento. I wanted to see if the walking areas were senior citizen friendly. I found the sidewalks and streets nearly immaculate along with the wooded trails. What I found most interesting was this sign posted at the trailheads.
The trails were paved asphalt. Any cracks were carefully sealed. Beautiful trees provided shade, some with signs indicating the type of tree. I'd expect this at an arboretum but not a community trail. Lots of mostly older people were out getting their exercise and walking their dogs.

We also checked out a gravel road that ran by a canal. The water looked clean and the vegetation near it was lush.
Mom and I saw a great egret.

There was only one single point that I thought could be difficult for some seniors. It was where the gravel road met the concrete. On one side was a vehicle gate, which was closed. We simply walked around it, but to get to the sidewalk, we had to step up about three inches.

We got in 2.5 miles.

I don't recall if I'd ever seen my half nephew, Jeremy, as an adult. Now he is 50 years old. Our different sides of the family hadn't kept in touch much but when my dad was ill, he came to visit. I reached out to him and we decided to get together for dinner, along with my cousin Steve, his wife Kelly, my cousin Cindy, and my mom. We met at Sushi Cafe. I had the teriyaki salmon bento box which was cooked to perfection.

From left to right are Cindy, Mom, Jeremy, me, Steve, and Kelly.
Here's a couple more pics.

Every time I come back to Sacramento, I notice something new. This time it was a road and a garden under the powerlines near my mom's house. Driving past, we saw that the gate, which normally keeps vehicles from accessing the road, was open. We also spotted people working in the garden so we decided to investigate.

We saw ~15 people working the garden. As we got closer, one of them greeted us and told us about their project. It is called Seeds for Solidarity.
Food grown here will benefit the poor. It seems like a great idea and one that I think Norma would be interested in because it would unite like-minded people working towards an admirable cause. Here are some people preparing a new garden.
I also have to applaud the city or county of Sacramento for building the road and providing water access for the garden. It is under power lines which, in my opinion, is the perfect place for a garden since permanent structures cannot be built there.

I called up my Aunt Kay to tell her that I was in town and would love to see her. She welcomed my visit.

It was great catching up. It might have been ten years since I last saw her.

When I originally took this picture below, it was way too dark. I tried using my various photo tools to improve it but the results were just mediocre. Then I asked ChatGPT to brighten it. It did a fantastic job.

I always like seeing Cousin Jodi. I think we are similar in a lot of ways. I really admire all that she does to give back to her community and the environment.

Mom, Steve, and I joined Jodi and her friend Gay at Sailor Bar along the American River in Fair Oaks.
According to stories, this area was named Sailor Bar after two sailors jumped ship and found gold on this site.
- from trail sign titled "The Lower American River"

Unlike Gold River, we didn't see any signs warning of mountain lions, but we did see some concerning death cap mushrooms, which sound terrifying.
The five of us posed for a snapshot at one of the concrete benches to recognize the President of the Save the American River Association (SARA), a group that Jodi is involved with. Seated from left to right are Gay, Steve, and Mom. In the back are me and Jodi.
I was hoping to find a snake but instead I saw a couple of small western fence lizards.
I also spotted several blackberry plants, shown below. This prompted me to tell the group about wineberries, which were recently ripe on my side of the country. I much prefer the latter.
We walked a total of 2.1 miles.

After our scenic stroll, we went into town and had dinner at Fair Oaks Brew Pub. A lot of people there seemed to know Jodi.

One thing they have that I'd never seen before are misters on the fans. It's too humid in Maryland for that.
I had their Porky Pig pizza which was quite tasty.

Mom and I did a morning walk along the American River on the Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail near the Glenbrook Park access. We walked mostly on the paved areas but also a little on the dirt paths. We tried to stay away from the spiky starthistle plants.

I found a boat ramp near Howe Avenue. Notice the life jackets? Those are free for anyone to use.
Again, I was searching for snakes but found none. I was looking down for them and up for birds. But I wasn't watching straight in front of me. Fortunately, Mom was. She saw a coyote. I was slow on the draw with my camera so I didn't get a very good photo of it.
One plant that grows well along the trail is the highly poisonous but native datura.
We saw some wetlands down below that I'm sure must be home to some interesting wildlife. Maybe I'll return with Norma and investigate closer.
Like a lot of places, Sacramento has a LOT of squirrels. Daphne would love it here.
We walked a total of 2.5 miles.

On the drive home, we passed a wild turkey on someone's front lawn. In Sacramento, they are quite common, but where I live, not so much. So I had to stop and take a pic.

Our group joined Susie for dinner at Modurang Korean Restaurant. Susie is the widow of my half brother. It has been maybe 30 or 40 years since I last saw her. She is full of life and personality. From left to right below are Cindy, Steve, Mom, Kelly, Susie, and me.
I had the chicken bulgogi which was delicious.

On my last day, I did some final giterdun stuff and then said farewell to Mom and my cousins. It was a good trip but in a very different sense than my other trips to California. At this stage in my life and my Mom's life, I am more concerned about her quality of life than me getting outdoors. So I'm happy I was able to do what I could to contribute to her well-being over the last few days.

According to Google AI, the average cost of gasoline in Maryland now is $3.86 per gallon. Here is what it was in downtown Sacramento today.

Waiting at the airport, I caught a nice sunset. A couple sunsets in Sacramento were very red from all the clouds, but tonight it was clear. It was a good day to leave. Temperatures were on the rise.
Some of the people on my flight had a fun sense of humor.
I boarded a one way, overnight flight to Baltimore with the hope that I would sleep the whole way. Unfortunately, I didn't even come close to doing so.

I thought about the time I spent with Mom and other folks during my stay in California. I got a lot of stuff done that I planned to do over several weeks prior. But one thing that I accomplished which I didn't plan was solving a 40+ year old mystery.

At my maternal grandfather's farm, a pond would form near the railroad tracks during the rainy season. I'd go there periodically with my cousins to look for wildlife. We'd see mosquito larva, leeches, tadpoles, and some mysterious creature that looked like mosquito larva in a clear shell. I didn't know what it was. Over the years, I totally forgot about it until Steve brought it up. I've since concluded that it was almost certainly a California clam shrimp.
The California Clam Shrimp (Cyzicus californicus) is a small crustacean that measures up to 2 cm long. It is yellow to brown in color and lives in temporary, seasonal wetlands such as vernal pools and stock ponds in California and southern Oregon. It gets its name from its translucent, bivalved shell that completely encloses its body.
- from Google AI