Anyways, the first day I got home from the bus and I was pretty exhausted. We had dinner at a hip sushi place. There were these fried sushi rolls that were delicious. And the place was super hip in the main part of town in Sacramento. Lots of hot girls on dates, all young people there.
The second day we went to Effie Yeaw Nature Center, which is a giant open land of sanctuary. We saw a lot of animals; an owl in a cage in the visitors area [my favorite, the true mvp], a coyote [which everyone went gaga over], a falcon on a trainer's arm [that scared me], a mother deer and her young, turkeys, small birds, and even the Sacramento River. We stood near the River for quite a while, I may have been mesmerized by the rushing waters. I don't usually spend much time outside in the Valley, and when I do, I'm just walking back to and from work. So to be able to enjoy nature that much was quite something indeed. Almost metaphysical, magical, in a way. Zen.
That night we had dinner at a traditional Korean place. I got a meal my father would eat, in fact I got it because it's usually his favorite meal at the Korean place we eat at in the Valley: ginseng chicken [cooking] in hot broth. This meal was so delicious. It was the best meal I had throughout the trip. On top of that the meals came with about a dozen sides; everything from pasta, kimchi, noodles, anchovies, tiny crabs, and more. I actually don't think I could find a better or more traditional Korean restaurant in the Valley near me. On top of that, at some point while eating my meal, I looked up and the place was packed, and we were the only non-Koreans!
The third day we went to Sutter's Fort and studied up on the history there. I bought a cheap bamboo flute souvenir there at the gift shop. Hard to play but fun! We had lunch at a terrific Mexican place nearby my friend's place here. I got a carnitas burrito and it was the best carnitas burrito I've ever had. We had cheap Chinese food for dinner and I got the hot tofu with pork, not bad, but this place was Chop Suey all the way.
On the last day, today, 7/8/21, we went to the California History Museum, which is located inside the state's main government building. We spent a lot of time there. There were many posters in which I read everything from women's rights, Japanese internment, Chinese railroad workers, natives peoples of California, the missions, Spain and Mexico's connection to California, and more. It was quite a fun learning experience and just learning from that small taste has me more interested in the history and culture of America's greatest melting pot of a city, and it really is/was/shall be!
Our final meal was at Angry Chickz Nashville Hot Chicken. This was another hip place with mostly young people eating there. The chicken was very good. I got one chicken slider mild and another medium but there was like six spice levels, and I chose the lowest for safety reasons [lol!]. I thought the chicken tenders were very tasty but as my friend said, "you can taste how unhealthy this place is," that being said, the place was probably either my second or third favorite meal of the trip.
A healthy meal we had was lunch today. We ate at a place called Pita Q, a Mediterranean place. I got a gyro pita. Vegetables, sauce, and gyro meat. Healthiest thing we ate and also one of the best meals [yes I say that about every meal].
The weather throughout the trip was 100 degrees. Which made the Effie and park trips more tiring. It should me mentioned that on one of our parks visits we saw a giant group of young men [all white] larping. Perhaps their moms or grandma's were there too as we saw a lot of older women sitting with them there too. Which is kind of funny. I guess if you're larping maybe you don't have a hot girlfriend to bring with you. So you could bring your grandma instead. My friend took pictures because it's really rare to see a big group of people larping.
On top of that we went to a used book store and I finally found a physical copy of Kant's Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic Of Morals. It's quite a hard book to find in the Valley area so it was awesome to find it and I even read the entire thing in one sitting. It's a short introduction to his categorical imperative, morality/ethics, as well as the introduction to his ideas into the critique of pure reason. Worth buying and owning, and its a small book that can easily fit into my luggage. Philosophy, even on vacation!
It's been a pleasure. My friend is happy and safe. As am I. The trip gave me a lot to think about and a lot of time to think about it. Life is good and this is probably the cheapest and also one of the best vacations I've ever been on. I didn't do anything extravagant but sometimes you just need a few days away in Sanctuary. This was it.
Thanks for reading and if you haven't gone yet you need a vacation. Take a few days off and go somewhere nice. Treat yourself. This trip gave me the reset that I probably needed years ago. My mind is refreshed and I'm ready for work on Monday morning.
Minor note: I listened to a ton of jazz music and some classical over the trip, everything from Telemann to Bird to Miles to Trane to Bill Evans to Monk, pure bliss. At one point I think Monk's music transported me into the heavens. The picture used is of Fort Sutter.
