Romping at the Railroad Museum

Posted in A to Z, Sacramento Sights

The California Railroad Museum is an interactive museum that folks of all ages can enjoy.

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The Governor Stanford locomotive at the California Railroad Museum.

At 200,000 square feet, this is one of the world’s largest rail museums, providing a home for both locomotive engines and dining, sleeper and other assorted cars dating from 1862 to 1944.

2019 marks the sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, so the museum is offering a variety of special exhibits related to this event. In April and May, the Theodore Judah map will be on display in its entirety for the first time, with 66 feet mapping the full Central Pacific Railroad line. Additionally, a special exhibit on the Chinese workers who built the railroads will “fully immerse visitors in the experiences of the Chinese Railroad Workers in order to promote understanding, empathy, tolerance and reflection.” Sesquicentennial Community Day will be celebrated on May 8th, and a Sesquicentennial Gala with dinner and dancing will be held on May 11th.

The museum also offers 45-minute excursion train rides along the Sacramento River every weekend (Saturdays and Sundays from 11 AM to 4 PM), from April to September, offering visitors a chance to ride in different types of cars pulled by a steam or diesel-powered locomotive. Rides are $12 coach/$24 first class for adults, $6/$16 for youth (ages 6-17), and free (coach seating) for museum members and children under 5. (Members who wish to upgrade to first class seats can do so for $12 adults/$8 youth.)

Quirky on Q Street

Posted in A to Z, local businesses

Sacramento has the entire alphabet in its downtown grid, so you’ll be able to orient yourself by figuring out where you are from A to Z. But once you leave the grid, things can get messy.

Q Street, in particular, has a number of stops and starts, dead ends, disconnected pieces, and other quirks.

But if you’re on the long, unbroken stretch of Q, here’s a list of all the things you’ll find there:

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Truitt Bark Park photo by Yelp user Natalie D.

Percolating and pontificating

Posted in A to Z, local businesses

Let’s take a moment to talk about something I love: coffee.

Although I say I’m not a junkie, that I could technically live without it, I also own a t-shirt that proclaims “Death Before Decaf,” and another that reads “It’s 7 AM Somewhere.” Java is my jam. I’m not a total snob about it, mostly because I’m not wealthy enough to decide whether I want to consume beans that have been pooped out of a lemur’s exotic butthole on a regular basis, but also because I am a fan of convenience, and I like to brew my coffee in a 4-cup Mr. Coffee drip machine in the comfort of my own home. (For the record, I also own an Aeropress, a moka pot, and a French press. I do have some pretensions.)

HOWEVER.

When I do go out for coffee, I consider it a treat. I don’t want ordinary, and I don’t want beans that have been burnt. Therefore, the local coffee shop is one that must be discovered and then savored, just like a good latté.

So far, the only local joint I’ve had occasion to try has been Temple Coffee Roasters. Based on their many rave reviews, I’m not sure I even need to look any further. But just in case I need an option closer to home, here’s my To Do List:

  • 18 Grams Coffee & Tea: 9677 E. Stockton Blvd. (Elk Grove)
  • Broadway Coffee: 3200 Broadway
  • Identity Coffees: 1430 28th St.
  • Naked Coffee Roasting (come on, the name says it all!): 3527 Broadway
  • Rosested: 5901 Broadway & 59th Alley
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Rosested photo by Yelp user Nadka T.

Coffee is life. Life is better with coffee. Thus ends my pontificating on percolation. Peace.