Tag Archives: Sacramento

Back Home Again

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On this day three years ago I had completed a three-day trip that would take me from Deland, FL to Vienna, Austria via private aircraft. It was such a unique experience that I decided to recount it on its three year anniversary.

Somewhere over the clouds

Well, the fun is over and it’s back to work time. The piloting experience was unforgettable and if I ever get a chance to do it again, I’ll do it in a heart beat.

A non-pilot would have been bored by this trip. Most of the flight was in instrument conditions or over a cloud deck so there was no scenery from flight. Our departures were predawn and arrivals post-sunset so no local tourism. Even our ground stops were minimal so no sight-seeing there either. In fact, in reviewing my photos, I have none of Keflavik nor Esbjerg. This really was more about the trip than the destination.

My favorite experiences remain the over water legs from Goose Bay to Keflavik via Narsarsuaq. And I’ll never forget the pristine beauty of Greenland in general. Although for the life of me I have no idea how those 50 people who man the airport survive up there.

Enroute to Narsarsuaq

Another memory will be the ease with which we transited country borders. Only in Iceland did I even have to retrieve my passport. Contrast that with the commercial flight home during which my passport was needed three times (Vienna, Frankfurt and Chicago). And of course, private flying avoids the indignity of the TSA … but that’s a whole different story.

In the end, my folly-rich arrival was similar to our folly-rich departure – Upon arrival in Sacramento, I inadvertently got in the rental car bus instead of the parking lot bus (remember we originally went to the wrong airport on departure?) and then my luggage handle broke off. Hey, at least it waited until the end of the trip to break off.

Home, sweet home. And with plenty of fond memories!

Musical Civic Pride

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Seems I have a new favorite civic pride song. But before we get to that, I’ve always enjoyed collecting songs about the various cities I’ve visited and grown up in. Among the “grown up in” are:

Seattle: Can’t think of a single thing. Maybe it’s a boring place and maybe I was just too young.

San Francisco Bay Area: Who doesn’t immediately think of Tony Bennett’s “I Left my Heart in San Francisco?”

Chicago: While there is a nice Frank Sinatra “Chicago” tune, my anthem was always “Lake Shore Drive” by Aliotta, Haynes and Jeremiah. That song, now almost forty years old, is today part of my iPod collection.

Dallas: Alan Jackson wrote a song named “Dallas” but it’s not high on my hit parade.

Austin: For all its music reputation, Austin has precious few songs about it. The only thing that comes to mind is a “lost love” song by Blake Shelton he titled “Austin.”

San Jose: Who cares? Don’t remind me of Dionne Warwick’s ditty.

Sacramento: I guess nobody has gotten around to it. Even “76 Trombones” is about River City, Iowa, not River City, California.

But my new favorite civic pride song? Jay-Z and Alicia Keys played it during the second game of the 2009 World Series. Jay-Z isn’t my cup of tea so the song never registered. But recently I came across an Alicia Keys solo performance of “Empire State of Mind” and I loved it. It’s about New York City, a city I never lived in but sure spent a lot of time in. Made me smile.

Perhaps we can get her to do something for Sacramento?

The last leg

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almosthomeRising early, I still didn’t know if I was going to finish the campuses today or stop somewhere along the route. Another option was to call it quits after the Bay Area and return for the two remote campuses (Arcata, Chico) next week.

But first, San Francisco – Leaving around 6AM I beat the rush hour traffic and was leaving over the Bay Bridge before 7AM. The Maritime Academy (nice campus!) in Vallejo was next and before 9AM I was in Sonoma for the last of the Bay Area campuses. It occurred to me that I could be home by noon from here …

Nah, Arcata is only four hours north. And I headed north – My GPS now suggesting I would be home at 6:30PM. Most of the roads are familiar to me as this is my favorite stomping grounds – I was so tempted to peal off to Mendocino, Shelter Cove, or the Lost Coast but that would have seriously impacted my schedule. So I stuck to the gentle, undulating curves of 101 through the northern California forests. Arcata was mine just a little after 1PM.

From there it’s 299 to Redding – Normally a two hour ride, but construction and single lane detours really slowed things down. Now my arrival time home would be 7:30PM. I’m tired and it’s really hot now that I’m away from the coast - A brisk 100F!

Arriving at Chico just after 5PM, I looked for a sign for my scavenger collection. I found one but it was inside the campus quad and inaccessible to motor vehicles. So I drove up and down the streets and parking lots looking for anything that said CSU-Chico. Nothing! I circled the campus a second time and still nothing. This was amazing – Not one identifier anywhere.

So I returned to the off limits sign, pushed the bike until I could finally get a picture, pushed it back and rode away. Several students are still scratching their heads and wondering what the heck was he up to?

A quick refuel (and Gatorade – It was hot!) and now my arrival time at home moved to 8:30PM – I had wasted an entire hour with that silly shot. But first, a quick stop at Sacramento State for item #23, and my day was almost done. 30 more miles up the hill and I was home.

Over 1,900 miles in 2.5 days but I got the maximum points – First prize is a set of tires and the way this summer is going, I’ll need them.

The Kings? Who?

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kingslogoMoving to the Central Valley several years ago, I was caught off-guard by the large number of purple “Kings” signs, banners, jackets and so on. I guess living in the Bay Area, with its multitude of professional teams, you become accustomed to multiple colors of multiple teams. They all sort of blend in together.

But in one-team Sacramento, the Kings rule … or at least ruled.

There was a billboard along the freeway pleading with forward Chris Webber to “Please don’t leave us!” There were rallies and city-wide initiatives to match the other team’s financial offers. The team owners, the Maloofs, already very wealthy, were treated like celebrity throughout the town. And you couldn’t have a water cooler discussion without starting it with “How about the Kings?”

Contrast that with today – The Kings are in last place, you barely see purple, and no one has mentioned the Kings since … I don’t know when I last heard about the Kings. Even the Sacramento mayor, Kevin Johnson, is a former Phoenix Suns player.

But the ultimate blow came today. Sports writer John Galinsky ranked the Sacramento Kings #30 of 30. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.