Exploring Sacramento

On Friday afternoon our conference session got over early and so I decided to go do some sight seeing in Sacramento. The historic section of the city, Old Sacramento, was only a mile and a half away from our hotel so Morey and I set out on an adventure. Although Morey is not exactly what I would describe as a protection dog, I always do feel safer when he is with me and I am not sure if I would have felt comfortable wandering around a city by myself without him.

By the time we arrived in Old Sacramento all of the museums were closed but we still got to explore and see the sights. The history of the "Wild West" is fascinating to me and there were lots of historical plaques with things like the end of the Pony Express Route and the train depot. We saw the Sacramento River and I kept a tight hold on Morey's leash in case he decided he wanted to go swimming!

At the train depot there were several crates that would have been used to ship cargo from across the county. Morey was just the right size to fit inside but I assured him that traveling by air is a much more comfortable way to travel! He is a little spoiled and I am not sure how well he would have survived back in the Gold Rush days!

 

You could go for train rides along the Sacramento River on one of the historic trains but unfortunately none of them were accessible. There are special exemptions for historical places when it comes to accessibility, since making them accessible often means changing some of the "historicalness". I understand this but it can still be frustrating to be denied access.

 

I was looking for a place to have dinner and as I walked along a strip of small restaurants a woman came outside to offer some water to Morey. Apparently she had seen us coming and had noticed that Morey was panting. I was out of the water I had brought so I gratefully accepted on Morey's behalf and he did his best to drink out of the cup that she held out for him.

 

She had come out of the Indo Café which specialized in Indonesian and Thai food. (You can see pictures of the restaurant and its historical building at their website: http://indo-cafe.com/2.html) That  sounded pretty good so I followed her inside to check out their menu. The woman explained that Indonesia was her home country and she was so excited that I wanted to try her native food. I asked her for a recommendation and she ended up ordering my food and an interesting kind of drink for me. It was really good and I'll have to be on the look out for Indonesian restaurants in Austin!

 

As it turns out, the owner is a Longhorn and graduated from UT back in the 60s! He and his wife were the only people working in the restaurant and it was fun to enjoy a meal while chatting with the owner and sharing stories of landmarks in Austin.

 They had this sign hanging in the restaurant and I found it funny that Texas spicy was second only to Indonesian spicy!

As is true of most of my trips, I didn't have enough time to explore and enjoy the unique aspects of the city while I was there. I guess that means I'll just have to go back again some day!