The end of May arrived and it was time to visit my sister, Claire, and her family in beautiful Pleasant Hill, CA. A late flight required an overnight stay at a hotel near the aiport before we used our Clipper Cards to ride the BART to a station near Claire's home. Claire was waiting for us in her brand new electric vehicle, a beautiful Nissan Leaf. Hurrah, no gas to buy at close to $6.00 gallon.
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| Claire's House, Backyard and New Leaf |
What a wonderful dinner she prepared for us - yummy oven roasted pork barbeque, delicious authentic "Bergenfield" potato salad, corn on the cob and the coup de gras, a homemade strawberry sponge cake with fresh berries and whipped cream. It was a wonderful Family Dinner - complete with great niece, Lana, now almost 2 years old, and nephew, Ben with wife, Addie. Linda, Claire's wonderful roommate, was also there and we thoroughly enjoyed the special meal and family time. We also met Claire's new kitty, Buddy, and got reacquainted with dear Pinto, who love their garden. Claire's backyard retreat is really lovely and we spent lots of time enjoying it.
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| Clair, Addie and Lana |
Highlighting our short time with Claire was a trip to the Mountain Home Inn near Muir Woods. The weather fully cooperated and we had lovely strolls admiring the gorgeous redwoods. It was Memorial Day and we were surprised that it was not too awfully crowded. Check out our pictures.
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| At the Mountain Home Inn |
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| Muir Woods Lies About 1 1/2 Hours from Pleasant Hill |
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Hiking from the Inn
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After checking in at the Inn, we hiked along the ridge line before dipping down into the Redwoods along the Canopy View Trail before dinner and a game of Rummikub.
In the morning, we rode a shuttle to Muir Woods as parking was not available.  |
| Tree Hugging on the Canopy View Trail |
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| We Learn About Burls |
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| Survivors from Ancient Time |
We had one more Family Dinner before our Friendship Force Journey with the Sacramento Club. Here, I (Joanne) led a Friendship Force Club Journey coordinating 12 people. Our hosts, Kathy & Bill DeBlonk, could not have been nicer. Kathy arranged lots of activities for the week.
Claire dropped us off not far from her home at the Martinez Amtrak Train Station for our pre-booked and inexpensive ride on the Capitol Corridor route to Sacramento. The station was under repair and train just a little late. Bill picked us up in his Tesla S for a cool ride to our homestay.
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| Joanne Spied a RARE Pay Phone at the Station! |
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| Bill & Kathy's Beautiful Home in Sacramento |
Our first day started with a tour of the Maidu Museum & Historic Site followed by a delicious Welcome Lunch.
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| Cheewa James, A Native American Richard at the Grinding Rock |
Cheewa James, a member of the Sacramento Club, described the life and culture of the Modoc Indians who lived in the year long before the Anglos arrived. Acorns, a primary food source, were ground to flour at places like the Grinding Rock. |
| A Fantastic Welcome Lunch |
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| With Our Hosts, Bill and Kathy |
The Sacramento Club turned out to greet us and afterwards, we visited Folsom Powerhouse and downtown Folsom. The Powerhouse is a historic site preserving an 1895 a hydroelectric power station, one of the first in the nation.
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| Turbines Generators Governors |
On the morning of our second day, Bill and Cathy drove in their Telsa the ninety-one miles to the Calaveras Big Trees States Park. Chris Smith, a member of the Sacramento Club introduced us to the Discovery Tree. The Discovery Tree, over 25 feet in diameter and 280 feet tall, fell to the augers and wedges of man one year after its "discovery" in 1852. We posed for photos standing on the big stump before casually walking through the Sequoias on the North Grove Big Trees Trail.
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| Calaveras Big Trees State Park in the Sierra Foothills (Looking East) |
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| The North Grove Trail |
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| Discovery Tree |
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| Discovery Tree |
Chris had provided us an informational handout to refer to as walked the 1.6 mile trail through the Sequoias. See Michele standing at the base of a tree weakened by heavy winds that fell with force in 1965 fell that many people feared a earthquake. Measuring 30 feet in diameter at its base, the Empire State tree is the largest by mass in the grove.
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| Michele at the Base of a Fallen Tree Empire State |
Read about spiral growth in the article linked above. Hercules, one of the largest in the grove was blown over in 1861.
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| Spiral Growth Siamese Twins Hercules |
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| Mother and Son The Old Bachelor The Father of the Forest |
The Father of the Forest fell before white people discovered the grove. One can walk through its hollow center. We enjoyed a picnic in the park and later explored Murphys historic saloon and Ironstone Winery.
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| Kathy and Richard Enjoy a Beer in the Saloon |
Wednesday was a "free" day to tour and our hosts took us to Sutter's Mill Gold Discovery State Park about 30 miles away. Sutter and Marshall discovered gold but didn't get any! A festival underway provided us with hamburgers and chips for lunch. We walked around the park reading the many informational signs, checked out the reconstructed mill, toured the museum and hiked up the hill to the Marshall Monument.
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| Sutter's Mill Kathy & Joanne on the bank of the American River |
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| The Festival Included a Hat Contest |
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| Joanne Pretends to Grind Acorns on a Grinding Rock |
Thursday, was a "bang-up" day beginning with a tour of the California State Railroad Museum. We loved touring it and reading of the history of the railroad industry. We then had a wonderful lunch and tour of the Capitol's grounds. We learned about the extensive tree collection from all over the world and admired the Peace Rose Garden.
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| At the California State Railroad Museum |
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| Lunch at Fanny Anne's |
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| Guided Tour of the Capital Grounds |
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| War Memorial |
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| Peace Rose Garden |
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| Plaques in the Rose Garden |
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| Peace Rose Garden |
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| At the Sixties Party |
We had a fantastic California Dreamin' 60's Party that evening the the gorgeous backyard of one of the club members. Everyone dressed in 60's attire and we had a blast playing games and enjoying the delicious food and entertainment.
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| Richard in his Grateful Dead Tee Shirt |
Our last day was spent visiting the gorgeous Lake Tahoe area. What beautiful scenery - the weather couldn't have been nicer! We had a wonderful lunch at one of the members fantastic "cabin" on a huge deck with homemade burgers. Later we visited yet another member's river cabin where we were treated to wine & cheese and snacks overlooking a snowmelt flow in the American River. Oh, it was lovely.
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| On the Way to Lake Tahoe |
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| Hamburgers for Lunch |
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| Lake Tahoe |
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| Wine and Cheese at a Cabin on the American River on the Way Home |
The only downside was that Richard and some of the club members came down with Covid. Richard was able to obtain a new antiviral medication called Paxlovid, which did the trick for him. Once he began taking the 5-day regimen of pills, he started to get better quickly.
All in all, this was a fantastic opportunity to visit a beautiful area of California. The Sacramento Club is truly remarkable and really know how to make FF Ambassadors welcome! We are so grateful we visited them.
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