We lived in Sacramento, California back in the late 80's, Danny was just starting school and I worked long hours. Danny and Clay were Cub Scouts and Linda was a den mother, I was a backup for when they needed something. Weekends often found us looking for something to do as a family and in that respect there was a lot to do in California. Sacramento was centrally located between the Pacific Ocean and the Sierra Mountains and for the five years we were there we took the boys places that they would most likely not see again.
I supported Danny's Cub Scout activity, after all I was once one. Through my manager position for work, I kept the Scouts well stocked with craft supplies. Every Memorial Day weekend I used the company box truck to haul supplies 7000 feet up in the mountains and we all spent the weekend making repairs to the scout camp, then we would go back on Labor Day weekend to close it down. There were also several day trips Linda would sometimes need help with.
Weekends and vacation days were family time, from boat shows on lake Tahoe to visits to watch kites fly at San Francisco's Pier 39 or play in the snow in the Sierra mountains.
There was a place up in the foothills called Apple Hill, it was full of fruit orchards and every fall the weekends would be to celebrate the apple harvest. Some of the farms went all out with entertainment, fresh baked pies, cakes and sweets of all kinds, if it could be made with apples they sold it. You could also pick your own apples. They also had times for cherries and peaches but the apple was king. At any rate we made several trips each year to Apple Hill.
Going west on I-80 there was the Nut Tree in Vacaville. It was a huge grove of walnut trees that had been selling their products since the early 1920's. By the time we got there, it had evolved into a place that drew crowds from far away, they even had their own landing strip for private planes. Every Halloween they had a huge Pumpkin Patch and invited local groups/organizations and I guess individuals to participate in a Scare Crow competition, there would be hundreds of Scare Crows and rows upon rows of pumpkins. Halloween was a big thing for them and we never missed it.
California weather was somewhat strange, temperatures through out the year varied according to elevation and location. We lived in Sacramento which was the center of the Sacramento Valley, the winters were mild and the summers were hot, triple digit temps started in May, low humidity was the saving grace. To escape the high temperatures, we would often go into the mountains where Linda and I would pan for gold while the boys played in the American River, the amount of gold we found wouldn't buy a tank of gas but the boys had fun.
I traveled a good bit in the last couple of years but we still managed to do things on the weekend. It had been a particularly hot week when I came home one Friday night, Linda had decided that a beach trip was in order so we got up the next morning and headed out to Reyes Point National Seashore just north of San Francisco. We didn't get 10 miles down the road, Clay was sitting behind me kicking the back of my seat, I told him to stop several times but he didn't so I pulled off the interstate and turned returned home. The next weekend we tried again, neither of the boys gave me any problem. It was really hot in Sacramento so we dressed in shorts and T-shirts and packed a picnic lunch. When we arrived the fog was so thick we couldn't see the waves, it was a little breezy and the temperature was maybe 50 degrees, locals were running around in parkas. Our picnic lunch was held in the back seat with the heater running then we went home to triple digit temps two hours away.
We made it to many amusement parks like Sea World, Knott's Berry Farm, Giardelli Square, Napa Valley, gold mines and Lassen Volcano park and festivals in Lake Tahoe and surrounding foothill towns.
One memorable trip involved only Danny and I. The company had an order for a small phone booth that needed to get to Cresent City which was a coastal town on the Oregon border. I loaded the booth in my company car and Danny and I set off up interstate 5 cutting cross country at Redding. The sights were beautiful especially when we got to the coast. After making the delivery, we headed south on the coast road stopping at various sights of interest, one place claimed Bigfoot sightings and the remains of the tallest Redwood tree (used to be), lighting had hit a few years back and blown off the top leaving a stump somewhere short of a couple hundred feet tall. We passed through several Redwood groves and at one point I stopped so we could walk around, Danny was fascinated as he walked around trying to see the top of the tree. At one point he stopped and looked up, almost falling over backwards, then he said "that's one big tree dad".
Including time in the Navy, Linda and I lived in California four times, we mostly enjoyed our stays but the last time coming home to the south was the best. Danny was beside me in the rental truck as I drove across the Mississippi River in Memphis, I had the window down and could smell Honeysuckle on the air, I looked at Danny and told him we were through with California and we wouldn't be going back. That was 1991 and I have kept my promise.
