Breakfast was quick and tasty at Starbucks down the road from the hotel, then we set off via Mariposa, Highway 140 to Merced, then the 99 north to Sacramento.
It was a hassle free drive, passing walnut plantations, dairies, citrus orchards, and the vineyards of Lodi. The roads are excellent - road tripping through America is one of our favourite pastimes. Luckily the girls enjoy it just as much.
There is a noted police presence here, with sherriiffs in crown vics and California Highway Patrol (CHPS) on motorcycles and lowered Ford Explorers.
We stopped at Modesto to do some shopping, and lunched at In-N-Out. The girls hadn't tried the burgers here before, so we were interested in their thoughts on Five Guys vs In-N-Out. Despite a very tasty burger, they sided with us and voted Five Guys as the winner!
I don't know that I can keep up eating burgers every day and still fit into my clothes, but they're very tasty. And convenient.
Continuing north, we arrived at our hotel (Hilton Garden Inn Venture Oaks; quite nice and close to the city) around 3pm, changed and took advantage of the free shuttle to town.
It was the annual Gold Rush Day in Old Town Sacramento today, where people dressed up as characters from the 1850's. It must have been an enormous event - we saw thousands of people and evidence that there was entertainment all along the many streets of the town. The old part of town is very authentic, and vast. I'm impressed that they managed to preserve so much and so well.
There are shops and bars, town squares, parks, a train station.
We wandered the streets, admiring the architecture, and found a cool looking restaurant where we sat on high bar chairs and enjoyed some local beers and excellent Californian red wine, along with adventurous salads (pears with balsamic and blue cheese, pears with almonds, spicy thin beef and cheese) followed by pizzas to share.
Another excellent day of fine company and grand vistas.
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