I started my journey in Emeryville, where you can pick up some reading material courtesy of Friends of the Oakland Public Library. I love how this route (which I took for my Martinez expedition in May) runs right along the bay from Point Molate to Martinez.
People ask me how I find places to go. One way is to see something intriguing out the train window and then consult Google maps to see if it’s on there. Lone Tree Point is a good example. It’ll go on the list of places to explore.
The train goes right past the C&H Sugar plant with its iconic sign (the plant dates from 1906, the sign from 1956). I’d love to get a tour! The Sacramento Valley train station is huge. I was surprised at how long a walk it was from the track into the station.
I visited the Crocker Mansion which is also the Crocker Museum. Founded in 1885, it’s the oldest museum in the western US. The Crockers were art collectors and built gallery space in their home. I couldn’t figure out where the living quarters were, maybe they’re where the connected research library is? The historic part is mainly a ballroom and an ornate entrance with curving staircases. The museum specializes in California art, but has collections from all over the world and plenty of modern art too.
Then I took a walk to the Mall to see the Capitol Building. The park is full of huge, beautiful trees from all over the world. It’s quite grand looking. I saw very few people out and about. Are most folks still working from home? This was a short trip and I didn’t have time to explore more because I needed some post-lunch coffee. I went to the Botbar where a robot wearing a Santa hat made my coffee.
My plan was to visit the Leland Stanford mansion but I didn’t do my research so I didn’t know you can only visit on a guided tour and the tours leave on the hour. It was after 3 by this time and I decided I was more interested in enjoying the sights from the train home instead of traveling in the dark. Next time!
On my walk back to the station I went through Downtown Commons, an outdoor mall that now has a trendy acronym and signs to go with it, DOCO. The Confucius Temple, built in 1961, was a pillar of Sacramento’s Chinatown, which is a ghost town now due to redevelopment over the years.
I arrived back at the station in orange afternoon light. It was built in 1926 and features a mural celebrating the first transcontinental railroad in the US, connecting San Francisco with the eastern US. Included in the mural are some Chinese workers, who made up 90% of railroad labor. It was built between 1863 and 1869, when the Golden Spike was nailed in, coincidentally by Leland Stanford, who was president of the Central Pacific Railroad Company of California (in addition to being a former governor and state senator and founder of Stanford University).