Downtown in Sac-Town

So much for a weekly update schedule — so much has happened that I already feel very behind on posting! At Americorps NCCC, the people here work hard and play hard. I thought I'd take some time to tell you a bit about the latter and let you know about some of the fun stuff I've gotten to do while off-duty.

Sacramento is a lot like Houston in that it isn't really a great place to take a vacation, but it is a nice place to live. In fact, it was named one of the "most livable" regions in America in 2004. Because of the gorgeous climate (most days are sunny with afternoon temperatures in the 70's), all kinds of vegetation grow here, which lead to the nickname the City of Trees. If you take the time to look closely, it makes for a fascinating juxtaposition; tropical palm trees grow hardily alongside northern evergreens.

In 2002, Time magazine named the Sacramento the nation's most racially integrated major city. This means the city not only is diverse, but also has few geo-ethnic boundaries between neighborhoods as well. For instance, on Watt Avenue, the street that runs adjacent to our campus, there are dozens of different types of international cuisine — including Mexican, Russian, German, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, British, and Italian — literally within a five block radius.

Sacramento is also the capital city of California, and on the weekends, I've had the opportunity to explore the downtown areas. Last Sunday, we took the light rail (about a two-mile walk from campus to the station) to the historic Crest Theatre. From there, we passed through the Westfield Downtown Plaza, a trendy and cosmopolitan outdoor mall, where we stopped for coffee on the Macy's patio. We walked under a metal archway, through a tunnel vibrantly painted in colorful Native American designs, and straight into the heart of Old Sacramento.

Old Sacramento, located on the waterfront of the American River, is laden with history but lately has been converted into a whimsical tourist destination. The city was at one point a quintessential hub of the 19th century Old West. During the California Gold Rush, Sacramento was a major distribution center for wagon trains, stagecoaches, riverboats, railroad, and the Pony Express. Today, wooden boardwalks are still used in place of traditional sidewalks, and costumed carriages traverse the cobbled streets. Many of the historical building are still intact, but they are now inhabited by cafes, restaurants, and souvenir stores.

Our first stop was at Evangeline's Costume Mansion, an wondrous emporium of silly gag gifts, practical joke toys, and, of course, costumes. Though no one bought anything, we flipped through joke books, tried on funny hats, laughed at some of the creative keychains and bumper stickers, and for 25 cents, gripped a lever to check our sex appeal level (I registered as "Sweet"). We then headed down to the riverwalk and walked around one of the floating paddleboat restaurants docked by the shore. For lunch, we went to O'Mally's Pub & Eats, a bar and grill that randomly enough served both Irish and Mexican food. It wasn't even fusion cuisine; instead, one side of the menu featured fish and chips and shepherd's pie, and the other had nachos and fish tacos. The food a little bit pricey and wasn't spectacular, but since we knew we were well aware that we were walking into a tourist trap, we were prepared for the ripoff.

Our final stop for the day was the California State Capitol. It is a stunning white granite edifice located on about 40 acres of parkland boasting an impressive array of multifarious gardens and tree species from all over the state, including the majestic redwood. Like many state capitols (including the one in Austin, Texas), the neoclassical building is modeled after the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. In my highly biased opinion, it isn't as beautiful as the pink wonder known as the Texas State Capitol, but it is a gorgeous piece of architecture worth a few hours of exploration.

For my first taste of fun in Sacramento, our downtown excursion made for a memorable image of my new home for the next ten months.