Home from Sacramento

I was checking mail last night, and discovered my blog was linked in an article. If you are here looking for my Memory Trends photos, click here. Thanks for stopping by!

I am home again, and have a lot of photos to share. I took a couple hundred, so I will only show some of the highlights. Sacramento is a history lover's delight... lots of places to see Old West memorabilia and plenty of things to learn about.

We couldn't start set-up until 1:00 on Thursday, so I got up early and went to see some of the places I had on my must-see list. The first one was the Wells Fargo Museum. This is Duli, the curator of this museum, and he is the one who put together all the exhibits here. We got to talking, and he showed me the different exhibits. I took several photos, and Duli asked for a copy of them. When I brought him a disk the next day, he gave me a book on the history of the Wells Fargo oompany, a stuffed stagecoach horse, and a handful of Wells Fargo coins to give the kids. They loved it all, and I had a wonderful time talking to somebody who loves history! Thank you, Duli!
This is an original Wells Fargo Concord Stagecoach that has been fully restored. Duli took the rope off the front of it for me, and then took my picture in front of it. The details of the stagecoach are incredible. As Duli pointed out, this stagecoach is literally an American icon, a symbol of progress in the Old West.
I thought Katherine might like this... :0) This was an original fire helmet. They made them out of leather, then painted them red. I almost didn't get to take this shot since the museum is in a bank, and this exhibit is right by a teller station, and banks don't allow photography in the banking area. They let me take it by shooting right down into the case, and I am grateful they did!
This was my most exciting find. The museum has a collection of orginal handstamps and postage stamps displayed. As I was reading through them, I found this letter from the 1800's addressed to one of my ancestors! I don't know if I can explain how cool it was to see a connection to my family history on display!

Next I headed to Old Sacramento, where I saw the BF Hastings building, which was the orginal office for Wells Fargo and the Pony Express.

I also toured the Military Musuem, which features displays on all American wars from the Spanish American War to today. This was one of the Harleys designed specifically for WWII. I don't have a photo of it here, but the Bosnian display really touched me. It gave the history of the Balkans from the medieval ages, and honored the men who have been serving there without any recognition. My brother was there for a year, and saw terrible things, but it never received the media attention that Iraq has received.
There is a Railroad Museum in Old Town that I explored for an hour or so. This summer I was able to see Reading Railroad, and this weekend I stood on the Pacific Railroad tracks. A couple more and I will have a monopoly... LOL
I loved the old Huntington, Hopkins, and Co Hardware store. Kyle would have loved it as well.



After my classes were over on Saturday, I went down the road to see Sutter's Mill, where gold was first discovered in California. I took the audio tour of the grounds, and someday I want to go back and see it with the living history actors.

I always fall in love with the old churches. This one is the Pioneer Congregational church, and it is right across the street from Sutter's Mill.
The Catholic Cathedral was stunning. I couldn't go inside because it was under some construction, but the outside was just gorgeous.
This is St. Paul's Episcopalian Church, established in the 1800s. I love Episcopalian churches. Even the newer ones I see around here look like castles.


The Governer's Mansion Museum was right next to our hotel, so I was able to admire it each morning as I walked to the show. The last governor to live there was Ronald Reagan, but he and Nancy moved out because of the fire hazards it posed. There is a part of me that simply wouldn't care... set me up in an old Victorian mansion, and I will stay put... LOL.
As I was walking back from the Catholic Cathedral, I found the Masonic Temple which was built in 1918. The tours were over, and a wedding was being prepared for, but one of the masons who was in the building brought me in and gave me a private tour. While it wasn't as stunning as the Philadelphia Masonic Temple (I don't know that any are) it was simply gorgeous. The architecture of the rooms, the old elevator, the marble walls and Spanish tiled floors... it all took my breath away!

I have to go get ready to have lunch with some pals today. Chat soon!