Week 176: Isleton, CA
Jun. 12 - 18, 2022
Sunday, we had a good experience today. We visited the Western Railway Museum and enjoyed a ride on a 19-teens vintage electric rail car. The weather was absolutely perfect. We had time to walk around the vintage cars in the car barns and then board the train for an eleven mile ride thru the countryside on the original rail line. The line went from San Francisco to Sacramento back in the day. There was even a ferry that would take like 9 cars at a time across the bay. The ferry was electrified so the cars, with their passengers on board, would pull onto the ferry. The docents were very knowledgeable and seemed to enjoy the outing as much as the rest of us. In October they, in partnership with local farmers, host a pumpkin patch that can only be reached via the train ride. It is their most effective fundraiser of the year. I also liked that the wind farm next door could be seen from the rail line.
Monday, the Charles M. Schultz Museum, so much fun. Can you believe it has been 22 years since the last Peanuts appeared and Mr. Schultz passed away. The exhibits here were nicely done. It was interesting to see who inspired "Sparky". Apparently he always wanted to be a cartoonist. How wonderful that he was able to make that dream come true...for him and the rest of us! Did you know that he always hated the name Peanuts? The original name of the strip was Lil' Folks, which was too close to another strip's name so the syndicate changed the name to Peanuts. Later Charles said that he could have changed the name but basically what is in a name right. I loved being able to get a picture at the psychiatric booth. Next door was the ice rink that Mr. Schultz built for the community. He had breakfast, lunch and breaks at the restaurant, The Warm Puppy Cafe, nearly everyday. I bought a very cute bud vase with an older version of Snoopy on it, so cute. On the way home we stopped at a little Italian restaurant in Rio Vista. Lucy's Cafe was wonderful, the food was good and the staff very friendly. It was a good day.
Tuesday, we didn't do much today. Elard got a hold of the technical service department at Foretravel. They were able to help troubleshoot the new air leak in the system and we got some parts ordered.
Wednesday, we took a road trip to a little town north of here called Oroville. There is an earthen dam there that is the tallest dam in the United States at 770 feet. In 2017 heavy rainfall damaged the main spillway so they closed it back off. The lake level continued to rise until it started over the emergency spillway and started to erode that spillway. Even after they reopened the mail spillway. 180,000 people had to be evacuated downstream. It was a close thing. There was even a movie made about what happened and how they repaired the dam. We visited the Lake Orville Visitor Center and one of the rangers there said she was there during the crisis and that the visitor center was the command center. On the way home we stopped at one of the many roadside fruit stands. We got a flat of peaches. I will have to wait until tomorrow to work them into my diet.
Thursday, wow those peaches are delicious! I had them cut up with a little yogurt for breakfast, YUM. We visited the Lodi Wine Visitors Center again and of course we brought home more wine. It is amazing how many vineyards are in this area. Next we drove by the Lodi Arch before heading to pickup groceries. It was another nice day to enjoy a little outside time and cutting more pieces for the travel quilt.
Friday, we visited the air museum at Travis Air Force Base. We had to be escorted by the museum staff but we got in with no trouble. The museum had a great display about the Berlin Airlift, providing food to West Berlin after Russia shutdown all access to it after WWII. Travis flies airlift missions, from the huge equipment carriers to refueling missions. It was fun to see a current aircraft taking off over the historic aircraft. We weren't able to go see the flight line but the museum was good. We stopped at the Delta Market farmers market on the way home. We found a loaf of sourdough bread, some olives, and strawberries.
Saturday, we just hung out at home.
Make Life an Adventure!
