A Weekend in Sacramento

This weekend I was in Sacramento. I was there to attend the California Republican Party Convention. Instead of giving a detailed treatment of everything I did and what was discussed, I will describe a few moments from the weekend.

Friday
I was driving up the 101 when all three lanes of traffic came to a stop. There was a hit and run accident where a motorcyclist was killed. It took me an hour and a half to travel 5 or 10 miles.

The 101 was green and I could see snow on the tops of some of the hills. I was taking the coastal route to pick up Derek near Santa Barbara.

I stopped in a town so small the gas station did not even have a restroom. I expected better out of a town that was important enough to have its name listed on the mileage chart with Salinas and San Francisco.

Saturday
I ordered a pancake and a scrambled egg at Jim-Denny's. I went there with Derek for breakfast because he remembered seeing the place on the Travel Channel's Man v. Food. After he described their pancake, known as the hubcap, I knew I had to eat there. The link has a video that shows what the pancake is like. Unfortunately, I was not able to finish the pancake. It was dense and very thick.

I went to mass at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. It was only a block away from the hotel. While he was not the celebrant, the Bishop of Sacramento, the most Rev. Jaime Soto, is a graduate of my alma mater, Mater Dei. The church looked like an old cathedral inside and outside.

While I did not see this, it was described to me as a scene out of a movie. Rohit was standing and talking with a few people at the convention. Someone approached the group and was eventually introduced to everyone. He then handed Rohit an envelope and said "Have a good convention" before walking away. Rohit was served with court papers.

I heard Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour speak at dinner. He gave a great speech.

That evening I was at a hospitality suite and had to divide my time between a bottle of pale ale in one hand and a flute of champaign in the other. After I finished one of them I enjoyed a dessert courtesy of Tom Del Beccaro who was running for party chairman.

There was one more event I was not present at. At one of the suites that night a gentleman attending the convention had a heart attack and died.

Sunday
Attended a prayer breakfast where Star Parker spoke. She gave a great speech. Parker also has an uplifting story.

In the parking structure I was at the elevator on the second floor. There was a sign that said "Take the elevator to the fitness center on the first floor." There was a stairway right next to the elevator. Apparently one should only get fit at the fitness center and not on the way to it.

I left Sacramento at 1 PM. I planned on taking the 5 and returning the same way I got there. However, the signage was confusing and I ended up crossing the same river twice and following construction detours before I got onto a freeway. After a few miles I learned I was not on the 5 but the 80 west. I figured turning around would take more time than following the 80 as a alternate route. As I drove through the east bay I thought it would be wonderful if I had enough time to call up and visit some of the people I knew who lived only a few minutes away from where I was driving. Even without any extra stops it took me 10 hours to get home.

I stopped at McDonald's to eat a late lunch. I enjoyed an Angus Chipotle BBQ Bacon Burger. While I selected it because it looked like the best item on the menu, I was reassured I made the correct choice when I noticed it also had the most calories of any burger on the menu.

I have driven between Northern and Southern California more times than I can count. With the rain on Sunday the conditions were the worst I have ever seen them. It was raining for more than half the time.

Now the exact route. To get to Sacramento I took the 405 north to the 101 north to the 152 east to the 5 north. This took 536.2 miles. On the way back I took the 80 west to the 680 (which I drove in its entirety) to the 101 south to the 405 south. The entire trip was 1062.3 miles. The way I accidentally took to get back was shorter in distance than the route I planned taking north. However, if I had taken the 680/80 traveling to Sacramento on Friday I would have run into more traffic.

Sometimes people talk about feeling a retreat high. It is a feeling of happiness and a determination to live better after going on a retreat. It could be said after the convention I am on a Republican high. I want to dismantle unnecessary government bureaucracies and lower taxes.