Week 3 ~ Sep 2nd 2006
The long weekend was fast approaching and I had my thoughts full on what to do for the 3 days. With most people out on these 3 days, it sure looks lot crowded in places like LA and Las Vegas. There was no point in going there as ticket prices had soured by then. So what am I going to do to beat the 3 days...
I was watching a local television channel called KQED one day. There was a programme on a tour around the Stanford mansion. Who was Stanford? Stanford was once the governor of california who had founded the famous Stanford university (the B-school here is world renowned). The TV guide gave the viewers a grand tour around the mansion explaining the significance of the various collections/artifacts there. The mansion was so grand (considering that they were recreated to reflect the original settings of 1800s) that I vowed to visit the place one day. The museum was situated in Sacramento, the state capital of california.
I was going through various websites in search of information on Sacramento where I hit upon the tourism department of Sacramento. I called the toll free number and the operator offered to send me a brochure with a complete set of guides. He also informed that during the labour day weekend Sacramento shall be transformed into the old Sacramento of yore with scenes from gold rush days enacted. That sounded interesting. The brochure arrived promptly the next day and I was mighty impressed with the details. So Sacramento it is for the 1st day of the long weekend....
My predicament was all the more confounded by the fact that I didn't drive a car. That makes public transportation my only option. How about Amtrak?? I checked the Amtrak website www.amtrak.com and confirmed that there were trains available to Sacramento from near San Francisco. There were stops at Emeryville, Berkley and Richmond from where the train can be boarded. I opted for Richmond as it was just 7 minutes from my place. I reached Richmond at 7:30 to take the 720 Capitol Corridor train (scheduled to arrive in Richmond at 7:42). I had previously called Capitol Corridor customer service (Amtrak and Capitol Corridor have some sort of understanding though they are different) and ascertained that one can buy the tickets by internet or at the station or still better in the train itself. But the fact was that if the ticket was purchased in the train from the conductor it costs a few bucks more. I waited at the station turning my iPOD on. In the vicinity there was a man with a huge backpack inquiring about the train timings and ticket counter. A elderly chinese lady directed him to the station downstairs for the ticket. Having overheard the conversation i decided to follow the man to see where he gets his ticket from. We could see a ticket telling machine just by the corner (that I had missed while walking into the station). I waited till he got his ticket out to try my luck. It was a nice little touch screen machine which prompted me for the trip details. Initially I started with the round trip (choosing the 5:40 return from Sacramento) but was completely lost by the time I had to choose payment options. I cancelled the whole thing and started afresh by selecting the one-way trip. Behind me a small crowd had started gathering waiting impatiently. I could hear the jabbers as time wore on and I still could not figure how to pay the tickets. I was getting stuck at one point where I had to enter the PIN number of my visa card and I just couldn't figure where to enter them. The lady behind me was getting impatinet and fidgetty and was heard suggesting to her companions that they go ahead and wait in the station while she collected the tickets. Enough was enough, so I thought and quietly asked the lady behind if she could help me. She had no hesitation in pointing to the small key pad at the side where I could enter the PIN. I thanked the lady and collected my tickets (Man! these machines always expose me). Our train arrived at 7:42 prompt (there was a train at the other side which had Sacramento written all over and we were all fooled as the train was arriving from Sacramento. Can't they improve these sign boards?) and I inquired with the ticket conductor where the unreserved car was. He pointed to me to the cars with a wave of his hand and said these are all yours... The train was neat and comfortable and I went to the top deck. It wasn't crowded and that left me wondering why Americans didn't appreciate public transport much as my countrymen do. Why ride a car for hours together when you can sit and relax in the cool interiors of an Amtrak..
The view from Richmond to Sacramento was great uptill Martinez when the tracks ran parallel to the bay. We reached Sacramento at 9:15 AM and my first stop was the California Rail Road museum. I lost my way to the museum taking a detour. I was confronted by a friendly museum guide who politely educated me on the significance of the museum and the lay out. There were plenty of wagons on display starting with the Union pacific and South pacific railroad cars. A manequin of Leland Stanford flagging a steam engine greets us at the entrance. There were plenty of other cars over various years interspersed with ticket booths, railway quarters, display of tools etc....I was fascinated by the spike that was on display. This spike (Lost spike as it is called) was one of the original 2 spikes that was made to commemorate the launch of the first railroad network in california. While the original spike was donated to the Stanford museum (called the last spike), the other spike was lost and was subsequently traced to the family of the engineer that built the rail road. This spike was called the lost spike which was subsequently donated to the museum the previous week. I never knew time buzz but when I looked at my watch, I realised that I had spent around 2 hours there..
I walked out in the warm climes of Sacramento to my next stop The Discovery museum. This museum lies close to the rail road museum but faces the old sacramento street that had been transformed into a set from the gold rush days. There was a country fair, horses drawn carriages, men in coats and hats, women in corsets and long skirts. The shops resembled a setting from a old cowboy movie. The museum itself had artifacts from gold rush days including excavations from the attic of a house which once stood in the same place as that of the present day museum. An exhibit honouring the Pony Express was interesting. It was a horse saddle. Pony Express was the first stagecoach which carried mail during the 1800s. The company was formed out of a novel idea by a wealthy businessman who found communicating between the coasts difficult. The company was in operation for less than 10 years and went broke. I was engrossed in the chinese section (looking at exhibits on the life of the chinese people who had come all the way from china to work on the railroads and gold fields) when an elderly volunteer offered to explain to me the theme behind the exhibit. She explained the hardship and discrimination the chinese had to endure to make their mark in american society. The japanese section was also captivating and the exhibits reflected the hardship the japanese had to face in the aftermath of the pearl harbour bombing when they were isolated and kept in labour camps
Next was the Wells Fargo museum. There was a stagecoach outside the museum with offers for a free photo op. I shunned the photo and jumped headon into the exhibits. Wells Fargo as we know is a major bank in the US but it once operated mail service in 1800s. The exhibits depicted the service between various US cities and how money was transported between the collection agents and the bank teller. This museum was small and I spent little time in finishing the tour quicker than anticipated. I still had 2 hours (it was already 3
:00 PM and most museums close by 5:00 PM). Lying just across the dusty street was the California Military Museum. During the 1800s california had its own military league (it was shunned later only to be revived) and the museum had exhibits from the military league. In addition there were sections devoted to WWII, Vietnam, Korea and Bosnian wars (Surprisingly there were no exhibits from the gulf war). One exhibit which caught my attention most was the glistening Harley Davidson military motor cycle with its distinct green colour and insignia. The museum had 3 floors and I was running out of time...
By the time I was out of the California Military Museum I had barely half an hour. I still had the Leland Stanford mansion and California Governor's mansion to visit. I was in a dilema as to which one to choose. Both will be closed in half an hour and I had to settle for one. Though I would have loved to visit Leland Stanford museum, it was quite a distance for me to cover within the time that was available. I had to settle for the governor's mansion and besides you never know when Arnold Schwaznegger (The hollywood muscle man turned california governor) might bump into you. It was then that I lost my way again taking a detour around the lovely sacramento river. By the time I made inquiries to find my way, I had barely 10 minutes left to make it to the mansion. I walked fast towards downtown Sacramento taking in view the mamoth structure ahead. By the time I made my way to the mansion, it just closed down for the day. I could not hide my exasperation and glotted over my folly in not inquiring someone (when I first sensed that I was getting lost). The mansion was huge and had beautiful manicured lawns where there was a marriage party going on. I rested in the park for a while and started the slow tredge back to Amtrak station. There was a train to Richmond leaving Sacramento at 5:40 and I had twenty minutes left. The tredge turned to fast walk and subsequently a jog as I lost my way for the 3rd time. This time I was racing against time and a merciless sun to cope. I was just in time when I reached the ticket counter where the ticket teller comforted me that there was still 3 minutes left. I heaved a huge sigh of relief when I was finally seated for good.
Overall the trip was good but I rue the fact that I could have moved on faster in these museums. I wish I had a car which would have ensured that I reach the governor's mansion well in time. Hopefully I will drive one soon.....
I was watching a local television channel called KQED one day. There was a programme on a tour around the Stanford mansion. Who was Stanford? Stanford was once the governor of california who had founded the famous Stanford university (the B-school here is world renowned). The TV guide gave the viewers a grand tour around the mansion explaining the significance of the various collections/artifacts there. The mansion was so grand (considering that they were recreated to reflect the original settings of 1800s) that I vowed to visit the place one day. The museum was situated in Sacramento, the state capital of california.
I was going through various websites in search of information on Sacramento where I hit upon the tourism department of Sacramento. I called the toll free number and the operator offered to send me a brochure with a complete set of guides. He also informed that during the labour day weekend Sacramento shall be transformed into the old Sacramento of yore with scenes from gold rush days enacted. That sounded interesting. The brochure arrived promptly the next day and I was mighty impressed with the details. So Sacramento it is for the 1st day of the long weekend....
My predicament was all the more confounded by the fact that I didn't drive a car. That makes public transportation my only option. How about Amtrak?? I checked the Amtrak website www.amtrak.com and confirmed that there were trains available to Sacramento from near San Francisco. There were stops at Emeryville, Berkley and Richmond from where the train can be boarded. I opted for Richmond as it was just 7 minutes from my place. I reached Richmond at 7:30 to take the 720 Capitol Corridor train (scheduled to arrive in Richmond at 7:42). I had previously called Capitol Corridor customer service (Amtrak and Capitol Corridor have some sort of understanding though they are different) and ascertained that one can buy the tickets by internet or at the station or still better in the train itself. But the fact was that if the ticket was purchased in the train from the conductor it costs a few bucks more. I waited at the station turning my iPOD on. In the vicinity there was a man with a huge backpack inquiring about the train timings and ticket counter. A elderly chinese lady directed him to the station downstairs for the ticket. Having overheard the conversation i decided to follow the man to see where he gets his ticket from. We could see a ticket telling machine just by the corner (that I had missed while walking into the station). I waited till he got his ticket out to try my luck. It was a nice little touch screen machine which prompted me for the trip details. Initially I started with the round trip (choosing the 5:40 return from Sacramento) but was completely lost by the time I had to choose payment options. I cancelled the whole thing and started afresh by selecting the one-way trip. Behind me a small crowd had started gathering waiting impatiently. I could hear the jabbers as time wore on and I still could not figure how to pay the tickets. I was getting stuck at one point where I had to enter the PIN number of my visa card and I just couldn't figure where to enter them. The lady behind me was getting impatinet and fidgetty and was heard suggesting to her companions that they go ahead and wait in the station while she collected the tickets. Enough was enough, so I thought and quietly asked the lady behind if she could help me. She had no hesitation in pointing to the small key pad at the side where I could enter the PIN. I thanked the lady and collected my tickets (Man! these machines always expose me). Our train arrived at 7:42 prompt (there was a train at the other side which had Sacramento written all over and we were all fooled as the train was arriving from Sacramento. Can't they improve these sign boards?) and I inquired with the ticket conductor where the unreserved car was. He pointed to me to the cars with a wave of his hand and said these are all yours... The train was neat and comfortable and I went to the top deck. It wasn't crowded and that left me wondering why Americans didn't appreciate public transport much as my countrymen do. Why ride a car for hours together when you can sit and relax in the cool interiors of an Amtrak..
The view from Richmond to Sacramento was great uptill Martinez when the tracks ran parallel to the bay. We reached Sacramento at 9:15 AM and my first stop was the California Rail Road museum. I lost my way to the museum taking a detour. I was confronted by a friendly museum guide who politely educated me on the significance of the museum and the lay out. There were plenty of wagons on display starting with the Union pacific and South pacific railroad cars. A manequin of Leland Stanford flagging a steam engine greets us at the entrance. There were plenty of other cars over various years interspersed with ticket booths, railway quarters, display of tools etc....I was fascinated by the spike that was on display. This spike (Lost spike as it is called) was one of the original 2 spikes that was made to commemorate the launch of the first railroad network in california. While the original spike was donated to the Stanford museum (called the last spike), the other spike was lost and was subsequently traced to the family of the engineer that built the rail road. This spike was called the lost spike which was subsequently donated to the museum the previous week. I never knew time buzz but when I looked at my watch, I realised that I had spent around 2 hours there..
I walked out in the warm climes of Sacramento to my next stop The Discovery museum. This museum lies close to the rail road museum but faces the old sacramento street that had been transformed into a set from the gold rush days. There was a country fair, horses drawn carriages, men in coats and hats, women in corsets and long skirts. The shops resembled a setting from a old cowboy movie. The museum itself had artifacts from gold rush days including excavations from the attic of a house which once stood in the same place as that of the present day museum. An exhibit honouring the Pony Express was interesting. It was a horse saddle. Pony Express was the first stagecoach which carried mail during the 1800s. The company was formed out of a novel idea by a wealthy businessman who found communicating between the coasts difficult. The company was in operation for less than 10 years and went broke. I was engrossed in the chinese section (looking at exhibits on the life of the chinese people who had come all the way from china to work on the railroads and gold fields) when an elderly volunteer offered to explain to me the theme behind the exhibit. She explained the hardship and discrimination the chinese had to endure to make their mark in american society. The japanese section was also captivating and the exhibits reflected the hardship the japanese had to face in the aftermath of the pearl harbour bombing when they were isolated and kept in labour camps
Next was the Wells Fargo museum. There was a stagecoach outside the museum with offers for a free photo op. I shunned the photo and jumped headon into the exhibits. Wells Fargo as we know is a major bank in the US but it once operated mail service in 1800s. The exhibits depicted the service between various US cities and how money was transported between the collection agents and the bank teller. This museum was small and I spent little time in finishing the tour quicker than anticipated. I still had 2 hours (it was already 3
:00 PM and most museums close by 5:00 PM). Lying just across the dusty street was the California Military Museum. During the 1800s california had its own military league (it was shunned later only to be revived) and the museum had exhibits from the military league. In addition there were sections devoted to WWII, Vietnam, Korea and Bosnian wars (Surprisingly there were no exhibits from the gulf war). One exhibit which caught my attention most was the glistening Harley Davidson military motor cycle with its distinct green colour and insignia. The museum had 3 floors and I was running out of time...
By the time I was out of the California Military Museum I had barely half an hour. I still had the Leland Stanford mansion and California Governor's mansion to visit. I was in a dilema as to which one to choose. Both will be closed in half an hour and I had to settle for one. Though I would have loved to visit Leland Stanford museum, it was quite a distance for me to cover within the time that was available. I had to settle for the governor's mansion and besides you never know when Arnold Schwaznegger (The hollywood muscle man turned california governor) might bump into you. It was then that I lost my way again taking a detour around the lovely sacramento river. By the time I made inquiries to find my way, I had barely 10 minutes left to make it to the mansion. I walked fast towards downtown Sacramento taking in view the mamoth structure ahead. By the time I made my way to the mansion, it just closed down for the day. I could not hide my exasperation and glotted over my folly in not inquiring someone (when I first sensed that I was getting lost). The mansion was huge and had beautiful manicured lawns where there was a marriage party going on. I rested in the park for a while and started the slow tredge back to Amtrak station. There was a train to Richmond leaving Sacramento at 5:40 and I had twenty minutes left. The tredge turned to fast walk and subsequently a jog as I lost my way for the 3rd time. This time I was racing against time and a merciless sun to cope. I was just in time when I reached the ticket counter where the ticket teller comforted me that there was still 3 minutes left. I heaved a huge sigh of relief when I was finally seated for good.
Overall the trip was good but I rue the fact that I could have moved on faster in these museums. I wish I had a car which would have ensured that I reach the governor's mansion well in time. Hopefully I will drive one soon.....
posted by Prakash at
8:00 PM
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