We have not been idle since arriving in Sacramento and meeting up with Lou. Our first full day here (Saturday) was spent furniture and bike shopping, but only after a trip to the gym. When we arrived at the gym with the passes we received from the hotel we learned that we couldn’t get in without our photo id’s. Since we walked to the gym and didn’t want to make another round trip just to get our id’s, we decided to take a walk on the American River Bikeway. We went for an approximately 3 mile walk then made our way back to the hotel. On the way, we walked past a bike store which wasn’t yet opened for the day. When the staff noticed Lou and Kendra peeking in the window they came out to talk to them. It was for this reason we went back later to learn more about their products. The price they quoted for the bike Kendra wanted seemed reasonable, but we decided to bargain shop other stores before making up our minds. We went next to IKEA for the furniture and felt like we were trapped in a never ending maze. When we finally made our way to the cashiers with the list of things we wanted to purchase and have delivered, we learned that we could arrange only same or next day delivery in this fashion. This means we’ll have to go back on Thursday since Kendra can’t pick her apartment keys up until Friday afternoon. It wasn’t a wasted trip, however, because when we go back it’ll be a quick trip to the warehouse to load up the boxes and we won’t have to wander through the maze again. They have so much stuff I never knew I wanted until I saw it on the showroom floor. Plus, the smells wafting from the cafeteria made me understand why people go there just for lunch. After two more stops to look at comparable bikes to the one we had seen near the hotel, we determined that the first bike we saw was definitely the best deal so we stopped and placed our order.
On Sunday we went for a nice long bike ride (30 miles) on the American River Bikeway. We rented the bikes from a place near Old Sacramento just over 1 mile from one of the Bikeway entrances and rode out towards Folsom. It was a gorgeous day and we went with plenty of food and water to spend a couple of hours enjoying the scenery. The night before I had signed up to run a 10 mile race in Sacramento next Sunday and learned that there was a runners’ shoe store just around the block from the bike rental shop. Needing to replace the shoes I purchased in Prague last year, and Lou also needing a new pair, we stopped in to get fitted. The ladies who worked with us really knew their shoes and which ones would help with my plantar faciitis and Lou’s knees. We donated our old shoes to their recycling program.
Kendra decided that since we tried to kill her on the Sunday bike ride she would return the favor on Monday with a hike in 100 degree temperatures and warnings of mountain lions, bears, rattle snakes, and poison oak. Fortunately the only thing we ran into were other people on their way back down and about three buckets of sweat from the hill climb. There was no water in the creek and we never made it high enough to see down into the valley, so before we headed back to the hotel we drove up to Lake Berryessa and beyond a little ways into Napa Valley. We stopped for lunch in Winter, CA at a wonderful restaurant which served locally produced foods. Kendra said she sees a road trip back up there in her future.
Tuesday morning Lou had to leave for Singapore and China. After he left Kendra and I went to the bike store to pick up her newly assembled bike and purchase the necessary accessories (especially a bike lock, water bottle holder and helmet). We then tried it out on the Bikeway. She tested the brakes and the shifting while I ran. That is, I ran until a dude on a bike shouted out warnings about all the rattle snakes I should be on the look out for. He shouted the same warning to Kendra, who was a little ahead of me. Shortly after that, I got a little freaked out and shortened my intended 5 miles to 4 miles. In hindsight, while I appreciate the warning, he was probably a little over zealous in his warnings. The Bikeway is heavily traveled and the path is wide. Its not likely I wouldn’t have seen a snake well before I was in any danger. The rest of the afternoon was spent hanging out at the mall while we waited for Apple to do their thing with Kendra’s new MacBook Pro (upgrade memory to 8GB and reset to factory default), then watched Guardians of the Galaxy and ate way more popcorn and snacks than was good for us. In fact, we skipped dinner to make up for all the calories and fat we consumed during the movie.
Today about getting caught up on personal chores and work. Tomorrow will be much of the same and my cousin and her son will be coming over for dinner. Its the first time I’ll have ever met her son in person and the first time Kendra will have met either of them. Friday is all about apartment stuff. We’ll hit IKEA first thing in the morning so that they can hopefully deliver everything after we gain access to the apartment. I imagine Saturday and Sunday will be spent putting her furniture together (with a break Sunday morning for my 10 mile race). I leave on Monday morning and Joe arrives the same day and will be with Kendra through Friday. After that, the little bird will officially be living all on her own in her very first nest.
