4th of July in Old Town Sacramento

In our small town of Shafter we celebrate the 4rd of July on the 3rd of July. We started to do this because it the only day we could get a Pyrotechnician but now I think it's become a tradition. This year however my sister Lisa and I went to Turlock for the 4th of July weekend to visit my daughter April and our favorite Shih Poo Chorizo.

We left Friday after work and bright and early on Saturday we decided to head over to Sacramento; California's State Capital. I had been there once several years ago on a field trip with my son when he was in the 4th grade. I remembered it as a great place to visit with lots to do. And I remembered it correctly as you can see in this mosaic I've put together to share with you all. (Click on the mosaic to enlarge it)

We stopped off first at the State Capitol. That's the picture of it in the middle. In the top row the first three pictures are also of the Capitol. The first one has my sister Lisa holding up the Capitol with one hand. The second is my daughter April with my sister Lisa (notice how the photographer never seems to get into the pictures?). Unfortunately we didn't stay long because the Capitol was closed for the weekend! I was so upset as I wanted to see the inside again, only this time without 30 little 4th graders rushing me along. In fact, I was more than upset because it seems silly to me to close the Capitol during the weekend when most Californians are finally able to go visit it! I thought Arnold and Maria should have been manning the doors free of pay!

But anyway, on the way out in the car we noticed a young lady in a gorgeous Orange dress! And we knew right away it was probably a Quincinera. We watched them for a little while and noticed that several of the young boys accompanying the girl were wearing what looked like military dress suits, all white, with swords and all. So we asked a man that was with the kids why they were dressed like that. Were they all part of a military school or club? He said no...they just liked those outfits!

So we drove around trying to find a restroom and we drove over a really beautiful bridge that from a distance looks like it's made of solid gold. My sister took the picture of it and she did a really great job considering she took it from a moving car through the windshield. The bridge is known as The Tower Bridge and it has a very interesting history which you can read about here.

After finding a restroom we headed over to Old Town Sacramento. Old Town Sacramento has more buildings of historic value condensed into its 28 acres than most areas of similar size in the west. Registered as a National and California Historic Landmark, the properties in the district are primarily owned by private owners, with individual businesses leasing shops and offices. In the photo of a street with a bunch of cars you can see how the streets look like the Old West (except for the modern cars).

There's a lot of activity going on. They have tons of great little shops and restaurants and they offer horse and buggy tours (you can see a picture of the horse and buggy in the bottom row). That day there were several men dressed as old time soldiers, that picture is the bottom left. I don't know if they had put on a show earlier or not, but they stood that at that corner for quite awhile and then just walked away down the street.

April, Lisa and I had a great time. We found this lovely little Mexican restaurant on the second floor across the street from where you see the soldiers and we stopped to get a little something to eat and to grab a margarita to quench our thirst. I hope we go again when the Capitol is open and the weather is a bit cooler.

Linking to Mosaic Monday with Mary at Little Red House. Be sure to visit Mary and join in on the fun!