Sunday in Sacramento

We planned to go to church at St. John’s Lutheran Church in downtown Sacramento, just a few blocks from the capitol. We had a choice of 7:30 contemplative, 9:00 traditional, or 11 contemporary. We opted for the traditional. St. John’s is a large, active congregation and we enjoyed their recently restored sanctuary interior. They even have an “old fashioned” pulpit in the nave of the church, high above the pews, accessed by a circular stairway. The congregation was started in 1867 by German immigrants and the current building was built in 1912.

After church we drove by the capitol so I could take some exterior pictures. Although we have visited it several times, I didn’t have digital photos for my collection of state capitols. And thanks again to Suzane and Pat Wilbur who gave me the beautiful hand-painted Christmas ornament of the capitol for my other collection.
John wanted to see the Military Museum in Old Sacramento so off we went. When we got inside, it was so COLD we had to leave. The thermostat was set at 66 degrees and coming inside from 80 degrees it felt even colder. The volunteer said he couldn’t adjust the thermostat and apologized.

So we walked a block to the river, then along to the wonderful State Railroad Museum. We’ve been here before, but it is worth more than one visit. We took a guided tour and our guide, who was in his 80’s (I’m guessing), was a “hoot.” He used his cane to great effect to illustrate his talk. I wish I had asked him about his railroad background. One of the large locomotives on display is the Governor Stanford. Our guide said it belongs to Stanford University, but their museum is on the second floor over the cafeteria and the train is too heavy.

On our way back to our car we stopped at Ten22 for lunch. It’s a “hip” restaurant with a great patio, complete with a long firepit. Must be fun in the evening. John had a huge burger and I had a salad with spinach, pear, blue cheese and medium rare steak. We enjoyed the weather and the food.

I drove home through some charming and not so charming neighborhoods before I opted for U.S. 50. We spent the afternoon outside on our computers until the mosquitos drove us inside.