Mom's California Visit, Part 3: Capital, CA Museum, and the Stanford Mansion

On Friday, June 26, after a gourmet breakfast at Willow, Mom and I walked to the California State Capitol. It's an easy 15 minute stroll from The Exchange.   

Despite major construction going on, it is very easy to get in and out of the Capitol. There are public entrances on both the north and south sides of the building. We've been to many other state capitol buildings with just a single public entrance. Inevitably, we end up circling the entire building before finding our way indoors. 

I've been to our Capitol building numerous times, but this was Mom's first visit. We looked around the building a bit, then took a guided tour. It was outstanding. Despite my many visits, I learned so much from our guide.

We visited both the House (green) and Senate (red) chambers; the colors are an homage to the British Parliament. It was hard to get good photos, as there are now glass barriers along the gallery. They were installed to prevent members of the public from unfurling banners and/or dropping highly unpleasant things down on assembly members, both of which happened before the barriers went up.  

Our guide told us all about the history of the building, its architectural details, and the artwork within. It's a beautiful building.  

When our tour concluded, we walked two short blocks to the California Museum. Steve, Trevor, and I were there most recently in 2023, but this was Mom's first visit. 

Mickey Mouse might be California's most famous native-born son. It was a fun coincidence that I was wearing my Mickey Mouse shirt that day. 

The California Museum is packed with interesting exhibits about California history and the people who have lived here. This exhibit is all about the inspirational California women who have changed our world.  

This outstanding exhibit looks at the mass incarcerations of Japanese Americans during World War II and the ongoing efforts to make sure no other groups face such egregious civil rights violations in the future. 

There is a fantastic exhibit about the Chinese experience in California, which spans from the Gold Rush to the present. It highlights many barrier-breaking individuals. 

This section highlights the native people of California, with artifacts and histories representing over 100 tribes.  

This is the Unity Center. It encourages all visitors to celebrate the diversity of California, to advocate for unity, and to stand up for the rights of others. 

The California Museum is also home to the California Hall of Fame. There are approximately 180 inductees who have made an impact in the Arts, Business, Entertainment, Food and Wine, Literature, Music, Public Service, Science, or Sports. 

I highly recommend a visit to the California Museum!

We popped back over to the Capitol to grab a quick lunch from The Fry Boys food truck. Yum! The food was really good. 

Our next stop was Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park. 

  

This was the first visit for both Mom and me. We had an excellent guide to told us all about the history of the Stanford Mansion and its famous (and not so famous) occupants. The tour starts in the Visitor Center... 

... then moves into the home, which was originally built in 1856. 

This property housed three California governors in the 1860's, including Leland Stanford, president of Central Pacific Railroad. 

You can spot train-themed decorations and furniture designs if you look carefully enough. 

  

During most of the 1900's, the Stanford Mansion was a children's home run by Catholic nuns. Today it is the official reception center for the state of California, hosting leaders and other dignitaries from around the world. 

As we strolled back toward our hotel, we admired some of Sacramento's public art. 

  

During a brief stop at the hotel, I took a picture from the 9th floor looking straight down the stairwell into the lobby. I was holding on tightly to my phone!

  

We had dinner at Yard House, conveniently located right near The Exchange. It's all over the place now, but Yard House began in California. The food is really good - their grilled cheese with roasted tomatoes is to die for. 

Mom and I had another full day of fun exploring Sacramento ahead of us. I'll tell you about that on Monday. 

Mom's California Visit, Part 2: Lindsay Wildlife Center and UC Davis

On Thursday, June 25 my mom, Trevor, and I said goodbye to Kari and Allison and headed to Lindsay Wildlife Experience. 

Despite living just 30 miles away for almost 50 years, Mom had never been there. This is particularly surprising given how much she loves animals and museums. I've been there 6 or 7 times and Trevor worked there last summer as an Animal Keeper intern, so this visit was all about showing Mom what a great place it is. 

    

We saw all the animals, of course. We attended a talk about chuckwallas, then watched the Wild California show, featuring a kestrel and a porcupine. 

They're doing construction on the Nature Cove, which was disappointing. That's one of my favorite spaces at Lindsay. The updated version opens in the fall. 

I wanted to add one more thing about Lindsay: I really appreciate the Social Narrative on their website. It provides a very detailed look about what to expect when visiting. I wish every place that is open to the public had something like this. I appreciate knowing where to park, for example. And more than once, we would have benefitted from detailed instructions on how to get into a building! 

After our visit to Lindsay, we made a quick stop at the house so Mom could meet our bunnies. Then we headed to the California Raptor Center, where Trevor gave us a tour. This was Mom's first visit and her first time seeing Trevor's Eagle Project in person. 

It was also her first time seeing Trevor holding a bird on the glove. That's Whistler, a dark morph Swainson's hawk. 

After a nice visit at the Raptor Center, we went to the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine for a tour. It is an impressive facility, to say the least. The school is ranked #1 in the country and #2 in the world, training 720 professional and graduate students a year, and providing veterinary care to over 50,000 animals. They have made countless advancements in veterinary medicine since the school opened in September 1948. 

The grounds have a lot of beautiful animal-themed art. 

This is the Faithful Partners Memorial. It honors all of the canine officers across California killed in the line of duty. 

Our tour took us through classrooms, examination rooms, hospital facilities, and more. We learned about all the amazing things that happen in this spectacular place. It's impressive. 

I didn't get a photo, but I was interested to learn that the school maintains a Toxic Plant Garden. There, students can study the 60+ toxic plants that pets and livestock are most likely to encounter. Brilliant!

Of all the things we saw, the space that interested me the most was this room: 

Vet students have 24/7 access to this space to practice medical procedures they're learning on models of both large and small animals. 

There are stations set up for practicing intubation, transfusions, catheterization, and more. 

I didn't think it was possible for me to love UC Davis more than I already did, but this tour impressed me so much. There are incredible things going on at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine!

After the tour, we headed to Trevor's apartment so Mom could see it. We went out to dinner, then said goodbye to Trevor. Mom and I headed to Sacramento. We checked into The Exchange Sacramento, where we'd be spending the next three nights. It's a beautiful hotel, located in what was once the California Fruit Building, constructed in 1914. 

  

We had a full day ahead of us exploring Sacramento. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.