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 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. 

Fun in Fairfax and San Rafael, California

Steve and I celebrated our 22nd anniversary with a 2-night getaway to beautiful Sausalito, California. Since we couldn't check into our hotel until 3:00, I planned a day of fun activities to do in the nearby cities of Fairfax and San Rafael before we headed to Sausalito.

Our first stop was at the Marin Museum of Bicycling. It is home to the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. 

We have visited another bicycling hall of fame: the excellent US Bicycling Hall of Fame in Davis. Bicycles are a huge part of the culture in Davis; Davis was the first city in the US to have bike lanes and it it is regularly named the Most Bike-Friendly City in the US. We were eager to see how the two museums would compare. (Spoiler: They're both fantastic. They're only 70 miles apart, so you could see both on the same day if you were motivated to do so.)

The Marin Museum of Bicycling is organized chronologically to take you through the invention and improvement of the bicycle over time. 

I was amazed to learn that in the late 1880's one out of every two US patent applications was bicycle related. 

Bicycles have become so much faster, safer, and more efficient since the early days!

This section of the museum features the earliest mountain bikes. Mountain biking as a sport began in Marin County in the 1970's. It grew very popular first in the communities near Mt. Tamalpais and eventually worldwide.  

It was so interesting to see the progression of mountain bikes on display. 

The special exhibit is about Bruce Gordon, a premier framebuilder. 

Here, you can look up all of the inductees in the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. 

I found this Swiss Army Bike interesting. I had no idea that was a thing!

Check out this rare Bowden Spacelander bike! It's so unique. 

The Marin Museum of Bicycling has a cozy couch area with tons of books about bicycles. 

I finished the museum a little faster than Steve did, so I sat down with The Bicycle Man (affiliate link). I haven't read it since my teaching days and it's so good. I love all of Allan Say's books. 

We had a wonderful time at the Marin Museum of Bicycling and definitely recommend a visit. 

Next stop: lunch at the delightful TuTu Lounge in San Rafael. It features American-Thai fusion breakfast dishes and traditional Thai lunch dishes. We split one of each. That's Pad Thai on the left and a croffle (croissant waffle) on the right. Both were excellent. 

  

After lunch, we walked to the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art. It's small, but we enjoyed our brief visit. 

Less than a block away is Mission San Rafael Arcángel. Founded in 1817, it is the 20th of the chain of 21 California missions that stretch from San Diego to Sonoma. 

   

This is a replica of the original mission building and is now called the Mission Chapel. 

When we went into the main sanctuary, we were surprised to find at least 100 people inside. We later learned that we'd stumbled onto Day 1 of the Camino de California Eucharistic Pilgrimage. 

A group of nuns was singing, so we sat and listened until they finished. Then we went to the mission's museum. 

  

It was an interesting visit and I learned a lot. 

Our final destination before heading to Sausalito was the Museum of International Propaganda. They have very limited hours, so I'd arranged our day specifically to be there at opening (3:30 pm). But they never opened. We waited 20 minutes past opening. I tried calling. Nothing. They never responded to my email. It was incredibly disappointing. So I don't recommend going out of your way to visit. Instead, take the virtual tour on their website. 

Next stop: Sausalito! I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.