quick trip to sacramento

i have some around-the-corner neighbors who are pretty stinking great. three of them and i went on a road trip to sacramento last weekend and we just really had a great time. in wonderful moments of that glad weekend i felt such healthy and healing doses of optimism. it was just a happy lil adventure.

our first stop after driving past downtown sacramento was costa vida, a beloved utah chain restaurant with only one california location. we laughed as we walked in about how we were sure the place was full of utah mormons. as it turns out, there happened to be one pretty special utah mormon there:IMG_2100the tall old guy is elder l. tom perry, one of the twelve apostles. it was pretty exciting to see him. elder perry is a friend of my family, and he is one of the most spirited people i’ve ever met. and he’s celebrating his ninetieth birthday this week!

we stayed over at my friend rachelle’s house. it was fun for me to catch up with rachelle and her husband and for all of us to catch a glimpse of the olympic opening ceremonies. in the morning we went to an endowment session at the beautiful sacramento temple:
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and then we headed to the fair!photo (5)IMG_2105of course we had corndogs (or “mystery meat wrapped in a fat sponge” as denise called them) for lunch!IMG_2106IMG_2123 IMG_2125 IMG_2129

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

we saw all kinds of livestock, including incredibly large texas longhorns, brand new baby piglets and goats, sheep both shaggy and shorn, pregnant cows, and the cutest alpacas! photo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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i love, love the nostalgic, colorful, lively, frolicsome feel of the fair.

i ate a banana on a stick and a carton of garlic fries.

 

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we watched a hypnotist show and people showing off their sheep.

we sampled salsa and watched kitchen knife demonstrations and sat in  massage chairs and giggled at tacky trinkets and spun wheels to win random prizes.

IMG_2119we also saw some pretty darn incredible things in the arts & crafts buildings. a lot of talent on display, and obviously an empty-faced portrait of the mona lisa with a corndog! IMG_2139by the time we got to the rides, we were wiped out after seven hours at the fair.IMG_2142but brittany and i decided we must ride the ferris wheel to make the experience complete.photo (3)photo (4)

IMG_2148IMG_2145the enlivening ride and the dusk view from the top sure made for a great end to a full day.

and of course the drive home was stuffed with girl talk. we smelled like grease and sweat but we were happy! an optimistic weekend was just what i needed.

Comments

  1. It was so great to see you! Thanks for stopping by and allowing me to be a "couch surfer" hostess!! You're the best!!

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  2. One of my friends commented on your Costa Vida photo, on Facebook, which popped up on my newsfeed. I don't know which I was more stoked about; Costa Vida making its way to Cali or your chance meeting with an apostle? Since your family knows him, did you hug him? I would have totally tried to hug him.....but maybe that's the Polynesian in me. :)

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  3. Oh my goodness would you look at the size of those corn dogs?! This post makes me so sad that I don't live in California! Did you know that they don't have big wheels at fairs in England anymore? it makes me sad! Glad that you and your friend got to ride it! My sister messaged me the other day to tell me the swing in the air ride down at Southbank was back so I ordered her and my sister to make sure they ride it as it was so much fun when we did it!
    Very cool that you bumped into Elder Perry too!

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  4. Wow, it's great to see all the fun you're having. With these kids here and catching up on being gone all summer, I've hardly looked at the Internet. YIKES! We forgot Elder Perry's birthday. Thanks for the reminder! There's so much catching up to do. If there's fun, you will find it!

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