Truckee to Monterey Bay, CA

EMIGRANT MUSEUM and the epic saga of the DONNER PARTY  (1846-1847)

The Emigrant Museum (small but historically very important) is a re-visit for me.  I was here in the early 1970s and have wanted to come back.  This is where the Donner Party suffered so greatly during a harsh winter.  Reading The Mothers by Vardis Fisher made an indelible impression on me many years ago.

The tiny books, saltcellar, pewter spoon and little wooden doll that 8-year old Patty Reed hid in her skirts after her family had to leave so much behind in the Salt Lake desert.

Jim and Melba - friends I haven't seen in 37 years!  And nothing's changed, right?

Jim and Melba have devoted themselves over many years to the California Railroad Museum, and the museum has flourished.  The detailed restoration of so many trains, inside and out, and learning the history of railroading has been their passion, for our benefit.  The museum is located in Sacramento's Old Town which has reinvented itself, and really shouldn't be missed.

This picture is inside the museum showing just one of many, many meticulously restored trains.

Staterooms, dining cars, the kitchens -- all have been restored.  Jim and Melba, we thank you for meeting us here and showing us around.  I  had no idea what was here!!

This evening we'd arrived in Monterey Bay where the sardine industry dried up and all the canning and support facilities have morphed into boutiques!

Dinner was in a fancy-dancey place called the Sardine Factory just off Cannery Row, with silver chargers and the waiter puts the nappie in your lap for you! A fireplace over on the right, which is out of view of the camera. Very nice! I had Muscovy duck!! Excellent!