Tourists in Our Town: Summertime in Sacramento

Downtown

 It's no secret we love Sacramento, and even though we've had some scorching hot 110 degree days, we've somehow still managed to get out and explore a bit. Back in late June while my sister was visiting we spent an afternoon wandering around downtown and old town. Even though I've been to the capitol building several times, I still manage to find a new little corner or statue or piece of art that I never noticed before. This time we came across the Peace Officer's Memorial which was sad and touching, with a statue of a mom holding a crying child. There were fresh flowers on the memorial and Ez walked along with Ray and I taking it all in and listening to some of the names and hometowns we read aloud. After the memorial we gratefully escaped the heat for the nice, air-conditioned capitol building. Unfortunately a lot of the legislative rooms were closed when we went, but there was still plenty to see. Afterward we went to old town for a bit of shopping, and so the boys could check out the trains (Ray included). Turns out boys never really outgrow their love of all things with engines ;)

Sunflower Field

Thanks to Instagram I started seeing all these gorgeous field of sunflowers photos floating around my feed, and since they were only about fifteen minutes away from us of course we had to go check it out. I remember having giant sunflowers like these in my backyard as a kid so they brought back fond childhood memories. However I don't think I've ever seen quite so many sunflowers all in one spot. These pictures don't do justice to the giant sea of yellow that field was, stretching back pretty much as far as the eye could see. Of course, Decky being Decky, he wasn't content just looking at the flowers from a respectable distance. He had to defiantly march right into the midst of field to get the up close and personal experience. He's my little explorer through and through. 

Sacramento River

We've done a few walks along the river since we moved here, but until last week we had yet to find a good swimming spot. Especially after all the rain we had earlier this year, the river was pretty deep and fast moving and definitely not kid friendly. And then as we were driving home from Target one day we noticed a bunch of people hanging out on a beach and made a mental note to check it out. When we went back we were excited to find a nice sandy beach with calm, shallow, clear water complete with gold flakes and tons of tiny seashells. It's the perfect spot for kids and we've already been twice in the past two weeks.