It was a shiny little jewel of a day. I met my good friend, Clay Phillips, at the SAC airport, in the morning, and, besides a pesky little interview/exam that he had to take in the middle of the day, we had the whole day to hang out in the Capital, or even the Capitol, if we wanted (what's the deal with those two words, anyway?). Clay works for the State Parks System. He's the King of Border Field State Park and the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve (popularly known, of course, as the BFSP/TRNERR). He should be King of the whole CA Parks system. Anyway, he has to take certain certification exams every so often, so he came up to Sacto for that reason. At least that was the excuse. I think he just wanted to hang out with me, for awhile. This picture doesn't begin to reveal the wack-o that lurks within.
So, we went to Capitol Park and gawked at the amazing trees and endless war memorials. We love trees and chatted about them all day. Sacramento is the City of Trees, in case you've been living in a cave and didn't know. Clay says it has more trees per capita than any other city in the world except Paris. I believe him.
When I had to find a bathroom, I just traipsed on in past Arnold's Office to find it. Well, after the full-on airport security process. Arnold can't be too careful, these days. His pronunciation of Cal-ee-for-nee-ya gripes certain people.
Clay sprung for lunch at Jack's, a cool little eatery near the Capitol. Clay's not afraid to get the salad entree. While he was in for the interview, I took my self on a tour of Sacramento. Beautiful neighborhoods, especially the Fabulous Forties--stately houses, stately trees in the stately capital. But, I discovered many other gorgeous neighborhoods, as well. And a sweet art supply store. When Clay was done with those exam guys, we toured some more to find a couple of his haunts from days of yore. He's lived there, you see. And, naturally, we happened upon some ice cream in the process.
Along the way, we could catch up with each other's lives and muse about backpacking in the summer. He's the Supreme Commander of our intrepid little trekking group.
But, I had to give him back at the end of the day. I wish he had exams more often. It was a great day. I've often thought it would be cool if we had a mutual friend named Loam. Then we could have so much fun with soil jokes. So, if you know someone...
