My friend, Cyndy, hasn't really explored our State Capitol and there are still things I wanted to see, so we booked a night in Sacramento and hit the ground running.

We began by doing what we love... thrift store shopping. For me, the flashback find was this Dominion Hair Dryer. I know I my mom had this luggage style dryer in the 60s. What a fun discovery that brought back memories. I always say that thrift stores are like museums.
We had a long, delightful lunch at Station 16, to fuel us for our history lessons that followed.

In the heart of Midtown Sacramento, Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park captures the pioneer spirit of families arriving in wagon trains at the dawn of the California Gold Rush. John Sutter built the Fort and his agricultural empire, was critical in the rescue of the tragic Donner Party and served as a diplomat with the Mexican government until it all came crashing down in 1848.

Throughout the Fort are recreated rooms giving a very realistic view of what life was like. As you walked to the doorway, excellent recordings played, explaining the purpose of the room and Sutter's opinion of happenings of the time. It was very informative and a great way to learn the history.

In a moment of childhood defiance, eight-year-old Patty Reed stowed away this little doll in her skirts and smuggled her to California.The Reed family were coming to California, in 1846, as part of the now-notorious Donner Party. Already running behind schedule, Patty had been asked by her family to discard all of her beloved toys to help lighten the load in the hopes of traveling fast enough to get to California, before the winter weather trapped them. They were not to be so lucky.
Through a series of unfortunate events, Sutter's Fort was abandoned. I found this photo, dated 1887, fascinating. It was labeled A group of women sketching the ruins of the Central Building.

Knowing that the Donner Party had to resort to cannibalism, somehow we found this cookbook funny.
I have to give a shout out to our home for the night. The Greens Hotel which offers delightful accommodations in the north of Sacramento, less than 15 minutes from the airport and 10 minutes from downtown and Old Town Sacramento giving you easy access to this spectacular area of California without paying high hotel prices. This Sacramento area hotel is ideal for couples and those on corporate trips as it is in the heart of the arts and business district.
After dinner and wine in our room, we decided at the very last minute to attend the theater!
How adorable are these theatergoers?
I was told about this musical several weeks ago and actually have tickets for Sunday, already. But seeing as Cyndy and I have been in the footsteps of the this ill fated group, we thought seeing The Donner Party Musical would be a perfect way to end our day's history lesson (we were so right).
Specially commissioned and developed by Sacramento Theatre Company, this dramatic new musical chronicles the true story of the harrowing travels of pioneers who faced unspeakable trials when trapped in the high Sierra Nevada in the winter of 1846 to 1847. While the subject matter isn't typical musical fare, this was so well done, I would totally see it again. Oh yeah, I am on Sunday. I can't wait.