It seems like California is our default road trip for Spring break. We had kind of planned on going to Arizona this year, but with a late start to the trip, we decided on California. The added bonus to California is the chance to spend some time with my sister Ellen. Usually our spring breaks do not coincide, but this year they did. So we were able to do some day trips with Ellen. We took our time heading down, spending a night in Ashland and Chico, with a stops in Redding, Oroville and Sutter Buttes. The weather was perfect all week, sunny and mid-seventies. Our sunroof got a lot of use and my head got a lot of burnt :) We discovered a great park on the outskirts of Chico-Bidwell Park. It gave us a chance to hike up one of the surrounding hills. Northern California is in the full bloom of spring and the wild grass is still green. It won't be long and it will turn brown.
With Ellen we visited the town of Murphys in the Sierra Foothills, stopping at a winery and browsing the town boutiques. We also enjoyed a six mile hike on the American River trail and a stroll through the capital grounds. Other highlights of our time in Sacramento was dinner of Japanese shabu and an Easter service on Saturday night at Ellen's church. Our trip home was a thirteen hour grind on Sunday with our only food stop at a casino for their Easter buffet. We returned ready to hit our schools for a close to the year.
