It’s Day 7 of the Sauerkraut Summer “Kraut and About” Road Tour 2015!
As Humom and Sauerkraut and I were heading north from Los Angeles to Sacramento at the kitty poo hole of dawn, driving first through mountains and then through flatlands in the dark, I began thinking about the drought that California has been suffering. And as the sun started to rise, the true effects of the drought became very evident. Along the sides of Interstate 5, there are all kinds of crops: pistachios, figs, oranges, lemon, apricot, and marigold. And anywhere that there wasn’t active irrigation, there was… nothing. It was almost completely barren, the earth so dry it’s cracked. It made me realize how dependent we are on the wide variety of crops that are grown in California, and how I hope the drought ends very soon.
As Humom and Sauerkraut and I were heading north from Los Angeles to Sacramento at the kitty poo hole of dawn, driving first through mountains and then through flatlands in the dark, I began thinking about the drought that California has been suffering. And as the sun started to rise, the true effects of the drought became very evident. Along the sides of Interstate 5, there are all kinds of crops: pistachios, figs, oranges, lemon, apricot, and marigold. And anywhere that there wasn’t active irrigation, there was… nothing. It was almost completely barren, the earth so dry it’s cracked. It made me realize how dependent we are on the wide variety of crops that are grown in California, and how I hope the drought ends very soon.
Irrigation on the east side, irritation on the west. California can't catch a rain break lately.
As we approached Sacramento along California Highway 99, we noticed an amazing thing: the highway is lined along both sides, and sometimes in the median, by the most beautiful flowering bushes - we think it’s azaleas. In white and red and shades of pink from a dusty rose to a hot-pants pink, it really made the drive amazingly pleasant. If you’ve never been to Sacramento before, it may be worth it just for that delight.
We arrived at our stop for today, the SPCA of Sacramento, in plenty of time to get set up. The first group of Sauerkraut visitors was the kids of Camp Kindness, which is a summer program the SPCA of Sacramento was running today. The kids were absolutely enthralled with little Kraut! They had painted their faces to look like her, had made a banner and other signs to welcome her, and all had ear scritches and selfies and pictures to go around. Even some of the moms may have taken a snapshot or two!
We arrived at our stop for today, the SPCA of Sacramento, in plenty of time to get set up. The first group of Sauerkraut visitors was the kids of Camp Kindness, which is a summer program the SPCA of Sacramento was running today. The kids were absolutely enthralled with little Kraut! They had painted their faces to look like her, had made a banner and other signs to welcome her, and all had ear scritches and selfies and pictures to go around. Even some of the moms may have taken a snapshot or two!
Throughout the rest of the Meet & Greet, other friends showed up, some having to drive 90 minutes to get there! We were so fortunate to meet such amazing people, some who brought us food, treats for Sauerkraut, and many, many that made donations to the Sacramento SPCA. They have a beautiful building, take amazing care of the animals in their facility, and perform a great service to their community. Humom and I are very thankful to have had such a wonderful Meet & Greet thanks to their hospitality and generosity.
After the SPCA, we checked in to our RV lot, and had a very special visit: Humom’s sister and brother in law live in the Sacramento area, and sister came to the RV site with her three kids. They LOVE Sauerkraut, and wanted to dote on her, but she was a little worn out from the day and just wanted to nap. She did wake up long enough to get a photo op in though!
After the SPCA, we checked in to our RV lot, and had a very special visit: Humom’s sister and brother in law live in the Sacramento area, and sister came to the RV site with her three kids. They LOVE Sauerkraut, and wanted to dote on her, but she was a little worn out from the day and just wanted to nap. She did wake up long enough to get a photo op in though!
We then had a second very special visit: Sauerkraut’s friend Gary lives just a few miles from where we are staying, and they invited us over for wine and watermelon - the perfect way to end a very (record-breakingly) hot day. Thanks, Gary, Carlos, Margo and Hank! …and your Mom and Dad too. :)
Gary told me it just may be too much handsome for one picture, but I'm willing to risk it.