We arranged our tickets so that we would spend the night in Sacramento and catch the train the next day in order to enjoy the view in daylight. We would stay in a hostel in a historical building.
We fell out of the magic of the northwest with a clunk as we enterred Sacramento from the train station passing all manner of judicial and penal institution on our way to the hostel. The penitentiary with its electrified, barbwire limits; the many law courts, square and solemn and imposing; and the bailiffs lining the streets, holding out hope to the desparate, for a price.
The hostel was a large old building which inspired David to take many photos. We parked our things and made our way out into the world of Sacramento beyond what we had met so far. Navigating the bus system, we made our way to the food co-op where we purchased our food for the evening's meal. It was a pleasure to share what we know about healthy eating with Derrick. He had been suffering from a cold that wouldn't go away, and I had advised him to cut out those three cigarettes a day as well as dairy, at least until his cold was gone. Dave and I both consulted with him on food choices, and surprisingly, he enjoyed it, and was not overwhelmed. We went back to the hostel and cooked up a storm! During our meal, we met Fermie. She told us about some really interesting books about food such as Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan as well as some others including one by Barbara Kingsolver: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Dave and Derrick went down to the internet kiosks to check email while I shared some of our meal with Fermie and she shared some of her fruits and veggies from a friend's garden with me. I learned about Fermie's work as an artist. Later on, in the sitting room, we all sat and visited together. It was a fun evening. Fermie was camera shy, though, and we did not get a picture of her; however, you CAN see her website at fermie.com
