on our second full day in sacramento, our kind host chris took us on a long bike ride along the american river parkway. it’s a beautiful, winding path that dips and wanders through through the river’s riparian zone. we zoomed along like grade schoolers playing hookey, happy to be back on our bikes again.

the central valley, according to the lonely planet’s california guide, is a migratory superhighway for all kinds of birds (even the birds have highways in california). on our 16 mile ride, we saw seagull, heron, stork, merganser, crow, raven, canada geese, hawk, turkey vulture, duck, and a myriad of other, less easily identified birds. at one point, we pulled off of the path to watch three hawks battling with a bunch of crow.

birds were not the only wildlife we encountered. i was lucky enough to catch the sight of a troop of mule deer gingerly making their way through the scrub.

we got back to chris’ house exhausted and exhilarated. we played a few rounds of ping pong and cricket, and traded stories of our travels. chris has spent a fair amount of time exploring various countries in asia and is currently trying to decide whether or not to move to china. i say, why not?

the morning of our departure was beautiful: all sunshine and sharp blue sky. tree crews roamed the curved avenues, pulling mistletoe and clearing deadwood. the sound of lawnmowers echoed through the february air and as we gave mazy her morning constitutional, i marveled at the endless rows of beautifully tended suburban ranch homes. this is the vision of america that haunted my childhood. i could almost hear familiar music playing faintly in the background.

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much gratitude to our couchsurfing host and new friend, chris. best of luck in whatever path you choose to follow!

Posted by Wordmobi