The Dog Days of Summer in West Sacramento

Florene Kunder sent this beautiful photo of the "Hot August Night" we had last Saturday in West Sacramento.

North to Alaska...our view of Hubbard Glacier

This photo of Buddy looking out over Glacier Bay was taken from the top deck of Holland's American's Amsterdam during our cruise to Alaska last week. The crew served everyone piping hot cups of Snert-Dutch Pea Soup while viewing the glacier. It was a remarkable experience and I really recommend a cruise vacation (especially to Alaska) if you're needing some R&R!

"Safe Place" where kids can get help fast in West Sacramento

The Harbor Boulevard Fire Station is designated as a Safe Place. "Safe Place" provides access to immediate help and supportive resources for all young people in crisis through a network of sites sustained by qualified agencies, trained volunteers and businesses.

National Safe Place | Where is Safe Place?

First Day of School in West Sacramento

Students and parents gathered for the first day of school at the new Westmore
Oaks School. The school has relocated to the old River City High School Campus
on Clarendon Street in West Sacramento and will now accommodate Kindergartener through 8th Grades.


Above, the new students in Mrs. Brown's class at the James Marshall Preschool meet
for their first day.
Photos by Christy Norton Jourdan.

Ballerina Cake from Walmart Bakery

The darling Ballerina Birthday Cake was prepared by the Walmart Bakery in West Sacramento.

Neighborhood Art: Pedestrian Bench on 15th Street

Florene Kunder shot this photo of the plaster bench located on the corner across the street from Fire Station 41 on 15th Street in West Sacramento. Florene says she admires the retro design style.

Note: It reminds me of the pueblo design styles found in the Southwest...see the plaster fireplace with built in bancos below.

Construction on Harbor Boulevard

The traffic slowdown at the Harbor Boulevard Interchange expansion project can be challenging for those traveling that area during commute hours...best to try an alternate route until completion.
For more information see this website: Harbor Boulevard Interchange Improvements

"Art in Public Places": Synergy by Alber De Matteis

This art piece is located near the T-Mobile store in Riverpoint Circle. Click here for more information about the sculpture.

Ross: New Retail coming to West Sacramento

We are looking forward to the new Ross at River Pointe Circle to open soon.

Relic at the old River City High Campus

I walked around the recently retired River City High Campus on Clarendon Street and saw this great old flat bed truck parked in back. The campus will re-open in the fall as the new West More Oaks School housing K thru 8th grades.

More photos of my walk about the campus that day can be found here on Webshots.

Life in Baja: Rubber bands, shoe strings a wing and a prayer!

Cathy and Marv send this shot of a fishing boat at the dock in Mulege. They said "It looks like this fisherman could use a new engine, but it's amazing, that engine RUNS and he takes it out everyday!"

Recycle Bins

A reminder to use the recycle bins placed at our city parks.

Ornamental Red Sunflower

"The reason that the red sunflower is so special is that that it does not occur in the wild. The red sunflower is a result of breeding flowers so that they will gain unique and dramatic ornamental qualities."
Thank you Anneke for sharing the beautiful specimen.

Party Boats on the River

These folks stopped in to enjoy the music at the River Walk last week.

Mike & Mary's Hummingbird

This friendly hummingbird lives in Mike and Mary's backyard.

Garden Sculpture by Frances Wiley

These beautiful garden sculptures are in Kevin and Raquel's backyard. They were created by Kevin's mother Frances Wiley. Francis was a bay area artist who passed away several years ago.

The pleasures of summer..in West Sacramento

West Sacramento's climate is perfect for many summer pleasures..especially a beautiful backyard garden bouquet.

The Dinky Diner for a "Clarksburger"

Stephanie and I drove down to Clarksburg to have lunch at the Dinky Diner. The "Clarksburger" and fries were fantastic...The owners also run the nearby marina and say the name Dinky Diner came from a contest held by the locals...and the "Clarksburger" was selected from a contest by the school kids.

The Dinky Diner is open for breakfast and lunch from 9am to 5pm Wednesday thru Saturday.

Crushing cans for recycle

The kids take turns on the can crusher.

Billboard Update for West Capitol Motels

The new billboard sign advertising the motels on West Capitol Avenue looks great even
though they spelled Capitol wrong!
If you'd like to see a photo of the retired billboard see this post dated September 2007:
1000 Rooms (Motel Row)--

The Metal Playground Structures at West More Oaks School

I remember playing on these old metal playground structures at West More Oaks School when I was a kid....now my kids and grandkids have also enjoyed this playground. I guess they could be considered "antiques"...so I wanted to take some photos before someone with the school district decided they should be replaced....

U-Haul--last of the tall signs

pdate Aug. 24, 2014...the sign is now gone!
The U-Haul sign is the last of the tall signs still standing on West Capitol Avenue. According to recent accounts in the local newspaper they argue that people will not be able to locate their business if they are forced to remove it. U

Camping in the 95605

The kids were making s'mores at their backyard campout! When it was time
for bed the kids dragged in their sleeping bags to crash on the living room floor.
Thanks Christy for these great photos!

Remember the old days when you looked up into the sky and could see the stars?
When we were kids we would line up the sleeping bags and sleep under the stars in
our Alabama Court backyard. We would start with about 6 of us then one by one
would sneak back into the house when the crickets started singing really loud or the
screetch of an owl scared us. If you made it all night then your bedding and hair would
be soaked from the morning dew...great kid memories.

The corner of Park & Stone Blvd's.

I've always loved this older home located on Stone Boulevard.

Sam's Hof Brau Celebrates 50 Years

Stephanie and I stopped for lunch at Sam's Hof Brau in celebration of their 50th anniversary. The ambience and food is still great and we're glad they changed the name back from "Plaza Hof Brau" to Sam's. Stephanie said she remembers her family would always go to the Sam's on J Street after they went to the Music Circus.

West Sac Trivia: Years ago we had a great hof brau in the Merkley Mall called Don's Chuck Wagon (Don Robinson). Delicious hot turkey and beef with mashed potatoes and stuffing and home-made pies for dessert. It was Ralph Marston's favorite place to stop and eat and visit with locals. Freddie's Gourmet followed in that same location then later moved to 15th Street.

Lily Pads and Orchids at Capital Nursery

West Sacramento Daily Photo is two years old today

The USPS West Sacramento Distribution Center was our first post was on August 5, 2007. Christy had been following Eric Tenin's Paris Daily Photo and said we should start a photoblog for West Sacramento....so here we are two years later. Many thanks to our blog contributors, collaborators and readers for your support and encouragement during the past two years! As long and it is fun...we'll keep doing it!

Old vs New

It is interesting to see the contrast in style and construction of the trailer/modular homes designs through the years. These great examples are in the Casa Mobile Park on West Capitol Avenue.

Holy Cross Church 56th Annual Parish Festival

The Miktlantekuhtl Danza Azteka performed at the 2 day Holy Cross Parish Festival last weekend. The food and the music was great especially Jessie's Famous Taco's...Jessie (on the left) and her Taco Crew are in photo below.

Mommy and Me Class at the Rec Center Pool

Following our morning water aerobics classes at the West Sacramento Recreation Center Pool is the Mommy and Me swim class.

Sangria at Tower Cafe

Yummmmm...what better way to enjoy a hot afternoon that on the Tower Cafe Patio enjoying a cool glass of Sangria and their home-made fries! The hard choice is the berry or citrus...both are incredible!