Going back on the train from Sacramento was something that was a little hard to do. It's not that I didn't know how to board a train, or simply didn't know what to do with myself for that hour and a half ride, plus another hour or so on Bart. In fact that wasn't the problem at all. I felt like I had plenty to do. I had four books, music to listen to, I brought my notebook where my planning of stories, as well as my current story reside in, and I had the wonderful view of scenery to look at. The hard part was saying goodbye and leaving. Unfortunately this seems to be one of the harder things in life.
Leaving and boarding my 743 train that came the moment I stepped on the platform was difficult because my weekend spent in Sacramento was so enjoyable, relaxing, exciting and simply different.
I came to visit my older sister by five years, Meghan who lives in Sacramento. I have wanted to go back ever since February when I went for a visit and on a Friday night went to a swing dancing event. I wrote a blog post about this by the way, called Spin me back to Swing.
So five months have passed, until the next time I was back for another eventful weekend with my sister and all of her wonderful friends. Yet this time, I spent two nights in her apartment, also known as The Manor. It's very quaint, and pretty as well as homey. When you step in, you feel at home. The company helps, but everything about The Manor makes you want to stay. The books in the books shelves are very inviting and lure you in to look through, with a number of classics and must reads. Nice, elegant pictures on the wall, and classical or sweet tunes of country playing in the background.
While on the train going to Sacramento, I was anxious and excited for what ever was to come and happen this weekend. I was happy to go on an adventure and take a trip out of my hometown, though I felt like it could be my hometown when I was in Sacramento. The weekend started with my train stopping with a jolt and me looking out the window, and knowing that I was in a special place ready for an eventful weekend. My sister picked me up, and while coordinating where we were near the train station, we were talking on the phone, and then we saw each other. We hugged each other tightly with wide smiles happy to see each other.
That evening we had dinner at The Manor with other friends and some of us went swing dancing. I bought a nice dress mainly for this occasion, a bright cobalt blue. It is longer in the back and a little shorter in the front, but I wore leggings with it. We came to the place around 10, so we had about two hours to dance the night away. I had a great time yet again, my second time there. The only thing is, you get so thirsty. I craved ice cold water, but other than that I had a ball. A lot of guys asked me to swing with them, and they were all very good dancers, which definitely helps.
The dance ended around 12 am and from there went back to The Manor. My sister's friend also slept over and got to meet her. I slept downstairs with her and we ended talking until 4am after just meeting each other. Her name is Jessica and she also has a blog. Her blog is focused on her Catholic faith and Fashion. We are planning to blog about red pants soon, more like an outfit of the day , so stay tuned. So it was a nice start to the weekend already. With only getting a few hours of sleep, I didn't feel too bad, but I knew it would catch up to me with out my permission. Our plan for that day was to go rafting in the American River (I think it is called). It was so much fun, such a summer fun thing to do, especially in Sacramento. It was pretty popular, so a lot of other rafts with people on it were floating by us. We had a wonderful time, just relaxing, talking and enjoying the beautiful day. It was rather hot, but a nice day to get a tan, or a sunburn. I admit that I did get a little sunburn on my neck, but nothing too painful.
Once we got back to the Manor after rafting for about 5 hours we were pretty tired and some of us crashed at the Manor. And that night we were planning on seeing a drive- in movie. I was super excited for this experience, just to be out with the night sky and bright stars looking down at us and lighting up the outdoor theater. The movie that we saw was The Avengers. It was perfect timing actually because we knew that we would miss close to an hour of the movie because it was really crowded. But it just so happened that right when we pulled up, the movie was just about to start, so we didn't miss a thing. The movie was pretty good, though my sister slept through most of it. But I agree, there was hardly any dialogue/communication, mostly action.
That night, or should I say morning, since the movie ended around 2am, we slept like logs the whole night. The following day (Sunday), which was yesterday was a late start since we got up around 11 due to the late movie. I didn't have much time left in Sacramento, since my train would be boarding at 3:35. Some of us went to church, which was very nice as always and even nicer and more reverent in Sacramento. And then had lunch at The Manor, I packed up all of my things, and was on my way back to the train station where it had all started. This was the hard part, but with the long train ride ahead (though it felt really short) I got to reminisce about the memorable weekend and look out the window with the scenery passing me by. John Mayor's song, Stop This Train, which I have blogged about, came on m iPod. He was singing about how he felt like he was on a train, I was on one. He wanted it to stop, and go back home. I wanted it to go the opposite direction so I could be back in Sacramento (which I literally felt like was home), but then he realizes that you should just enjoy where you are and not change it. So I had to accept coming back and enjoy the train ride home, with all the wonderful moments of the special weekend coming back to me. I was coming back to a place that was busy, fast and impatient. And I was coming from a place that was slower paced, laid back, and peaceful. With this in mind, I knew that I would miss Sacramento, but was looking forward to the train ride back home and all the great memories that I would forever remember.
Leaving and boarding my 743 train that came the moment I stepped on the platform was difficult because my weekend spent in Sacramento was so enjoyable, relaxing, exciting and simply different.
I came to visit my older sister by five years, Meghan who lives in Sacramento. I have wanted to go back ever since February when I went for a visit and on a Friday night went to a swing dancing event. I wrote a blog post about this by the way, called Spin me back to Swing.
So five months have passed, until the next time I was back for another eventful weekend with my sister and all of her wonderful friends. Yet this time, I spent two nights in her apartment, also known as The Manor. It's very quaint, and pretty as well as homey. When you step in, you feel at home. The company helps, but everything about The Manor makes you want to stay. The books in the books shelves are very inviting and lure you in to look through, with a number of classics and must reads. Nice, elegant pictures on the wall, and classical or sweet tunes of country playing in the background.
That evening we had dinner at The Manor with other friends and some of us went swing dancing. I bought a nice dress mainly for this occasion, a bright cobalt blue. It is longer in the back and a little shorter in the front, but I wore leggings with it. We came to the place around 10, so we had about two hours to dance the night away. I had a great time yet again, my second time there. The only thing is, you get so thirsty. I craved ice cold water, but other than that I had a ball. A lot of guys asked me to swing with them, and they were all very good dancers, which definitely helps.
Once we got back to the Manor after rafting for about 5 hours we were pretty tired and some of us crashed at the Manor. And that night we were planning on seeing a drive- in movie. I was super excited for this experience, just to be out with the night sky and bright stars looking down at us and lighting up the outdoor theater. The movie that we saw was The Avengers. It was perfect timing actually because we knew that we would miss close to an hour of the movie because it was really crowded. But it just so happened that right when we pulled up, the movie was just about to start, so we didn't miss a thing. The movie was pretty good, though my sister slept through most of it. But I agree, there was hardly any dialogue/communication, mostly action.
That night, or should I say morning, since the movie ended around 2am, we slept like logs the whole night. The following day (Sunday), which was yesterday was a late start since we got up around 11 due to the late movie. I didn't have much time left in Sacramento, since my train would be boarding at 3:35. Some of us went to church, which was very nice as always and even nicer and more reverent in Sacramento. And then had lunch at The Manor, I packed up all of my things, and was on my way back to the train station where it had all started. This was the hard part, but with the long train ride ahead (though it felt really short) I got to reminisce about the memorable weekend and look out the window with the scenery passing me by. John Mayor's song, Stop This Train, which I have blogged about, came on m iPod. He was singing about how he felt like he was on a train, I was on one. He wanted it to stop, and go back home. I wanted it to go the opposite direction so I could be back in Sacramento (which I literally felt like was home), but then he realizes that you should just enjoy where you are and not change it. So I had to accept coming back and enjoy the train ride home, with all the wonderful moments of the special weekend coming back to me. I was coming back to a place that was busy, fast and impatient. And I was coming from a place that was slower paced, laid back, and peaceful. With this in mind, I knew that I would miss Sacramento, but was looking forward to the train ride back home and all the great memories that I would forever remember.
This is absolutely wonderful. You write so well! And guess what, that place near meghan's is actually a three bedroom, so we might need another roomate if we want to live there... so keep that in mind!
ReplyDeleteps. i like the pictures :)
DeleteColleen!! What a wonderful post about a wonderful weekend!! It was awesome to have you here, and I hope you can come again...did I tell you about the Pig Roast and Square Dancing that is happening here?? :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Meg! Yes, you did tell me about the Pig Roast and Square Dancing. Sounds like a lot of fun. Yeah, maybe I could come up again, hopefully soon!:)
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