Sacramento

Happy Easter/ ANZAC day!

We have been outside of Sacramento in Rancho Cordova for the past couple of days, just chilling out. It was cheaper to book our hotel through Expedia than at the desk, so we did that - a travel tip haha.

The drive from San Fran to here was fine and Will negotiated the freeways well. He just needed a few reminders that the indicators are on the left hand side and to stay on the right, particularly when turning corners. Not many speed limit reminders, but we ended up doing the required 65 miles an hour. Lots of punch buggies (or 'slug bugs' - thanks Clint!). Saw lots of monster pick-ups as usual, and just like in Victoria, lots of people speeding and stupid trucks that cut into your lane. We went over the Bay Bridge which took aaages - just a really long bridge, longer than the Golden Gate!

I had my first 'In n Out' burger when we got to West Sacramento. For those of you who are unfamiliar with their menu, it consists of four things - double doubles, cheeseburgers, hamburgers and fries. And drinks. And they have been around for ages. And the ones we have been past are always packed, at any given time. Amazing. The food was pretty good too! Tasty burgers, again, with real onion and lettuce (not the dehydrated, shredded stuff like Maccas in Australia). They make the burgers fresh and they wash and cut up the potatoes in the actual store. Pretty cool! Two hamburger meals cost us a little over $10, with the typical refill as much as you like drinks. Also, many fast food places here show how many calories are in each item on the menu. So a piece of cheese which takes you from a hamburger to a cheeseburger adds 30 cents and also 90 calories. Today's useless trivia item!!

Then we went on in our hunt for an RV. We saw lots of massive ones, which one lady told us was as easy to drive as rental car... as if! Apparently the the class B type that we want is quite rare as it is custom-made. After a detour past La Quinta Drive instead of Quinta Road (Will's directions. Thanks to McDonalds for providing us with enough free wi-fi to negotiate east Sacramento with the iPod!), we found our baby. And we were just in time too as the guy who came in after us even waited for us to finish the test drive, because he was keen to buy this RV! We also heard the story about Bob Cook from New Zealand. Apparently he bought an RV in January from NZ, but won't be picking it up til June! And we thought we were keen!!

The RV is pretty cool and has everything we want. They are giving it a good clean out as they had only just received it and then we are picking it up on Tuesday. The guys at the RV place were pretty funny and we were discussing the Gold Coast with the owner who had just returned from a holiday there. He loves Australia more than Europe! We will also be getting a lesson in how to use the vehicle, which is good, as I have no idea. Will says it drives really well (we tested it out on the freeway) and I have named her Betsey Blue for her blue stripes on the outside and blue seats in the inside. Can't wait to move in!

I saw my first squirrel the following morning! He was hanging out near our car (well, sussing it out, hiding underneath it and generally being cute). He was really little and had THE hugest, fluffiest tail, particularly in relation to the size of his tiny body. He wasn't very shy and even came closer and stood up on his hind legs when Will took a photo. SOOOO fluffy I could die! I just wanted to squirrel-nap him!

Yesterday I also had my first visit to Walmart. It was huge, about four times the size of most K-marts in Australia, but according to Will and the lady at the checkout, it is small. Can't wait to see a superstore! Prices were pretty cheap, so we bought some things for the RV like tea-towels and plates and cutlery. We also just spent a lot of time wandering around, looking at things, with me saying 'Oh gosh, it is so cheap!' at shampoo, cosmetics, sheets, strawberries, bananas (60 cents a pound!$1.20ish a kilo) etc. I did get a bit nervous when we walked past the shotgun/handgun section. At least they were all locked up.

And finally I understand why 'ex-roomie' Heather got confused when trying to find pie-cases in Australia. Here they are not in the frozen section, they are with the 'crackers' section with custom built shelves. Can't miss 'em! I also managed to find 'Silk' for our cold cereal in the morning - soy milk! The $5.95 breakfast at the hotel was ok (cooked buffet), but I do like the Honey Special-K. I also looked for squirrel soft toys, but couldn't find one :(

After Walmart we went to Safeway to buy some things for lunch/dinner. Again, a wander around commenting on prices, varieties and other weird things. And although Will isn't a huge fan, I love root beer!! Like sarsaparilla only better! They had a take-away hot food section in this supermarket, which was pretty cool, but we ended up with a 24 piece sushi pack for $9.95. It was pretty tasty and even came with edamames which were a tasty snack (soybeans)! Will found a dozen Blue Moon beers for 12.99, so he was a very happy camper. Fortunately for us we got a 'Safeway' card before we bought our snacks, which saved us a whopping $10! It got really confusing at this supermarket because they have 'member prices' in huge letters, which was a bit misleading to start with...until we got us a card!

That evening we just relaxed at the hotel, watching movies and 'Teachers' and working out where we are going once we get into our RV.

Today I had my first drive in the US of A. No one died, no one was hurt and no one was yelled at. I even used the indicator correctly first go! I did only drive along the road at 30 miles an hour, but then I got used to the road and stopped floating to the right so much and we went the actual limit! Our destination: a shopping outlet. Well, a small one anyway. Having said that, we did manage to get sick of shopping in about three hours. Volcom shorts for $30, Roxy skirt for $4.33 (nearly smashed the budget with that one), O'Neill dress for $16, Nine West wedges for $60 and a DKNY dress (which I wouldn't even look at in Australia because I know I can't afford anything in the store) for $37!! What bargains! And I wasn't even in the mood for serious shopping!! So, all you crazy shoppers out there, forget Asia, come straight to the USA and get to the outlet stores! Lots of sales and lots of awesome designer clothes. I did look at a Coach purse for $20 too...

Then we went to 'Chilis' which is a cross between a Mexican restaurant and a diner. Had a huge late lunch of ribs and crispy chicken crispers. $31 with unlimited soft drink (I listened to you, Kara, and had Coke zero!), including tip. And we got a 'to go' box. Something different from Australia is that all restaurants and even food courts, provide boxes to take home any food you aren't able to eat. Obviously not a health hazard! And probably something to do with the huge servings they give you here. The ribs were pretty darn amazing.

Other cultural differences - in the hotel corridor there is an ice machine which gives you as much ice as you like (well, you have to go and get it). So rather than having a fridge in your room (you can request one), you just go and fill up your bucket with ice! Perfect for those who love ice in their drinks (Andria!). So our drinks are sitting in ice.

Oh yeah and I had my first Reese's peanut butter cup yesterday (it is Easter after all, I have to eat SOME chocolate). Jury is out - it was tasty, but the peanut butter was sooo sweet! Might have to try another one...! Doing all right on the jeans-fitting front - the jeans I wore over have been through the wash and dryer and are actually looser than when we left. Could be the hours of walking we've done!! Better keep it up :)

More relaxing this afternoon with a lazy swim in the pool on the agenda. Tomorrow Will is returning the rental car to San Francisco, so I will just hang out in the hotel room and start the great re-pack.