One of my favorite things about the city I’m from, Kenosha, WI, is its proximity to other things. Kenosha itself isn’t bad, but It’s right in the middle of two major cities – Milwaukee and Chicago – and it’s only two hours away from Madison, which you can’t beat. If you read my blog about Sacramento last time, you know I wasn’t a huge fan, and this time around I was determined to make my peace with it. While the city itself definitely grew on me, I realized that my favorite thing about Sac is that it’s sort of a convenient hub in the middle of many other great things, much like Kenosha.

On our way to Sacramento we had a brief, two-night-stay in nearby San Jose, CA. As fate would have it, none other than BRUNO MARS happened to be performing in the area on one of those days, which also happened to be the day before none other than EXTRA SALTED ELISE’S birthday. And what better way to shell-ebrate a 24th birthday than at the 24k Magic Tour?!

Turns out, there is no better way. I can hardly put into words how good Bruno Mars is live, but suffice it to say, he was good enough to doubly make up for the absolutely horrible Applebees experience we had prior to the concert. Bruno Mars sang all of his classics as well as some new hits, all while dancing in perfect unison with his entire band. It was more like a theatre performance than your typical concert, but it was easily the best live show I’ve ever seen. 

I’ve never made an actual bucket list, but if I did, one of the things that would’ve been on it was seeing the Redwoods. So when I found out that Muir Woods was only about an hour away from where we were staying in Sacramento, there was no way I wasn’t going. We got a rental car and snacks and set out for our day trip to the woods. We ended up finding an awesome 5-mile hike that was perfect because it wasn’t hard enough to make us miserable or easy enough that we didn’t feel accomplished afterward. It took us all throughout the woods and even on hills that offered views of the redwoods from above as well as of the ocean in the distance. The redwoods are unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, their size and beauty are almost hard to take in when you’re standing amongst them. It was well worth the day-trip and I was happy to check the redwoods off of my non-existent bucket list.

During our events for the week, we ended up working two stores with the Red Bull Truck. Since there aren’t too many trucks of our kind on the road, we formed an instant bond with them and talked a lot during work. Both of the drivers were Sacramento natives and they gave us a ton of local recommendations as well as a year’s supply of Red Bull (which we accepted despite the fact that none of us drink them since we prefer coffee). One of the drivers was a manager at an exclusive club downtown and she gave us her number and told us she’d get us in if we ever wanted to go. We rarely pass up on an invite, and when we showed up that Saturday she not only let us skip the huge line, but also got us out of paying the cover charge. You never know where your food-truck connections will take you!

Working with the Red Bull truck was fun, but the best work event of the week was when we took Mr. Peanut ice skating at the downtown rink. Our boss let us schedule our own event that day, and when we get this rare privilege, we usually try to do something fun and unique with it. The ice skating rink was more than happy to have the NUTmobile parked outside for the day, and they even let us take Mr. P skating. Admittedly, I was extremely nervous about how a giant nut on ice would turn out, but Mr. P was a natural and he ended up being an even better skater than Conner.

Last, but certainly not least, I got to see my cousin Kelsey during the week! Kelsey is a travel nurse and, luckily for me, just started her post in San Francisco a few days before I arrived in Sacramento. We met halfway in Fairfield, CA at an odd, hole-in-the-wall Italian place and spent the evening catching up about our family and jobs. Even though we were across the country, being with Kelsey instantly reminded me of home and of all of the memories we shared growing up and with our family. This job and all of my constant moving has definitely taught me that people can give you much more of a sense of home and comfort than any specific place can.

While I initially was disappointed that, of all places, we were being sent back to Sacramento, I ended up being grateful for my second week there. Not only did it put me close to the Redwoods, my cousin and Bruno Mars, but I also got a better feel for the community through its night scene and the downtown skating rink. I don’t think many people would think my hometown or even home state are the most exciting places to live, but they’re places with a lot to love about them and I think the same can be said for Sacramento.

GrOver and Out! (This was in honor of Elise since her bday was this week)