Birthday greetings from California

Currently in Sacramento. Actually in the Sacramento suburbs, which believe you me are almost has hoppin' as Sacramento itself. We're staying in a place called Rancho Cordova. I don't know where that name came from- there are no ranchos anywhere and it doesn't look anything like Cordova. It's strip malls and chain hotels. I'm guessing there are corporate offices around somewhere- those usually attract clumps of chain hotels, but I haven't seen them. And to give you an idea of how attractive it is, here's a picture of the bike path that I went talking on this morning.

What you can't see in that picture is that the side of the bike path is littered with dozens of little airline bottles of cheap whisky and empty cat food containers.

The second nicest feature of this area is the American River, which runs from Folsom Dam (yes, there's a prison there as well) down through town and then somewhere- I don't know, maybe to the Pacific, which is about 100 miles from here. When I was a teenager I was here and got in trouble for getting stoned with my cousin's soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend while floating down that river. Now, 40 years later, it's a place for a pretty, peaceful walk.

But the nicest feature of this area is my family that lives in the vicinity. I'm here for my Uncle Mike's 100th birthday party. His kids and their kids, my cousins here, are among the people dearest to me. So there's a part of being here that feels like home.

Tomorrow there's a big hoo-hah, with 150 people coming, eating catered food and toasting Uncle Mike. But tonight, it's pizza with family, and I'll take that anytime.