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Darin Boville
14-Aug-2010, 19:14
I'll be in Vacaville for a week (my wife is attending a training seminar)...and I'd like to spend a day or two photographing landscapes or other interesting sites with my two kids, ages 11 and 13. The kids will be making images, too.

We can drive an hour or so in any direction but want to stay away from San Francisco and the coast areas.

Any ideas, suggestions?

--Darin

Vaughn
14-Aug-2010, 19:33
I enjoyed photographing in the Delta area. Just south and west of Sac -- driving along the levies (Road 84 for example) down to Rio Vista. At one point 84 crosses the levy by a free ferry.

David Michael Bigeleisen
14-Aug-2010, 20:34
There are lots of thIngs to do and see. There is an abandoned stainless steel tomato paste plant in Woodland, the old Chinese town in Locke, the Rio Vista cafe with hundreds of stuffed game animals. Visit Isleton and photograph the corn stalks on the farms in the delta. You can also visit the railroad museum in Sacramento and the the abandoned battleship graveyard in Suisun bay.

BradS
14-Aug-2010, 21:36
.....but want to stay away from San Francisco and the coast areas.

--Darin

:)

Bill_1856
15-Aug-2010, 05:50
There's nothing left in California worth photographing. If there were, somebody else would have already tried to do it. Sorry.:)

John Kasaian
15-Aug-2010, 08:09
Lots of stuff! The Gold Rush country, Lake Tahoe, River Delta-all are easy day trips out of Sacramento.
I like the Hope Valley/Markleeville/Luther Pass/Hwy 88 areas South of Tahoe, and North of Tahoe you'll find a lovely stretch of the Truckee River running from the dam all the way to Reno. Both Heavanly Valey and Squaw Valley ski resorts keep lifts running in the of season so you can easily access some remote classic Sierra granite terrain.
If you happen to be going through Kirkwood, try the Zak's Fries at the Kirkwood Inn:D

Roger Thoms
15-Aug-2010, 10:34
If you have a chance check out Viewpoint Photographic Art Center in Sacramento. Viewpoint has a nice gallery and is a great organization.

http://www.viewpointgallery.org/

Roger

dsphotog
15-Aug-2010, 11:28
You and the kids might like the Capitol building, Sutters Fort, Old Sac, railroad museum, Sac Rivercats baseball,
some great historic theaters and buildings downtown.

Stay cool!

Darin Boville
15-Aug-2010, 11:51
Great ideas--stuff i would never have known about or thought of. Thanks!

I'm heading up there now and will have internet all week--more ideas are welcome :)

--Darin

Jim Graves
15-Aug-2010, 18:40
I agree with the Locke suggestion ... interesting old places.

Probably the best bet with two adolescents in tow is Old Sacramento ... it's on the old riverfront, has some interesting gold rush era buildings and two 30's era iron bridges, mixed in with ice cream parlors & t-shirt stores, and a number of restaurants with outdoor seating on the river ... and they can roam the decks and some of the interior of a LARGE paddle wheeler permanently docked there that functions as a hotel, restaurant and bar (The Delta King ... it's sister ship, the Delta Queen plies the Mississippi now ... both used to go from SF to Sacto in the 19th and early 20th centuries ... the woodwork is amazing on the inside.

If you're in Sacto on the weekend, The Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento runs old trains that take passengers on open cars. They run from Old Sacramento out along the river levee and then back to the museum in Old Sacramento (about a 30 minute ride, I think.)

brchambe
16-Aug-2010, 19:49
I agree with others, Locke is a neat little town to photograph. I would however skip Al the Wop's restaurant as it's changed significantly over the last few years.

However I would not miss shooting the Ryde Hotel just up the river a bit. It's a classic old 1920's hotel on the river that was rumored to be a speakeasy and bordello (why else would they build it out here in the sticks). If you like Art Deco architecture in the middle of nowhere it's perfect.

Brian

Jim Graves
22-Aug-2010, 16:49
Darin ... let us know what you did and how it worked. Jim in Sacramento

Darin Boville
22-Aug-2010, 17:26
Darin ... let us know what you did and how it worked. Jim in Sacramento

Just back Friday night....

In the end I (and my two girls)...

--Explored the flat, wetlands area next to Sacramento. The Vic Fazio something or other. A bit tricky to figure out how to actually enter the area--the big signs occur after you've passed the otherwise unmarked exit. Very hot, lots of bugs, but worth the visit. A few unusual birds, great numbers of Egrets, and a hawk of some sort we were never able to identify. Nice fruit/nut store near the entrance.

--Davis. Cool college town. A number of good places to eat. Bought a pile of used photo books at the Coop, near downtown. Hot.

--Old Town Sacramento. Cheesy "Old towne" tourist trap but the Railroad Museum was worth going to, even for people like me who are not particularly interested in railroads per se. Whew. It was hot. Had a nice hamburger at a sort of old time bar in a cool building. Sat upstairs. Got free parking--thank you, meter maid!

--Drove across Sacramento to a camera store called Pardees. Sort of an old-time place. Sells all sorts of film and darkroom stuff. The Yelp reviews has this place pegged with obnoxious staffers but they seemed o.k. to me. Thank god my car has good air conditioning. Pardees has a collection of old cameras all over the place. Kids enjoyed seeing them and learning about all the different kids (I was their tour guide!). Not much LF, though they had a Toyo CX in the case and some 4x5 film in stock. Tried to find something to buy after spending forty-five minutes wandering about the place. They had a used Luna Pro SBC--good meter for my kid--but they wanted $250 for it! ($50 on e-bay). Finally decided to buy a box of film but then they got really busy, some guy parked so I couldn't get in my car, and I ended up not buying anything.

--Drove out to the Marshall Gold Discovery Site. We were there when we first moved to California six years ago but the kids don't remember. I had planned on this being a place to have my kids shoot photos (one with video, one with a Pressman) but the heat was oppressive. My eleven-year-old was wilting within an hour. Splashed around next to the site of the original mill--very cold water, hurray!--but just walking back to the car was tough. We retreated to the ranger station and to the shops, thinking to get a map and ice cream but everything is closed for the season. A/C on full blast on the way back.

--Trying to toughen up a bit, we went outlet shopping in Vacaville, and walked a circuit around both sides of the outlet center. Very thirsty, we saw vending machines next to the Levi's store with sodas. Hot hot, sodas cold. Just what we needed. Only had twenties--machines needed ones. No change machine anywhere in sight. Stopped in the Levi's store and asked if they could make change. The officious little prick of a manager, maybe eighteen years old, said "We are not authorized to make change." He was standing there chatting with a circle of little mall chick employees when I walked in. I asked who *was* authorized and all the girls pointed at him. With an embarrassed expression he then says, "It is against store policy to make change." I'm quoting him word for word. It was appalling. I rushed the kids out of there lest he infect them.

--Had a great steak in nearby Winters, a small town just north. I'm blanking out on the name of the place but it is the main steak place in the town. Cute little downtown. No used books stores, though.

--Forgot to mention, on the way to the Marshall site I saw that we were near Placerville and stopped by. The place across from the hotel seems denuded. Is the hotel under different ownership? For some reason I couldn't fid the Hangtown Cafe or much of any other place to eat and so the kids dragged me to Mel's. Not bad, really. Bought another batch of photo books at the used book store. Another customer was buying "Edward Weston: Supreme Moments" at the check out. I asked if he was a Weston fan. The kid didn't seem to really know who Weston was--said that he was buying the book to help him in his drawing, the subjects in the photos had interesting shapes, etc. Huh. Drank a lot of water.

Only took one photo the whole trip, and that with my point and shoot. It was smack in the middle of the wetlands preserve. Big, big area with no buildings, no nothing. A rough gravel road winds through it. Probably a mess when it is raining. I'm in an FJ Cruiser so no problem but saw another car (the only other car we saw all day), a Civic-type, crawling along because of the rough road. Anyway, smack in the middle is this beautifully paved sidewalk leading off about a hundred feet to a small viewing platform, also paved and ringed by a nice, wooden rail. A "handicapped access" sign out front. The viewing platform simply led you to the same sort of thing you could see from your car for the past two hours. Very odd.

Thanks for all your advice-- I read it all carefully and discussed with my kids. If only it wasn't for the heat--I think I'm acclimatized to the coast....whew.

--Darin