I often tell friends that Sacramento is one of my favorite cities, to which most are astounded. In a state with major thriving cultural centers along the coast, people can’t understand how anyone would like a large inland city whose major industry is government. I first got to know Sacramento when I was lobbying the legislature for my faculty union and was surprised that it had an architecturally interesting Midtown surrounding the Capitol, and that there was an active gay community. Over time I grew to like it even more as I realized the large number of neighborhoods like this that felt much like the neighborhoods I knew in the East. Neighborhoods with moderate size houses on streets that don’t look like everyone is trying to make a statement about success, with people out walking on the streets that say ‘hi’.

This particular neighborhood is just happenstance -- I needed a break from freeway driving and just decided to wander into a neighborhood. I stopped because the fall leaf colors were bright! I intentionally did not put a GPS but will note that Google maps lists the area as Curtis Park, 1.5 miles from the Capitol.