Day Eleven: A Day in Davis (Just Jen)

For my last day in Davis, California, we spent the day exploring Davis itself. We started off by visiting a few different neighbourhoods while Becca pointed out noteworthy locations. We stopped in at the local library, which is when I learned that I was in Yolo County (entertaining due to the youths that used to use YOLO - you only live once - as a rationale for many a questionable decision). I also discovered that free COVID tests are provided at the library, and can be accessed in an outdoor vending machine.

We made our way to Village Homes, where the streets have some delightful names (for those of you familiar with Lord of the Rings), and a very large community garden. We walked the length of the garden past artichoke plants and fig trees, grape vines and chicken coops, local wildflowers and succulents (I explained to Becca that I already knew I wasn't allowed to take any baby succulents home). 

My sincere apologies to Trish - I promise that I didn't mean to find any more cats without you, but I spotted one in the garden, and another came out to claim a toll of pets each time we walked by. 

From there we made our way to downtown Davis, stopping briefly at Cactus Corners, which, is exactly what you're picturing, but stil, see pictures below. When we arrived downtown we, of course, stopped in at a bookshop. I refrained from adding to the book count at Avid Reader Bookstore although it was tempting. 

After lunch at a Davis staple, Tres Hermanas, our next stop was to visit Becca's husband, Andrew, at UC Davis where he works. We had a small window of time before he was heading into a meeting, but I got to have a tour of the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Sciences. It's made up of three buildings that house thet Department of Viticulture and Enology (aka wine school), the Department of Food Science and Technology, and a state-of-the-art sensory lab. Andrew toured me through where students make wine and beer, and one of the classes where he teaches that is set up with kitchen stations for the students to work. I'll do a terrible job of relaying it here, but Andrew explained that the sensory lab is where they can research and test food and beverage products with the human senses. This allows them to get information on characteristics like appearance, texture, odor, and taste. Some rooms can be set up as separate booths so participants can't see each other's reactions, with red lights to make it hard to determine the colour the product, and one room that includes 3D projections to help give the sensation of being in a different place. While I don't have photos of any of what I've just mentioned, I did snap a picture of the UC Davis vineyard, as obviously they have one. 

Up next Becca and I made our way to the nearby UC Davis Arboretum to walk the trail. It was originally founded in 1936 and has some 22,000 trees and plants in the 100-acres along the Putah Creek. There is a paved path loop for pedestrians, which we didn't have enough time to complete fully, but agreed we could finish it when I come next to visit. Naturally, if I completed everything Davis has to offer, I'd have no reason to come back again. We had a lovely stroll watching for turtles and trying to determine what else was lurking below the surface, spotting birds/butterflies/dragonflies, and of course the plants and trees themselves. 

On our way back, we spotted a turkey sitting on top of a car. Apparently this is a very common thing (and therefore an important Davis experience for me to have). A bunch of Turkey's live in the Davis Cemetery, and will leave their home base and sit atop cars, daring you to challenge their rightful presence there. We did not challenge the turkey. 

We took Becca's youngest daughter to her tap class, and I was granted permission by her to sneak into the class for the last 10min to watch. Becca, however, was denied permission and apparently has never been allowed to come in. So, I felt pretty special getting to see the little tap dancers, and was glad to report back that Becca's daughter was absolutely the top of her class, and incredibly adorable. Next I said my goodbyes to both of the girls, and explained I wouldn't get to see them again before I had to leave. Becca and I were heading with two of her friends to Sacramento for an escape room and dinner, so we'd be back after bedtime, and my early train meant I'd be leaving before they woke up. Both were willing to give up a hug, and it was truly so sweet how they included me in their days while I was around. 

Local sights were pointed out to me on the way to Sacramento, and I experienced first hand the oddity of their on-ramps. While the carpool lane merges on to the highway much as I'm used to, the regular lane has a stop light on the on-ramp. The theory is that this helps to stagger traffic onto the highway for easy merging, but the idea of coming to a full stop before accelerating to match highway speeds is...uh...different. We successfully completed the escape room (with some hints along the way) and then Becca and I had our first experiences at an Olive Garden for dinner (which was much akin to East Side Mario's in our opinion). I don't have a copy of our victory photo from the escape room, so instead, I'll end this post with a picture of the lobby and whatever this creature may happen to be.