Nick on the Town

Sorry, I’ve been slackin’ off lately. I was kinda busy getting married and stuff and now I’m off to Europe for a bit. I hope this photo of the midtown Ice Skating Rink at 5:30am will hold you over til Nick on the Town comes back with a vengeance in 2010!

The annual Run to Feed the Hungry is back and I’m as out of shape as ever. This chairty run has become a Thanksgiving tradition right up there with turkey, pumpkin pie and boring Detroit Lions’ games.

Thousands of folks will fill the streets of east Sacramento on Thanksgiving morning and some of us will probably still be out there Thankgiving afternoon struggling to finish.

A few years ago, while trianing (for one day) for this run I drew up the following graph which illustrates how my mood changes over the course of a fun run. It’s as true today as it was 4 years ago.

But it’s for a good cause and it’s cool to exercise once a year. I think you can’t walk right up and register the morning of, but don’t hold me to that. Anyhow, I hope to see you out there and, if I do, please bring 3 gatorades and an oxygen tank. Thanks!

If you ever have to get from Sacramento to Reno, but you’re not in a real hurry to get there (and who is?) then you might wanna look in to taking Amtrak. That’s what I did this past weekend and I could not be happier… unless I didn’t have to go to Reno in the first place.

Here is a quick list of reasons why:

1. It’s $53 one way, which might sound steep, but subtract what it would cost you in gas and any parking fees you might have to pay with a car and it’s a pretty sweet deal.

2. The train station is kinda cool.

3. There’s a bar on board. Why wait til you get to Reno to start the party?  

4. It takes about 2 hours longer than driving. If you think that’s a downside, then you’ve never been to Reno. the less time there the better. If there was a 20 hour train ride, I’d take that too.

5. It’s a real purty ride. The train is slightly off the highway and the views are spectacular…especially when you’ve got a nice dusting of snow on the ground.

6. You can use your computer or sleep the whole time without swerving off the road into a tree. Trains are awesome! 

7. As an added bonus, the trip is narrated by docents (one with an awesome mustache) from the CA State Railroad Museum. Via intercom, they point out sites of historical interest along the way. Needing more than just an occassional blurb, I tracked down which car they were in and hung with them for the duration of the trip just drinking bloody marys and listening to their old-timey train stories. And if you’re their boss, I was the only one drinking.

 There are all kinds of things going on in town this Labor Day weekend. Here’s a rundown.

State Fair - At this point you’ve already missed the tractor pull and MC Hammer, but there are still products to test, fried things to eat and rides from Neverland Ranch.

Gold Rush Days - Old Sacramento will one again be transformed into a dirty Old West town this weekend. There will be gunfighters, pony rides, old-timey music and all kinds of other good stuff. I’ll be pouring beers at the Save-Mart BBQ area where the Johnny Cash cover band is playing, so come on by and say hi. No, I cannot give you free beer – the event doesn’t cost anything so stop being such a cheapskate.

Gold Rush Days is no joke. Here's some of the Wild West carnage.

Rainbow Festival - Sacramento’s gay and lesbian community comes together to throw a huge block party centered at 20th & K Streets.  Music, food, dancing and vendors will fill the streets of this popular event that you don’t even have to be gay to enjoy…of course being at least a little gay wouldn’t hurt.

Chalk it Up - If you’ve always wanted to be a vandal, but aren’t huge into defacing property then Chalk it Up is perfect for you! You get a whole square of sidewalk at Fremont Park to create your chalk masterpiece which will be significantly smudged by people’s shoes in a few days and eventually be completely erased  after we get a few good rain storms. Some people create real works of art, but it’s cool if you’re a sucky artist too.

Greek Food Festival - Head to the Convention Center to fill up on gyros, baklava and Greek entertainment. Delicious!

BBQ at my neighbors house - You’re not invited to this one, but man is it gonna be awesome!