Casteyanqui.com | Electric Vehicles | 3rd California Roadtrip

3rd California Roadtrip - Part 2
Visiting Family in CA

Mark D Larsen

September 7-18, 2025

California Dreaming
(Click to enlarge)

After two days of driving on this roadtrip, this Part 2 documents our visit around the Sacramento area, including views at Tamara’s sister’s home, a day trip to tourist towns, and visiting her mom, her niece, and her grandniece.

NOTE: You can click on the following photos to enlarge them and the movies to play them.

My duty when staying at Tamara's sister's home was to take care of the swimming pool.

Tamara's duties included feeding the cats and watering the plants.

Moxie had never stayed here before, but quickly got used to an unfamiliar bed.

Alas! We found that, among all the kamikazi bugs on Rocinante's front end, we had also hit a dragonfly, Tamara's favorite insect.

I managed to pry it off of the car and we have preserved it. Will Tamara eventually mount it in a display case? Dunno.

A brilliant sunset seen from the back deck in the evening.

This is looking up toward the deck from the side of the pool.

We were amused to see flocks of wild turkeys foraging for seeds around their property. I counted 13 in this group.

We also saw several deer feeding on the property, two does and their multiple fawns.

This is a closer look at the bay on Folsom Lake visible from their house.

One day we decided to take a day trip to Old Town Auburn. This video is when we were driving on the back road from Lisa's house to the highway to Auburn.

This video is much longer, showing the drive on the very winding road down into the bottom of the American River Canyon before it climbs back up to Auburn.

We finally arrived in Old Town Auburn, with a huge sculpture of a panhandler to welcome us.

Tamara, of course, wanted to check out the various shops on the main street.

Moxie and I wandered around, seeing the sights.

We found the oldest post office on this side of the Mississippi river. I'm sure it was built to service this area during the gold rush era.

On the hill above the main street we could see the Placer County Superior Courthouse.

We happened upon a plaque describing a Cedrus Deodara tree that was planted on Arbor Day, 1959.

And here is the tree itself. Obviously some of the branches had been cut off to not hinder traffic on the road beside it.

There was also an historic fire house behind the tree.

After Tamara had scouted out the shops, we decided to have lunch at the "Pour Choices Brewery" seen here.

When entering the patio area we met two very unique cats with markings that made them look more like leopards or jaguars. Moxie didn't know what to think of them.

Moxie and I found a spot in the shade while Tamara went in to place an order.

She then joined us at the table while waiting to be served.

Our lunch was a dish we'd previously tried and really enjoyed here: an avocado toast open sandwich.

When we got back to Rocinante, I was pleased to see a Mustang Mach-E parked in front of us. Thumbs up to the owners!

We then decided to drive farther north to visit Nevada City, another quaint old town set among the pines.

Tamara went window shopping, and Moxie and I wandered up the street to take photos of the town's landmarks.

I was tickled to see a Nissan LEAF like the one I used to own parked on the street.

A bit farther down the block there was a Rivian R1T. Evidently it's true that Californians have the most EVs per capita in this country. Kudos to them!

On the way back we decided to stop at the chargers in Auburn, and arrived after driving 114.9 miles that day.

Unfortunately, the 150 kW charger was even slower than normal, starting up with only 90 kW.

Curiously, the final rate was just a tad higher at 97 kW.

Despite the slow rate, the charge finished after 16 minutes, guess’timating that we now had 270 miles of range.

On other days we went to visit Tamara's mother in the Assisted Living Center, which was one of the nicest I had ever seen.

The facilities were impressive, more like a very good hotel.

On one of those visits, Tamara's niece Haley and her baby Ellie also came to visit "grandma."

We were amazed to see how much Ellie had grown since we last saw her.

She really is a very pleasant, happy, friendly toddler who enjoys interacting with other people.

She even interacted well with Moxie, probably because she had grown with a cat in her home.

It's playtime for all four generations of females with Moxie.

As you can see, the facility really is a large complex, with apartments much more spacious than the one my own mom was in years ago.

The area it is in seems relatively safe, and not far from upper class shops and parks.

Tamara took this 360° video of Lisa's home from the front yard.

We'd also stopped by Tamara's mom's house and I was stymied by these odd "fruits" on a neighbor's tree. My daughters tell me that they are magnolia trees, and those cones will develop into beautiful, fragrant blossoms.

Her mom also had a persimon bush in her yard, but I can't say I've ever tried eating that kind of fruit before.

Moxie was very familiar with the yard, having explored every corner of it on previous visits.

One day we decided to plug in at the chargers by Target, only a couple of blocks from the ones now owned by Costco. I will never be using those chargers again!

We went to the upscale shops by Tamara's mom's facility and had dinner by this pond and fountain.

Moxie was right at home in her mom's house.

Unfortunately, we might never visit here again, since Lisa plans on putting the house up for sale.

It was kinda painful to go through the belongings in the home, seeing such memorabilia as these medals that Tamara's dad had earned as a fighter pilot in the Air Force: USAF Distinguished Flying Cross, Legion of Merit, and Air Medal.

Every morning and evening, we would see flocks of geese fly over the house, migrating to and from the various ponds in their HOA suburb.

As if bidding us farewell, we were treated to a colorful dusk before leaving.

Lisa and Dean returned from their camping vacation and we had dinner with them the evening before we left.

Their Cairn Terrier, Tilly, is an endearing doggy and had calmed down from her puppyhood behavior compared to when we first met her.

Moxie got along just fine with Tilly, after the usual sniffing and tail wagging.

It was now time to load up the car and head home. And the loading was more complicated this time, since Tamara had acquired several items from her mom’s estate. Because there are some furniture pieces that she will also inherit which couldn’t fit in our car, we just might have to drive there again to somehow drag them home, perhaps in a small U-Haul trailer…?

My duty when staying at Tamara's sister's home was to take care of the swimming pool.	Tamara's duties included feeding the cats and watering the plants.
Moxie had never stayed here before, but quickly got used to an unfamiliar bed.	Alas! We found that, among all the kamikazi bugs on Rocinante's front end, we had also hit a dragonfly, Tamara's favorite insect.
I managed to pry it off of the car and we have preserved it. Will Tamara eventually mount it in a display case? Dunno.	A brilliant sunset seen from the back deck in the evening.
This is looking up toward the deck from the side of the pool.	We were amused to see flocks of wild turkeys foraging for seeds around their property. I counted 13 in this group.
We also saw several deer feeding on the property, two does and their multiple fawns.	This is a closer look at the bay on Folsom Lake visible from their house.
One day we decided to take a day trip to Old Town Auburn. This video is when we were driving on the back road from Lisa's house to the highway to Auburn.
This video is much longer, showing the drive on the very winding road down into the bottom of the American River Canyon before it climbs back up to Auburn.
We finally arrived in Old Town Auburn, with a huge sculpture of a panhandler to welcome us.	Tamara, of course, wanted to check out the various shops on the main street.
Moxie and I wandered around, seeing the sights.	We found the oldest post office on this side of the Mississippi river. I'm sure it was built to service this area during the gold rush era.
On the hill above the main street we could see the Placer County Superior Courthouse.	We happened upon a plaque describing a Cedrus Deodara tree that was planted on Arbor Day, 1959.
And here is the tree itself. Obviously some of the branches had been cut off to not hinder traffic on the road beside it.	There was also an historic fire house behind the tree.
After Tamara had scouted out the shops, we decided to have lunch at the "Pour Choices Brewery" seen here.	When entering the patio area we met two very unique cats with markings that made them look more like leopards or jaguars. Moxie didn't know what to think of them.
Moxie and I found a spot in the shade while Tamara went in to place an order.	She then joined us at the table while waiting to be served.
Our lunch was a dish we'd previously tried and really enjoyed here: an avocado toast open sandwich.	When we got back to Rocinante, I was pleased to see a Mustang Mach-E parked in front of us. Thumbs up to the owners!
We then decided to drive farther north to visit Nevada City, another quaint old town set among the pines.	Tamara went window shopping, and Moxie and I wandered up the street to take photos of the town's landmarks.
I was tickled to see a Nissan LEAF like the one I used to own parked on the street.	A bit farther down the block there was a Rivian R1T. Evidently it's true that Californians have the most EVs per capita in this country. Kudos to them!
On the way back we decided to stop at the chargers in Auburn, and arrived after driving 114.9 miles that day.	Unfortunately, the 150 kW charger was even slower than normal, starting up with only 90 kW.
Curiously, the final rate was just a tad higher at 97 kW.	Despite the slow rate, the charge finished after 16 minutes, guess’timating that we now had 270 miles of range.
On other days we went to visit Tamara's mother in the Assisted Living Center, which was one of the nicest I had ever seen.	The facilities were impressive, more like a very good hotel.
On one of those visits, Tamara's niece Haley and her baby Ellie also came to visit "grandma."	We were amazed to see how much Ellie had grown since we last saw her.
She really is a very pleasant, happy, friendly toddler who enjoys interacting with other people.	She even interacted well with Moxie, probably because she had grown with a cat in her home.
It's playtime for all four generations of females with Moxie.
As you can see, the facility really is a large complex, with apartments much more spacious than the one my own mom was in years ago.	The area it is in seems relatively safe, and not far from upper class shops and parks.
Tamara took this 360° video of Lisa's home from the front yard.
We'd also stopped by Tamara's mom's house and I was stymied by these odd "fruits" on a neighbor's tree. My daughters tell me that they are magnolia trees, and those cones will develop into beautiful, fragrant blossoms.	Her mom also had a persimon bush in her yard, but I can't say I've ever tried eating that kind of fruit before.
Moxie was very familiar with the yard, having explored every corner of it on previous visits.	One day we decided to plug in at the chargers by Target, only a couple of blocks from the ones now owned by Costco. I will never be using those chargers again!
We went to the upscale shops by Tamara's mom's facility and had dinner by this pond and fountain.	Moxie was right at home in her mom's house.
Unfortunately, we might never visit here again, since Lisa plans on putting the house up for sale.	It was kinda painful to go through the belongings in the home, seeing such memorabilia as these medals that Tamara's dad had earned as a fighter pilot in the Air Force: USAF Distinguished Flying Cross, Legion of Merit, and Air Medal.
Every morning and evening, we would see flocks of geese fly over the house, migrating to and from the various ponds in their HOA suburb.
As if bidding us farewell, we were treated to a colorful dusk before leaving.	Lisa and Dean returned from their camping vacation and we had dinner with them the evening before we left.
Their Cairn Terrier, Tilly, is an endearing doggy and had calmed down from her puppyhood behavior compared to when we first met her.	Moxie got along just fine with Tilly, after the usual sniffing and tail wagging.