Coming up on Rob on the Road More Day Trips!

Experience Old Sacramento!

We'll explore one of California's most historic and well -preserved downtowns.

Rob: Take a walk on the wild side at the Sacramento Zoo, where large and small wonders are "hanging around."

A drive to Santa Rosa lands you in the middle of "Sonoma's Serengeti."

Safari West is home to mammals and birds from around the globe.

We'll stroll through the aviary the centerpiece of this sanctuary.

And a California fall tradition is open year -round!

Discover Apple Hill in Camino, where we'll tempt your tastebuds and share the history behind this popular destination.

Rob on the Road A Decade of Destinations: More Day Trips starts Now!

Annc: And now Rob on the Road - Exploring Northern California.

Rob: Are you ready for more delightful day trips?

We are!

And I'm glad you're joining us on this journey through California.

We begin with a trip to Old Sacramento, where history is alive at what's been dubbed "Sacramento's Front Porch" this is the birthplace of California's Capitol City along the banks of the Sacramento River.

♪♪ Rob: When it comes to Old Sacramento, we have the expert in Northern California for you.

Good to see you Paul Hammond.

>> Hey Rob, welcome to Old Sacramento.

>> It's so nice to be here, we've been looking forward to this.

Paul is with California State Parks and this entire area is a National Landmark.

>> There's so much history buried in here, modern as well as old, but going back to the beginning starting in 1848, 1849, this was the Embarcadero of the California gold rush.

John Sutter Junior, so John Sutter's son, John Sutter Junior saw opportunity to lay out a town here when gold seekers began rushing in.

There were merchants and others that wanted to locate right here where the ships were going to come up from San Francisco.

So this became the commercial center of the California gold rush.

What's very different from today of course is, we were down perhaps 18 feet from where we are now.

At the beginning, there were no levees, this was simply laying out a town right where the river washed ashore and of course every winter or many winters it tended to jump out of its banks and inundate the town and so it's also a story of flooding.

This is a story that has been with us since the beginning.

>> Old Sacramento, sprawls about 30 acres... >> Huh Huh... >> And this is some of the earliest images.

>> It really is.

These are recreation structures, but you're looking at that 1849, 1850 period in terms of what these represent, and these are really kind of temporary structures, they're canvas-sided, wood, early and easy building materials, in history they really don't last very long.

The Eagle Theatre opened in October of 1849 and it's the first permanent structure, well you know, semi-permanent, built in California to serve as a performing arts theatre.

So October of 1849, well back to that story of water, what happens just 4 short months later in January, rain, more rain, lots of rain, and the waters begin rising, remember we're lower and the river just going to start creeping out of its banks, the story is that they're actually in the middle of a play and the water begins rising in the theatre, people are standing on the benches because the water is rising around them, the water gets up to the stage, this is before electricity, so they have candle and lantern lighting, and that goes out.

>> Oh... >> That's the end of the Eagle Theatre, in January of 1850 and it becomes unusable and gets torn down right away.

>> And this is a replica of the original theatre... >> Yes.

>> And so these 3 buildings are what it would have looked like in 1849, 1850.

♪♪ >> This is fascinating to me.

The Sacramento, now, History Museum.

This is where the original City Hall was.

>> Yes.

This building opens in 1854.

This building's a replica today, but it certainly gives you some perspective about what's happening here, the city's beginning to establish some permanence.

>> Now this building was the original, not just City Hall, but it was the original Mayor's Office, the first jail, a hundred and twenty thousand dollars to build it back then, that was a lot of money.

>> That's a fairly expensive structure for the time.

That thing on the roof also represents the water works.

You've got to have something to supply pressure to the pipes, and so that's where the water system for the city emanates from as well.

>>Was there a tank up there?

>> That is the tank.

>> That's the tank.

>> Yup.

>> Wow (laughing) that's so cool!

See I thought you were the perfect person for this!

Alright let's keep touring!

♪♪ ♪♪ >> We're now in the middle of K Street and this building is incredibly historic.

>> It is the oldest structure here in Old Sacramento.

1852 is when The Lady Adams Building dates from, and at that early date, that means it's also one of the buildings that went through both fires and floods.

It's got quite a bit of history trapped beneath those walls.

>> So was The Lady Adams 18 feet lower?

>> Absolutely.

This fits right into the story of the raising of the streets and the buildings of Old Sacramento.

Imagine everything lower, you look down the alley, you can really see the streets getting lower, but actually it goes even further because you kind of tiered down into the basements of these buildings, but if you can imagine us 18 feet lower, the process of raising this is done by at the curb line every building owner has to build a wall to the new curb elevation, it's got what are called buttresses behind it, and then the walls get built in front of each building, so you know, if we were 18 feet deep, all of a sudden you'd have a 18 foot tall wall in front of you building... >> Yeah... >> More or less, the city comes in, fills in the dirt, all of a sudden the street's 18 feet taller in front of your building and now you, the building owner, have to decide what to do with your building.

Are you going to just abandon the first floor?

Or more likely, and what was done with most of the building down here, you're going to bring in a construction crew and they're going to jack your brick building up to the new street elevation and build a basement underneath it, and that happened to The Lady Adams as well as most of the structures in Old Sacramento.

>> And that's where the underground tunnel system.... >> Yeah.... >> That's where it came from.

>> It's really a reminisce of this whole process.

>> I actually thought all of this dated back to, you know, 1850ish, 1860, but this is the oldest one, 1852, that's standing.

The beautiful Ebner's Hotel across the street is a replica.

>> Correct.

Not all of these buildings, you know, made it to history and some buildings like The Lady Adams, just survived till today, this was Sacramento's skid row.

It's really Interstate 5 that transforms this.

The coming of the freeway puts the city at a decision point.

Do we want to save this?

Originally the idea was to just mow this down, and the ideas came to, no let's move the freeway back a block and let's keep this original historic district and the Ebner's actually, one of the newest reconstructions in the city.

>> There was a lot going on here at Front and K Street in Old Sacramento in 1863.

>> It's all because the winter of 1861 and 62 was the worst one on record.

The other thing that takes place in 1863, city is now gearing up to raise its streets, but there's a trans-continental railroad that's been signed into legislation, a year earlier by President Lincoln and it's going to break ground right here at this foot of K Street and that railroad has got a really big job.

The city is giving the land to the railroad with one big proviso.

You will build the levee here along Front Street so that you can build your wharf and you'll build us a levee along what we know now as the B Street alignment.

So the railroad is going to build the levees in order to build its railroad on top of them.

♪♪ >> Quite a transformation from the period of flooding and a lot of it because of the railroads.

>> Certainly, and of course in history, this whole waterfront is a bunch of railroad tracks, freight, passengers, this is the hub where the water transportation meets the land transportation in Sacramento.

♪♪ >> Welcome aboard the mighty Delta King.

This is the owner, Mike Coyne, good to see you Mike.

>> Rob how are you?

>> Nice to see you.

>> Pleasure having you onboard.

>> Well you and your siblings bought the Delta King, restored it to its glory, thank you, for doing that.

>> Our pleasure, and we're just so happy to have you here and happy to show you around.

>> Alright, let's go take a tour because you have the keys to get us in everywhere.

>> I can get you everywhere.

>> Alright, let's go.

>> Lets go.

♪♪ >> We've just come inside the main entrance of the Delta King and I have to stop right here.

The River Lines, San Francisco daily to Sacramento, but get this, leave at 6:30 p.m., arrive at 5:30 a.m.?

>> Well it was normally around a 10 hour cruise, this was 11 hours, and that probably took into account when there was heavy tides, or there were lot of high river flows, so that they would still be on time.

>> 10 hours to San Francisco!

>> Okay Rob, come this way, and we are now in the paddle wheel room.. >> Look at this Mike!

>> Isn't that gorgeous?

>> Wow... >> It's a wonderful view, you get to see the big bright red paddle wheel, the bridge beyond, and again the river reflections.

>> Mike that is a Sacramento view like I have not seen before... >> Well there's only one place to see it and that's right here.

>> That's right here, and on Rob On The Road... >> And Rob On The Road.

>> (laughs) Wonderful!

>> We're sharing.. >> Look at that... >> This is recreation of the original.

We got the plans from the Delta Queen, for the layout on this Rob: Wow!

Alright, I found a view that we have got to go show.

>> This is the Fan Tail.

>> (laughs) Look at this, the Delta King Hotel, the paddle wheel, the Tower Bridge, Old Sacramento waterfront.

This is spectacular!

>> Yes, it is, its drop dead gorgeous!

>> (laughs) It is drop dead gorgeous!

♪♪ >> Rob, you're going to want to come into this room here, it is a very special room on the Delta King.

>> Oh Mike, this is gorgeous... >> Isn't it sweet?

This is our Captain's Quarters, its two levels, it includes the original wheel house area.

Originally those was like 5 different sleeping area, so the Captain was here, the pilot, the purser, they're all the officers' quarters were in this area here.

>> Alright let's go up here.

>> Well not everybody gets to come up here, only those in the Captain's quarters.

This is the view that the Captain would have as he was plying the river between Sacramento and San Francisco.

♪♪ >> When you're doing a show about Old Sacramento and exploring this area, and a lot about water, you have to do something on the Delta King, I mean, this is such quintessential Old Sacramento.

What does it mean to you to be the keeper of that?

Mike: The Delta king is an icon and we're lucky to be here and happy to be here.

We're an international destination and that's what Old Sacramento is.

♪♪ ♪♪ Rob: This is a hint of what we are about to do behind the scenes of the Small Wonders exhibit here with outreach coordinator Lara Kirkendall.

Hey Lara!

Lara: Hi, good to see you again!

Thanks for coming back!

Rob: Yeah, glad to be here.

You've been on the show several times now before!

Lara: You bet!

We love it!

Rob: Inside... "Caution: Exhibit Entrance."

This is exciting!

Lara: It is!

That let's all the keepers know that that's not just any door, that's an animal door.

And there are animals behind, but don't worry!

We'll all be nice and safe.

Would you like to go in?

Rob: I would love to go in.

Before we go in, really quickly... bats and birds?

Lara: Bats and birds are inside.

Hornbill, crested Kua, small birds, and some Guinea fowl - they look like spotted chickens.

Rob: All right, let's go!

Lara: Let's go!

Rob: How can you not want to see that?

Lara: I know, right?

All right, the key to the zoo!

And in you go.

I'll let you go first.

Rob: Oh, we are inside the exhibit.

Lara, look at this.

Wow.

And I just have to point out that Martin, our videographer, and myself went through a series of inoculations for rabies in case we were to get bitten.

And that is just something that is procedure.

We'll do anything to get you behind the scenes.

Lara: It's just standard policy.

All of us keepers also are rabies vaccinated even though our fruit bats really aren't at risk for having that.

It's just a state policy and we continue with that.

Rob: And we took part in that.

Lara: You bet you did!

All right, so we're heading down.

Behind is where the bats are!

Rob: [gasps] there're the bats!

Lara: Did you see them?

Now it's hard to tell but there's a group of them here in the corner.

Rob: Oh my lord!

Lara: There are 20 of them.

Look at them all in there!

And that's exactly what they do in the wild!

In the early morning they'd all be huddled together for warmth waiting to maybe go out and grab some fruit when the sun rises.

Rob: Oh my lord.

OK. And we're good?

Lara: We're good.

No, no, they're not attack bats.

They're not going to fly at you- Rob: Oh my gosh!

Lara: They know that you have the food.

And they're pretty excited about that.

Rob: Oh my goodness!

Lara: So when we hang the rings of the fruit from the roof they're going to start to come over and the best part is I also have some mashed banana, which is their favorite.

And they'll come over to you and you can hand-syringe feed them some banana!

Rob: Martin, do you see this?

I just am in shock.

May I touch- may I reach out?

Lara: Unfortunately, they're not really great with being touched.

But when you give them the banana-filled syringe then they'll be able to come out for a bit of a closer look.

Rob: All right, let's do it.

Come here, babies.

this is Banana.

Martin come get in here you see this!

You have got to be kidding me, this is an African bat!

Get out of here.

Oh, now they all want it.

This is unbelievable.

Hi babies!

I never thought I'd say this, but bats are adorable.

Which is one of the things you get to learn at the zoo, Lara!

Lara: That's true!

You know, these animals are both fascinating, interesting, and they have a really cool niche.

They're very important animals.

One of the things that people don't realize about bats is they are pollinators.

They are really, really important.

By dropping and being very messy, they help pollinate huge swaths of forest.

And in fact, the rainforest area where these animals are found in Africa, these animals, these bats, do over 80% of the pollinating in that area.

Super important animals to have around.

Rob: Pollinators, I didn't know!

Lara: And the bats that we have here in Sacramento are insect-eating bats.

And we know what that means.

All those mosquitos are getting gobbled up overnight.

Which we as people love!

Rob: Look at these cute little tongues!

Hi little baby!

Lara: And that allows them to gather up all the fruit that they find out in the wild.

And their teeth help them rip open the thick- They're just fighting amongst themselves!

One had to tell the other neighbor that it wanted more of the banana.

Rob: There you go.

There you go.

Okay, wow!

Lara: Well the neat thing about this exhibit is it's a multi-species exhibit and it accurately represents the animals that you'd find living throughout Africa primarily in the eastern side.

So we have an aardvark living with our fennec foxes.

And we have a variety of birds living with our bats exactly how it would be in Africa.

♪♪ Rob: Still ahead on Rob on the Road - Did you know Apple Hill is a not just a harvest-time experience, it's a year-round treasure!

We'll take a walk down memory lane at this delicious destination.

But first, Walk into the spiritual center of Safari West in Santa Rosa for close encounters with some of the world's most beautiful birds.

Rob: We're at Safari West and Santa Rosa, Sonoma county.

And this is a wildlife preserve.

Good to see you.

This is our tour guide, Nate Woodward.

How are you?

Nate: Great to see you as well.

Rob: What a day?

Nate: It's absolutely perfect.

You guys picked an ideal day to come visit us out here.

♪♪ This is the grand aviary and this is known as the spiritual center of Safari West.

Ah Look right there.

Nate: The hammerkops.

welcoming you.

Rob: I think he agrees.

Nate: One of the most updated features on our property.

This is all pretty new to us here at Safari West.

But another thing is we've had remarkable success in breeding the animals within this enclosure.

The bird is called the Waltrip Ibis or the bald Ibis.

And they used to be found all over Europe.

And it was said that they would guide the pilgrims to Mecca every year.

However, nowadays they are so endangered that you really only find them in tiny protected reserves in, uh, Syria, Turkey and Morocco Rob: And Santa Rosa.

They just fly right in front of you.

Are we okay to just walk right through here?

Nate: Absolutely.

So there's people walking through the aviary every day.

The birds have a very natural environment, but they're used to the people coming to see them.

Rob: Now the big bird back there, standing on the rock, the rock is that queen B?

Nate: Well, you don't recognize that one?

That's the bird that brings babies right there.

Rob: That's the stork?

That's the stork?

Absolutely.

That's the white stork from Europe.

Rob: Who was this?

Coming to see us?

Nate: Oh, well this is one of my personal favorites in the entire aviary.

This is a demoiselle crane.

Rob: Hi, demoiselle crane.

Hi baby.

Come here, sweetie.

♪♪ The vibrancy of the color, um, is as vibrant as the mission here because you're telling the story of wildlife and why it needs to be preserved.

Nate: Well, that's why places like this exist.

Uh, not everyone can travel to Africa to go see these animals in the wild.

But people need to know how amazing they are.

So we have our guests through every day, they'd come see our animals and hopefully we're leaving them with an impression that wildlife is worth preserving on our planet.

♪♪ ♪♪ Rob: Fall means harvest time in Northern California and Apple Hill is definitely an exciting adventure for you to explore.

We are in Camino just east of Placerville home to more than 50 growers.

Let's hop inside Larsen Apple Barn.

♪♪ And they've already put me to work and I'm glad to do it.

This is Larsen's bakeshop and this is Lynn Larsen.

Good to see you.

Lynn: It's great to see you too.

Rob: And I can just say you're the queen of the apples because you run it all!

Lynn: The customers that come, the apples we grow, this is our life.

Rob: Look at this.

Oh, are those hearts on there?

Lynn: You know what?

They are intended to be, but they are, so that's our love to you.

Rob: Awe!

Well there's a lot of love in here because there are 2.

Lynn: About 2 3/4 lbs of apples.

.

.

Rob: Almost 3 pounds of apples in each apple pie!

Fresh, hot.

These other fresh and hot apple dumplings.

Alright, so may I?

Lynn: You may.

Rob: OK you have got to tell me what this crust is.

Lynn: This is grandma's crust, great grandma's We don't change it, all vegetable crust, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter inside the dumpling.

With the oohwy goowy apple cinnamon cider sauce that goes over the top.

Rob: That is stunningly beautiful.

Lynn: Very simple but the flavor is just apple.

Rob: Let's see.

Ah!

Lynn: I feel like I'm at a wedding.

Guest: Hi Rob on the Road, Rob: Oh hi y'all.

Would you like a bite of my apple pie honey?

Eat it, you don't ask you just eat!

Oh, what's this?

Is that hot?

No, you can touch that.

I want you to see this.

That - stop it!

Lynn: Apple strudel.

Rob: Is an apple strudel.

Lynn: I'll let you serve one to me.

Rob: Oh my gosh.

Lynn: And then we're going to serve that with hot apple cinnamon cider sauce.

Rob: Oh my gosh.

Lynn: Made with fresh apple juice.

Rob: So, I'm clearly figuring out that Apple Hill is and eat your way through experience.

Lynn: It is, definitely.

And you can find amazing things at so many of the bake shops, find your favorite wherever it is.

Rob: The Bakeshop is right next to the center of the farm - Larsen Apple Barn.

You'll find more than 20 varieties of apples ... rolling through the washing belts and right onto the shelves to sell.

These same machines have been turning apples for decades.

You step inside of the apple barn and it is exactly what it says because these are everywhere big boxes filled with apples and this is Ray Larson who is the Apple guy good to see you Ray.

Ray: Good to see you.

Rob: Thank you for having us.

Ray: Thank's for coming.

Rob: What a beautiful place.

Ray: Well, we kind of like to keep it up and it's a nice place to come to nice place to live.

Rob: And it is has been a nice place to live for your family since 1860.

Ray: I'm the 5th generation Rob: The 5th and your grandchildren would be the 7th.

Ray: that's correct.

Rob: I would imagine that your great-great grandparents would be so proud of you.

Ray: Well I would say they would because they put a lot of effort and time.

When you think about them leaving Europe and coming clear across the ocean and finding a place and then starting a farm, that was them a real commitment on their part.

All positive ripple effects.

Rob: From what 2 people did.

Ray: Two people .

Rob: that's fascinating to me.

♪♪ Your museum here pays tribute to that as well pieces that are on a self-guided tour of the museum are things that your great grandparents made.

Ray: Yes, or bought.

We have a picture of my grandfather in a suit.

You look at him and think why was he in a suit?

Because this was something new!

Different!

Cutting edge.

Dressing up to get that picture.

That's fantastic.

The Larsen's are part of an even larger family.

Apple Hill is a year-round attraction, and this is the sign to look for, Apple Hill Growers, made up of more than 50 farms and ranches.

The map is a great "tour guide" for every season.

Flower farms bloom open in the spring, famous wineries serve their spirits all year long, there's tree farms, even spas for relaxation and fun!

Hey!

Customer: I'm from Washington!

Rob: Washington State?

Customer: I come here to get apples.

Rob: Are you kidding me, from Washington State?

Fuji apples.

That's a lot of fresh apples.

Where are these headed?

Customer: Wyoming.

Rob: Wyoming?

By way of what?

Customer: I'm taking them!

Laughs.

Rob: By way of you!

Lynn: This is the most picturesque place to live.

Rob: Yes, it is, it's beautiful, it's Northern California.

Americas playground.

Lynn: This is the best.

♪♪ Rob: What fun!

Check out our website - robontheroad.org for more day trips and destinations.

I'm Rob Stewart - thank you for joining us as we celebrate 10 seasons of Rob on the Road.

♪♪