Sacramento Surprise

Every year I feel a little bit bad that Damien's birthday falls on New Year's Eve.  We always have a great day/night but it is hard to put the focus solely on him because of the big holiday!  I knew I wanted to do something different this year.  When I had asked Damien what he might want for his birthday this year, he told me that he wanted experiences. Hmmm.  If an experience was what he wanted . . . an experience he would get!

I researched possible birthday options for days.  I looked and looked for something special but just nothing seemed right.  Sure, I could take him to Shrek the musical in San Francisco but it wouldn't be 'Damien' enough.  I looked at local comedy clubs, shows, and attractions and struck out.  Time was ticking and I knew I had to get something on the calendar quick!  My sister Gina offered to watch the kids overnight.  That opened up a whole lot more opportunity!  I looked for events in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Vegas.  But nothing fit.  Then I saw that Joel McHale was going to in California!  The catch?  He was going to be playing in Sacramento.  I didn't want to be a snob but Sacramento was not what I envisioned when I thought about whisking Damien away.  Then I thought back to the fun adventures we had before we had kids.  We loved going to a new town and exploring.  I think this could work!  Sacramento it was.

I had told Damien that we were going to leave bright and early on Saturday morning for a day of fun.  Little did he know that I had a bag packed with overnight clothes already in the trunk of the car.  He loved the suspense of it all.  I thought it would be funny to drive the short two blocks to Starbucks to get some goodies (and coffee for me) for the ride.  He was like, 'Is this it?'  No, it wasn't.  It was just the beginning of a day of fun!  We started driving north and after about thirty minutes he started to make guesses.  I knew that Sacramento wouldn't be on his mind so it was fun to hear him try and figure it out!  After about an hour of driving and a really obvious freeway sign read Sacramento with a big arrow underneath it- the jig was up!  We both laughed at the end city but knew we were in for a really fun 24 hours.

We happened upon the State Capitol building which is really so beautiful and grand.  It was decorated for Christmas and so pretty.  We then ventured over a few blocks and checked into our hotel and Damien was so surprised!  I night away from the kids.  Happy Early Birthday!  I then told him about how I had purchased tickets to see Joel McHale and he was so excited!  Damien is a HUGE fan of the television show Community so this was big!  The day was wonderful.  We explored all around town and had lunch in Old Town Sacramento.  I'd like to report that we did so many amazing things that day- but for the most part, we just enjoyed each one another and had fun walking around town and worrying only about ourselves (not the kids).

Dinner was great.  We ate at a cute little Italian restaurant one block away from the show.  After dinner, we ventured to the Civic Auditorium and took our seats.  So, here is the truth.  The show was fun and amusing.  Both Damien and I (although we had fun) agree that perhaps Joel McHale should stick to sitcoms and hang up his comedic shoes.  He talked a lot about celebrities and especially Ryan Seacrest (heard it all before) and then talked about things that just didn't make us laugh.  Amused?  Yes.  Laughing . . . not so much.  And no mention of Community!  But- you gotta try new things to find out if they're good and Joel McHale the comedian just didn't do it for us.  BUT- don't you worry!  We had a great rest of the night and relished the opportunity to reconnect and have fun!

I know Damien loved his surprise.  It makes me realize that we need to do this more.  I love my kids so much but when I am alone with Damien- I remember the reasons why we got married and even decided to have kids in the first place!  Sacramento was wonderful and was a great host of a city.  We would definitely go back again.