This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Record breaking warmth beckons trips

Weather is too beautiful to stay inside

Record high temperatures for February are helping folks get out and enjoy the surroundings almost to a fault. Reported traffic jams littered several spots of the Sacramento area as families headed out to numerous museum locations to take advantage of the 13th Annual Sacramento Free Museum Day.

Was it because admission was offered free at the 26 different sites including the Sacramento Zoo and the California Train Museum in Old Sacramento or was it because it was just plain beautiful outside?

People didn’t just head to the museums though as the traffic steadily crawled just outside Dixon on I-80 in both directions. A small band of Dixonites headed to Sacramento for a mid-year conference for Kiwanis members. It was held at the DoubleTree Hotel and there were more than 600 in attendance.

Find out what's happening in Dixonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

I’m happy to report that the workshops were very informative and helpful to pursue the endeavor of helping raise funds in our community for children and youth. But our keynote speaker, Bo Schaffer, a 50-year Kiwanis veteran made the day. Nothing like a very wise, older gentleman who lost his wife just a few years ago to have all his priorities straight—and be able to share them with a sense of humor.

We were practically rolling in the isles with his uplifting speech on why we need to stop complaining. This big guy had a tone of realism about waking up in American in relation to the rest of the world and why people need to be appreciative and working harder than ever to help others. He said he never knew ice cream melted until he was 35. He also said Americans account for just one-fifth of the world’s population and gave numerous examples of what the other 95 percent live like. It was easy to be motivated to stop complaining after hearing him.

Find out what's happening in Dixonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

My husband and son took off to Mount Vaca on a 7-mile round trip hike and used their cell phone to call me from the top saying they could see what they thought was the Suisun Bay and maybe even San Pablo Bay. According to their map, it is the highest point in Solano County at 2,819 feet. That evening, it was easy to be especially appreciative of healthy family, a good dinner, and a relaxed evening in our hometown. There's more good news: that warm weather trend is to last a few more days.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Dixon