Sacramento: December 2007

Hello to all you new Daily Explorer readers and a warm welcome back to all you regulars from me, Nick Elandimer. This is our last issue for this year and, as a Chritsmas gift for our readers, we have asked Ray to compile a selection of his favourite clips from YouTube in 2007. Don't forget to take a look at his Christmas Video Special 2007 - we have all seen them at The Daily Explorer office and they are really worth watching!

You may recall in the last episode of our 'California Dreaming' two part special that I caught up with Ray on his arrival in the Golden State and got the low down on a two day film school he attended, his first Thanksgiving dinner with an American family and the full story about the friends he hooked up with in the Bay area.

Above: A couple of weeks ago, Ray crossed the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco Bay, captured in this photograph by Adrian Hollister, who is one of Ray's clients and a brilliant landscape photographer. Ray had a wonderful time in the Bay Area recently - if you missed our last issue, you can read it now at California Dreaming (Part One)

For readers who have not seen Part One, California is located in the western Pacific region of the United States and is the most populous stateinAmerica. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, and Arizona to the southeast in the USA, as well as BajaCalifornian Mexico to the south. California's capital city is Sacramento.

Above: Map showing Sacramento (circled) which is the capital city of the State of California and has Arnold Schwarzenegger as its Governor

Curious about Ray's visit to Sacramento, I called him to find out more about what made him decide to go there. "Well its very simple Nick" was his instant reply. "One of my best friends, Nic Meredith, lives there and I am going to stay with him and his wife - they are both such gorgeous people, I cannot wait to see them" said our very excited traveller.

Above: Nic Meredith (circled in red, left centre) is one of Ray's best friends and lives near Sacramento in a small town called Penryn with his wife Regina. This picture of him was taken in 1983 when he and Ray worked for a company called Programmes in London and it features quite a few Daily Explorer readers. Michael Banks, who Ray stayed with in San Francisco is also in the photograph (circled in blue, top right)

The story of how Nic and Regina met is the stuff of legend. "Nic and I have known each other for over 20 years" said Ray. "In 2001, Nic returned to the UK after several years of living in Canada and America and came and stayed for a few months at my house. At that time, I was married and running a successful business in London and Nic would look at me with envy as if my life was 'perfect'. Within months of his return, my marriage had come to an end and I made a decision to dismantle the company we had built, and suddenly things did not look the same any more" recalled Ray.

In December of 2003, amidst this turmoil and change, Ray decided to take a one month break from it all in the USA and asked Nic to go with him. "Looking back, the bizarre thing is If I had not been getting divorced, Nic would never have come with me on the trip" said Ray, "and if he had not been with me on the trip, he would never have met Regina. It always amazes me how these things happen" added our traveller.

Above: Nic and Ray take a road trip around the United States in late 2003. For Ray (right), it was a time when everything familiar was coming to an end and for Nic (left), a time for everything new to begin....

During their four week trip, Ray and Nic decided to visit Sedona, in northern Arizona. "We knew a guy called Paul from England who had moved there some years ago and decided we would try and find him" recalled Ray. "We drove into town and started asking around and found him pretty fast, much to our surprise" added Ray. "The next day, Paul introduced Nic and me to Regina, and there was an instant spark between the her and Nic" he told me.

"We only met Regina for about 15 minutes that day and I could tell that Nic really liked her, although they were both in long term relationships at the time so I do not think either of them expected anything to happen" recalled Ray. "We returned to London after a few days and Nic continued to stay at my house. Then, about five months later, we got an unexpected phone call from Regina to let us know she was coming to England" added our traveller.

Above: Ray with Regina in London during her visit in the summer of 2004

Ray invited Regina to stay at his house for a couple of days and it was during this time that the connection Nic and her had made in Sedona (a few months earlier) was fully realised. "Nic was very nervous and excited about her arriving and I could tell that he really wanted to see her" said Ray. "By this time, both Regina and Nic were single so there was the possibility that something could happen. As they say, the rest is history and Nic eventually left England in September 2004 to join Regina in Sedona. They were married in February 2005" added Ray.

Above: Nic and Regina at their beautiful wedding in their home in Sedona, Arizona in February 2005. For any readers who used to work at Programmes with Nic and Ray, the chap in the white suit (left) is Paul Curtis - "It was so great to see Paul after 15 years and we gave him quite a shock when we turned up un-announced. Had we not found him, Nic would never have met Regina" said Ray

Below: Many of Nic's family and friends were unable to attend their wedding in Sedona, so the newly-weds flew over to England for a special celebration party in Winchester in October 2005 - "Nic is one of the few friends I have who has invited me to both of his weddings, to the same person!" joked Ray

Since Ray last visited them two years ago, Nic and Regina have moved from Sedona to Penryn - a small town near Sacramento, in northern California. "Penryn is similar in size to a small English village" said Ray. Their property is on five acres of land and they have their own orchard with mandarin orange trees. The fruit tastes lovely!" he told me. "Although they enjoyed living in Sedona and loved the 'community' feel of the place, Sacramento is a better location for them and their business and they appear to have settled into their home which they moved into a few months ago" observed Ray.

Above: Regina looks out over the balcony of her home in Penryn as Ray arrives

Below: The countryside around Penryn looks much the same as many rural villages all around the world, but the road sign near Nic and Regina's house is a definite giveaway that this is America!

So, what is Nic and Regina's online business about? I asked Ray to explain it to me. "Before they met, they had both worked in the film and TV business - Regina had been an established presenter on American TV for many years and Nic had produced an award winning TV show in Canada called "Metro Cafe". Nic had seen that the future of broadcasting was moving towards the Internet and demand would be driven by viewers, whilst Regina had a vision to make programmes that would enable people to become more conscious about issues affecting their health and well-being and the quailty of life on our planet" explained Ray.

"Together, they decided to create the Conscious Media Network - a media channel on the Internet to provide high quality programming for people interested in hearing from the greatest thinkers of our time. They have interviewed hundreds of them, discussing issues and topics like the Illuminati, HAARP, spiritual healing, quantum physics, medical breakthrough, unexplained phenomena and anything and everything alternative, metaphysical and spiritual" explained Ray.

Above: Nic (left) and Regina (centre) travel all over America interviewing leading thinkers about important issues in our world today. They allowed Ray to sit and watch during his visit as they questioned Steven Lewis (right) during an interview in their orchard, which will be available for veiwing on their web site in the new year

Below: They have a fully equipped studio at home where they do much of the filming and editing of the programming on their web site. "They are very professional" said Ray. Here, Nic is managing the shoot as Regina records the personal greeting that visitors receive when they go to the site - if you would like to see it, CLICK HERE

I decided to contact Nic, who is known as Scott Meredith in the USA, to ask him why they had decided to create the Conscious Media Network. "This project should never have really needed to happen, if the media was in integrity" said Scott. "Regina and I wanted to provide the public with 'need to know' information, the kind that would never be on TV and isn't getting out in the mainstream press because it doesn't support the commercial interests of 'the few' and keeps 'the masses' safely ignorant and boxed in" he told me. "Information is power and conscious citizens are harder to control" added Scott.

Ray was obviously very impressed with their achievements in the last couple of years. "What they have done, with limited resources, is nothing short of miraculous" remarked Ray. "They have built the web site themselves, do their own pre and post production and research for the interviews and manage the site, which is now attracting a staggering 100,000 visitors every month!" he told me. "There is such a clear demand for this kind of information and I have been fascinated by a lot of the interviews I have watched myself. I strongly recommend Daily Explorer readers take a while to have a look at the Conscious Media Network (CMN) site for themselves" said Ray.

Above: Many fascinating people have been interviewed by CMN, so Daily Explorer readers are very likely to find something that will make you wonder. Whatever your interest, there is material that is inspiring and engaging and some that will cause you to 'question everything'. All the interviews are available for immediate viewing and are totally free. There is a brilliant animated video trailer for the CMN site. To view it, CLICK HERE

So what had Ray managed to find out about the city of Sacramento since his arrival? "Well Nick, it is the capital of the State of California, located in the expansive Central Valley and is the seventh most populous city in the Golden State with a 2007 estimated population of 468,000" said our well informed visitor. "Sacramento is the core cultural and economiccentreofitsfour-countymetropolitan area (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo counties) with a combined population of over two million. And Greater Sacramento has been cited as one of the five "most livable" regions in America,with thecitycitedbyTimemagazine as America's most integrated" added Ray.

Above: The city of Sacramento, viewed from the Riverwalk

Sacramento became a city due to the efforts of John Sutter, a Swiss immigrant, and James W. Marshall. "I discovered that Sacramento grew faster due to the protection of Sutter's Fort, which was established in 1839" Ray told me. "During the California Gold Rush, Sacramento was a major distribution point, a commercial and agricultural centre, and a terminus for wagon trains, stagecoaches, riverboats, the telegraph, the Pony Express, and the First Transcontinental Railroad" added Ray.

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Above: Begun in 1860 to be reminiscent of the United States Capitol in Washington D.C., the classical Revival style California State Capitol was completed in 1874 and is one of thehighlightsforvisitorstothecity

Typical of California informality, Sacramento is referred to by many nicknames. "The most common names are Capital City, River City (after the Sacramento River and American River), and the City of Trees" said Ray. "The nicknames most used by those living in Sacramento are Sac, Sactown, Sacto and (fondly) Saca-pimientos, Saca-tomatoes, and Sacra-hogan. The area where Sacramento was originally developed isstillinexistenceasatourist venue, and is simply named Old Sacramento, or Old Sac" added our traveller.

Above: Looking up at the dome inside the State Capitol Building

Below: Nic talks to one of the guides (background) in the beautiful marble hallway underneath the dome

The Governor of California is the highest executive authority in the state government. Their responsibilities include making annual "State of the State" addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced. The position was created in 1849, before California became a state. Previously, there had been six American military governors and numerous Mexican governors when California was part of the United Mexican States.

Above: Unbelievable but true! Arnold Schwarzenegger, an Austrian movie star, is the Governor of California

The current governor is Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, who was elected on October 7, 2003 to complete recalled Democratic Governor Gray Davis's term, and re-elected on November 7, 2006, defeating California State Treasurer Phil Angelides of the Democratic Party. His second term is scheduled to last until January 3, 2011. Hoping to shakehandswith'Arnie',RayandNic made their way towards his heavily guarded office. "Unfortunately for us, he had popped out, but he left a note saying "I'll be back" joked Ray.

Above: The corridor which leads to the Governor of California's office

Below: The heavily guarded area where Arnold Schwarzenegger does his official work

Above: Arnold Schwarzenegger with US President George W. Bush in 2003 (left) and Ronald Reagan (right), who was the 33rd Governor from 1967–1975 and who went on to become the 40th President of the United States from 1981–1989 - "Could history repeat itself?" wonders Ray

Below: Whilst in the city of Sacramento, Ray and Nic also visited the memorial to all of the soldiers from California who died in the Vietnam War (left) and the original Tower Theatre (right), which was the headquarters of Tower Records for many years before the company went bust in December 2006

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One weekend duirng Ray's stay, his friend Michelle travelled up from San Francisco to join him and the Meredith family and was invited to a preview of a performance from a local band called "Diamond Eyes", a Neil Diamond tribute band hoping to break into the Las Vegas entertainment scene. "She is a big fan of a baseball team called the Boston Red Sox" said Ray. "They have adopted the song "Sweet Caroline" as one of their anthems, so Michelle was quite enthusiastic about going to the gig, hoping that they might include this particular song" recalled Ray.

Above: Ray and Boston Red Sox fan Michelle out and about in Sacramento, as they get ready to see the live performance of Neil Diamond tribute band "Diamond Eyes"

Below: The lead vocalist Curt gave everyone his best performance as Neil Diamond - "They have got some work to do to really polish the act but the potential is there" said Ray. You judge for yourself - if you would like to listen to samples of their songs, CLICK HERE

As Regina grew up in Sacramento, she has a lot of family living in and around the city. "She has one sister called Denise, who I met at the wedding in Sedona and again in England in late 2005. Denise has a daughter called Kelly, who has just 'passed the bar' and quailifed as an Attorney" said Ray. "I went with everyone to a special ceremony at the Sacramento Courthouse, to watch as Kelly was sworn in by a Judge and formally completed a gruelling, six year journey to be allowed to practise law" explained Ray.

The courthouse was packed as Kelly's family and friends proudly looked on and one by one, people were invited to step forward and say something directly to her. "I sat and watched from the seats where the jury normally sit - hopefully it will be my only appearance in a court room for a very long time" mused our traveller.

Above: In the Sacramento Courthouse for Kelly's official taking of the Oath. Regina (standing) stepped up to congratulate her niece (sitting to her left in black) whilst everyone looked on in admiration of her tremendous achievement. Kelly's proud Mum, Denise, is sitting two seats away on her left

Below: The judge invites Kelly to take her Oath 

Ironically, our traveller found himself on his way to prison shortly after Kelly's ceremony at the Courthouse, but as a visitor rather than an inmate! "Even though I had been to Alcatraz many years ago, I wanted to see it again and I discovered that my friend Michelle, who has lived in San Francisco for five years, had never been there" recalled Ray. "So I drove back to San Francisco one weekend so we could both make the trip out to the island and take a look" he told me.

Above: For such a cosmopolitan area, San Francisco has it's fair share of prisons. San Quentin, to the north of the city is the oldest prison in California and has the State's Death Row for males as well as its only gas chamber - "I had always wanted to take a look as I knew that Johnny Cash played a live concert there for the prison inmates in 1969" said Ray ......

Below: ..... and then there is the legendary Alcatraz, perhaps one of the most famous prisons in the world, seen here from the city (on the small island in the bay), with one of San Francisco's famous Cable Cars in the foreground

Alcatraz Island (sometimes informally referred to as simply Alcatraz or by its pop-culture name, The Rock) is a small island located in the middle of San Francisco Bay. It served as a lighthouse, then a military fortification, then a military prison followedbyafederalprisonuntil1963, when it became a national recreation area. Today, the island is a historic site supervised by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and is open to tours.

Above: Alcatraz Island - visitors can reach the island by ferry from Pier 33, near Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. It was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1986

Below: The island as it was in 1895 (left) and the boat service that takes visitors ot the island today (right)

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I asked Ray to tell me more about the island and what he had discovered over there. "Most people know that Alcatraz was once a world-famous federal penitentiary, but the island’s history before and after the penitentiary era is less well known. For example, few realise that it was also the site of the first American lighthouse on the West Coast and that the island served as a huge harbour defense fort during the Civil War" said our well informed visitor.

Above: The Cellhouse has been preserved (left) for all to see. There were about 300 cells in total for America's most incorrigible and dangerous criminals (right)

Below: One of the prison cells in B Block, which was considered part of the 'general prison population' (left). Michelle (right) listens intently to the audio commentary which is provided for visitors and really helps bring the place to life

Alcatraz was designed to serve as America’s first maximum security, minimum privilege penitentiary, what is today referred to as a “super max” institution. "From 1934 to 1963, Alcatraz housed some of America’s most notorious offenders, escape artists, gang leaders and general trouble makers" Ray told me. "They were held under the most secure and regimented conditions in the virtually escape-proof environment. Tothemensent  there, Alcatraz was the end of the line" added Ray.

Above: Ray stands in one of the cells and smiles - "Whenever I remember that I have my freedom, which is the most important thing to me, it always makes me happy"

Below: The exercise yard outside the cellhouse - at Alcatraz, a prisoner had four rights: food, clothing, shelter, and medical care. Everything else was a privilege that had to be earned

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Alcatraz was sometimes called the “prison within the prison system”, since the only inmates sent there were transferred from other federal prisons. "Courts could not sentence anyone to Alcatraz" said Ray. "Instead, the Rock was where the Bureau of Prisons sent its most troublesome prisoners until it was decided they could be safely returned to a lower-security institution. Their average stay was five years" he told me.

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Above and below: Prisoners could see the city of San Francisco from the island and on days when the wind was blowing in their direction, they could also hear the sounds of people enjoying themselves, which really frustrated them

During the period the Federal penitentiary operated, 36 prisoners were involved in 14 separate escape attempts. Twenty-three men were caught, six were shot and killed, and two drowned. "Two of the men who were caught were later executed in the gas chamber at the California State Prison at San Quentin for their role in the death of a correctional officer during the famous May 2-4, 1946, "Battle of Alcatraz" escape attempt" Ray told me.

Whether or not anyone succeeded in escaping from Alcatraz depends on the definition of "successful escape." Is it getting out of the cellhouse, reaching the water, making it to land, or reaching land and not getting caught? Officially, no one ever succeeded in escaping from Alcatraz, although to this day there are five prisoners listed as "missing and presumed drowned".

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Above: The most famous escape attempt took place on June 11, 1962. Frank Morris (left) and brothers John and ClarenceAnglin,disappeared from their cells in one of the most intricate escapes ever devised. Their story was popularized in the motion picture "Escape from Alcatraz" with Clint Eastwood (centre) playing the role of Frank Morris. Other famous prisoners held in Alcatraz included Robert 'The Birdman' Stroud and Al Capone (right)

When Frank Morris and John & Clarence Anglin escaped, they chiselled away the moisture-damaged concrete from around the air vents in their cells, leading to an unguarded three foot wide utility corridor. "They used tools such as a metal spoon soldered with silver from a dime and an electric drill improvised from a stolen vacuum cleaner motor" said Ray. "The noise was disguised by accordians played during music hour, and their progress was concealed by false walls which, in the dark recesses of the cells, fooled the guards. The escape route then led up through a fan vent; the fan and motor had been removed and replaced with a steel grille, leaving a shaft large enough for a prisoner to climb through" he told me.

"The escapees also stole several raincoats to use as a raft for the trip to the mainland. Leaving papier-mâché dummies in their cells, the prisoners are estimated to have entered San Francisco Bay at 10pm. Articles belonging to the prisoners (including plywood paddles and parts of the raincoat raft) were located on nearby Angel Island, and the official report on the escape saystheprisonersdrownedwhiletrying to reach the mainland in the cold waters of the bay" recalled our well informed traveller.

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Above: If you would like to see a short video clip with some original newsreel footage of the escape, CLICK HERE. (Editors Note: Don't forget to take a look at the ten video clips in Ray's Christmas Video Special 2007 - we have all seen them at The Daily Explorer office and they are really worth watching!)

When did the prison close? "In early 1963" said Ray. "Attorney General Robert Kennedy ordered the closing of Alcatraz Penitentiary citing increasing maintenance and operational costs. For any readers who are interested, there is loads more information about Alcatraz on the official Bureau of Prisons web site" advised Ray.

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Above: The last convicts were removed from Alcatraz on March 21, 1963. When the island closed, it was replaced by a new maximum-security federal prison in Marion, Illinois

With only a couple of days left before Christmas, there was one thing left on Ray's wish list of things to do back in Sacramento. "Apart from my Christmas shopping, I really wanted to take a trip in Nic and Regina's RV (that's a recreational vehicle, or motor home for those who don't know) and the perfect opportunity presented itself" said Ray. "They were invited to an evening gathering about forty miles north in Grass Valley, to sing Christmas Carols and theydecidedtotravelupinthe RV so that they could sleep in it overnight" explained Ray. "They invited me and a couple of others to go with, so the five of us set off for a little 'road-trip' adventure" he told me.

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Above: Nic and Regina's RV - "It is amazing" said Ray, "and like a small studio apartment inside, with proper kitchen, shower and toilet, separate double bedroom and TV and DVD player" said our excited adventurer

Below: Nic is very happy at the wheel of his mobile home, which he and Regina use regularly when they travel to interview people for their web site

Regina had also invited her son Stuart and best friend Anna, an English woman living in Sacramento to come along to the carol singing. "The three of us packed our sleeping bags and blankets and took lots of extra clothing as we had been warned that it was going to be cold in the woods where we would be staying" recalled Ray. "Luckily for us, it was quite mild and Nic also put the heating on inside the RV so that we were comfortable" he told me.

Above: Anna (left) and Stuart (top) asleep in the RV - inside, there is as much room as you would find in a small apartment

Below: The view outside the RV when Ray woke up - "It was so great to be back in nature" said Ray

Above: For Ray, a night in an RV is relative luxury compared to some of the places he has slept in on his travels in the last two years - "The carol singing was not as great as we had all expected, but the rest of the trip was fabulous. It reminded me of my school field trips!" said Ray

Below: Nevada City - Ray and the gang look for a place that serves breakfast while Nic makes sure of his appearance in The Daily Explorer!

Above: Regina and Anna (right) patiently wait for breakfast in the South Pine Cafe

Below: Nic fools around in the cafe and makes everyone laugh with his antics!

When I heard about the trip afterwards, it sounded like Ray and Nic had a lot of fun. "Nic has a sense of humour just like mine and is so good as a 'bantering' partner - we can make each other laugh for ages" said Ray. "One evening, on our way into town, we started a conversation in the car in which each person had to describe a job they once had, with a double meaning so it would be funny. For example, I might say "I used to manage a database of organ donors, but my heart wasn't in it", or "my short sighted friend was offered a job in a fairground, but he couldn't see the attraction" and so on. We managed to keep going for about three hours, much to the amusement of the people we were with" recalled Ray.

Above: Stuart (left) and his girlfriend Stephanie (right) decorate the tree at home in Penryn in preparation for Christmas - "it is a great time of year, and a good time to look back and give thanks for everything" said Ray

With Christmas rapidly approaching and preparations at the house underway, I asked Ray if he has been happy with 2007 and everything that has happened. "It has been a brilliant year for me, Nick" he told me. "It started in Australia, then New Zealand and I have also visited the Carribean, Spain, Morrocco and now the United States. Throughout the year, I have had the company of great friends and have also enjoyed my small but growing re-entry into the business world. I am a very lucky guy!" said our appreciative traveller.

Above: It's Christmas! The lights are on the tree and the food is laid out ready on the table for a small group of neighbours that Nic and Regina have invited round

Below: Ray's friend Nic stands by the fireplace, ready to welcome his guests - "he is a great host and an even better friend" said Ray. "I am very proud of him and inspired by what he and Regina are doing" he added

Finally, I wanted to ask Ray about his plans. "I am going to spend Christmas week in Long Island, New York with Michelle's family and then I am coming back to Sacramento to stay with Nic and Regina until the end of January, when I have to leave as my visa expires" he explained. "When I depart, I am going to visit the UK initially and then decide from there" he told me. I am sure we will be hearing more about what Ray will be up to in the next issue of The Daily Explorer!

Above: Ray's friend Michelle - he is spending Christmas on Long Island, New York with her and her family - "I think it is going to be pretty cold in that part of the world" said Ray

Above: Regina, Nic and Ray at the Wild Chicken Cafe in Loomis, near their house - "I must get on the Internet and send all my last minute information and photographs to Nick Elandimer at The Daily Explorer" says Ray

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