Delta Quirk

During the 1960s I spent five years in Stockton, Calif., hardly the garden spot of the Western world. Because spending weekends in town was something to be avoided at all costs, I became a bit of an expert on places in the area that one could escape to. Among the closest and most interesting was the Sacramento River Delta, an eccentric historic area crisscrossed by waterways.

Recently I had the urge to trip down memory lane and thought my husband, Geoffrey, would enjoy a relaxing, stress-free weekend meandering along the peaceful levees of the Sacramento River, poking into offbeat establishments and quirky little towns that seem caught in a 1950s time warp.

We flew into Sacramento from Los Angeles on a Saturday, picked up a rental car and headed south about 40 miles. It was after we turned off Interstate 5 onto California 160, crossed a bridge over the Sacramento River and started down E9 along the banks of the river that it happened: deja vu. This was the delta just as I saw it more than 30 years ago. The same winding two-lane levee roads, the same flat, brown river, the same tabletop terrain, the same farmhouses and cottages tucked among rampaging foliage and drooping trees, and the same drowsy Southern drawl feeling.

I felt my big city edge begin to evaporate as we slipped from E9 back to California 160 toward the town of Ryde, population 60. Ryde boasts a post office, an art gallery, a water tower and the Ryde Hotel, which has a colorful past. Built in 1927, it was a speak-easy and casino during Prohibition, and in its heyday attracted celebrities of all types, from Al Jolson to President Hoover. Recently renovated in Art Deco style, the Mediterranean pink hotel sits on California 160, across from the river.

We lugged our (fortunately for us) modest amount of luggage up two flights of stairs. Service at the hotel was casual, with no bellhops or room service, and our room was small but attractively decorated in muted grays and pinks. We were lucky that the temperatures that August day, which could have been in the 90s, were only in the 70s, because the only “air-conditioning” came from a ceiling fan.

Friends from San Francisco met us for dinner at one of the delta’s oddest eateries, Al’s Place. Al’s, an American-Italian eatery, is housed in one of the rickety wood buildings that line the main street of the originally all-Chinese settlement of Locke. A fixture for 58 years, it’s about as far from trendy--or Chinese--as you can get.

The towering ceiling of the dark and cavernous bar is studded with hundreds of dollar bills, flipped up there by past patrons. Dusty memorabilia, including a stuffed ostrich, are everywhere, and the clientele runs the gamut from families to dubious-looking biker types.

The dining room has bare wood plank and linoleum floors and washed-out (circa 1955) Asian-themed wallpaper. But what a relief it was to hear the restaurant’s only waitress shout to the newcomers in the room, “So who was here first?” instead of the usual “Hi, I’m Brinkley and I’ll be your server for tonight.”

The menu is simplicity itself: New York steak (small), New York steak (large), chicken and spaghetti. Salads of iceberg lettuce came topped with that orange-colored French dressing they served in the ‘50s. Our perfectly cooked steaks arrived with family-size plates of french fries and spaghetti.

The next morning Geoffrey and I set out to explore. Our first stop was the town of Isleton, six miles south of Ryde. Isleton’s historic Chinatown is struggling, and many of the decrepit storefronts are empty, but there was some action at Delta Guitar. Inside the brightly colored exterior, a couple of local musicians were having an impromptu jam session.

We continued south on California 160 about 15 miles, turned right on California 12 and drove over a bridge into Rio Vista. The largest town along this part of the delta, it is still a sleepy place with only a few thousand residents.

From Rio Vista, we followed the signs to the Ryer Island Ferry. Actually we crossed the river in our car on two ferries, the first a free-running, diesel-powered one that carried us over Cache Slough. Then we caught the J-Mack, a cable-guided ferry that runs whenever you show up during the day, except at lunch hour. It took us across Steamboat Slough, and, on firm land again, we headed toward Grand Island Mansion, where we had reservations for brunch.

This was about as far from Al’s Place as you could get. The 58-room mansion, built in 1917, is beautifully restored and has everything from a one-lane bowling alley to a ballroom. Brunch was served in a large, airy dining room by tuxedo-clad waiters. Instead of “eating” steak (small), we “dined” on excellent “fresh sea bass encrusted in macadamia bread crumb seasoning topped with a coconut cream sauce.”

After brunch we drove back to Locke to visit the Dai Loy Museum. Locke is the only survivor among California’s 200 all-Chinese settlements. It was developed in 1915, after the Chinatown in neighboring Walnut Grove burned to the ground. Suddenly scores of Chinese laborers--who had been brought to the delta to build the levees that keep the river’s annual flooding at bay--and their families were homeless. Because the Chinese were not allowed to own property at the time, a local rancher, George Locke, rented them land. Building began at once, and Locke sprang up almost overnight. Most of the buildings rented for $7.50 a month, a price that remained constant for 50 years.

At its height Locke boasted a population of 400, and businesses included everything from a dental office to a theater. Today all that remains are ramshackle buildings, a few curio shops and a sense of the ghostly past.

The Dai Loy was the last of the town’s gambling halls, now turned into a museum. Tables are set up with games of chance, just as they would have been when laborers poured in after long, backbreaking days on the levees. Standing in the dimly lighted, crudely planked, jade-green room, I could almost hear the voices and smell the smoke of those long-gone gamblers.

We had our final meal of the weekend at another traditional delta establishment, Giusti’s. The ceiling of Giusti’s bar is covered with baseball hats. The food is basic old-time Italian with fresh fish specials, the dining room is dark and the decor is forgettable.

The next morning, as we drove along yet another winding levee road on our way to the Sacramento airport, I felt positively languid. Geoffrey admitted that he was feeling pretty tranquil too. Maybe it’s the placid river, the sleepy towns or the fact that the whole area seems to be stuck in the Eisenhower era. But whatever the reason, we were headed home rested.

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Budget for Two

Round-trip flight, LAX to Sacramento: 224.00

Ryde Hotel, 2 nights: 217.00

Rental car, 2 days: 50.00

Gas: 20.00

Steak dinner, Al’s Place: 43.00

Champagne brunch, Grand Mansion: 50.00

Dinner, Giusti’s: 49.00

FINAL TAB: $653.00

Ryde Hotel, P.O. Box 43, Ryde, CA 95680; telephone (916) 776-1318. California Delta Chambers & Visitors Bureau, P.O. Box 6, Isleton, CA 95641; tel. (916) 777- 5007, fax (916) 777-2230, Internet https://www.californiadelta.org.