Sacramento Tourist Attractions

The Hyatt Regency in Downtown Sacramento opened its doors for the first time 25 years ago, and since then, it has maintained a AAA Four-Diamond rating. Just steps from the Sacramento Convention Center, the Hyatt is centrally located for meeting planners and tourists alike, who can walk to the major Sacramento tourist attractions from its front door.

To celebrate 25 years in business, the Hyatt recently gave away 25 rooms for $25 per night to people who had stayed at the hotel 25 years ago. Soon, the Hyatt will announce another promotion – giving $25 hotel rooms to couples who had their wedding receptions on the grounds. For more information on that, follow the hotel’s Facebook page.

Two of the people who stayed at the Hyatt in its opening year were Dennis and Kathryn Raymond, who spent their first night as a married couple in the then-new Hyatt.

In the last 25 years, Kathryn, an artist who painted with others during the opening of the Crocker Art Museum’s new wing in 2010, said she has been to several charity events at the hotel.

Dennis, an executive with F&M Bank, said the layout is similar, but the Hyatt has been upgraded over the years to maintain a fresh and inviting look.

The Raymonds in the lobby of the Hyatt in 2013.

But what does the couple remember most about the hotel from their first stay?

“Room service,” Kathryn said with a laugh. “We were starving after our wedding reception, because we barely got to eat. No one tells you beforehand, but you spend all your time socializing and then afterward you realize how hungry you are.”

Dennis said he remembers eating big portions of whatever sounded good on the menu, including breaded cheese sticks and spaghetti.

“It was really good, and the service was excellent,” he said.

As newlyweds, the Raymonds – who lived in Sacramento – took advantage of a lower rate for local residents before heading off to their honeymoon on the Northern California coast in Mendocino.

“We were excited, because we’d never really felt so grown-up before, and here we were as a married couple staying in the nicest and newest hotel in the city,” Dennis said.

Today, the Hyatt Regency Sacramento, located at 1209 L St., remains one of the city’s flagship hotels, situated on the recently revitalized downtown section of K Street, it is just feet from the Sacramento Convention Center and overlooks the Capitol and Capitol Park.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Our Hometown Tourists visited the California Automobile Museum on their most recent excursion.  The following blog includes accounts by Janet Lewis and Carol Dabrowiak with photos by Cynthia Gibbs detailing their visit to this Sacramento attraction.  When you stay at a participating Sacramento Gold Card hotel, remember to ask for your FREE Sacramento Gold Card.  The California Automobile Museum offers two-for-one adult admission and a 10 percent discount in gift shop with your Sacramento Gold Card. THe California Automobile Museum is located at 2200 Front St. near Old Sacramento.

Janet Lewis

Did you know that there were electric cars as early as 1899?  One version was steered with a rudder!  Did you know that Dodge vehicles are the inventions of the Dodge brothers?  That the earliest automobiles got about 40 horsepower from a 400-cubic-inch engine - a ratio of 10:1?  And that now we have more like 1:1?  It can all be found at this Sacramento attraction located a short distance from downtown Sacramento hotels, restaurants and other museums.

From the quadricycle to horseless carriages (literally), from touring cars to the modern age, it's all pretty fascinating when you can hear the stories from people who know what they are talking about. 

Cindy, Carol, and I really lucked out to receive a docent-led tour on our recent visit to the California Auto Museum.  Don W's obvious passion and enjoyment of autos and auto history definitely ignited my interest and made me want to pause and actually try to figure out how the energy gets from the engine to the wheels, as well as the mechanical principles used to stop the early autos. 

It was fun to climb in the historic old truck on display and try out the foot pedals inside and the hand crank on the front (watch out for your thumbs).  Of course brightly colored, stylish vehicles caught my eye, especially the 1920s yellow-and-green roadster all trimmed out in fancy brass.  I could easily imagine Carol, Cindy and myself gliding up to the Grand Island mansion on a summer night in our fancy flapper getup for a swanky party!  Then there is the sparkly golden car and the dark turquoise vintage T-Bird, each vehicle cooler than the last, until I fell in love -- with the Edsel! 

The California Automobile Museum had several choice Edsel examples on display the day we visited.  The red-and-black sedan turned my head, but my favorite is the light turquoise woody Edsel station wagon (surf city here I come).  We even saw a Mercedes that strongly resembled Cindy's first car.  And Carol was intrigued with the Delorean and its wing-like doors.   

There is so much to see if you can find a way to know what you are looking at.  A docent-led tour is definitely the way to go!  The California Auto Museum is a big place - 70,000 square feet.  Plans and fundraising are under way for a new museum building at the same location.  You can help:  Go see the amazing exhibits at the California Automobile Museum. 

Carol Dabrowiak

If you need to hold an event or arrange a group tour, why not have it at the California Automobile Museum in Sacramento?  This would be a really fun and interesting place to have a business meeting, reception or a group of tourists for a visit.  The museum is located near Downtown Sacramento, close to many hotels and other Sacramento attractions. It has a stage and sound system where a band can perform or you can conduct a training session. Staff can set up tables for banquets, parties, wine tasting and more. The best part would be the chance to tour the museum and learn the history of the American automobile. But you don't need to be invited to an event to visit the exhibits.

The museum is housed in a large warehouse along the Sacramento River near Downtown Sacramento. It doesn't look very fancy on the outside, but it is ideal for the display of automobiles. It has vintage cars from every decade since the first car was built in the late 1800s. The early vehicles were horseless carriages. They used buckboard seats and wheels with wooden spokes. There were no tops or headlights, and you had to crank them to start the motor.

Our docent, Don, told us facts about the cars on display. He quickly realized that Janet, Cindy and I were not so interested in the evolution of carburetors or transmissions, so he told us stories about Henry Ford and how he built his empire.  Ford didn't invent the automobile, he invented the automobile industry. He wanted everyone to be able to afford a car, so he constantly looked for ways to bring down costs. He used assembly line mass production and set up dealer franchises around the country.  By 1916, Model T sales reached 472,000 vehicles at a cost of $360 each.  Originally the cars had steering wheels on the left, but Mrs. Ford wanted to exit the vehicle on the right side so she could step onto the sidewalk. So the steering wheel was moved to the left side of the car.

We learned that a lot of the cars are on loan to the museum. The owners can come by and borrow them back if they want to go to rallies or auto shows. Most of the cars, even the really old ones, are still drivable. The cars are sometimes used for parades, weddings and processions.

The California Automobile Museum encourages school field trips. It has hands-on activities geared to every age group. One of the activities recreates an assembly line where students put together a Model T cardboard car. There were students working on a project when we were there.  This would be a great venue for Sacramento student tours.

The day we visited the museum, we saw vintage cars, racecars, alternative fuel cars and the blue Plymouth that Gov. Jerry Brown famously drove in his first term of office. There were also special exhibits highlighting off-road vehicles and automobiles from 1968. You realize that Americans have a serious love affair with their cars. And I mean that in a good way. Stop by for a visit.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Our Hometown Tourists visited the California State Indian Museum on their most recent excursion.  The following blog includes two accounts by Janet Lewis and Carol Dabrowiak, and photos by Cynthia Gibbs, detailing their visit to this Sacramento attraction.  When you stay at a participating Sacramento Gold Card hotel, remember to ask for your FREE Sacramento Gold Card.  The California State Indian Museum offers one free adult or child admission with the purchase of a regular-priced adult or child admission with your Sacramento Gold Card. 

Interior photography is prohibited in the museum out of respect to the Native Americans and their objects. Above interior photo courtesy California State Indian Museum.

Carol Dabrowiak

For all the years I lived in Sacramento, I never knew there was an Indian Museum. I guess that's because it sits in the shadow of Sutter's Fort. Literally in the shadow behind the fort.  It's a little-known Sacramento attraction filled with information about our history that honors the culture of the native people of California.

The first thing we saw when Janet, Cindy and I started our tour of the museum was an array of woven baskets from different tribes. When you see the baskets next to each other, you notice the differences in the weaves, fibers and colors used by each tribe. They are all unique. The function determines the shape - open and shallow for cooking or tall and urn-like for water.

You then notice the different implements that were used for hunting and farming. The museum uses a clever game to encourage visitors to learn the names and purposes of the implements. A paper with pictures of the tools asks you to name the tool by finding it in the museum exhibits and learning its use. Is it a fish trap or water vessel? A spear or clapper? Then you write the name next to the picture. You win a prize if you get them all correct!

There are pictures and exhibits depicting how Indians celebrate different events. They have special costumes with elaborate beading and feathers. They use animal hides. The headgear is ornamental and colorful. They have musical instruments to keep a rhythm and encourage dancing. They celebrate weddings, harvests and hunting.  And of course they respect and revere their elders and celebrate them.

The food supply was dependent on hunting and fishing, but they also used acorns to supplement their diet. They ground the acorns with stones to make flour, which was then used in soup or bread or sometimes a simple mush. Berries, edible plants and roots were also used when they were in season. Almost nothing was wasted. Before they cooked rabbits, they removed and tanned the hides and used them as soft diapers for the infants.

I read that this Sacramento museum opened in 1940. It is located near several downtown Sacramento hotels and other tourist attractions.  It does not look or feel dated. It honors a past generation with modern exhibits that appeal to the current generation. It is a Sacramento tourist attraction that is part of California's history, and I'm glad I finally found it and got to explore it.

Janet Lewis

Cindy, Carol and I visited the California State Indian Museum on a Thursday morning and had the place practically to ourselves, so we were able to take our time.

The core of the experience for me encompassed the language and trading maps and the basket displays by tribal groups.  It was very interesting to note the similarities and differences in basketry form and design between regions.  Baskets and other items were traded from hand to hand, ending up sometimes far away from where they were made.  For example, shells from the ocean or lowland rivers moved from west to east; obsidian from the mountains might find its way to tribes in regions far from where it originated.  This began long before paved highways or even horse-drawn wagons.

Baskets were (and for some still are) used by California’s native people in everyday life for ceremonies and celebrations, for gift giving, and for sale in the tourist trade.  Woven basketry is to California’s native tribes what clay pots are to the New Mexico tribes.  Baskets were traditionally traded or imported, depending on the tribe or region.  Native women and men made plant fiber baskets in different styles, of different materials, for different purposes.  According to the museum cards, the art and skill of basketmaking has not disappeared.  You can even get a small basketmaking kit in the gift shop.

My very favorite is the No. 9 basket jug, Paiute, for holding liquid; a twined ovoid shape with a closed end and a handle.  This basket was covered in pine pitch to keep it watertight.  I’d heard of this type of basket but had never seen one in real life before.  If there were one item from the museum that I could choose to hold in my hands, that would be the one!

Perhaps our collective favorite feature of the Museum was the “scavenger hunt” game, a bookmark-sized paper that illustrated 10 items to find and identify.  The museum staff told us that kids get a prize for filling it out completely.  Just like three big kids, Carol, Cindy and I had a lot of fun with this activity as we found out and discussed what the items were, how they were made, and how the native people used them.  This added a very nice focus and depth to our museum visit. 

Tools that the native people made and used were very intriguing to try and figure out.  We saw a wooden drill for making holes in shell beads and a photo of how the beads are finished (once strung, they are rolled on stone to smooth the outsides).   There is a different type of drill for making fire -- the “portable hearth” that features a softwood shaft spun on a hardwood base.  We also saw a deerhide drum that looks like a suitcase and marveled at elk antler purses made to hold dentalium shell money.

Another intriguing item of particular note is the rabbit skin blanket in a case on the back wall.  Strips of tanned rabbit skin with the fur still on were woven and twisted through a plant fiber net.  The result was a big square blanket that is soft on both sides.  Carol remarked, “It was your cloak during the day and your bed at night.” 

The Museum isn’t just about artifacts, though.  It’s about the native people who made and used these items.  There is an exhibit about Ishi and honored elders.  There are also photos of native people and native families through different eras.

The native people made great use of plants such as the amazing and indispensable soaproot, which provides, among varying uses, food, fiber, soap and fish poison.  A soaproot brush is on display, with the handle made from the plant’s resin and the brush from its fibers.

Speaking of plants, the native people's food wasn’t just all acorn mush!  Pounded deer meat broth, parched seedcakes, manzanita berry cider, steamed sweet clover, roasted quail ... I could tell it was getting close to lunchtime ...  Good thing we were so close to some great downtown Sacramento dining.

By Janet Lewis and Carol Dabrowiak, photos by Cindy Gibbs

Janet's Story

EDITOR'S NOTE:  Sacramento was recently named the "Farm to Fork Capital of America."  Below, our Hometown Tourists write about one of the many "Farm to Fork" style activities available in Sacramento.

In the dead of winter, I daydream about the Wednesday Farmer’s Market in downtown Sacramento.  Every year I look forward with anticipation to when the Market will open in May.  Then I look for good reasons to go downtown on a Wednesday morning.  Somehow it seems all of my downtown meetings happen on Thursdays instead!  But, at least once a year, Cindy, Carol and I make a point of meeting for some downtown Sacramento dining on a Wednesday during the Market season.  The past two years, we’ve added the Grange Restaurant’s “Follow The Chef” tour and lunch to our Wednesday Market adventures.  Grange is located inside of The Citizen Hotel, a downtown Sacramento hotel located across the street from Caesar Chavez Park.

In June of 2011,  Cindy and I did Grange Restaurant’s “Follow The Chef” tour and lunch.  I still have the souvenir reusable shopping bag.  It gives me good memories of the fresh and seasonal three-course lunch we enjoyed at the Grange that day in June along with 12 other (unintentional) "Hometown Tourists."  It was there we met Sarah A. of the Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau and hatched the idea for the HTT blog!

Celebrating summer, the meal that June day featured locally produced squash blossoms, kernel corn, cherries, two kinds of wine (chardonnay & zinfandel); supporting cast included goat cheese, cabbage salad & biting mustard greens - all  totally delicious and refreshing!  The chef made mine dairy free and still deliciously prepared.  Carol was not able to join us, but that gave us the perfect excuse (if one were needed!) to do “Follow the Chef” again in a slightly different season in 2012. 

Just over 1 year later, Cindy, Carol, and I are still enjoying and finding ever more adventures as HTTs!  Travel and tourism in Sacramento is alive and well and giving us lots of opportunities to see some really great things.

In September 2012, Cindy, Carol and I took the opportunity to celebrate and have a reunion of sorts with our SCVB mentor, Matthew, at the “Follow the Chef” tour presented by the Grange restaurant.  Even though the Grange does this every Wednesday during Market season, it is a new experience each time!  As we found on that September day, the cast of visitors and victuals changes constantly with the seasons. 

We each arrived via a different travel mode:  Cindy walked over, Carol drove in, and I rode light rail.  Carol took advantage of the Grange’s valet parking -  very convenient, and only $5.  A good deal!

Our group of six Follow The Chef guests was smaller this time than last year.  But, all the better to enjoy congenial conversation, and, more serendipity!  One of our lunch companions turned out to be a contact with the parks department of a nearby city.  A great lead for a future HTT adventure!

A bonus from following Chef Oliver around the Market are the samples we received from the vendors:  green figs, honey,  3 kinds of grapes --including Muscat.  Both the honey and the Muscat later featured as sauce on our dessert!  Oliver pointed out that as we approach the autumn equinox, the offerings at mid-September Market are season-spanning;  tomatoes to pumpkins;  corn, cucumbers, and stone fruits, just to name a few.  Such variety and opportunity for creative eating!

Our group ambled about, making purchases from various stalls and tucking our items into our souvenir reusable shopping bags.  Now I have a collection!  When we got to our table and set the bags onto spare chairs, Carol warned, “Watch out for your bags, don’t mix them up!”  Wouldn’t that be a surprise when we got home?

As last year, the wine pours offered a a Chardonnay and a Petit Syrah from Bogle Vineyards, one of our local Sacramento wineries.

First course, a salad.   The ingredients were from Feeding Crane Farms:  spicy stemmed greens and watercress, heirloom tomatoes and Armenian cucumbers, with pine nuts on top and a muscatel vinaigrette.

Oliver came out to see us at each course.  By the 2nd course he had a blue apron over his white chef’s outfit!

Main course was salmon, baby pastas, tomato, arugula, watercress, brocolini, and a delightful tomato chip.  Carol’s vegetarian version featured a generous portion of “lobster” mushroom .  We all found our entrees delicious and filling. 

Dessert consisted of beautiful individual pear tarts described by the pastry chef as “tarte porteleau with frangiapani” made of red Bartlett pears, almonds, bourbon caramel and with an amoretto cookie under a pouf of whipped cream.

My non-dairy dessert was 3 seasonal sorbets.  They were delicious with the last swallows of the wine!  I must have looked longingly at the tarts, though, because the pastry chef brought me out a small dishlet of the poached pears in Bariani honey --  they were fantastic, with a bite-sized popcorn ball on a clear hard candy wafer.  Talk about tiny but with a huge wow factor!

All too soon, I found myself heading home (er, back to the office) on light rail with a full shopping bag, a full stomach, and a full heart!  Plus a shared vow with my HTT buddies to “Follow The Chef” at the Grange again next year!  A true Sacramento attraction!  

Carol's Story

We knew it was going to be a special lunch. Because when Janet, Cindy and I arrived at the Grange Restaurant and Bar the hostess said, "Wait here for Chef Oliver.  He'll join you in a minute."

That was the start of a delicious afternoon. Grange is located across the street from Cesar Chavez Park where they were having the Wednesday Farmer's Market, one of Sacramento's many culinary events. Part of our lunch experience called "Follow the Chef" included a tour of the market with Chef Oliver. Grange is committed to using fresh local ingredients in all its dishes. Chef Oliver shops the market every Wednesday and is on a first name basis with most of the vendors.

At every booth we visited, the chef gave examples of how he would use the seasonal ingredients in his recipes. When we were there we saw an abundance of squash and stone fruit. Chef Oliver explained that the tomato season was winding down and when local tomatoes were gone he would no longer have them for his restaurant. In fact, in the middle of winter if a diner orders a burger and requests a tomato slice for the burger, they are told "No." Did I mention they were committed to fresh and local?

After we strolled thru the market, we were guided back to the restaurant for a three-course gourmet lunch. There were six people in the "Follow the Chef" group that day, and there was a special table set up in the back of the restaurant for our meal. The servers hovered around us, filling our wine glasses. They also noted our dietary restrictions: Janet is lactose intolerant and I'm a vegetarian. No problem.  

The courses started to arrive. With each course, Chef Oliver came out to explain the ingredients and the processes used to prepare the dishes. That made everything taste special.  We all loved the fusion of flavors and ingredients. We plan to return soon when the market has a different blend of seasonal crops. We all felt inspired to go home and experiment with new recipes. It was a delicious afternoon in downtown Sacramento.

Today’s travelers are more connected than ever. Friends, work and information of all kinds are never further away than the tap of a touchscreen. And while smart phones, iPads and other technologies have made travelling easier and more enjoyable in many ways, sometimes you just want to disconnect and enjoy your surroundings. 

Sacramento offers travelers many opportunities to separate themselves from their everyday lives and electronic devices so they can enjoy all the great attractions Northern California has to offer.  From Sacramento recreation to wineries, you can put down the smartphone and enjoy yourself on your Northern California vacation.

The American River Parkway in Sacramento is one of the area’s finest way to get away from it all. With over 30 miles of paved trail that weaves through riparian forests and wetlands alongside its namesake river, riders on the bike trail won’t even feel like they’re in the city. Bike rentals are available at several shops in town and some Sacramento hotels even have rental bikes right in their lobbies. 

The American River also offers adventure seekers  great whitewater rafting opportunities. From a quick 3-hour trip to multi-day camping and rafting excursions, there are whitewater experiences for all skill levels. Many of these guided trips start in the Gold Country near the Gold Rush town of Coloma where you’d be lucky to get mobile service at all.  But you wouldn’t want to have your phone with you on the river anyhow. Rafting trips through rapids with names like Troublemaker, Satan’s Cesspool and Meat Grinder will leave you soaked and are not exactly phone-friendly.

For those looking to disconnect in a slightly more relaxed manner, there are over 200 wineries in the Sacramento region. Turn off the phone and enjoy the small wineries that dot the foothills of the Gold Country. After a few glasses of wine, you probably shouldn’t be responding to work emails anyhow. Wine tours and limo rentals are available from downtown Sacramento so you won’t even need your GPS.

Of course, after enjoying a day disconnected from your smartphone and enjoying these great Sacramento tourist attractions, you can return to all the modern day comforts and wi-fi capabilities of your Sacramento hotel. 

Click here to email us for more information about arranging your "disconnected" group tour.  

EDITOR'S NOTE: Our Hometown Tourists visited the Sacramento History Museum on their most recent excursion.  The following blog includes two accounts by Janet Lewis and Carol Dabrowiak, and photos by Cynthia Gibbs, detailing their visit to this Sacramento attraction. 

Janet:
It’s a rare treat to visit Old Sacramento before 10 a.m. on a Monday.  The streets are much quieter than at other times.  People are arriving to their jobs and most sight-seers are still en route.  I had a chance to enjoy walking up the cobbled streets and wooden walkways, noticing the trees and the views along the river’s edge. I met up with Carol in front of the Museum before its opening time, and we amused ourselves at the (salted) gold panning trough, in the cutout face frames, and other artifacts on display outside.  Once inside, visitors will immediately notice that the space is well used.  It is compact without feeling crowded.  There are many interesting and interactive exhibits, as you’ll see in Cindy’s photos.  Of note on the first floor:  the printing exhibit, the big windmill, the mural, the beautiful full length paisley shawl. 

Upstairs, we found more in-depth exhibits, including one on gold.  A 100-stringed Ukrainian musical instrument caught Carol’s eye.  She wondered if her musician sons could figure out how to play it!  The story and contents of May Woolsey’s trunk held Cindy’s attention, while Janet’s imagination was sparked by the story of Francis Ray, a former slave from Texas who found his father and family in Sacramento.  

We ended up our visit in the souvenir shop.  Cindy selected a “Votes for Women” pin.  Carol opted for a Sacramento 1850’s pictorial mug.  And Janet purchased a selection of post cards and, of course, a woven straw finger trap toy. 

For lunch, we decided to eat at Ten 22, a popular Old Sacramento and downtown dining destination!  Cindy had been there once before and recommended it.  We chose a table on the patio as the weather was pleasant and mild.  The portions at Ten-22 are generous and the food was good.  The “wow factor” item at this lunch consisted of the fried green tomatoes.  Carol ordered the FGT pizza, while Cindy and Janet split a plate of FGT and an order of salmon cakes with sweet potato fries.  It was all delicious and unusual!  This is one of the reasons the three of us have been meeting for our monthly lunches for so long.  This is the kind of thing we look for!

Carol:
Sometimes our town gets lost among the glitzier cities of California.  But we actually have a lot to brag about.  We had canning factories that provided the nation with delicious fruits.  Workers - mostly women - at McClellan Air Force Base repaired planes during WWII.  And of course, gold was discovered here.  We were the terminus of the Pony Express and the hub of the railroads.

The Sacramento History Museum showcases our past accomplishments.  There are a lot of interesting exhibits housed in a small place.  Visitors walk in a circular pattern.  Your attention is drawn both up and down so you can easily read the placards and see items hanging from the ceiling.

It's also a fun place for families and children.  There are games and puzzles on low tables.  There are interactive touchy feely displays.  They also have period costumes that can be donned for picture poses.

My favorite display was the "wall-o-crates" where produce boxes are stacked against the wall.  Beautiful artwork is depicted in each unique label on the crates.  “So colorful.”  “So delicious looking.”  This is a fine museum for young and old.  Citizens of Sacramento should be proud to have their history on display for all to see.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Our Hometown Tourists visited The Crocker Art Museum on their most recent excursion. The following blog includes two accounts by Janet Lewis and Carol Dabrowiak, detailing their visit to this Sacramento attraction.

Carol:

The Crocker Art Museum reminds me of the “Little Engine That Could.”  Remember the children's story where the little engine doesn't know that it can't do the same things that the big engines do?  It keeps saying "I think I can, I think I can."   This Sacramento museum is like the little engine.  I know this because in the last six months, I've had the opportunity to visit New York's Museum of Modern Art, The Art Institute of Chicago and the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco.  These are all wonderful, world renowned art museums.  But Crocker "thinks it can" be like the bigger museums.  And it is.  After they completed a major building expansion in 2010, the Crocker Museum also expanded its education and entertainment activities.  They offer films, lectures, art history classes, children's activities, concerts and tours.  Of course they have an impressive permanent collection of art and an exciting variety of traveling exhibits.

My favorite activity is the Tuesday Lunch and Learn Seminar.  Patrons are taken to a specific piece of art and a docent gives an in-depth explanation of the piece.  Patrons are invited to ask questions and give opinions.  After the seminar, everyone is encouraged to have lunch in the lobby cafe.  It is a fun and easy way to expand your appreciation of a work of art and enjoy some great Sacramento dining.

“The Little Engine That Could” makes it over the steep hill and earns the respect of the other engines.  The Crocker Art Museum also made it over a steep hill.  They earned the respect of the art community.

Janet: 

The Crocker Art Museum is a good place to go on a hot day, a rainy day, any day. You can have lunch or a snack at the cafe.  You can wander on your own or you can have a tour.  It is located close to several downtown Sacramento hotels.  Cindy, Carol and I had a tour by docent Barbara Campbell who led us around on an overview, and it was a good one!  For nearly two hours, we heard and saw selections of art history, Sacramento history, Crocker family gossip, insight to the various collections, and more. 

We lingered to discuss and “get into” the Flemish peasant wedding. Viewed and discussed the metaphorical/allegorical aspects of “Sunday Morning at the Mines” and “Fandango,” the two huge paintings in the stairwell which I’d previously considered only as quaint illustrations of some long-ago Mark Twain or Bret Harte story.  On our trek, we made a pilgrimage and paid homage to the “Valley of the Yosemite” by Thomas Hill in the new California room - my new favorite room!  We visited the giant, wild red-eyed fiberglass bull that used to grace the exterior entry of an office building on 16th street but now is the dramatic and larger than life centerpiece of the modern art collection.  The new clay Navaho and Hopi bowls in that glassed-in room upstairs are unsung gems.  The recently added ceramics collection spread among three rooms in the historic wing is a treasure trove waiting to be further discovered, perhaps via a handheld internet gadget to “Google” up the various Northern California glaze artists. 

We enthusiastically recommend you to spend an afternoon, a morning, a day, or whatever time you have, at the Crocker! Maybe we'll see you there.  Cindy’s message with the photos is "Had a great time.  We should do the Crocker again."  Believe me, we will!
 

Northern California is full of iconic highlights such as Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, wine country and more. If your groups are coming to California for the first time (or for the twentieth, really) there’s a good chance they will be visiting at least one of those spots. And right smack in the middle of all those icons, Sacramento waits with open arms to welcome visitors for an authentic, laidback California experience filled with colorful history, locally grown culinary experiences, breathtaking outdoor adventure, world class attractions and more.

Adding Sacramento to your California itinerary is easy, affordable and fun.  Just a few things to consider:

1. Sacramento’s location makes it easy to add to an itinerary. You’re probably already driving through. Stick around for a while!
    
2. It’s the perfect stop between the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Pacific Ocean and makes it easy to get to either.
    
3. Consider flying into to Sacramento International Airport to save time and money when visiting Napa, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe and more. Flights are often cheaper and you won’t have the stress of driving all the way through the congested traffic in the Bay Area.
    
4. Sacramento offers more affordable hotel rates than many of Northern California’s better known destinations, but doesn’t add any extra driving time. Instead of driving that extra hour at night for your $400 a night hotel in wine country. Stay with us at a Sacramento hotel, save a lot of money, and finish the drive in the morning. Just sayin’….
    
5. Visitors to Sacramento will experience an authentic California city, low on tourist traps and high on true experiences with history, food, art and outdoor adventure.
    
6. Adding Sacramento to your itinerary separates you from the crowd and offers your groups a unique trip to call their own. No one wants to have the exact same vacation photos as all their friends.

Sacramento is too good of a secret to keep any longer. Come on through, say hello, and see what we have to offer.  It’s easy! 

And we are here to help you plan your trip and get the best deals when you add Sacramento to your group tour itinerary.  Contact us to get started.

On a beautiful Friday morning, we decided to go horseback riding along the American River.

The Shadow Glen Family Stables are nestled off of Sunset Avenue in Fair Oaks, just a short drive from downtown Sacramento.  It is easy to drive past the entrance and not even notice their sign.  But it is a huge complex that houses 60 horses: 20 riding horses and 40 horses are boarded there.  They also have some goats and chickens and cats and dogs.  It is practically a petting zoo.

We signed up for the experience package.  Our guide, Emily, showed us how to groom and care for a horse before riding.  The horse we groomed was Beau, and it was nice to see that he enjoyed the experience.  We brushed his coat, combed his mane and cleaned out his hoofs.  Emily asked if I wanted to put the saddle on the horse.  I was supposed to lift it up over my head and fling it on Beau.  Well, it weighed about 40 pounds.  Emily had to step up and help me.  Note to self - spend more time at gym lifting weights.

I made sure that everyone who worked at the stables knew I was a “city girl” from Chicago.  “Don't assume I know anything.  Watch out for me so I don't hurt myself, please.”  I've been riding once or twice before, but it's been several years.  Both Janet and Cindy had more experience with horse riding and were very comfortable around the horses.

We finally climbed on our horses (using the platform of course).  And we were on our way.  The trail begins in a meadow where there are remnants of the gold rush mining.  Emily let us try out trotting for a short distance.  Back down to a walk, we crossed the bike path and rode along the river.  You can see the Hazel Avenue Bridge and Lake Natoma.  Then the trail goes up through oak covered hills and returns to the stables.  It is very scenic.  The horses are well behaved and responsive to any direction we gave them with the reins.   They followed Emily's lead.  It was a beautiful peaceful ride.

This was a wonderful Sacramento outdoor activity.  Everyone at Shadow Glen was very friendly and helpful.  We definitely plan to ride again.

For more information about Sacramento recreation, outdoor activities and other attractions, click here.

Editor's Note: When staying at a participating Sacramento hotel, ask for a FREE Sacramento Gold Card.  The Sacramento Gold Card offers one free admission with one paid admission of equal or greater value at The California Museum.  The card also offers several discounts and perks at many Sacramento museums, attractions and shopping outlets.

I've seen some young girls wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan:  GIRLS RULE!  If there was a need to prove the point that “girls rule,” you can visit an important Sacramento museum, The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts in downtown Sacramento. The halls and displays are filled with examples of how California girls really do rule.

When Cindy, Janet and I visited the museum we started on the second floor and worked our way around the exhibits.  The first thing we saw were large displays honoring women of achievement starting with Dr. Sally Ride, the famous astronaut.  Her flight suit is on display (what a tiny waist she has!) and a brief list of her accomplishments.  There are also similar displays for Billie Jean King, Julia Child, Alice Waters, Barbie (the doll) and many others.  All of them were California natives.

There is an exhibit honoring the Yee Chinese Herbal Pharmacy from Fiddletown.  Another exhibit honors the Native Americans who first populated our state.  There were dozens of different tribes.  The crafts we saw highlighted their amazing basket weaving talent with intricate patterns and colors.

As we further explored the museum, we saw how Japanese Americans were interred in camps during World War II.  Obviously this is not America's proudest moment.  Yet the display explains how the Japanese struggled to maintain a 'normal' life:  the children attended school, participated in sports and even went to prom.  After three years of interment, they were allowed to return to their former homes, but in many instances their lives were never the same.  They lost their property, their businesses and their livelihood.  It took years to recover.

On the first floor, there are two displays that are unique to Sacramento history.  The marquee from the old Alhambra Theater reminded us of the controversy surrounding the demolition of the classic building to make way for a supermarket on Alhambra Blvd.  There is also a mock-up of Posey's Restaurant, which was considered the main watering hole for legislators "back in the day."

On the day we visited, there was a large temporary exhibit honoring the lives of the Catholic Sisters.  Their contribution to early California is easily overlooked.  But they ran schools and orphanages.  They also took care of many social needs.  They were nurses, social workers and advocates for the most impoverished citizens.  They were strong supporters of equal rights during the 60s and participated in demonstrations along with hippies - an interesting combination.   They also held important positions of leadership in their field at a time when women were expected to be homemakers.  It's a fascinating story.

We enjoyed our time exploring the museum.  Overall, this museum is a tribute to California, our history and especially our "Girls."  There's even a tribute to the Beach Boys who wrote the song California Girls.  Be sure to visit it soon.