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I had a much better time in Sacramento than I expected. I knew I’d be there for almost 2 weeks, so I wanted to make the most of it. Luckily the housesit I was at was very close to the Light Rail if I wanted to catch it into the city at all. I was a bit too impatient to take advantage of it there.
Hungry or Thirsty in Sacramento?
As always, I spent a chunk of time testing out the local cuisine. Here are some places to check out based on your wallet and/or cravings:
On a budget means happy hours are my best friends. One of my favorites was 58 Degrees & Holding in Midtown for happy hour, it was incredible. They offered a very affordable charcuterie board amongst other delicious food options and stellar drinks too on the menu. Another good spot for happy hour was Tropics Ale House in Midtown where they have a pretty decent happy hour menu. One last happy hour spot worth checking out is Florez Bar and Grill. It definitely wasn’t the best part of town, but the deals are better than the food, more of a 7 in my book.
If you’re a little outside the city in Rosemont or surrounding, I had a few delicious options around there since that’s where I stayed. Only about 20-30 mins outside the city. For pizza/for eating a big outside the city (meaning free parking!), I stopped by Cap’s Pizza + Tap House for some takeout. Delicious pizza, but for me, it was more about accessibility. I also tried some Chinese food at the Happy Inn which was a good deal, but nothing special. If you’re looking for drinks, the Onyx Club in Roseville was a cute little spot in the area.
If you’re looking for a cheap Tuesday option, I’d suggest tacos at Rubios. There are a few locations, but I can only vouch for one in this little plaza in Rancho Cordova. They had a Yogurtvilla there too, which I certainly grabbed as well. Of course, I always recommend Salt & Straw for ice cream, I still believe everyone needs to try it if they’re out west since it’s only available on the West Coast. Another good Mexican option is Zocalo, which was the best quesadilla of my life.
If you are willing to splurge a bit more, Soloman’s is a good spot to do that for brunch. They have some phenomenal options, and quite the aesthetic. If you want a quicker breakfast, to-to especially, I’d suggest N Street Cafe which has a good breakfast sandwich option and coffee for a reasonable price.
Of course, you can’t forget the fact that I was right next to Napa Valley, so of course I had to pay a visit to wine country. To maintain my budgeting, I went to Beringer Vineyards, which was one of the few affordable options featuring tastings less than $50. I spent a few hours celebrating the Chinese New Year at the vineyard. This is also a good spot if you are looking to check out San Francisco, since it’s between the two big cities.
Free Sightseeing Spots
I made sure to do plenty of research into spots that I could visit for free. While some are certainly anticlimactic, most blew me away.
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I went perusing around Old Sacramento which was a really cool spot to see. Be wary of the cobblestone streets, since it can get a little bumpy over there. I hopped on over to the Sacramento Capital building next so I can take a peek. Looks like all the rest I’ve seen in the states… just some palm trees to note. Since this was after a big flood, I witnessed some damage from the storm and a whole lot of big puddles. Fun fact, Sacramento is one of the most floodable cities, so keep that in mind during rainy season.
This day it actually started hailing while I was out, so I certainly dealt with some wonky weather myself. Prior to the hail, I checked out the Crocker Art Museum which is pay what you want on Sundays, no minimum. That was definitely cool and well worth checking out, I definitely spent some time in there. Keep in mind, it’s pay for entry the rest of the week.
I spent some time getting pictures in front of the waterfront, over by the River Walk Park which is next to the Ziggurat (a cool looking pyramid building). That spot has a great view of Old Sacramento on one side, and the Historic Tower Bridge. You can walk out on to a dock and see the sunset, especially next to Ziggurat where it reflects off the building. While I was there, a double rainbow appeared.
I also checked out a park by the American River. There’s a sunrise recreation area and I think the park is called Sacramento Bar Park, but I couldn’t tell for sure. I crossed the Jim Jones Bridge while I was there, which had a great view of the river and is just for walking, no cars. It was a bit of a drive, but I was well out of town for dinner anyways.
The next day I did some more sightseeing in the city, where I got a closer look at the Ziggurat building. I tried to take a peak at the Governor’s Mansion/Leland Stanford Mansion, but they stop tours at 5pm (last tour at 4pm) so I was a bit too late. I headed over to Old Sacramento after that to catch the sunset which is a cute spot to see it. I was finally able to check out the Leland Stanford Mansion for a free tour the following day. The history is wicked interesting, definitely a can’t miss spot. Tours are on the hour.
If you’re heading outside the city towards San Francisco, and want to try to catch a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge without the parking nightmare, I found just the spot. Cesar E Chavez Park offered a great (but distant) view of the bridge, which is where I watched the sun set. Even though San Francisco is relatively close to Sacramento, it was actually 3 hours to the bridge from there because of traffic at that time (only 16 miles though).
Paid Activities
One of my favorite experiences on my trip was trying out the iFly World Indoor Skydiving While it was definitely one of the more pricey endeavors, it was so worth it. I highly recommend doing a High Flight, because that was by far the coolest part. The actual flight time is only a few minutes, but even with minimal time, I was able to learn how to float forwards, backwards, up, and down. If you want to grab some souvenirs from Sacramento, I’d suggest heading to Old Sacramento. I went to McGee’s Old Time Photo store where I could a coaster and good postcards.
I wanted to try out FireUp eSports Lounge in Roseville, which is a videogame place, but I was pretty upset with the options available, and it wasn’t well stated. The whole place was very individualistic which was unfortunate as well, so I wasted some money and left early. I ended up wasting money on the time spent there (I think I have an extra 3 hours of playing time left).
Extra Bar Ideas
Some bars I researched, but didn’t have the chance to checkout was The Flamingo, Jungle Bird, Sacto by Night, Darling Aviary, The Bank, Flatstick Pub, Sacramento Beer Train, the Mermaid Bar, Roshambo Wine Bar, and La Trattoria Bohemia.
HIGHLIGHTS:
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