Christmas in the Capitol: A Floating Dinner in Sacramento

(Note: This is what we do every Christmas. This year, we're not staying at a hotel, we're driving over from home for the day. Merry Christmas! -Ed)

We must like this hotel, we've stayed here repeatedly over the last decade and a half. At first, it was called the Hallmark Suites. Great free breakfast bar, cocktail lounge, and pool area. Nice two room suites.

It became the Sierra Suites after that then changed into a Hyatt House. All still the same but looking a little worn at our last stay a couple of years ago. Soon after we checked out, it closed down and underwent a year-plus renovations and reopened a few months ago as a Doubletree Suites.

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Nice location across the street from the Sunrise light rail station, giving you easy access to downtown Sacramento to the west and the even nicer Old Town Folsom to the east.

This time, I was offered a two story loft unit with two bathrooms, mobility access, and two bedrooms each with a king size bed, for the same price as the two room suite we had before.

Well, I can't pass an offer like that up...

After checkin, we take our delicious Doubletree cookies with us to our room in the next building. 

 
The room is indeed spectacular. A large living room with a sink, fridge, coffee maker, and microwave welcome us as we enter (I could picture the sink area being a kitchen before the renovation. Comfortable sofa, deskchair, and large tv dominate the rest of this room.

Beyond that is the downstairs bedroom with it's king-sized bed and bathroom. Funny thing about this accessible bathroom...it is very large but has a tub without a shower on a hose and...no...the management has no bathchair they can put in there. There's a grab bar next to the toilet and a roll-under sink and no door.  I mean none...no sliding door, no curtain, nothing.

(Management offered to move us to a smaller room which would mean Tim would have to move to the sofabed instead of having that large king to himself)

Upstairs is another bedroom with another king bed for Letty and I. Another bathroom up here is smaller and more spartan but...get this...it has a walk-in shower! Swap the tub downstairs with this one and the room would be close to perfect, except for that missing door downstairs.

We do travel with a spare shower chair on road trips for just such an occasion but the room is just too darn nice and big to move to a smaller version. We'll see about some other arrangement for compensation later.

I go to a nearby Wendy's and we feast on Christmas Eve around our hotel room table on some hot 'n juicy burgers while watching old movies on TV. It's a very comfortable, cozy, and low-key evening.

In the morning, we head to the lobby for a light breakfast. In it's previous lives, the hotel had a great, free breakfast bar. The buffet and omelet station are still here but for a price now. A "Continental" buffet is $12.95 and the full buffet is $16.95. A bit much since we basically just want some bagels and fruit.

It's very slow on Christmas morning. The hotel is mostly empty and nobody is eating. The counter guy makes us a deal...pay for a continental buffet, which he'll knock 10% off of because it's Christmas...and we can all share it.

That'll do (pro tip: don't be afraid to negotiate a better deal when you've got the upper hand).

We rest up and clean up (Letty and I have excruciating back pain today we think that was brought on by the uncomfortable couch in the Marriott we stayed at on the way up here) before loading up and heading to Old Sacramento along the riverfront in downtown.

On arrival, we have about a half hour to kill before our reserved time, so we head over to Candy Heaven, a large candy shop known for their generous free sample policy. Sample we do - we even sampled the chocolate covered crickets - and buy some candy for later. (Note: free sampling has been suspended to due Covid-Ed)

It's time to eat so we head over to the Delta King, an historic paddle wheeled river boat permanently docked here. We're shown to a nice table and settle in to eat.

 

This is becoming a tradition for us to come up here and have Christmas dinner on the boat. It's the only time each year the restaurant here serve their turkey dinner.

It's among the best turkey dinners I've ever tasted with a perfectly roasted and juicy bird, stuffing, mashed potatoes and vegetables. It's delicious and filling (that's why we went light on breakfast).

While the entire menu is available, I come strictly for the turkey dinner. Letty and Tim will digress to other menu items such as cioppino, pasta, or even fish 'n chips.

Tummies sated and spirits high, we head back to the hotel to enjoy the rest of the holiday together.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2018 - All Rights Reserved

Sacramento and the Gold Country, California

 

(Please read our Covid 19 Statement first - Ed)  When traveling, the question is “fly or drive?”  Today, we are traveling to Sacramento from the Pasadena, California area…a distance of 407 miles.  Flying time would be an hour.  Arriving at the airport, an hour before takeoff.  Being with a wheelchair, add another hour to that to make sure airline and airport staff can get you on the plane and seated together.  Another 40 minutes to an hour to drive to the airport, then a half hour to collect your baggage and another to get to the hotel…if it is nearby.  You might also need to rent a car if public transit options are not suitable (but in Sacramento, they are pretty good).

Watch the Video of This Trip!

So, we’re talking about an investment of five hours…at least…and around $350 for three people flying.  The drive is six hours…not counting food, fuel, and bathroom stops…plus you can easily take your power chair and have your car with you when you get there.  Gas would be about $150.  Road trip it is!

Today’s drive is uneventful with stops in Bakersfield for the delectable tacos at Los Tacos de Huicho and then again at the Love’s gas station in Ripon for fuel, bathroom, and snacks.  I have credit for a free night at Marriott, so we cash them in at the Springhill Suites just north of downtown Sacramento.

We have an accessible room, which here means a bathtub with shower bench.  Roll-in showers are available but you give up the living room of the suite to get one.  With the bench, I can easily transfer Tim, give him a shower, keep the living room space, and save the roll-in for someone who needs it more.  A roll-in would be a little more convenient, but…for me…I give up too much for the trade off here.

But…there’s no bench in the shower.  I bring this up to the front desk’s attention.  There is another room with a shower bench and they want to move us there.  I ask, “why don’t you just bring to bench to our room?”  The manager says it has to go into an accessible room only.  I tell her that we are in an accessible room but she still insists we need to move.  Some back and forth, including taking her up to our accessible room to prove it, and she finally relents.  It turns out our room had a bench but whoever had the room before us took it with them.

Please, people…leave the stuff in the room.  Someone, maybe you someday, is going to be in a situation where you need it and it won’t be there because you were selfish.

Once that’s settled, we have a nice room and have dinner before bedding down for the night.

The next day, we head over to West Sacramento and Raley Field, home of the River Cats.  The River Cats are the AAA minor league team affiliated with the Oakland A’s that play here.  Being baseball fans, we take in games at new stadiums a lot on our travels (see our Fields of Dreams page for reviews).

We park the van behind the home plate entrance and the happy parking attendant gives us several little packages of Jelly Bellies to take in with us.  We get here early because we don’t have tickets yet and want to get the best seats we can.  Unfortunately, there are not too many wheelchair accessible seats left so we have to settle for seats on the first base side but out a bit in right field.

Since we’re early, we walk over the nearby Tower Bridge.  This shimmering, golden bridge has an accessible walkway on its south side.  Just as we start to cross, a siren erupts and lights flash.  The drawbridge is about to be raised.

We get as close as we can get and watch the deck go up.  No boats are in view, so I guess that they just raise the bridge every morning at 10:00.  I’ve seen other drawbridges where this is the case…if you’re in a boat, you just want to make sure you’re there at that time.

Just a few minutes later, the deck comes down and we complete the crossing. 

On the other side is Old Sacramento State Park, a preserved neighborhood of historic buildings on the edge of the Sacramento River.  We spend some time eating the free samples at Candy Heaven, a large candy store on the edge of the area that has just about any candy you can think of.  Letty buys some candy to take with us and we take just a quick walk through this end of the park before walking back.

The game is a lot of fun and our seats are next to a lemonade and churro stand.  I make use of it to get Tim a drink and a bag of their kettle corn without having to leave our seats.  Letty and I later go to get some regular food and beer.

The food here is among the best we’ve had at a baseball game and the beer selection is incredible but the prices are pretty high for a minor league game.  Tim and I split the ½ pound Dinger Dog you see above.  It was very good.  Letty had a chef’s salad that was also delicious.  That Blue Moon I’m holding costs $11 though.   That’s more expensive than the same beer I bought at Angel Stadium earlier this month.

Prices aside, it’s a great game in a great park.  We even got to see a true baseball legend, Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, coaching first base.  He was also very nice…especially to the ladies who wanted to take pictures with him between innings.

After the game, we were done with this very quick trip to our state’s capitol.  Now, we’re heading up to the Motherlode. 

It’s not a long drive up highway 50 where we turn off on highway 49 in Placerville and head south.  Highway 49 is the ribbon of road that connects all of the Gold Rush towns of the Motherlode.  Highway 49…forty-niner…get it? 

About 40 miles south of Placerville, we pull past Amador City and then into the small town of Sutter Creek, which will be our base of operations for the next few days.  Our hotel will be the Days Inn at the north end of town.  We get a suite, which was probably a waste of extra money, because the layout has the living room way off to the side, with no TV, and is not really conducive to using for anything other than an extra sleeping area for Tim.

The sofabed is lumpy…Tim says it’s comfortable, which is fortunate because it sure didn’t look or feel that way when I sat on the edge.  No sheets were provided for it and when I asked the front desk for a set, they brought it but didn’t want to provide a pillow for it.   When I insisted, the manager borrowed a couple of pillows from a vacant room.  We only needed one, they didn’t want to provide it, and when I complained, they brought two?

There’s a slight mildew smell to the room but other than that, the room is adequate and will give us a reason to not be there more than we have to.

After settling in, we head to downtown for dinner.  It’s about a 4 block walk from the hotel, but the sidewalks look iffy for wheelchair access, so we drive.  Upon further inspection, it was accessible for a wheelchair, if a bit bumpy, but there are many sections in the Gold Rush era downtown that are not and would require wheelers to detour into the street.  A good place to start would be to park by City Hall at the north end and walk from there…it’s the most accessible of the routes.

Looking on Yelp.com before the trip, I made up a list of restaurants that looked interesting to try.  Tonight, we’re going to J&D’s Steakhouse, right in the middle of downtown Sutter Creek.  It’s happy hour when we arrive so we order some of the delicious red wine they’re pouring tonight for just $3.  Next, it’s on to an appetizer of jalapeno chips that remind us a bit of fried pickles.  The peppers are sliced up, battered, and deep fried.  They’re served on a heaping plate with ranch dressing and are very good.    Tim has a burger and Letty has the pasta primavera.  I’m not really hungry, so I just subsist on the jalapenos, wine, bread, and Tim’s leftovers.  It’s all very good and we want to come back here again if we have time.
NOTE: J and D's has closed since this 2010 visit

The next morning, we head over to nearby Jackson, the county seat.  Breakfast is a delicious spread of waffles, pancakes, eggs, bacon, and sausage at the Waffle Shop on the south end of town on highway 49.

After breakfast, we take a stroll around downtown.  One of Letty’s favorite kitchen shops is located here, the Home and Farm Supply store.  Don’t let the name fool you, it’s just a really nice kitchen shop, no farm implements are to be seen.

After years in a tiny building with almost no parking by the fire station, the owners bought this vintage building up the block and have turned it into something worthy of Williams Sonoma.  Well worth a stop if you’re into cooking and the gadgets that go with it.

Walking around town afterward though reveals an old town getting ravaged by the recession.  Many storefronts are empty with “For Lease” signs on them.  Even the old Jackson Hotel, built in 1862, has a for sale sign on it.  Closer inspection reveals that the ABC has revoked their liquor license for an infraction, so that could have something to do with it as well.

The two busy businesses here today are the pawn shop and the liquor store.  Hardly a great scene.  It’s a bit depressing but luckily things will pick up once we leave Jackson behind.

Stay tuned for that part of the trip.

-Darryl

Copyright 2010 – Darryl Musick

All Rights Reserved

A Capital Adventure - The Finale

NOTE: If you need to catch up before reading the final report of this trip, use the following links:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Today, we’ll drive over to the capital and visit Old Sacramento. We’re staying seven miles east in Rancho Cordova. It’s a short drive to downtown then…

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Crunch time.  Getting close to Old Sacramento, the traffic comes to a stand still. I can’t believe the place is this popular, even on a Sunday, that traffic is backed up for a mile. We bail out, head to the next bridge north, cross the Sacramento River, and go over into West Sacramento.

Next to Raley Field, we see a large, mostly empty parking lot. There are no signs saying “No Parking” or any other restrictions and about 20 cars are already parked there. It’s just a very short walk across the Tower Bridge to Old Sacramento, so we park and head on our way.

Once on the other side of the bridge, we find the reason for all the traffic.  It’s time for the Sacramento Music Festival, a three-day blowout of non-stop music in and around Old Sacramento.

This isn’t what we’d planned for, we just thought we’d spend some time here, having a few samples at Candy Heaven, and maybe grabbing a meal.

The streets are crowded with festival goers, the shops packed wall to wall, and music coming from here and there.

We do get into Candy Heaven, where you can sample til you’re sick, get some candy and walk around the festival.

There’s a really good high school jazz band playing on the dock next to the old steamboat. An old acquaintance, Bob Ringwald (he’s the dad of Molly), is playing across the street in the Marriott but the showtime doesn’t mesh with our schedule.

We find La Terraza has an elevator so we head up to the balcony for drinks.

The restaurant reserves two of its best tables for handicapped customers so we got a great table outside with a wonderful view.

Some folklorio dancers came up to entertain as we drank our margaritas and ate our nachos.

Quite an entertaining afternoon.

After lunch, we headed back out to Folsom, this time for the town, not the prison.

It’s an old town with many old Western shops along the boardwalks. Usually, this would spell trouble for the wheelchair but Folsom has ramped everything. It’s very accessible now.

In the plaza is an old train turntable, next to a historical museum in a recreated village.

Watching the blacksmith, imagining the old steam locomotives, and browsing the antiques are fun, as is the short hike we took at the adjacent lake.

Dinner would be here at the Fat Rabbit Pub. It’s a pretty authentic English pub, down to the hand-drawn taps of English bitters.

Over a dinner of fish and chips and chicken pot pie, we sip sour ales and English bitters while relaxing after a long day.

It’s a trip that started on the down side, with bloody sheets and a lonely truck stop motel, but turned into a fun, music filled weekend full of wine, history, and old West spirits.

After commiserating over what was and what could have been, we settle in for the night to rest up for the long drive home tomorrow.

Darryl

Copyright 2013 – Darryl Musick

All Rights Reserved

FIELDS OF DREAMS: Raley Field, Sacramento, California

Raley Field is home to the Sacramento River Cats, the AAA affiliate of the Oakland A’s. Sitting just west of Sacramento proper, in West Sacramento to be exact, it’s just a short stroll over the bridge from Old Sacramento. Many A’s players have passed through here, in fact, the day we were there a couple of Major Leaguers in the twilight of their career…pitchers Brett Tomko and John Halama…were in the game. Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson was the River Cats first base coach for the day…I think his only tip to the guys on first was “Run!”

The team is a perennial contender in the Pacific Coast League.

Here are the stats…
Year opened: 2000
Surface: Grass
Construction cost: $42 million
Capacity: 11,093 (14,014 when including the lawn area)
Field dimensions: Left field – 330 ft.; Center field – 403 ft.; Right field – 325 ft.
Home teams: Sacramento River Cats (Pacific Coast League, AAA) 2000 –present
Events attended: one game


If you’ve ever been to the Angels’ Spring Training facility in Tempe, Arizona, this stadium is almost a carbon copy. Certain parts of the stadium, particularly the third base side, have a great view of downtown Sacramento and the Tower Bridge. It’s kind of like a minor league version of the view you’d have at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

The seating bowl only has one deck with another level of suites above that.  The home plate entrance comes into the concourse level at the top of the field deck. There is another entrance deep in right field for fans that walk over from Sacramento. From there, a long paved ramp takes you to the main seats, past the lawn area.

The wheelchair accessible seating is at the top of the field level with another spot available at very premium prices in the front row behind home plate. Ticket prices run from $8 to $60. For most seats, they tend to run $17 - $34, which is pretty high for a minor league team but also averages a slight discount for 2013. Buy tickets in advance and you save $2.


We had no problem just walking up to the ticket window and purchasing three tickets (one wheelchair, two companions) but had to settle for seats past first base into the right field area. We went to a mid-week day game that started at 11:35am and the wheelchair seating ended up close to being sold out.

Game views are excellent from any seat. Food choices are plentiful with Straw Hat pizza, Mexican food, tri tip, Subway sandwiches, chicken sandwiches, salmon tacos, popcorn, kettle corn, and much more. The food was amazingly good, if expensive. Tim and I shared a Dinger Dog, a giant ½ pound hot dog (good enough to land on our Best Foods of 2010 list), and Letty had a chef salad that was really delicious. We also had some popcorn that was a little too salty but the kettle corn was just right. The beer selection is very large with several carts selling microbrews on tap but at a cost of $11 for a large glass, it was again pretty expensive compared to other minor league stadiums.


Public transit will get you as far as Old Sacramento easily on the other side of the river. It’s an easy, wheelchair accessible walk from there over the bridge to the stadium but beware that it is a drawbridge and may be raised. It was when we walked over but it just lasts a few minutes.


There is plenty of parking in the area of the stadium; $10 for regular cars, $10 for close-in handicapped parking for those who have placards or disabled plates, and free on Wednesdays. The parking attendant also gave us several little bags of Jelly Bellies to take into the game.


A very good ballpark to watch a game in, the only downside is the high prices for tickets, parking, food, and drinks.

-Darryl
Copyright 2010 – Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved
UPDATED for 2013

TRANSIT REPORT: Sacramento, California 2012

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia

mav under CC-BY-SA license

The capitol of the Golden State has a fairly decent system.  When in the area, especially on weekdays, you'll want to take advatage of it as the traffic here can be pretty unbearable at times.

Sacramento Regional Transit - or the RT - runs a network of buses and 37.5 miles of light rail covering a 418 square mile service area but for some reason does not serve the airport (Yolobus provides this service).

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia

lensovet under CC-BY-SA license

Light Rail consists of three lines, the Blue, Gold, and Green.  In practice, it's kind of like four lines because the Blue line goes both north and south of the downtown area so it's like a line to the north and a line to the south.  To the north, the Blue line's terminus is the Watt/I-80 station near McClellan Field (formerly Air Force Base).  The south end of the line is at Meadowview Road, about 4 miles south of downtown.  The Gold Line comes in from the east.  It starts in Folsom and continues past downtown to the Amtrak station, connecting with the Capitol Corridor train.  The Green Line runs from 7th and Richards, north of downtown, to the 13th Street Station downtown.  All light rail lines converge in a transit plaza two blocks west of the Capitol Building.  Here is the system map.

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia

Griffin5 at en.wikipedia under CC-BY-SA license

Buses handle the rest of the area and are useful to get to Old Sacramento, Raley Field, and ARCO Arena.  Here is the system map.

The basic fare for both bus and light rail is $2.50 for adults and $6 for a day pass.  Persons with disabilities get half off both of those fares.

Yolobus - As noted above, if you're flying into Sacramento, this is your only transit option.  The cost is $2.

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia

Todd Evans under CC-BY-SA license

The Capitol Corridor is a commuter rail service provided by Amtrak.  It connects downtown Sacramento with Auburn and Roseville to the Northeast and the Bay Area to the west with the terminus in San Jose.  The service from San Jose runs via Fremont, Hayward, Oakland, Martinez, Fairfield, and Davis.  Fares vary according to distance.  Check the website for more details.

All the above transit options are 100% wheelchair accessible.

We've personally found the transit in Sacramento to be a great way to go, especially during the week.  If you're there on the weekend and have a car, you might want to use that instead but transit will still keep you connected if you don't.

-Darryl
Copyright 2010 - Darryl Musick