Mother’s Day in Old Sacramento
Mother’s Day was simply a wonderful day of exploring the streets of old Sacramento in California’s capital city. This is the heart of Sacramento’s Gold Rush past! It’s amazing to see this corner of an urban city, still paved with cobblestone roads and wooden storefronts. We saw about a half a dozen different stagecoaches being pulled by horses taxiing people around, people milling around the quaint stores and shops peddling handcrafted goods and old fashion candy.
We saw floating riverboats like the Delta King as well as various sized boats and jet skis cruising up and down the Sacramento River under the ole yellow Tower Bridge. “Candy Heaven” was a huge hit with the kids since they allow free sampling directly from the candy barrels as you shop. Very handy to do when you are trying to decide which of the dozens and dozens of Salt Water Taffy creation you want to take home. The crazy and zany staff made shopping here a lot of fun.
History Lesson: Sacramento, founded in 1848 as an outgrowth of Sutter Fort, has been the capital of the state of California since 1855. Its location made it a major transportation center during from the Gold Rush, as it was a station for the Pony Express, the first transcontinental railroad, as well as riverboats.
The oldest part of the town besides Sutter’s Fort is Old Sacramento, which consists of cobbled streets and some historic buildings from the 1860s. The district is now a substantial tourist attraction, with rides on steam-hauled historic trains and paddle steamers. This has been a paid public announcement. Lol…
We had a late lunch at Rio City café which is situated right in beautiful Old Sacramento, overlooking some of the most prominent landmarks in Sacramento. The Sacramento River runs by our spacious outdoor patio where we ate, with spectacular views of the historic Tower Bridge and the Ziggurat (pyramid) building across from us. The food was a little pricy, but very tasty. I had the Rio Burger while my wife and oldest daughter had the Caesar Salad with chicken. The youngest opted for the chicken strips. The only complaint we have to report was the service. It’s a little slow, which was due to Mother’s day I am sure. Overall, it’s a very good value due to the ambiance of the river.
To end the day, we took a short hop over to the state capital and wandered thru the gardens and buildings of the complex. Designed in the neoclassical style, the Capitol reflects the Greek and Roman influences of the state and country’s democracy. The immense scale of the structures awed the kids as they moved up and down the steps leading to the capital doors. The green and lush grounds boast nearly 40 acres of exquisite gardens, inspirational memorials, historic trees, and hundreds specimens of species of trees, shrubs, flowers, and cacti. In fact, Sacramento is called the city of trees for good reason; they are everywhere to be seen! This is of course important for a city that easily climbs into the 100’s nearly daily in the summer months. I think our timing to visit in the spring was wise and time well enjoyed. We will be returning, possibly in the fall.
Tags: Mother's Day, Old Sacramento, State Capital
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