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California State Railroad Museum – This railroad
museum is stacked full of the beautifully restored railroad locomotives
and cars. On the main floor, check out the Governor Stanford steam locomotive,
the first engine that chugged down the track for the Central Pacific, or
peer inside the private "Gold Coast" train car to see how people
traveled in style, or even better, walk underneath a diesel engine (a must
for the mechanically-minded). |
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Upstairs, toddlers can play with Thomas the Tank Engine wooden
trains and tracks, and anyone who loves model trains won't want to miss
the Lionel model trains and gorgeous architectural train models. The gift
shop has engineer's hats, wooden train whistles, books and toys about trains. |
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Catch the Train – On the weekends, April to September,
you can ride the rails on a real steam locomotive. On the 40 minute train
ride, little kids will especially enjoy the whistle blowing, the big white
clouds of puffy steam and gently rocking motion as the train rolls down
the track along the Sacramento River. |
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Old Sacramento Schoolhouse – Imagine attending
school a one-room schoolhouse, where you'd wash your hands outside at the
pump or warm your hands by a pot-bellied stove in winter. You can sit at
a wooden desk with a slate and chalk, and read the 1848 list of punishments
for bad behavior, e.g. "Telling Tales out of School," 8 lashes,
"Playing Cards at School," 10 lashes. Ring the school bell (rope
is just inside the front door) or swing on swings in the schoolyard. |
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Wells Fargo Museum – Wells Fargo operated a stagecoach
service, as well as banking for gold miners. Inside the museum is a model
the Wells Fargo Coach and a beautiful old safe, plus photos of banks in
the Gold Rush era. Practice your Morse code (an essential skill for telegraph
operators). |
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Discovery Museum History Center –
This is the spot to find out all about the history of gold, the Gold Rush
and lifestyles of gold miners (rich and poor). In the Gold Gallery, there
are hands-on exhibits, gold nuggets galore, a simulated mine shaft, and
re-creations of 19th century life in and around Sacramento. |
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Getting around town – Rent a surrey (four wheel cycles) or bikes to pedal around Old Sacramento, or ride
in style in horse carriage. (You can rent bikes and surreys at Bike
Sacramento on Front St. or Bike and Surrey Rentals) |
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River Taxi – Take a river taxi up
the Sacramento River, a wide green, smooth flowing river, flanked by trees
on the embankment. A favorite trip is to take the taxi up river, stop off
for lunch, and take the taxi back. Click
here for the schedule. |
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Tip: In summer, Sacramento can get hot
in the afternoons. Do outdoor activities in the morning – river taxis,
bike rides or train ride; in the afternoon, stop into the air-conditioned
museums, such as the Railroad Museum or Discovery Museum |
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Fun food – |
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Anyone in your family with a sweet tooth won't
be able to resist the old-fashioned candies – salt water taffy, horehounds,
chico sticks, caramels, peanut brittle, giant-size lollypops, jawbreakers
– at the candy stores in Old Sacramento. |
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Jelly Belly Candy Factory (Fairfield) –
On Highway 80 to Sacramento, take a detour to visit the Jelly Belly jelly
bean factory. See how a jelly bean is made from start to finish, including
the "sugar shower" and polishing stages. The jelly bean art gallery
is boggling – huge mosaics made with thousands of jelly beans, depicting
American presidents and other celebrities. At the end of the tour, there
are free samples and you can get hamburgers and pizzas shaped like a jelly
bean at the restaurant. Factory tours daily, but on weekends you won't see
the factory in operation. |
