Please watch my video for today’s pictures ⬇️. https://youtu.be/ccejP3Q5HvA
We went down to the hotel lobby to get complimentary tea and coffee. At this point on my journey I haven’t managed to have many cups of Yorkshire tea due to the American love of coffee and coffee machines. Today I had to settle for Earl Grey but tomorrow I will have good old Yorkshire tea as they have a hot water urn.
Our planned destination was Old Sacramento, which was about a quarter of a mile from the hotel. It was literally like stepping back in time, as if we were part of some old Western movie. Old Sacramento features dozens of recreated or restored buildings from the Gold Rush era. Wooden sidewalks, horse-drawn carriages, and living history characters provide a view of what 19th century life looked like.
It was quiet when we got there so it was a good opportunity to get breakfast at Steamers cafe. We decided to have biscuits and gravy, but this was my first and only time I will have this. Not sure if there was any sausage in the sausage gravy to be honest, I didn’t enjoy it at all. We got talking to a couple who had travelled from Orange County in Southern California to attend the 2022 California Fallen Firefighter Memorial at the convention centre in Sacramento. This would explain why we’ve seen so many shirts and T-shirts with various fire department names on them.
After our chat, we headed out towards the Old Sacramento Waterfront where the land meets the Sacramento River. Here we found old paddlewheel river boats, one of which had been converted into a hotel and restaurant. We walked on a path between the river and the museum’s railroad. We walked across and back over the Tower Bridge which links West Sacramento in Yolo County with Sacramento, the state capital in Sacramento County.
The midday sun was overbearing when we crossed back over the river so we decided to visit to the Sacramento History Museum. Here we learned about things such as the Gold Rush. In 1848, gold was found 45 miles from where the museum stands, along the American River. When word got out, thousands of migrants travelled to California to seek their fortune. This is what came to be known as the Gold Rush. We also learned of James McClatchy, who travelled from Lisburn, Ireland to find gold, but ended up instead as a partner for the local newspaper, The Sacramento Bee.
We followed this up by then going to the California State Railroad Museum which is just along from the History Museum. There are many exhibits in there such as the wood burning steam locomotive that travelled on the Central Pacific Railroad, and the Virginia -Truckee steam locomotive.
https://www.californiarailroad.museum
Once we’d seen enough trains we headed back into Old Sacramento along 2nd Street. This is where we stumbled upon the River City Saloon, which is the oldest saloon in Old Sacramento. It advertises itself as selling the best Bloody Mary in the city, so I had to give it a try. I have never seen anything so magnificent being made!! Ingredients include vodka, special Bloody Mary mix, sweetened lime juice, sriracha, horseradish, Tabasco, bitters…garnished with smoked bacon, gherkin, pepper, green bean and an olive. This was 1000 times better than biscuits and gravy for breakfast, and I’m sure it would have given me my five a day!! We got talking to some Americans whilst in there, two of whom asked to meet up with them when we head back to San Francisco as they have a bar there.
https://therivercitysaloon.com
We left and headed further down the road to Finnegans. We don’t really bother with Irish bars, somewhere we would never go to (except in Ireland of course…). It was lively and, apart from our peace being disrupted by someone shouting about all the sins we’d committed, it was a good people watching spot and to watch a few classic cars and bikes driving around. One of the cars had a siren and I thought it sounded like one of the cars from Wacky Races.
At this point we thought it would be a good idea to head back to the hotel. We got changed and headed down to the lobby for our complimentary drinks.
We had booked Camden Spit and Larder, a restaurant close to the Kimpton that prides itself on English cooking. The place was heaving when we arrived at 645pm, and we were taken to our table immediately. We were offered the chance to choose a cocktail or a glass of wine first before we chose our appetisers. We decided to be properly English and had a starter of sausage rolls to share. They were really lovely but we said that we could have done with some brown sauce!! We got chance to try popovers, which is the American version of a good old Yorkshire pudding. There was a good choice of mains too, with typical English dishes such as English meat pie. Our server, Sandy, was lovely and she told the chef we were eating in his restaurant, as he is English. He came to speak to us and we found out that he has lived in Sacramento for 11 years but never in Camden.
https://www.camdenspitandlarder.com
Once we’d eaten we headed back to Old Sacramento. I was hoping to see the new neon sign that has been recently installed, but it wasn’t dark enough to be switched on. We didn’t expect to see so many customised classic cars cruising up and down 2nd Street. Some were parked up and owners were chatting to each other. I don’t know if it was a special meet up, or a regular Saturday night event. We saw classic Chevrolets, Buicks and other customised cars. Some drivers clearly wanted to show off, with upgraded suspension that allowed the cars to bounce up and down, or raise up one side as the car as it cruised along. It certainly was a posers’ paradise.
You can see some of my video footage here. It was great fun to watch. ⬇️ https://youtu.be/Zx0pvbqDUSY
This amazing display cemented our thoughts about this city, that it certainly has a lot to offer visitors. We’ve had a fab time here.
jctraveller 
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