Traveling with kids: Sacramento, part 2

Yesterday I talked about my trip to Sacramento and highlighted some fun places to take the kids. Today I'm finishing up by sharing where you could stay and some kid-friendly eating establishments, if you're planning a trip to our state's capitol.



Where to stay: There are lots of hotels in the area, with all different pricepoints. We chose to stay at the Hampton Inn & Suites in West Sacramento. Each party got a king-sized studio suite, which was very nice. We got a crib for the baby, and put it kind of in the closet, so it was out of the way and a little more quiet. The twins slept on the pull out sofa and Husband and I got to sleep in a king bed. The room had a mini-fridge, microwave, coffee maker and a little sink. It was right off the freeway, but not so close that you heard all the cars.



On the other side of the freeway, there was a large shopping center with a Super Wal-Mart and lots of restaurants, including Chipotle (which is where we got dinner one night). We almost went to the In-N-Out Burger right across the street from the hotel, too.



We spent lots of time in the swimming pool. We also enjoyed the complimentary breakfast: muffins, cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, and make your own waffle (just to name a few items). The room was very nice and for less than $100/night, I thought this was a great deal.



Where to eat: Finding a kid-friendly restaurant seems to be the most difficult trick of all. I'm not an expert on Sacramento (in fact, this was my first visit there!), but I can share with you the two places we went out to eat with the kids.



Logan's Roadhouse: with the music blaring and the peanut shells on the floor, no one will complain when your kids are screaming or the make a huge mess. I ordered the half rack of ribs with a baked sweet potato. So good. In fact, probably the best ribs I've ever had. And the rolls...oh my goodness. My kids each ate a whole roll and I ate 4...and then I lost count. Warm and floury goodness, those rolls. The juke box is free and the atmosphere is laid back.



Kids' menu: I ordered mac & cheese for one of the twins and chicken tenders for the other with french fries and cinnamon apples (I split these between the two). They got milk to drink. The girls ate a decent amount, but it was a little hard to concentrate with so much going on.



Joe's Crab Shack: This was the most fun I've had at a restaurant in a long time. There's loud music (again) and this location (in Old Sacramento) had an awesome view of the river. I ordered the snow crab (with garlic and herbs), which comes with new potatoes and corn on the cob. It was a little bit of work, especially with the kidlets getting antsy, but it was so, so good. And be sure to try the Crazy-Good Crab Dip. It definitely lives up to its name.



Kids' menu: I liked the selection on their kids' menu. I ordered Cheesy Mac for one twin(again...hey, she loves cheesy noodles) and pizza for the other with applesauce for both this time and milk to drink. The portions were plenty big enough for big kids. My hungry little one ate almost the whole huge piece of pizza! I fed some of the applesauce to the tiny babe.



We were there a long time. It was a little slow because it was 4th of July weekend on Saturday at lunchtime. The servers danced twice, which was really fun. My brother-in-law and I actually got up to join them for part of the second song. Definitely some good times!

Traveling with kids: Sacramento

Two weeks ago, my brother met up with our family in Sacramento for a mini-reunion. Since our group had four kids 4 and under (plus 2 babies), we decided to make it a "kid-focused" trip.

Our first stop was Fairytale Town. I was really excited about this little place. Size-wise, it was perfect for our group. We didn't get separated too easily and when we did, it was fairly easy to track the others down. We arrived right before closing time, although they will let you stay an hour after closing time if you are already in the park. My sister had a coupon for 20% off that she printed from the Entertainment Book, and all but one of the kids were free, so our group got in for a pretty good price.

The downside to going at closing time is that all the animals had already been put away. Bummer. We could peek at a few of them in their cages, but that wasn't quite as exciting.

The biggest hit of the park? There were two: the treehouse slide, which my nephew desperately wanted to tackle head first, and the Crooked Mile. My girls walked that crooked mile half a dozen times and were not one bit tired of it!

Summary: Great for little kids (under 5). Perfect price, especially for going with bigger groups. You can easily see everything in about an hour or so, perfect for those short attention spans.

The next day we hit the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento. We didn't get in to the museum because the train was leaving. It's an actual train that takes you on a 40 minute ride along the river. We were on the first train of the day and it was a little crowded, but nice to be able to just sit. All the kids were good about staying in their seats. The train does stop at the halfway point and turn around, so you're free to get up and walk around during that stretch, which is good for the kids.

Old Sacramento is so cute. They have lots of different shops (especially candy shops) and even in the heat of the day, the shaded sidewalks are nice to walk down. We stopped to get an ice cream bar from one of the stores as we took in the sights.

Summary: A must see. Great for all ages. You can gauge this to suit your budget. Train rides are $9 per person, with kids under 5 free and kids 6-17 for $4. The same prices apply to a visit to the museum. Even if you don't ride the train, it's fun to walk around downtown and see the train leaving from the depot. Several people are dressed in period costume, which is always fun. There is paid parking at the nearby garage, but several stores and restaurants offer validation.

Tune in tomorrow for more on my Sacramento trip, including where to stay and eat.