Day Trip to Sacramento

[wickeddisneygurl]

Part I:

So my family decided that we should take a day trip to Sacramento. We left our house at about 8:30 and made it to Vacaville by about 10:00. After stopping for Starbucks (White Chocolate Mocha!!!), we decided to go over to the Nut Tree. I hadn't been there for over 10 years and so I really didn't know what to expect. We used to stop there every year on our way to Tahoe, but when we stopped going there, we stopped going to the Nut Tree. All I know is that the last time I was there, there really wasn't much to see, but it was still fun. When we got there, I knew right away that it had changed quite a bit. It was almost like a mini theme park. There were lots of little kid rides, but there were also some small shops, restaurants, a garden, and a house that I didn't remember but the rest of my family did. Anyways, onto the pics from the Nut Tree.

I loved this little garden because it was so quiet. I wish I could have gotten a picture, but there was a sign saying no cell phones! The irony of this shot is that there is a mini rollercoaster behind a tranquil garden.




Such a cute little ride! I never saw it running, though.


I really liked this!


Another cute ride that I never saw running.


I used to LOVE these when I was younger. I used to insist on riding them every time we stopped here! The funny part was I still fit on them!


Another ride I never saw running (my favorite horses make another appearance at the bottom of the shot ).


The train was really cute. It went around the outside of the area. It used to go out to the airport, but I'm not sure if it goes out there anymore.


The train and the caroussel


Someday we'll go back there, but I think I'll wait until I can bring some younger children with me.




Part II is coming up!

[wickeddisneygurl]

Re: Day Trip to Sacramento

Part II:

After the Nut Tree we decided to head up to Sacramento. Our main reason for going was to go see the Calfornia Railroad Museum. I used to love this place when I was younger and my love for it hasn't changed. It's still a great place to go. The thing I loved the most was the figures and I still love them. In fact, most of the pictures in this part of the report are of the figures inside and outside the trains.

This shot is a little dark, but I needed to test out how my camera was going to work inside the museum. I finally figured out that I needed to turn my flash off.


This shot is blurry, but I couldn't stand still long enough to get it to focus!


This shot is also blurry, but again I could not stand still, plus it was a hard shot to get in general because it was up above.


The inside of one of the trains


This little child figure is so cute! I think he used to be standing up.


This is a sign describing one of the scenes inside one of the cars. This one was for the Crew Quarters.


This is the kitchen. Just try to ignore the reflection on the glass. I did my best to angle my shots, but it didn't always work.


This was of the master bedroom I think.






The Guest Stateroom


The lounge


This shot is for TheRockr. Check the Beatles shirt!


This was new since the last time I was there





She's my favorite part. I am such a feminist!


A better shot


I like how this shot came out






I loved the sign for the dining car!






This is my mom's favorite design. She keeps saying she's going to buy the set they sell outside the gift shop!


That's what the design is called


I just had to get pictures of the different children's menus because they were so cute!












The view from the second floor is wonderful


I got a picture of this from across the way














He used to be downstairs






This just seemed so appropriate for MiceChat!




Main Street? Sorry, not the same Main Street!




I've always been fascinated with this train and how it is placed in front of the mirrors




That's the end of my pictures, but I have more to say.

Part III in a few minutes...

[ksejr1]

Re: Day Trip to Sacramento

i've been there! great photos

[SusieP.]

Re: Day Trip to Sacramento

I've been there, too! The dining car was my favorite and I think I took pictures of the old menus as well. Good times.

[QuietViolet]

Re: Day Trip to Sacramento

LOVE that museum. Thanks for letting us in on your trip

[Sambo]

Re: Day Trip to Sacramento

Indeed - Thanks for the photos. The Railroad Museum is one of the highlights of Cowtown...I mean Sacramento.

[wickeddisneygurl]

Re: Day Trip to Sacramento

Okay, before I get to Part III, I'd like to point out that I added some commentary to Part II that I didn't have time to add earlier. Feel free to check it out again and read the commentary!

Part III:

I have no pictures from the rest of the trip, but I thought I'd wrap this up by telling what we did with the rest of the day.

After the railroad museum we walked over to the Westfield Downtown Plaza mall. We grabbed some lunch at Panda Express and then walked around the mall a little bit. I really liked the carousel in the middle of the mall because the horses had feathered plumes! We then walked back to Old Town Sacramento. My mom and I went over the Candy Barrel (my favorite place to stop) and picked up some saltwater taffy. We sat by the river for awhile eating taffy and watching the train couple up and pull away and the boats going by. That was so relaxing! After that we stopped by another candy store quickly to grab some caramel creams (I love those and the Candy Barrel didn't have them!) and then walked to the car to head home. Along the way, we stopped at our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner. Amazingly, we ran into very little traffic.

All in all, it was a fun day and I can't wait to go back to Sacramento!

Thanks for reading my report!

The End!

[aashee]

Re: Day Trip to Sacramento

Thanks for posting. I really enjoy that area of California. THanks for giving such detailed pictures and commentary.

Chad

[wickeddisneygurl]

Re: Day Trip to Sacramento

i've been there! great photos

Thanks!

I've been there, too! The dining car was my favorite and I think I took pictures of the old menus as well. Good times.

Yes, I really liked the dining car. My favorite, though, has to be the sleeping car because it moves!

LOVE that museum. Thanks for letting us in on your trip

You're welcome!

Indeed - Thanks for the photos. The Railroad Museum is one of the highlights of Cowtown...I mean Sacramento.

Hey, be nice! Sacramento can actually be a pretty cool place!

Thanks for posting. I really enjoy that area of California. THanks for giving such detailed pictures and commentary.

Chad

Yes, I like Sacramento a lot. I hadn't been there in quite some time and so this trip really helped me get my fill.

Thanks for the compliment! Someday I hope to get the hang of my camera. I got it a little over 6 months ago and am still trying to figure out how some things work!

[Ginarella]

Re: Day Trip to Sacramento

Very nice photos. I have a brother that absolutely loves trains. I don't think he's ever been to that Railroad museum in Sacramento. I'll have to mention it to him.

Thanks for sharing your photos.

[wickeddisneygurl]

Re: Day Trip to Sacramento

Very nice photos. I have a brother that absolutely loves trains. I don't think he's ever been to that Railroad museum in Sacramento. I'll have to mention it to him.

Thanks for sharing your photos.

Thanks!

This museum is heaven for train lovers! My dad loves trains and so we've gone there many times over the years! When we used to go to Tahoe, we always used to go to the Nevada State Railroad Museum.

[kelly]

Re: Day Trip to Sacramento

thanks for sharing.. I loved it

[wickeddisneygurl]

Re: Day Trip to Sacramento

thanks for sharing.. I loved it

I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to look at it!

[cerpin taxt]

Re: Day Trip to Sacramento

You're pretty lucky to visit The Nut Tree when you did. They closed it down years ago and it had been a deserted watseland for years after. I think it just had poor management because it was always a very popular stop. Finally, just recently, they started to restore and reopen the minimall, train, and playground. All of that was there when I was a kid, but they may have added more since then. I don't know if they ever reopened the actual restaurant portion, did they? When I was a kid, the restaurant was so cool. They used to have glass aviaries filled with all kinds of birds right there in the restaurant. I was really sad when all of that closed down, it was always a very imporant rest stop for my family when we'd go visit anything in that direction. It makes me glad they've been working hard to make that place memorable again. Thanks for the pictures. I'm inspired to take my neices and nephews for a visit now.

[wickeddisneygurl]

Re: Day Trip to Sacramento

You're pretty lucky to visit The Nut Tree when you did. They closed it down years ago and it had been a deserted watseland for years after. I think it just had poor management because it was always a very popular stop. Finally, just recently, they started to restore and reopen the minimall, train, and playground. All of that was there when I was a kid, but they may have added more since then. I don't know if they ever reopened the actual restaurant portion, did they? When I was a kid, the restaurant was so cool. They used to have glass aviaries filled with all kinds of birds right there in the restaurant. I was really sad when all of that closed down, it was always a very imporant rest stop for my family when we'd go visit anything in that direction. It makes me glad they've been working hard to make that place memorable again. Thanks for the pictures. I'm inspired to take my neices and nephews for a visit now.

We used to go there when I was little. I was really sad when they closed it down because it was a tradition to stop there on our annual trip to Tahoe. My parents used to always buy me a lollipop that I could suck on when we drove through the mountains because my ears always began to hurt when we got up into the mountains. I used to love to ride the train. It really was a baren wasteland and it was so depressing to drive by there whenever we were up that way. I heard when they closed it down that the train was left in the tunnel to rot. I was so happy when they announced that it was going to reopen. I don't think they did ever reopen the restaurant, but I could be wrong because we only stopped to look at the rides, the garden and a little bit of the surrounding area. I'm glad this report inspired you and I hope if you go that you have fun! (Just know that all of the rides require a ticket and there is a games center so be prepared to spend money! )

[Brain Toad]

Re: Day Trip to Sacramento

Great trip report. I haven't gone up to Old Sac in a long time, used to go there a lot as a kid. The railroad museum was my favorite part, though I hated those mannequins. Mannequins in general freak me out, throw them in the somewhat dark areas of the railroad museum and it gets freaky.

I haven't been to the Nut Tree since they did all their work, but driven past it quite a bit, nice to see it looking so nice now instead of just empty land. Vacaville is really starting to develop

[wickeddisneygurl]

Re: Day Trip to Sacramento

Great trip report. I haven't gone up to Old Sac in a long time, used to go there a lot as a kid. The railroad museum was my favorite part, though I hated those mannequins. Mannequins in general freak me out, throw them in the somewhat dark areas of the railroad museum and it gets freaky.

I haven't been to the Nut Tree since they did all their work, but driven past it quite a bit, nice to see it looking so nice now instead of just empty land. Vacaville is really starting to develop

It is kind of creepy to see them in dark places, but in general I've always found them to be pretty fascinating.

Thanks for taking the time to look at my report!

[Alice's Wonderland]

Re: Day Trip to Sacramento

Great TR! I love seeing pictures of home, especially since I'm so far from it. And I had no idea that they were fixing up Nut tree!! I'm so excited that they did! I used to love Nut tree! Do they still have those gingerbread cookies?

[wickeddisneygurl]

Re: Day Trip to Sacramento

Great TR! I love seeing pictures of home, especially since I'm so far from it. And I had no idea that they were fixing up Nut tree!! I'm so excited that they did! I used to love Nut tree! Do they still have those gingerbread cookies?

Thanks!

Ummm...I have no idea if they still have gingerbread cookies, we really didn't stay that long :blush: It's changed quite a bit since the last time I was there so I'm inclined to doubt they still have them...but I could be wrong. That's something I'll have to research and get back to you about!

[DISNEYJUNKIE]

Re: Day Trip to Sacramento

We have taken my grandsons to the Nut Tree the weekend they openned and a few weeks ago. I believe they are probably in off season mode with the rides operaing on a limited basis. The first ride of the airplanes in our trip report is a hoot, my grandson laughs his head off since when the plane rounds the curve it flys into fast motion. All the rides are cute and fun for the younger set, the train is a very shortened version of the old ride , no more airport trip.The tickets are alittle pricey. The garden in your photos is a wonderful spot to sit down and enjoy the surroundings. No unfortunately the restraunt has not resurfaced , I tease my dh that we have the old recipie folder my mom purchased years ago and we really should open a restraunt there. The newest eatery is Fentons Ice Creamery which has yummy ice cream, there is a small Jelly Belly store in the marketplace , as well as some
small food stores. It makes for a fun laid back outing for the little ones. I really would love to see some sort of Nut Tree restraunt again with the old recipies, gingerbread cookies, homemade nut tree bread loaves etc.. and one of my biggest questions is all the hobby horses are great but what happened to the tallest biggest one ? the Giraffe? And a quality toy store once again would be wonderful . They have a website www.nuttreeusa.com for hours , events etc..