***JM5855***

FreshStart31

Museums

Crocker Art Museum ? Modern and historical type art, www.crockerartmuseum.org/

California State Railroad Museum ? Trains, trains and more trains, www.csrmf.org/

California Museum ? All about California it also houses the California Hall of Fame, www.californiamuseum.org

California State Capital - capitolmuseum.ca.gov

Restaurants 

Moxie (American) - www.moxiesacramento.com/

Frank Fats (Asian) - www.fatsrestaurants.com/

Banderas (American) - www.hillstone.com/

Zocalos (Mexican) - www.zocalosacramento.com/

Mikunis (Sushi/Japanese) - www.mikunisushi.com/

Wine

I?m not going to give you any local wines, but I will give you local wine areas.  This will enable her to get out more and do some exploring. 

She will be about an hour and 15 or so from Napa which has some of the most amazing wineries.  The drive there is decent and the area is gorgeous. 

To the west(ish) is the Shenandoah Valley which has some great wineries also.  It is only about 45 minutes away from Sacramento.  One of my favorite wines is there (a Pinot Grigio from Villa Toscano Winery - www.villatoscano.com/ ).  What is nice about this area is that it is less pretentious than Napa and much less crowded.  The wineries are smaller and are usually less busy than those in the Napa Valley. 

There is a great wine bar right next door to Zocalos called 58 Degrees and Holding, www.58degrees.com/.  They have a great selection of wines and apps. 

 General Information

She will be approximately an hour and 45 minutes to two hours from the San Francisco Bay area which of course is something she has to do when she has some time.  The beach is also near the bay but I wouldn?t recommend going to the beach there in S.F.  I would suggest she go to the beach more to the North and South on Highway 1. 

The mountains and some of the best skiing/outdoor type activities are to the East of Sacramento.  Lake Tahoe is about an hour and a half up Highway 50.  It usually requires chains/4WD in the winter just due to the snowfall but there are many ski resorts as well as casinos in Lake Tahoe.  But, there is plenty of hiking and sights to see besides the casinos. 

To the South of Sacramento is the Yosemite Valley ? I?ve heard it is breathtaking and having lived all my 31 years in Northern California, I?ve never been.  Lame, I know.  

Please let me know if you need any more recommendations or suggestions, I?d love to help! 

Mel~

jm5855

This is awesome and very helpful!  Thank you!!  You put a lot of work into this

I will definetley have to fess up and admit I had help with this...she would never believe I did all this research on my own...hahahaha.

How long have you lived in that area?

FreshStart31

I've lived near Sacramento my entire life.  I was born in a smaller city, Stockton (and tell her to NEVER EVER visit there - the crime rate is through the roof, 56 homocides and counting).  I moved to the country when I was 12 and have lived there ever since.  I work in the downtown Sacramento area and have for the past 3 1/2 years.  I work for the State (7 years) and most of the state headquartes offices are here in downtown.  I currently live about an hour and 15 minutes from Sac.  I will admit though, I don't get out much to visit these sights as much as I'd like.     

jm5855

She is going to be thrilled with your ideas.  Again, cant thank you enough!!