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Mystic River Dragon

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I will be in Sacramento for a few days after the Gathering, hoping to meet my California cousin down there since she can't get to Portland.

How safe is it? I'm thinking of a hotel on the riverfront (Embassy Suites or Holiday Inn) near the train station and the train museum.

Also, how walkable is it? She may only be able to get away for a day or two, so I may have several days to wander by myself. One day of course will be for the train museum, but I notice there's the Stanford Mansion and also a PF Chang's, both of which I would like to go to (for different reasons, obviously! :) )

I would look at Old Sacramento, too, I suppose.

Some people here have suggested Davis and other nearby towns instead of Sacramento--unfortunately, my cousin's work schedule is so erratic that she won't know til almost the last minute which day she will be free, so I need to be somewhere that she can get to easily but that also has enough to keep me busy for a couple of other days.

Also, I may have to take the CZ to Chicago--is the Sacramento station staffed before the train comes in? How difficult is it to manage the station? (Easy or hard to know where to line up, where to board, etc.?) I may do a test run--go there the day before I leave and see what the setup is--but any advice here is always valuable.

The other possibility if she can't get away at all is for me to meet her in San Francisco for lunch--is there a local California train that basically acts as a commuter train that I could take in the morning from Sacramento and back there in the evening? I am a bit leery of trying to get across that bay and not knowing what I'm doing.

Thank you all in advance for your suggestions. :)
 
I really liked the Vagabond Inn when I stayed in Sacramento (I stay in Davis now when I come that way. Just more restaurants within walking distance and it seems more walkable in general.) It's definitely closer to the station and Old Sacramento, someone else probably has more experience with the Holiday Inn/ other attractions you mentioned.

I always thought it was pretty safe. Even coming in late on the Zephyr and crossing from the station to the hotel alone I didn't feel unsafe at all.
 
Lots of Amtrak california trains that run from sacramento to Emeryville... And they are a lovely run. Lots of great scenery.

Sacramento is very walkable. Old town is very touristy so always people around in the daytime. When the shops close down it might get a little iffy at night... Depends on what you're used to. It's a city. I personally would take an Uber from the station to a hotel at night. (And have done so.) but would walk in the daytime no problem.

The station is a neat old historic station. A bit of a walk from the station to the platforms (similar to LA Union station with an underground tubnel).

The railroad museum is amazing. You'll have a great time.
 
Thank you, Cina and crescent-zephyr, for the good tips.

I will look into the Vagabond Inn.

I don't ever go out at night anywhere by myself, so if it's safe in old town during the day I should be fine.

I am seriously thinking of staying with my original plan and taking the CS back up to Portland, then taking the EB to Chicago. I have a family room booked on the EB and got a great price for it, and the CZ is outrageous even for a roomette. The only problem is that the CS northbound leaves so late from Sacramento. And it also leaves late from Davis and Emeryville. Is one of them (or something I'm not thinking of) a good idea to go to that morning, then come north that evening? Which is staffed, safest, and easiest to get on the train from? I gather there would be something to walk around during the day and look at in Davis, but nothing much in Emeryville? I really don't want to spend the extra money for the CZ and be tossed around mountains and have to pull the blanket over my head through tunnels and be terrified of the high altitude around Denver. :p
 
Don't worry about catching the Starlate @ Night Patty.

Since DaVis and Sacramento are both manned Stations ( so is Martinez and Emeryville, but not much going on @ Night)I suggest you either put your stuff in the Sleeping Car waiting area @ Sacramento and hang out across the Street @ Old Town ( the,Rail Museum is State so it closes @5PM), or in the Starbucks a block from tbe Station and then catch the Starlate when it arrives. ( its usually Late!)

A Better idea is to ride an Amtrak Cal train to Davis and have the friendly Agent watch your stuff @ the Classic SP Station while

You walk around the Close by neat area

where the College Students hang out.

Have Dinner and then catch the Starlate.
 
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I don't have any experience with Emeryville, twice now I've taken the Zephyr to Davis, stayed at the Hallmark Inn, and caught the southbound CS in the morning. I thought the station was small enough that it wasn't hectic finding my train, etc (only two tracks) but was still staffed and has an ok waiting room.

Davis has a lot of restaurants, an arboretum you can walk around in, a few different little shops. Sacramento probably has more "day trip" activities like the museum.
 
Thanks, Jim and Cina...

After much dithering, I have decided to go to Sacramento for a few days as planned, then go down to Davis midmorning on October 7, then come back up from Davis on the CS to Portland on the same day. I looked up Davis and it looks small enough that even I can't miss the track and the train!

I will tell my cousin what I've planned and leave it up to her if she wants to meet me in Sacramento or Davis or say the heck with the whole thing and maybe come east for Christmas to visit her sisters and me, which we are always trying to get her to do (we will all be getting together where they live in Connecticut). I really don't want to cancel on her, but if she has to cancel I will at least feel that it wasn't my fault.

Is the Davis station staffed all day? In other words, can I leave a suitcase there with an agent midmorning and then get it later, so I don't have to walk around the town with it? Does the agent take you to the train track or just tell you where it is? That's the last question, I promise! (at least for now!)
 
The Davis agent will hold your bags inside the office/ticket window in the Classic SP Station.You can check Luggage for the Bag Car on the Train also. Hours are 4:15am-11PM.

It is a small Station Patty, the door to the Platform leads you right to the two Tracks, you cant miss them! The office/ticket window is in the middle of the Station with the Waiting Room with its Classic Wooden Benches on the East end.

Amtrak #6 will be the Big Silver Double Deck Train with the Blue and Grey P-42 heading East .The Capital Corridor Trains have California Colors and are much more frequent in both Directions.
 
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The California trains go down to San Jose where you can get on the CS earlier (scheduled for 8:30ish) . I have no idea what's near the San Jose station, though.
 
Go to Sacramento. Use a taxi or Uber to get around and ask the driver about things of interest. Maybe spend a night on the Delta King. You will enjoy your stay in the Capital of California. Have a great trip!
 
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I stayed in the Holiday Inn a good few years back. Very bland, and rather near the construction work now going on in the mall area for some new stadium. I also used the Vagabond Inn, which is directly opposite the Sac station, although across the other side of the street. Too much of an adventure for you, maybe, but my preferred digs in Sac is the Hostel on H street :D

I like the "old town" where the rail museum is, and right next door, another museum too. You can sit on a raised fenced area and watch the river flow, near the Delta paddle steamer, now a floating hotel. There is a light rail transport system which goes out to Fullsom, an interesting old place with historic buildings. (Don't think that is anything to do with the prison song...) The station building is newly renovated and quite safe, it is a bit of a stroll out to the train tracks, but it would be hard to go wrong. They have carts for folk who don't walk well too. Never been to Davis. Don't worry, you will have a little mini adventure whatever happens, just relax and enjoy it all!

Ed.
 
caravanman said:
I stayed in the Holiday Inn a good few years back. Very bland, and rather near the construction work now going on in the mall area for some new stadium. I also used the Vagabond Inn, which is directly opposite the Sac station, although across the other side of the street. Too much of an adventure for you, maybe, but my preferred digs in Sac is the Hostel on H street :D

I like the "old town" where the rail museum is, and right next door, another museum too. You can sit on a raised fenced area and watch the river flow, near the Delta paddle steamer, now a floating hotel. There is a light rail transport system which goes out to Fullsom, an interesting old place with historic buildings. (Don't think that is anything to do with the prison song...) The station building is newly renovated and quite safe, it is a bit of a stroll out to the train tracks, but it would be hard to go wrong. They have carts for folk who don't walk well too. Never been to Davis. Don't worry, you will have a little mini adventure whatever happens, just relax and enjoy it all!

Ed.
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It's the same Folsom that Mr. Cash sung about, the prison is about 2 miles up the river from the downtown Folsom lightrail station. One could easily Lyft/Uber from the station to the prison, where they do have tours of the old section (dating to the mid-19th century) including the former gallows used for executions. Old Town Folsom is easily walkable and has a number of shops and restaurants to check out.

Bit of trivia: the ROW (Right Of Way) that the SacRT Gold Line runs on from the 65th Street Station to Folsom is the first piece of railroad ever constructed in California. It was originally called the Sacramento Valley Railroad, and was 5' 3-1/2" wide-gauge rail laid down in 1856.
 
In Sacramento, Embassy Suites gets my vote. The free cooked-to-order breakfast and the nightly reception with snacks and drinks helps make up for the rather high price. All suites are two rooms with a little kitchenette area between. Lots of rooms have a river view and the tower bridge at night is beautiful. Old Sac is right across the street and quite safe even after dark.

The Delta King is a unique experience. The rooms are pretty small and very outdated, but give you a feel for how travel was back in the day. If you stay there, insist on a riverside room. Even if you don't stay there, it's a fun place to go in the evening for drinks beside the river.

I've also stayed at the Holiday Inn, but as Ed said, it's pretty bland. But there is a close by tunnel under the freeway that puts you smack dab in the middle of Old Sac.
 
Sacramento downtown is even less "iffy" at night if the Sacramento Kings NBA basketball team are in town and playing an evening game at their new stadium in downtown just 2 blocks from the train station. And if the Golden State Warriors are the visiting team, the game will be a sellout.
 
Thank you, everyone, for all the excellent advice and suggestions! :)

I will stay an extra couple of nights in Portland after the Gathering, then go to Sacramento for two nights (Embassy Suites), then take a train up to Emeryville for one night--I found a Hilton Garden Inn there close to the train station, with a decent price compared to San Francisco, and I like that chain and feel comfortable in them. I didn't realize there were so many trains that go back and forth in California--a bit like our Keystone in Pennsylvania? Amtrak, but a bit less formal and running several times a day? I will leave from Emeryville the next day and go back up to Portland for one night, then keep my original ticket on the Empire Builder back to Chicago. The day I arrive back in Portland, they are having some marathon, but hopefully they will all be finished and exhausted and have left by the time the CS gets there. :p

I am doing this whole California thing just in the hopes of seeing my cousin, so this gives her a couple of possibilities. If she can't make it to Portland, hopefully she can take whatever it is that goes across the Bay and can meet me in Emeryville and stay overnight, even if she's working part of both days. If absolutely none of this works out, I will at least get to see the train museum in Sacramento!

This was the last part of my trip planning, and it's finally done! :) I can hear you all saying, "Finally! It's about time--it took her long enough!" :p
 
Tinkering with itineraries is fun and helps to get the most out of the whole experience. I was due to spend a few days vacation in a caravan here in the UK, with my young son. I started tinkering around, and the result was that when he came home from school that afternoon, we jumped in a cab, and headed off to the airport and flew to America that evening! That is a true story! So, with trip planning, never say "finally" is my advice! :D

Ed.
 
The old steamboat, "Delta King" is tied up in old town and might be an interesting alternative.

We did it once and it was fun since we had taken the sister boat Delta Queen when it was running the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

Sent from my iPhone using Amtrak Forum
 
Thanks--that is a great idea! I did check it, but it is booked for the dates I'll be there. That might be just the place for a special lunch or dinner for my cousin's birthday, though. :)

By the way, I forgot to ask: What is the weather like in Sacramento in early October?
 
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Googling up the October Weather Forecast for Sacramento shows Datime Temps in the 80s/Nights in the 60s with mostly Sunny Days. Some Rain Showers and cooling off into the 70s/50s after the First Week.

Should be Nice,it's California.
 
I'm not sure about the lunch/dinner on the Delta King but there are a lot of restaurants in Old Town and a neat steam excursion train.

Sent from my iPhone using Amtrak Forum
 

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