Many people travel to Sacramento for the holidays to visit family and friends. Here are five little tidbits about visiting Sacramento that will make your trip affordable and more enjoyable:
- Sacramento holiday hotel packages. They are in abundance. You don't want to sleep on the couch or in a too-small twin bed surrounded by Justin Bieber posters. Combine your hotel stay with a Sacramento Gold Card, only available at participating Sacramento area hotels, and you'll get special offers at Sacramento attractions, restaurants and shopping centers. Simply ask for your free Sacramento Gold Card when you check in.
- Sacramento International Airport. It is so easy to navigate and pleasant that you'll forget you may have paid extra for your bags. To brighten your mood even further there's live musical performances bringing you the sounds of the holidays. If you fly into Terminal A, enjoy what is my favorite piece of artwork in Sacramento, "Samson." Two towers of stacked luggage reach 23 feet high. It's very cool. When you're returning home and waiting for your flight, you get free Wi-Fi. Gotta check your Facebook.
Old Sacramento. Locals have a love-hate relationship with Sacramento's best-known landmark and favorite Sacramento tourist attraction. Listen up. Old Sacramento, especially during the holiday season, is well worth the visit. The second annual Old Sacramento Theatre of Lights show this year has a true 'wow' factor. Thursdays through Sundays, there are two 20-minute shows at 6 pm and 7:30 pm. Wrap up the kids, grab yourself an overpriced decaf-low fat-mocha-soy-cino-something and walk from a nearby hotel (see how easy that it is) and feel the holiday spirit.
- 12 Days of Midtown Christmas. Midtown is Sacramento's hip, cool 'hood without the pretension. Now through Dec. 12, it's everything from karaoke to wine and jazz to a crafts fair. And if you come after Dec. 12, there are still plenty of things to do. Um...you can walk to Midtown from one of the downtown Sacramento hotels - think hard about sleeping on that couch.
- Fog. Why fog? Because it's not three feet of snow you have to shovel. It's mildly irritating (unless it messes up your hair), but it gives you that gray, brisk feeling of Christmas without really being cold, nor nervous about driving in snow, or just being on the road with eggnog-fueld drivers in bad weather. Plus, the fog usually burns off just enough to keep the irritation level low.
Happy Holidays!
