This was a great place to eat while we were staying in downtown Sacramento because my kids gobble up spaghetti like it was candy. We walked here from the Residence Inn, 5 blocks away, and the downtown area was pretty nice!

Service was incredibly slow on the evening we went. I was watching the dining room and saw that there were several other very large parties of 10 or more people because there was a high school graduation that evening, just down the street. They all had the great idea to eat as families at the OSF after graduation!

I ended up asking servers passing me for water, to take our order, for more bread, etc. Our server was very kind and apologetic but he was in over his head with taking care of a table of 14 and with a far walk back to the kitchen.

The long wait didn't make us not want to return... we LOVE the OSF... it just made our evening a bit longer. But our dinner was delicious.

I love seeing living history and touring important places and the Capitol building in Sacramento has it all. For one thing, it's beautiful. The dome, the statues, the large bronze seal of California on the steps outside, the rotunda inside, I could go on and on. Another thing is that it is living history. As we walked towards the entrance I heard several (possible legislators?) discussing something that the "people" would be interested in and how it would affect them. Not just them... us!

We took the free tour but we had to wait for 1 hour for it to start because the other tour was full with a school group. I didn't mind because it gave us a good chance to walk around, watch the documentary on the reconstruction, and to visit the gift shop. The gift shop was PERFECT for us. We bought post cards, stickers of the seals, a book or two (of fun history for the kids), and even a puzzle. All in the name of education and things they could use for their state reports.

Our tour was free and the guide gave us good information on California history. He didn't romanticize it but gave some honest truths about the difficulties the miners faced, the oppression that the Native Indians suffered during the Mission system, and the settling of CA. My 4 and 6 year olds were mostly bored, but the big kids took in a lot. Although they missed the fact that we stood outside the Governor's Office. They were only paying attention to the big bronze bear.

TIP: Don't get a $42 parking ticket like I did because I didn't pay the meter the right way, or move my car after 1 hour!

This is a MUST SEE in Old Sacramento (or Sacramento in general!) with kids. The Old Schoolhouse is set up just like an historic one with wooden desks, slates, chalk, and flannel erasers at each place. My kids found their seats (my kindergartener in front, 6th grader in the back) and promptly wrote their names, copied the verse on the board, and started on some pretend math problems.

We visited in May... HIGH SEASON for 4th grade field trips and there was a class that was scheduled to come in. So we sat in the back and watched as a docent (a volunteer schoolteacher) taught the class. They learned their manners, rules, and were taught an English lesson from the old McGuffy readers on their desks.

There were many helpful things around the classroom that you could see that also taught the history of the old schoolhouse. An old U.S. pledge, rules for schoolteachers, and even a dunce cap.

After our "school session" my kids "pumped water" from the outside well and swung on the swings. It was a great day at school!

Just 2 blocks from Capitol Square in Downtown Sacramento is the upscale Residence Inn. It was a very nice place for our family to stay while on a CA history field trip. We stayed in a 2 bedroom suite with plenty of room for our family of 4 kids.

What we loved:
• Very spacious rooms
• A true suite: separate rooms with doors to 2 bedrooms so kids and parents can sleep separate.
• Heated swimming pool with a small Jacuzzi
• Very clean and nice furnishings.
• Kitchen with refrigerator, microwave, and dishwasher
• Complimentary breakfast that had many great options and plenty of open seating.
• Great location. Within 2 blocks of Capitol Square, nearby restaurants, entertainment, and shopping.
• A safe downtown vibe where we could walk in the evening.
• Free Wi-Fi

What we didn’t love:
* It was a long walk from our room to our parked car. Our car was on the 7th floor of the garage and we were on the 8th floor of the hotel. We had to go down to the lobby and across and then back up to get to either place. We also had to cross the entry drive and alley to get to the elevator of the parking garage; not a very safe passage with little kids.
* Parking is limited in downtown and the parking fee was $17 a day

2 BEDROOM SUITE
We could have moved in and stayed a week with the amount of room that was in our 2 bedroom suite. We all spread out and felt very comfortable in the 2 bedrooms each enclosed with their own doors opening to the living room. Each bedroom had a queen bed, TV, bathroom (one with a shower, one with a tub), large closets, and side tables. The living room was long and thin and held a pull-out couch (styled like a chaise lounge), desk, TV, and small table with 4 chairs. There was a small kitchen with a full-sized refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, kitchen utensils and dishes.

COMPLIMENTARY BREAKFAST
I’ve eaten at many a complimentary breakfast but this one impressed me with it’s fresh selections and hot dishes. The eating area was open and large and we had plenty of space to enjoy breakfast. The lobby itself was modern and upscale for business.

LOCATION IN DOWNTOWN
The hotel is located close to Capitol Park and the Convention Center. Within close walking distance were several coffee shops and nice restaurants. We walked through a crowd of high school graduates at the Memorial Auditorium on our way to the Old Spaghetti Factory, 5 blocks away. The gardens of Capitol Park stretch for 2-3 blocks behind the Capitol building and were within close walking distance of the hotel.

POOL
The outdoor pool on the 3rd floor was heated enough so that the kids enjoyed swimming. It’s never warm enough for me, especially on a cool evening so I soaked in the Jacuzzi while they splashed in the shallow end. There were 3 wide steps with space for little ones to play and then a 3-4 ft. shallow end. The Jacuzzi was on the small side so it was a little tight when 2 other families joined us.

Disclosure: This review is based on a complimentary stay. I was not asked to express a point of view and all opinions are my own.

This place has it all for anything and everything I wanted my kids to learn and see about the CA gold rush. The first gold was discovered here, so it all makes sense that there would be great things to see and learn here. Thankful this state park has preserved buildings, set up displays, and made things easy to see and learn so that kids (and adults) can visit it and really enjoy it!!

The one thing I didn't expect on our visit was all the school groups that were there. It was May, and there seemed to be a group of 20-30 4th graders just about everywhere I looked. My "big" family of 4 kids didn't seem so big anymore!

We picked up a map at the main visitor center and headed outside because the afternoon was getting late. The main visitor center really is the place to start visiting this park because it has great displays and really tells the story visually of how gold was found here. We visited the next morning and still enjoyed it, although the gift shop was too packed with 4th graders to really see anything (it was loaded with things kids love to buy!)

There was a gold panning center just across the street so we joined the group that started at 2pm (Panning starts on the hour). I paid the $7 per person and realized I just handed over the actual "gold" harvest. Thankfully I didn't choose to pay for my 4 year old. She would have just splashed the water over the side and got tired of it all after a few minutes. My 12, 10 and 6 year old listened intently and proceed to sift rocks, dirt, and sand for the next 45 minutes in search of those precious gold flakes. They scored 3 flakes, several nuggets of fools gold, and some small garnets (added because they are cheap, fun to find, and James Marshall's birthday is in January). The staff members there were at times very helpful and other times very hands off. Panning for gold is a long and tedious process that doesn't always pay off easily. My kids quickly learned that the work of a miner wasn't easy. They were very proud of their small vials with gold flakes and other treasures!

We followed our map on the trails that followed the river and saw the replica sawmill, the ditch that was dug behind the mill (where the first gold was found), and some old buildings including a Chinese store. The trails were under old oaks and bordered by grassy meadows. It was quite beautiful. The American River rushed by the whole time and we stopped to have a rock throwing contest.

After dinner, when everything was closed and most of the kids had gone home, we took our gold pans (from the Coloma Country Inn B&B) to the other side of the American River where the public can pan for gold recreationally. We took our shoes off, waded in the river and scooped sand and dirt and washed it out, hoping to strike it rich. We quickly learned that there was not a speck of gold to be found, nor any pretty garnets. We didn't get lucky, but we really enjoyed the river and the setting sun. If it had been warmer, we would have gone for a swim or a float, but we really enjoyed the true gold... just being together!

TIP: We stayed at the Coloma Country Inn B&B which was within a short walk of Marshall Gold State Park. It's in an historic house built right after the gold was first found. It was a great way to really enjoy the park, to see the sun set, and to really experience gold country. Plus, it was family-friendly!