Been trudging through internet struggles for the past several weeks in a beautiful, rural campground. I’ve managed to piece together a choppy post. Let’s rewind to our first stay in California – Cal Expo RV Park.
This RV park was basically a parking lot, but it worked out just fine. The maximum stay is 30 days. It is located right in Sacramento – at the fairgrounds – providing us with our first stay in a city. The sites were tight, but to be expected in a metropolitan area.
There is a large homeless population in Sacramento; however, the RV park seemed safe overall. Cal Expo Fairground Police patrolled the grounds. A bike trail runs right by the park and is also frequently patrolled by police and park rangers. There is a dog park onsite with a small grassy area outside of it which we enjoyed utilizing to get wiggles out a few times.
Pricing is $300 per week. If you know in advance that you will stay at least 3 weeks, go ahead and book for 30 days, which is $850 total. They do not prorate if you book for a shorter stay initially and add on. RV sites available for at least 2 weeks have been extremely hard to find within 30-60 minutes of Sacramento.
Zoo 
Funderland 
Pony Ride 
Fairytale Town
It was nice to be close to grocery stores, attractions etc. In addition to playground hopping we went to the Sacramento Zoo, Funderland and Fairytale Town. All great choices for toddlers through elementary age. Pony rides are available certain days of the week outside of Funderland.
The playgrounds were hit or miss as the homeless tend to occupy public parks. Our favorites that also felt safe were Mckinley Park and Oki Park.
Mckinley Park 
While in town we also walked around the Old Sacramento Waterfront. It had historic charm, lots of shops and some restaurants.
We took a day trip to Napa Valley, which was about a 90 minute drive. We enjoyed a picnic and walk in a park with redwoods. We also found a fun playground for Ellie just outside of town. We ditched our weekend wine when the pandemic started for the sake of our immune systems and haven’t looked back. As such, the vineyards weren’t at all appealing for us to check out. It was pretty, but didn’t stand out as a must see place for non-wine enthusiasts.
San Francisco was the one place we planned to explore but didn’t get to. Hopefully we’ll head in that direction during some of George’s upcoming time off for the holidays.