Visiting El Dorado Hills & Shingle Springs for the Holidays…read more I came up to El Dorado Hills for the Christmas holidays, and every time I'm here I'm reminded why people fall in love with this area. My family lives out in Shingle Springs, where the properties stretch out into big open acres -- the kind of land where you can actually have horses, cows, chickens, a private lake, and the occasional deer casually crossing your driveway like they own the place. It's peaceful in a way that feels almost old‑school California. December definitely brings its own personality. Think rain, fog, and wind teaming up to create a moody winter vibe. It's beautiful, but also a little dangerous, so if you're visiting during the holidays, drive carefully. The roads can get slick and visibility drops fast. But honestly, that cozy winter atmosphere makes the hot coffee taste better and the scenery feel extra dramatic. If you really want to see this area shine, come back in spring, summer, or fall. The weather cools beautifully up here, the hills turn green, and everything feels calm and wide open. It's the kind of place where you can actually hear yourself think. El Dorado Hills itself is growing quickly -- new homes, new developments, and new families moving in -- but with that growth comes some pretty steep price tags. Still, the potential is huge. You can tell this area is becoming one of those "if you know, you know" pockets of Northern California. The closest major town is Folsom, just a short drive away, and the views along the freeway between the two are surprisingly gorgeous. Rolling hills, open skies, and that classic Northern California landscape that makes you want to pull over and take a photo. Overall, whether you're here for family, fresh air, or just a break from city noise, El Dorado Hills and Shingle Springs offer a peaceful, scenic escape with a lot of charm -- and a lot of room to grow.

El Dorado Hills is a great place to live. And it is a place I have called home for almost two…read moreyears. To be clear, El Dorado Hills does not have official city status. It is a "town" in California. An incorporated town and census-designated place in El Dorado County, California (according to Wikipedia). Located in the Greater Sacramento region of Northern California. It had a population of 50, 547 at the 2020 census! Just two years ago, there was such a small town and rural feel! Since COVID, the migration of people moving from Southern California and the Bay area has been mind blowing. With wine tasting and the plentiful wineries that have become famous in El Dorado County along with nearby Apple Hill (host to a variety of activities at fruit orchards, pumpkin and Christmas tree farms, bake shops, craft fairs and breweries), it is no surprise. Additionally, all those travelers passing through on their way to South Lake Tahoe have brought more exposure to the El Dorado Hills "lifestyle" and its desirable benefits! The next census report may give some residents sticker shock:)! Currently, the El Dorado Hills Town Center is touted as the "ultimate lifestyle experience". Depending upon your definition of ultimate, it is the jewel and "center" of El Dorado Hills. As they advertise, "discover a place of beauty and abundance." There is fine to casual dining with peaceful lake views, unique shopping, outdoor events, premier hotel and an IMAX Theater! And the very popular summer, Thursday night concert series and awesome Farmers Market every Sunday from 8 to 1 p.m. Should you find yourself near my lovely town, please do stop by and enjoy the wonderful amenities El Dorado Hills has to offer. Who knows...you may want to move here yourself! Cheers!

Pebble Creek Christmas Lights is such a treat. This community has a lot of houses that decorate and…read morecelebrate Christmas season with different themed decorations from simple to very elaborate. It gets so crowded but worth the time to walk around the block(s) or drive through depending on the time.

Such an amazing display of lights. Ny family enjoys it every year. It's best to walk the…read moreneighborhood and park in the Bel air parking lot. If not you'll be stuck in the line of cars for quite some time.

I first met Downtown James Brown about two months after I first moved to Sacramento!…read more He has been a great blessing to me as I still don't know many people. I feel at home every time I see him. He remembered our first encounter too! Which made me feel so special! We love you, DTJB!! you're Gods gift to earth!

This man is a Sacramento legend! I used to see him every time I was on the grid. Always friendly,…read morealways charismatic. A real gem!

This was such a fun event! I love beer and trying new ones so what better way than going to a…read morefestival that brings in the local and some of the best around the country! I did feel that $40 was a bit pricy though and the layout didn't seem to match the "maps" they gave us. I went with a group for friend it it got pretty crowded. It would have been nice if they spaced it out more, that way you could actually talk to some of the representatives about their beers. I thought there was a pretty decent diversity of beers and everyone there (not just the vendors) seemed really friendly, all trying to have a good time! You get small cups to sample with when you get in and there are buckets all around if you want to sip and dump. I recommend that you bring a salty snack like a pretzel necklace, jerky, or some smokehouse almond (what I brought) to cleanse your palate. If you want to check out some new beers and don't mind paying a tad bit more, check this event out!

My second year attending this event, and I always have a good time. We bought the beer only…read moretickets, because I go to events like this for the beer, nothing else. Duh. The free shuttle that picked up blocks from my house was a really nice touch. That was a GREAT idea that should be replicated, and a huge thank you is deserved for whoever paid to supply those shuttles. Very nice and important touch. At first it was disappointing that the home and garden show took up the front gate, and our entrance was off to the far end of Cal Expo. Getting there at 2pm when the beer-only gates opened, we had to wait in a huge line for about 15 minutes. But it was to be expected, and I have no complaints about that. We were given a generic plastic cup when we entered. Every other event similar to this one has always made their own cups/mugs, but this event clearly hit up Smart & Final. I liked how the food trucks were all lined up, kinda funneling us into the big building for the beer tasting. It was a nice foreshadowing for when I was to stumble out later. This year's event was held in the same building that houses all the livestock during the State Fair. At first, it had a manure scent when entering the building. But that was soon replaced by the godly smell of beer! We got a map of all the vendors and basically just dived right in. Ruhstaller had one of the longest lines, and some of the best beers. My favorite beer right now is probably Trumer, and I was glad to see them. They were very low key, serving their one brew out of a red cooler and hidden between bigger breweries. But I still stopped by at least three times. Anchor brewery ran out very quickly, I believe about an hour after the doors opened for us. I could understand running out a few minutes before closing, but two hours is quite excessive. Nothing beats fried food after drinking, and those food trucks really hit the spot after wards. I remember drunkenly rambling to Adam P. about how he shouldn't have gotten kicked off The Taste, but I do not remember what I ate. Good times.

Yeah it's aight. Like others have said, it is spotty. One block you'll find multi-million dollar…read moreestates and then go a few blocks and you'll find homeless people and garbage lying around. Some of the highlights: * Arden Fair Mall - now that there is Uniqlo and H&M * How 'Bout Arden - lots of stores, great movie theatre. Nordstrom Rack! Kura Sushi! * Ernie's Interlude - welcoming dive bar; meet your neighbors, sing some songs! * Trader Joe's - this parking lot isn't so exasperating * Whole Foods - Great Amazon return setup * WinCo Foods - Show me a better bulk foods area * Grocery Outlet - I have a collection of shoplifting videos from this location at Marconi. The best one was when a group had a loaded shopping cart of Tide and there was a getaway van with a covered license plate that squealed them away. * Costco Business Center - it's like old school Costco (Price Club) with the huge boxes of bulk chewing gum. Get yo'self half a goat while you're at it. * Country Club Cinema - comfy reclining seats, $5 Tuesdays. Close to midtown, close to Business and Highway 80, not far from 50, it's a very convenient place to live. I hear the sheriff helicopter circling overhead maybe four times a year? I don't know if that's good or bad. It would be bad if I lived in Canada, but for Arden Arcade that's probably par for the course.

The Arden-Arcade area is bigger than I thought. Yes, I pulled up a map of the technical area on my…read morephone just to check. Most of the time when I'm visiting the Arden-Arcade area it's for food and there are a lot of great places to try out. At Howe 'Bout Arden I'm a frequent visitor of 18 grams Coffee Roasters and there are a lot of other restaurant and shopping options in that plaza, along with a movie theater. There is also both Ettore's Bakery and Restaurant and Estelle Bakery and Patisserie in the area and walking into either is dangerous, because the baked goods are AMAZING! Taqueria La Perla Tapatia is also in this area and their food is so tasty. You can go for something classic or simple or try one of their unique creations that your tastebuds and camera will love. Do a quick Yelp search and you're bound to find some new places you want to visit, and I feel like new places are being introduced all the time. I will say, this area is not my favorite to drive in. Sometimes the roads are a bit confusing and some areas need could use some updates. I feel like I always need my GPS here compared to Downtown where it's a grid. if you grow up here I'm sure it's a lot easier to navigate though.

I used to live in Natomas and it was a good experience. If I remember correctly I lived there for…read morearound 2 years. I was located in North Natomas in one of the planned communities. My favorite part of living in North Natomas was the Community. Everyone was so friendly and respectful. We had a Club House with part of our community. The Club House had a gym, pool, and lounge areas. I used the gym 3 times a week Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays. Then in the summer I'd add in the pool for my aerobic workout. The people were very cordial. I never had to fight for gym equipment or a lane at the pool. I was living the life back then. My other favorite part of living in North Natomas was the public library. I went there once a week to check out books, this was prior to the online system, or prior to me knowing about the online system where you can order books online and get them in digital or audio versions. The library couldn't have had a more generic name. It's called the North Natomas Library. I believe the local school shared the library. My favorite restaurant while living there was Shalimar Restaurant. They serve authentic Indian and Pakistani Cuisine. They are part of a shopping center, and have their own shared parking lot. They don't have any really close parking spaces, so if it's raining be prepared to walk a bit and bring your umbrella. We went several times when it was raining and it was a trek. They are across from the Target Shopping Center. I belive Buffalo Wild Wings in in the same shopping center as Shalimar Restaurant. The drive to downtown wasn't bad, without traffic on a Sunday afternoon it is 17 minutes. I always left for work an hour early to ensure I made it on time. I'd then just sit in my car and meditate till it was time to walk to work. The walk was maybe 10 minutes so I had plenty of time to relax before work.

Whether it's North or South Natomas, there is plenty to discover. I love that this area is close to…read morethe city, but has the added benefit of businesses with parking lots. I'm not a big fan of street parking so being able to pull into a parking lot and explore different businesses is always welcome in my book. On top of great local businesses, Natomas has a great set of parks and park systems that make getting out in nature, bike riding, or enjoying the playground with kiddos easy and fun. I've also found some great dog parks in the area that have become regular spots for my dog and I. Whether you live here or are passing through it's worth a quick search on Yelp to see what kind of fun you can discover.

With Lunar New Year coming up, Stockton Blvd. has a few blocks of Asian markets to help you find…read morecultural/traditional items for your celebration. There's a nice variety of Chinese and Vietnamese shops along this busy boulevard. You can find restaurants, markets, salons, jewelers, and other Asian owned businesses. As a result of this pandemic, we have not seen any flyers or ads for Lunar New Year presentations. Maybe before covid, they had family events for the community to ring in the New Year, but likely this year will be different. Please check your local listing for information. Pleased to report that we found everything we needed :) Chuc mung nam moi! Happy Year of the Ox!

An enclave in South Sacramento riddled with a plethora of Vietnamese offerings. Many excellent…read moreplaces to grab a tasty home cooked meal. Stores to get all the provisions for a tasty made at home meal. It's not a pretty to the eye area. On the other hand there's much here to please one looking for the feel of Vietnamese community.

Adj: faithful and fascinating (facility)…read more So the Sacramento Water Tower has been a symbolic structure for many, many years, and while it's a water holding(?) and pumping facility, it also has an artistic side to it. We visited this fascinating facility on a walk on part of the Sacramento River Levee and checked out the architecture, the art, and the surroundings. First there's the facility itself which is described on several metal placards welded to different sections of the fence that surrounds the facility building on one side and the Sacramento River on the other side, allowing visitors to view the river safely (and not fall over and down the embankment) where there's not the river bank that's part of the Sacramento River Bike Trail which leads to this area. Then there's the big mirrored "River River" engraved wall on the front (or is it the back?) of facility. On its 2 sides there are words related to flowing water, rivers, and natural sounds associated with the Sacramento River (or any water way). These are actually quite interesting and tasteful touches added to what would otherwise be a boring water management and transport facility. There's also an open area, like a giant platform that's kind of cool to just hang out and bike on. It's technically part of the bike trail on the levee, but it's a very wide section so you could conceivable do some fun roller blading/skating, dancing, maybe even skating boarding in this area although I'm not sure it's allowed. In any case, it's a great area for viewing the river and taking in all the sights and sounds of nature and a good resting place too. It's towards the south end of the bike trail so it's a good stopping spot for those who have traveled a distance from the north end of the Sacramento River bike trail. Overall, the Sacramento Water Tower is an iconic part of the city and although I miss its original "City of Trees" slogan over the "Farm to Fork Capitol", I still enjoy seeing the water tower whenever I drive past and now I know what the facility is about and have discovered that it's a pretty cool spot along the Sac River levee.

The Sacramento Water Tower is a well known feature that is located in Sacramento, California…read more The giant tower, which is part of the local water utility, is visable from both North and Southbound I-5. Several years ago the slogan changed from "Welcome To Sacramento, City of Trees" to "America's Farm-to-Fork Capital." which caused a a lot of local uproar, but little concern elsewhere. Regardless of its slogan the structure itself is utilitarian and while it serves its purpose well, there is very little artistry. Nor is there any provision to visit