"That was better than I thought it would be," was the comment of my 16-year-old daughter after we finished the tour.

The mansion was being renovated when we were there (I think they will finished in the spring of '09, but I am not positive). We could not see the outside because it was covered with scaffolding and plastic. The tour starts in the carriage house where they is a model of the house, so we could see what it looked like. The carriage house also has the governor history in photos as well as souvenirs for sale.

Our tour guide was fabulous! A young girl with a passion for history, especially for this house. Whenever we asked a question about something, she would answer, "Well, there is an interesting story behind that..." and then proceed to tell us the story.

The top floor has never been open to the public, but it will be after the renovation is finished, so we will take another tour when we are in Sacramento again!