bluesky

My husband and I are going to visit our son at college in San Francisco end of Feb/beginning of March. We'll be with him for three or four days. We've been in the San Fran area many times, and were thinking of taking a few days for the two of us after finishing up our visit with him. We were thinking of heading north up towards Napa, etc. The wineries themselves don't offer much appeal since we will not be drinking any wine! We'd also considered Yosemite, but I'm a little bit afraid of the weather. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

xxx

You can take a drive to the gold county, say Nevada City or Jamestown/Columbia. Check out the Napa wine train for a nice dinner, you don't have to have wine. There are alot of places to visit that are close, Half Moon Bay, Monterey, Santa Cruz or Bodaga Bay. Reno/Tahoe can be done in an overnight trip. My choice would be Jamestown. Have dinner at the Willows and see a live theatre at the Fallon House in Columbia with breakfast at the Columbia House. They still offer stage rides. It's a nice relaxing place to spend the night and antique shop. Depending on your time schedule Morro Bay would be another choice.

Susan

The Napa valley is a beautiful spot, but the culture is very focused on wine. Are you and your husband epicures/foodies? There are many great restaurants and food-oriented experiences in the Napa valley as well. During the time you will be here Napa valley is hosting the Mustard Festival. Check out www.mustardfestival.org for more info. Also, at Copia in Napa there are cooking demonstrations, demonstration gardens, etc. If you'd like to try hot-air ballooning or enjoy bicycling or want to experience a mud bath then you can keep yourself very busy without touring wineries.

Otherwise, there are many other interesting spots close to SF that you might enjoy. The Mendocino coast is breathtaking. Also, Monterey, Carmel and Big Sur are well worth a visit. Yosemite is accessible all year but there will be snow in February. The Gold Country is another great suggestion. It all depends on your interests and what kind of sights you like.

J correa

I agree with the others' that there are plenty of places to visit close to SF that aren't in the wine country.

If you are interested in coastal areas, I would opt for Big Sur or Point Reyes National Seashore. Half Moon Bay is a nice little town too.

If you are interested in Yosemite and don't mind snow, then definitely go up. I've never been in the wintertime - not much of a snow person - but I've heard it is incredible.

The Gold Country is also a very good choice.

K

There are lots of things to do other than wine tasting. A winery tour is till interesting on it's own. The mustard festival is great. You can also see the Culinary Institute of America is there as well as Dean and DeLucca. Cornicopia is a very interesting culinary museum.

It is just plain charming and I would reccoment it highly.