hampsterbrain

I promised I would post when I got back from my trip. Here it goes:

Day 1:
Flew into SFO 8/29. Checked into our Hotel - The Harbor Court Hotel. Got it for $60 per night on Priceline. More that pleased with this hotel. We really liked the location - right across from the Bay Bridge on the Embarcadero. Took a taxi to Pier 39 for lunch. We were so hungry we ate at the first place we saw - Bubba Gump's. Actually it was very good. Took ferry to Sausalito after lunch. very pretty ride. Nice & sunny in Sausalito. Went to a couple of bars. Ended up hanging out at the No Name Bar. Lots of locals and stray cats. Took ferry back to Ferry Terminal (located across the street from our hotel) just in time for complementary wine hour. Very cute lobby. Looks like an episode of Trading Spaces. Wine hour turned into 2 hours. Asked what they did with wine afterwards, said they threw it out so we said we would take it off their hands. Who want to waste good wine, right? Went to Gordon Biersch Brewery for late dinner. Only had appetizers. Wings were very good.

Day 2:
Went to Sinbad's for breakfast/lunch. Not very good. Walked down the Embarcadero all the way to Ghiradelli Square. Walked thru Cannery Row. Took cable car (waited in line for at least 45 minutes) to Union Square area. Felt like I was in NYC for a minute. Took taxi to Golden Gate Park for Ala Carte Ala Park. Drove thru the "Tenderloin". Area looks as bad as things I've heard. Got to the park safely but froze our butts off. It was soooo cold at this park. Had some wine, saw the Bangles play, left. Hard time getting taxi out of there. Went to Francican for dinner that night. Very pretty restaurant - food was excellent.
To be continued.....

hampsterbrain

Day 3:
Got up early to pick-up rental car. Checked out of hotel. Decided to check out the city a bit more before heading south. Drove up to the bridge but not across, very foggy so you couldn't see a thing any way. Drove down Lombard St. Had to do it! Headed to Monterey/Big Sur. Have no idea how long this took. We took 1 all the way down. Stopped a few times along the way to take pictures. Attempted to stop in Santa Cruz to take in the boardwalk but traffic and parking was crazy. We were staying at the Marina Dunes Resort for this leg of our trip. Too early to check in so we continued past MOnterey and ended up going to the Rocky Point Restaurant. Had some appetizers. found the calamari to be very interesting. Continued out drive down to the Julia Pfeiffer State Park and saw the beautiful waterfall. Headed back north to Monterey Area. Stopped at Albertson's to get food for our whale watching trip the next day. Finally checked into our hotel at 9pm. Beautiful room! Huge bathroom. I highly recommend this place! Only bad thing is that is was always foggy and cooler here than Monterey which was about 5 minutes away. The lady at the front desk told me that it's nicer between Oct-Feb.

Day 4:
Headed out for our whale watching trip. It left from Fisherman's' Wharf. Very glad I took my Bonine and made hubby take it too. At least 1/2 of the people on our cruise were getting sick over the side of the boat. Saw a ton of whales. Packed our lunch but never ate it since we didn't know how that would make us feel. Dress very warm if you go on this cruise. I had on 3 sweaters plus a windbreaker and still froze.

Day 4:
Went home.

Sorry if this bored some of you. It was my first time posting a trip report.

Scarlett

First let me say, I LOVE the name Hamptsterbrain .. I smile when I see it

It was an excellent report! I enjoyed all of it, made me remember those foggy chilly days in SF a long time ago.
Also liked the Whale Watching part, I would be one of those hanging over the side of the boat, so I do like to hear from dry land, what those sort of trips are like.
Thank you Hampsterbrain (do your friends just call you Hampster?

Scarlett

I am so sorry for my misspelling

jason888

Thank you, hampsterbrain! Beautiful report!

Another vicarious traveller,
Jason

rjw_lgb_ca

This is a fine travel report, hampsterbrain! Glad you enjoyed your visit up north (as we in the southern part of the state might refer to it-- OK, just me). And glad to hear you had a good whalewatching adventure (despite the rough waters)! I haven't been on a whalewatching boat in years, but when I would go it was so exhilarating I never felt seasick (and my stomach is one of the more sensitive ones). What an experience! Lucky you.

hampsterbrain

Thanks guys! Glad to hear you like my report. Do you know if there's a way I can post some digital pictures? Is there a website that you guys might use for this?

Thanks

Scarlett

I use Ofoto.

Grasshopper

Great report Hammy (that was our hamster's nickname). I'm curious as heck what was interesting about Rocky Point's calamari?

hampsterbrain

The calamari was more like a chicken nugget than the calamari I'm used to here in Chicago. They are usually little rings. I saw Calamari steaks on alot of menus in California and I'm just as interested in what the heck that is.

oldhippy

Calamari steaks are hammered out/tenderized to look like white cube steaks!

KarenL

For us poor folks who have to wait until next year (june/alaska) for our next big trip, these trip reports are great.

It gives me specifically, a little pick me up during a boring day at work and something to think about for my future travels. Great report. Thanks.

bookhall

Great report--took me back.... Webshots has a great free site for picture posting. I find it easy to use, and the pictures seem to size well.

razzledazzle

Super-duper trip report hampsterbrain!!
I am nostalgic over your mention of the NO NAME-used to live in Mill Valley and that was our favorite non-trendy escape.
They typically have excellent bands in the eves and the place is populated by many who are "live aboards" (folks who live on their sailbaoats in the local marinas or "anchor out" in the bay).
Loved your descriptions of the Harbour Court lobby as Trading Places chic!
Thanks for your mention of Marina Dunes and Julia Pfeiffer(as I am still undecided on lodging in the area for a mid-October adventure to the Aquarium!)
Glad you enjoyed the whale-watching I've enjoyed many trips while bundled in
Gore-Tex layers!(LOL!)Please let us know where you post your pictures and gracias for a fine report!
R5

kikahead

Great report!! One quick question, did you priceline the Marina Dunes as well? I have been thinking about staying there for our fall butterfly runs!

hampsterbrain

Kikahead-
I got the Marina Dunes thru Orbitz. I looked thru ALL the websites and found the cheapest rate there. We actually only booked one night there (Oceanview) then added the 2nd night later on (dunesview) but they let us stay in the OV for both nights.

Kal

We love the Harbor Court. Especially the rooms with a Bay Bridge view.

Was it still marked as a "B" <boutique> in P'line's menu?
We stayed at the Villa Florence last Fri/Sat nights and while it is a nice place, good service and Kuleto's Wine Bar and restaurant is right there, the parking is a nightmare.
Try and unload and check in with a cable car full of tourists is behind you!
We will now look for hotels outside the 'town area, like Embarc or FW.

For a chain, Gordon Biersch has good grub and if the weather is nice, the view from the front porch is very good.
Great TR,
Kal

kikahead

Thank you for the info. I have looked at the website and it looks like a neat property!

mlm59

Hampsterbrain,

Loved your trip report. We are planning a similar trip next year in mid September. I was suprised about the fog. I had read somewhere else that the fog isn't usually so bad in August & September. Guess that isn't always true.
When bidding on Priceline to get the Harbor Court what area of the city did you choose - Embarcadero?
Does anyone know how late in September the whale watching trips run? We will be in Monterey in mid September next year and would love to do this.

Thanks,

mlm59

hampsterbrain

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