San Francisco/Yosemite Trip Report
 

First off, let me thank everyone who offered advice and input into my planning of this trip. We packed a lot into 4 nights but what an experience we had!

After arriving to Oakland we took the AirBART/BART to Civic Center but really had difficulty navigating the buses. I'm sure it was us Mid-Westerners not familiar with urban transit! Alas we made it to our hotel minus one of our nine lives spent in the 2 mile taxi ride to our hotel.

Stayed at Comfort Inn by the Bay, corner of Van Ness/Lombard. Room was clean, staff helpful, breakfast suitable and price negotiable. Wish it would have been just a tad closer to the wharf but still a doable walk with kids, 8 and 5.

Checked out Pier 39, Blue and Gold Fleet bay cruise, horse and carriage ride, Double Decker tour bus--GGB loop, Grant St., Coit Tower, cable car up Hyde St.--also walked up Hyde St. What a walk that was!

Rented car through Budget on Bay Street. Good prices. Sent husband to get car, brought back Ford Mustang, not a sedan I requested. A quick call to the office and return to the rental garage we were off to Yosemite in our Chevy Impala--after a quick drive down Lombard St. No problems with the exchange.

We took Hwy. 120 to Yosemite and didn't find it a bad drive at all. About 4.5 hours from SF as expected with 2 brief stops.

Yosemite is breathtaking! I can only imagine Spring there with the waterfalls going. Bridalveil was a trickle. We were able to check in early at the lodge in the valley. Rented bikes which was great after being in the car. This is a wonderful way to explore the valley--I highly recommend this activity! The lodge room was somewhat outdated but clean and met our needs. We were in Yosemite NP for crying out loud!

I knew we'd only have time for Glacier Point or Mariposa Grove--Glacier Point won out. So worth the trip. Nevada and Vernal Falls were flowing! The views are stunning, really difficult to describe. About an hour drive from the valley.

Drive back to Oakland was 3.5-4 hours--no stops! Our kids are awesome little travellers!

Stayed at the Park Plaza mainly for its proximity to the airport. Great staff here, clean and updated rooms. Very reasonably priced. Free shuttle to/from airport. Restaurant in the hotel was fair with pleasant staff. No children's menu but they were able to accomodate us with something to tide us over.

Hope this wasn't too long and is of use to a fellow Fodorite or two.

Thanks again!

Your report brought back memories of our visit 6 months ago. I loved San Francisco and would love to go back and spend more time visiting the sights that the locals visit. We never made it to Yosemite but intend to do it on our next trip hopefully in the not to distant future.

Thanks for the report! We will be doing a similiar trip in May with a little more time in Yosemite.

Regarding the Doubel Decker Bus Tour, do I understand that you took the Golden Gate Bridge loop? Did you enjoy it? Do they give you information on the tour? And did you feel that you got to "experience" the Golden Gate Bridge? We will have a short time in SF and am also trying to include as much as possible. Thanks!

Thanks for the trip report -- enjoyed reading it.

We went to both and IMO you made the right decision to choose Glacier Point. Mariposa Grove is neat to see, but would have taken more time. Glacier Point is beautiful!

To seashell

We took the Grayline Double Decker Bus Tour and really enjoyed it. It was a good way to get to some areas we had wanted to see (Twin Peaks for example) and some that weren't on our list and we really enjoyed (like Mission Delores and Japanese Tea House). He took us over (and back) across the GGB and stopped on the Marin side for pictures. We don't usually do tours but this one was really enjoyable, mostly because of the guide who talked and explained things/history etc. all along the way. I think it was only a 3 hour tour and left us alot of time to explore other areas on our own. We did talk to someone who had taken one of the individual limousine tours and they really enjoyed that also -- it was a little more personal and can go to some places the bus can't (like Alamo Park and the Painted Ladies -- we did that on our own). We weren't sure what we wanted to do, and were able to get on the bus tour at the last minute.

Sounds like a great trip. I laughed when I read the part about your husband coming back with the Ford Mustang - I can only imagine trying to pack 2 adults and 2 kids plus luggage in one of those - LOL.

To seashell- yes, we took the Golden Gate Loop and really enjoyed the trip over the bridge. They gave us lots of interesting info while on the bus such as the GGB can swing 27 feet in either direction in the event of an eartquake. Glad we didn't see it put to the test. We were on the Marin Co. side for 20 minutes or so before heading back across. Unfortunately we did not get to see Golden Gate Park though I've heard great things about it. We also went through The Presidio and some homes of the ultra rich, Danielle Steele being one of them. That sort of thing doesn't really do much for me but it was nice to see some of the grand Victorian style homes in the area. Great smelling eucalyptus grove near there, too. If only I could've bottled that!

JCorrea--when the husband called to say he was picking us up in a blue Mustang I laughed too because I thought he was joking. My laughter quickly turned to "What were you thinking??". Our luggage barely fit into the "trunk". It caused a very minor delay--you have to be flexible under those circumstances--rushing and adhering to strict deadlines just adds more stress, for us anyway.