cam

My husband and I will spend three days at a conference in San Francisco and then have three additional days to spend in the area. Do you have any suggestions for early February? We have both been to San Francisco several times before and are interested in things outside the city.

m

how about a little south to carmel and monterey.

janis

Depending on your interests my suggestions for three-day trips in order are:

1-Tahoe -- especially if you ski

2-Monterey Bay (Santa Cruz and the Santa Cruz mountains/redwoods), Monterey, Carmel

3- North along the Marin and Sonoma coasts with possibly a swing through Napa on the way back to SFO

xxx

montery...might see some great storm waves at that time of year. take the 17 mile drive around pebble beach golf course and go for lunch there.

Ted

How about wine country to the north? There are beautiful inns and great restaurants, not to mention the vineyards. Napa, Sonoma, etc.

John G

I used to live in Los Gatos, and I would always recommend Monterey to people. The aquarium is really spectacular and the seafood at the restaurants is fresh and delicious. And it is much nicer than the Pier 54 in SF.

kam

Also consider Yosemite--no crowds, you can probably get good accomodations, snow at the higher elevations and most likely no snow on the valley floor (although this year is very cold and very wet so far) Yosemite in winter is a sight few people get to see. They do special chef's weekends in early spring--check to see if that's on in February. Otherwise, all of the above suggestions are good. Even a weekend in Sausalito with day trips on a pretty day to Pt. Reyes or Sonoma.

Susan

John G., do I know you? Did you go to school in Los Gatos? Pray tell, what years? It is a small town, after all.

Cam, if you haven't ever been to Yosemite and don't mind driving in a bit of weather that would be my strong recommendation. It is breathtaking.

However, if you aren't into the semi-long and possibly snowy drive I'd guide you to the wine country, for the wonderful food, acommodations and scenery.

Where do your interests lie? The beauty of Northern California is that you are close to so many different interesting places.

xxx

Hi Cam

I live in the SF Bay Area and will second any of the suggestions above. They're all great. It's wonderful to live in an area with such a wide array of choices. Decide based upon your interests and come back here if you need to for additional input.

Californian

As a lifelong resident of California and former Bay Area resident, I certainly agree with the previous suggestions.
There's also California's 'gold country' counties, specifically Amador County, which also has several wineries if that interests you. The wineries are smaller, therefore much closer together which might appeal to you. The county has a number of B&Bs; lots of antique stores; it's a very small county with a corresponding population in the Sierra's western foothills. It's within easy driving distance from San Francisco (2 to 3 hours), an hour's drive from the state capital of Sacramento, below the snow and above the fog of the Central Valley.
Here's a website I just found for you when I went looking for the 2 B&B's I can recommend:

http://www.co.amador.ca.us/

The two B&B's I can recommend are:

1. The Sutter Creek Inn in Sutter Creek
2. The Mine House Inn, Amador City

Both of the above can be found with any Internet Search Engine. If you don't have a favorite, I recommend:

www.google.com

Then, just type in both of the B&B's mentioned (one at a time); they both have their own website which shows pictures of their varous rooms.

Whichever you choose, have a great time!

laexile

i'd recommend mendocino, beautiful little coastal town with some excellent wineries in the area. it's a lovely 3 hour drive north of s.f.

Bob

Forget Mendocino. I live in the Bay Area and do not recommend that trip. Town is a hassle to get to and then you have to return.

I would head to the Monterey Peninsula. It is all close together and beautiful to see. Beware that the AT and T Pebble Beach tournament is the first weekend of February, 1,2 and 3, so if that is your dates you may be out of luck for rooms. Tiger and all the celebs will be back in town for that.

Pacific Grove on the Peninsula is the town that many non-locals do not know about. It has more beach area than Carmel and quite a few great bed and breakfast Victorians....Green Gable, House of Seven Gables, etc. Check out PG for your location and make an easy 10 minute ride to Monterey or Carmel.

If you do decide on PG you may want to book your return flight home out of San Jose airport as SJ is only about 1 hour and a little from Monterey Peninsula and the SF airport is another hour on top of that. Just something to consider.