where to go for a two day trip neaf SFO area
 

Hi,

We are planning for a two - three day outing during the thanksgiving weekend and we are looking for suggestions. We have been to Yosemite, Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay, Los Angeles and Los Vegas. So we are looking for suggestions.

Lake Tahoe?

I heard Lake tahoe is very good more towards teh christams time. So i was reserving it for christmas time

I see. Have you booked it yet, because either holiday will be really busy.

Maybe someplace north of SF:

Napa or Sonoma?

Point Reyes?

I is getting quite late to be booking that weekend -- but maybe up at Ft Bragg/Mendocino.

That should read >>It is getting quite late . . . <<

(one eye on the parade and one eye on the keyboard doesn't work that well :) )

Wine country? A cabin via VRBO or Homeaway near Sonoma, Guerneville, etc?

Big Sur?

Have you thought about just staying in San Francisco?

iamq's response brings up some questions I have about your request. SFO is the airport code for the San Francisco International Airport. Is it your plan to fly there from somewhere and then take your 2-3 day outing from there? And you don't list San Francisco as one of the places you've been, so it's reasonable to suggest, as iamq does, to simply take 2-3 days in San Francisco as your outing. Please clarify your intent.

Have you been up to Point Reyes National Seashore? If you don't spend all your time in San Francisco that would make a nice trip for a couple of days.

Hi all,

Thanks for all your responses.

to answer dbdurand , I stay in Fremont and so I dont have to fly. I am planning to visit SFO area over the next couple of weekends. Another thought I wa sthinking of is to stay in a beach facing hotel and spend time at the beach since my kid loves the sea. However I guess the water here is very cold and hence getting into water staying there for a long time is not possible. DO you know of any beach facing hotels or lodgings where the sea doe snot have cold water. and the hotels not being very costly

The water along the entire Pacific coast is cold during the winter months, and frankly isn't much warmer during the summer except in southern California. Add to that the high probability of rain and the beach hotels are something you stay in to watch the waves and sunsets and walk along the shore if the weather allows, not to frolick in the surf. Go to Hawaii if you want water warm enough to swim in..

look_for_leisure: The comments/confusion about the airport are because 'SFO' means San Francisco International Airport. It doesn't mean the city of San Francisco. That is why some thought you were flying in. I assumed you were just using SFO as shorthand for the city. And you did it again in your latest post. It will help in future if you use San Francisco or even SF - then everyone will know what you are talking about.

As for a waterfront/beachfront hotel w/ warm water -- not in California and <u>especially</u> not in northern California.

All of the suggestions above are reasonable for 2 or 3 days.

sorry about that. hence forth I will try to use the full name San Fransisco instead of SFO.

OH -- "SF" works just fine. It is that <B>O</B> that messes things up :)

Hah ... I did that SFO thing for the first year we lived in Norcal ... eventally, I got it!

Given your constraints, I would explore San Francisco as others have suggested. Or, I would go down to Santa Barbara. You can't swim in the ocean there either, but I always thought it was so beautiful, both the coastline and the city. As a detour on the way down, Hearst Castle. I myself have never been, but have seen PBS specials on it and it is on my own list for someday.

I've been hesitant about suggesting Sacramento because I thought that you probably have been there since you are so close by in Fremont. But you didn't mention it in your list of places that you have visited. So maybe you just haven't gotten around to it.

So---I suggest Sacramento and the gold country for your 2-3 day outing. The Sacramento river (the largest in California) affords the opportunity for activities such as river cruises, including dinner cruises. Maybe kayaking; I'm not sure about that. Then there's an extensive Old Town, and the Railroad Museum, stated to be the most popular in the US with 600,000 visitors per year.

The State Capitol is great because when it came time to retrofit it for earthquake safety, they almost decided to tear it down. Instead, they restored it to its early 1900's condition even to the extent of fabricating tiles exactly as shown in old photographs. By all means take the guided tour.

Sutter's Fort and the old Governor's mansion are well worth visits.

The gold country (Sutter's mill, and a few picturesque towns) is only about an hour east of Sacramento.

On your way to or from Sacramento, consider stopping at the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield. They give a very good tour. But not on Thanksgiving. I checked.

Sorry, but I can't imagine spending 3 days in Sacramento and the Gold Country (and yes I've been to both on more than one occasion). I think half a day in Sacramento, and half a day in the Gold Country on your way to somewhere else is warranted, but not on their own. Flame me all you want, but I'd be totally bored.

"<i>Flame me all you want, but I'd be totally bored.</i>"

BIG <B>BIG</B> flame!!

Not counting Sacramento (which is good for a minimum one full day) one could easily spend a week in the foothills w/o seeing it all. There are vineyards/wineries all through the area but especially in Amador County around Plymouth. This is exactly what Napa/Sonoma was 25 years ago before they got all full of themselves. Beautiful vineyards/scenery and friendly tasting rooms. Meet and talk to the actual wine makers, free tasting and GREAT wines, especially reds and Ports.

Gold Rush era towns/villages w/ lots of good restaurants/cafes/pubs, antique shops, art galleries.

White water rafting on several rivers/forks, day hikes, nature walks.

Caves and caverns all through the area.

Historic gold mines and Sutter's Mill.

Columbia State Park which is unique.

And that is just the short list . . . .

White water rafting would certainly interest me -- but not Thanksgiving weekend :-)

I've been to all the places you mentioned -- and it's good to give the OP choices, this is just my own very humble personal opinion.

Point Reyes if you like to hike and explore. There's lots of nooks and crannies. Point Reyes Station is great for foodies and there's a "destination" restaurant there--Osteria Stellina-- the reviews have been outstanding.

There's Bolinas and Stinson to visit, and Mt. Tam.

Maybe you can get used wetsuits for you and your kid. When in Rome...

Another possibility is the San Luis Obispo area. There's lots of possibilities there. Hearst Castle and IMAX, elephant seals, Downtown SLO, Paso Robles, kayaking in Morro Bay (really fun and safe). Even if the weather doesn't cooperate, you'll have things to do. If the weather's bad at Point Reyes, you're more stuck. Cayucos tends to have the best hotel deals.

[I think the time frame is too early for the elephant seals; Ana Neuvo is a lot closer to San Francisco if seeing them was something you wanted to do but still pretty early]

Sorry, but I can't imagine spending 3 days in Sacramento and the Gold Country (and yes I've been to both on more than one occasion). I think half a day in Sacramento, and half a day in the Gold Country on your way to somewhere else is warranted, but not on their own. Flame me all you want, but I'd be totally bored.
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Agree sf7307 and I have family living there. The only thing that has excited me was the State capitol, other than that,zzzzzzzzzzzzz. Correction, Davis is a cute little town.

One of my favorite areas to visit in November is Nevada City and the area beyond on Highway 49. The Fall colors are amazing and rival the New Hampshire Fall colors. The 49'er miners and families brought seedlings with them from Back East and you will see the result of this prolific planting all along the highway between Nevada City and Downieville. The weather is crisp and cold in Nevada City, but wear hat, scarf, gloves and enjoy the crunching leaves while you walk through town viewing historic relics of the Gold Rush era. It's a great little town for visiotrs.

I was at Drake's Beach, Inverness, last weekend, and the bull seals were going at each other then. So Thanksgiving is not too early in that region.

BTW, if you are in that area, we were there for a very special dinner at Drake's Beach Cafe. It is a cafe during the day, and a restaurant at night. The chef prepares a fixe prix (sp?) meal, and you must make a reservation.

The little place seats about 20 people. There were 11 people there the night we were. It is amazing food and it sits right on the beach with gorgeous views of the water and the little cove.

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<<<The only thing that has excited me was the State capitol>>>

Ha Ha -- "excited" might be a little bit of an overstatement. "interesting" maybe. "worth seeing" surely. But "exciting", I don't think so :-)

The elephant seals are in San Simeon in November. It's mostly females, but the males start coming in as early as late November.

http://www.elephantseal.org/Rookery/calendar.htm

Additionally, if someone is already going to Hearst Castle, the elephant seal rookery is a very easy stop. Ano Nuevo takes more effort.

PeaceOut:

What was on the menu when you ate at Drake's Beach Cafe last weekend? Were there choices or only one set menu? We're headed to northern Calif for a week over Thanksgiving and they don't have a website!