San Francisco Bay Area (June 20 - June 29, 2021)
“What’s your favorite place?” “I don’t have a favorite place. I have my favorite people. And, whenever I’m with my favorite people it becomes my favorite place.“ - Author Unknown
Charley and I have enjoyed every minute of this trip but the time we’ve gotten to spend with our kids has definitely been extra special. I don’t remember the last time the four of us were on vacation together but there certainly hasn’t been a time that we’ve vacationed with our kids individually. We love that they are at a stage in their lives where they can hop on a plane and meet us across the country for a little family fun.
Evan and his girlfriend Victoria chose to meet us in the San Francisco area. It had been a while since Charley and I had been in a big city so by the time we met up with Evan and Victoria we were ready for some city exploring. As a matter of fact, Evan and Victoria arrived in the area a few days before we did, found themselves a cute little Airbnb in Palo Alto and did a little exploring on their own. We arrived at our campground late in the afternoon of June 20th and made plans to pick Evan and Victoria up from their Airbnb at ten the next morning. After four months of not seeing them and knowing they were so close to us, waiting several more hours to give them a hug was difficult but I tamed my mom instincts and we didn’t show up at their Airbnb any earlier than planned (but we definitely joked about knocking on their door at midnight!).
Our campground Coyote Valley RV Resort was located about an hour south of San Francisco in Morgan Hill California. It was beautiful and every bit as classy as the “resort” in its name suggests. Our stay was amongst the most comfortable we’ve had on this trip, always a bonus when we have guests staying with us. We spent a few hours enjoying the campground pool but other than that, we really didn’t spend a whole lot of time at the campground. There were a ton of things to do in the area and most were somewhat of a drive from our home base at the campground. Other than a few activities that we had planned for ahead of time, Evan and Victoria came with a list of things to do, and Charley and I were happy to let them lead the way.
We all agreed to make a visit to the Golden Gate Bridge our first stop. Since I’ve kind of gotten away from researching an area before we arrive, I wasn’t aware that the Golden Gate Bridge is actually part of the National Park Service complete with a visitor’s center and information boards detailing the construction of the bridge. I also wasn’t aware that we’d be allowed to walk on the bridge (or bike if we wanted)! That was an extra special surprise to me. We decided not to walk the entire mile across the bridge (because that would essentially be a two-mile walk and we had more exploring to do that day) but we did make it to the first of the two bridge towers. It was very windy out there, especially at the tower but it was a cool experience and a great way to kick off our visit. We put a lot of walking miles in that day while visiting a few other San Francisco landmarks - the Fort Point National Historic Site located at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts, the Painted Ladies of San Francisco (shown in the opening credits of Full House) and a drive-by of the Full House house located in another area of the city.
Day two was spent exploring and hiking in the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park located in the Santa Cruz Mountains about an hour away from our campground. A visit to the Redwood forest was on Evan and Victoria’s list and since we were still in awe of the redwoods we had seen in the northern part of the state, Charley and I were happy to walk amongst them again. While there we took the Observation Deck hike, about five miles round trip, which took us to the highest point in the park. It was a fairly overcast day so we couldn’t see much when we finally reached the observation deck but we did manage to see a sliver of the Santa Cruz coastline on our way back down. Of course, we couldn’t be that close to Santa Cruz and not stop for a visit so we headed there after completing our hike. In Santa Cruz we strolled along the coastline, briefly visited the Santa Cruz boardwalk, and stopped for ice cream.
Several months ago we all decided that we wanted to visit Alcatraz Island. Technically a visit to the island is free but since the only way to get there is by ferry, those tickets must be purchased. We secured our ferry tickets well in advance and planned to spend day three on Alcatraz Island. Parking a vehicle the size of the Excursion is a bit tricky and expensive in most cities and San Francisco was no different so we ended up finding free parking about a mile and a half from Pier 33, where we were set to catch the ferry. The twelve-minute ferry ride to Alcatraz provided wonderful views of Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the San Francisco skyline. I think we all agreed that our visit to Alcatraz left a little bit to be desired. We were provided with an audio tour of the cell house which was interesting and informative but overall we felt that the information provided was lacking. Other than life in the prison and the famous people that lived there, we left not learning a whole lot about Alcatraz and thought that we might need to watch a good documentary to learn the rest of the story. In addition to that, there are lots of birds living on the island. They’re fun to watch but parts of the island smelled really bad, almost unbearable, and the birds attracted lots of flies. Overall, Alcatraz Island, other than the ferry ride, was a bit of a disappointment. We did some more walking that afternoon and checked out the Fisherman’s Warf area of San Francisco. In addition to several gift shops and restaurants at Fisherman’s Warf, there’s a colony of sea lions often seen close to the pier. Unfortunately, there were no sea lions out that afternoon so we headed to Lombard Street “the most crooked street in the world”. Getting there was a hike (San Francisco hills are no joke!) but Lombard Street was fun to see. On our way back to the Excursion, we stopped for dinner then made a quick stop at the original Ghirardelli and picked up a few chocolate bars. We walked about ten miles that day so we earned a little chocolate!
As a Mother’s Day/Father’s Day/Anniversary gift, Evan and Victoria treated us to a tour and wine tasting at Castello di Amorosa (Castle of Love) in the Napa Valley. Castello di Amorosa is an authentically styled 13th Century Tuscan castle winery. The owner/architect combined his love of architecture and winemaking to create the castle beginning in 1994. The castle and grounds were just beautiful and very tastefully done. Our “Diamond Estate Tour” lasted approximately two hours and included tours of the production area, underground cellars, and torture chamber as well as a direct from the barrel tasting of a young Cabernet Sauvignon. After our tour, we were able to sample six additional wines and of course, we had a few favorites. What’s a few more bottles to schlep back to NY? The trip from our campground to Napa was about two hours each way but totally worth it to be able to visit such a beautiful place. On our way back we stopped for dinner at Napkins Bar and Grill in Napa. The food was delicious, probably one of the best meals we’ve had on this trip.
Our last day with the kids was spent “close to home” to give Charley a bit of a break driving. Evan had been wanting to try In-N-Out burger so we headed into Morgan Hill for lunch. The burgers were very good but I liked the fries the best. They were freshly cut and tasty! We then made a stop at Morgan Hill winery, Guglielmo Winery, for their Outdoor Wine Experience which took place in an outdoor tent overlooking the vineyard. The wines were delicious and it was a relaxing way to end our time with Evan and Victoria. At 4:30 the next morning, we were on the road to the San Francisco airport so they could catch their 7:30 am flight back home. We were so sad to see them go!
Before leaving California we spent two more nights at a KOA located in the Soledad Canyon north of Los Angeles. Our campground was right next to the Pacific Crest Trail and we would have loved to hike a portion of it but the temperatures were hovering around 110 degrees. We didn’t think it was smart to hike in that kind of weather. Also on this leg of the trip, we learned just how serious an issue wildfires are in California and the southwest. A wildfire burned about 30 acres near Morgan Hill while we were there and when we checked into the KOA in the Soledad Canyon the paperwork provided with our registration stated that we needed to be ready to evacuate within an hour in case of emergency. There was also evidence of previous wildfires along the road as we made our way from Morgan Hill to LA. Charley and I were happy to leave the canyon (one road in and out) and continue heading east where it wouldn’t be quite so hot and dry. And with that, we’re officially entering the last stage of this trip. It will still take us a while to get there but we’re headed in the direction of home.
