2007 - Northern California
We started out our vacation in California with a slight mix up by USAir. We planned to spend the first few nights camping (in tents) in Yosemite National Park. USAir left our luggage in Charlotte, NC. We were with out a place to stay for the night and our luggage would only arrive in the morning. After hours of argueing with USAir they put us up in a hotel (a very undersirable hotel) and supplied us with a toothbrush and toothpaste. We slept and then returned to the airport first thing the next morning. Our bags were on the conveyor belt and finally, 12 hours late we were headed to Yosemite.
We spent a few nights in Yosemite and did a couple small hikes. One day we did the biggest hike of our lives, Half Dome. It was an 18 mile trip and half of it was uphill, a very steep hill! Mike loved it, and I enjoyed the view, am proud to say I hiked it, but I do not have a strong desire to ever do it again.
We spent some time in Lake Tahoe. Which was one of my favorite spots we visited. It was just breathtakingly beautiful. We snapped the picture of the cows in front of the mountains on our way into Lake Tahoe. I love that picture!
We then headed to Napa and Sonoma Valley. We did a few wine tastings around the Napa area. I particularly enjoyed the Frank Family Winery, it was just a fun and relaxed atmosphere. I loved the grounds of Beringer winery and wish we would have had more time to spend there. I went to the Dr. Wilkinson Spa for a much needed treatment after that Half Dome hike. I had the works treatment with a 30 minute massage. The treatment and massage was nice, but nothing special and I probably wouldn't do it if I visited again.
The hightlight of our stay in Napa was the sunrise hot air balloon ride we took. It was so beautiful and quiet, it was truly like we were floating along. I would say this is a must if you travel to Napa!The only thing I recommend, is to make sure that the balloon company you book with doesn't do "hops". We ended up going on a morning where they had to do a "hop" becuase they had more people than open seats. We had to wake up at 4am and meet them before sunrise for our balloon ride. We were taken to the launch site where we watched others get into the balloons and take off. We then had to get in a van and be shuttled to the spot where they landed and watch them land and get off the balloon. Then we were allowed to get into the balloon and take off, HOURS after we had woken up and arrived for our "sunrise" balloon ride. So we were delayed and arrived late to our brunch. Of course, we have to eat the leftovers that the other groups had already picked through. When you shell out $500 to go on this tour you expect better treatment than this. Overall, the balloon ride and our pilot were so amazing I would defintely do it again, but I would book with a different company.
Our next destination was San Francisco. We drove the coastal highway and made some stops at a lighthouse and Monteray Bay. I snapped the picture of the pink flowers along the highway, I loved those flowers. We had an incredible dinner at a restaurant that overlooked the bay. We sat right up against a huge window and watched sea lions playing while we ate.
San Francisco was a blast. We toured Alcatrez Island. We did the self guided audio tour, which was really interesting and well worth the time and money. We returned to the mainland and took a bus for a photo stop at the Victorian Row House that was used in the filming of "Full House". We talked to a local guy on the bus that was super friendly, which it seemed that most people were friendly in this city. We rode the tram car down the crooked road and the car we were on broke. We got shuffled off the tram car and had the option to get on another but we just decided to walk around where it "dumped" us. The last day we were there we walked down to the Bay Bridge area and watched people play with their dogs and fly beautiful kites. It was such a beautiful day and there was so much going on that we were entertained for over an hour.
Oh, and don't forget the food of San Francisco. Of course, you have to try some sour dough bread while in San Francisco. I went for the sourdough bread bowl with Clam Chowder. We took a morning to visit the organic farmers market on Pier 48 in the ferry building, where we ate some good food. I think Mike had a chicken and I had a crab sandwich. We went to Chinatown and ate in a Chinese restaurant. We didn't recognize anything on the menu so we pretty much just ordered one chicken and one beef dish and ate whatever they brought out.
I must mention my favorite part of San Francisco, Pier 39. I stood and watched the sea lions jump on and off the docks for a very long time. I loved to see them play with eachother and then lay and sun themselves.
We also took a side day trip to John Muir woods to see some of the sequioas. It was a nice little hike that we enjoyed. While at Yosemite we took another day trip to the big redwood trees. Both are something I defintely recommend if you have the time.