OT - Vacation Ideas for California

northGAcock

House of Nanking in San Fran. Let them choose your meal....no menu required.

houseofnanking.net

Tell them Robin sent ya.

MattBTI

td66snrf  @Cornholio I'm not trying to bad mouth California. I shouldn't have said "the rest of the state" I should have said the rest of the region that we visited was dirty. We flew in to Sacramento, rented a car and drove to Napa. I didn't enjoy the scenery much between the two places. There was quite a bit of litter. We then drove to San Fran in an attempt to see the Golden Gate Bridge. That didn't work out due to the fog. San Fran wasn't my cup of tea either, traffic, congestion, just took a long time to get anywhere. Not what I'm used to as I am indeed from Kansas.  We then took the coastal highway #1 from San Fran to Bodega Bay which was a cool drive that I did enjoy. 

I certainly didn't cover the state but did cover a bit of those regions. All I was trying to say was that given my experiences, which the OP was asking for other peoples similar experiences to the regions we visited, I would opt for Oregon and Washington. 

Thanks for calling me out on my error regarding "the rest of the state" though and the perceived invalidity of my travel experiences and observations.

buzd504

Yno said:

Ynette and I don't go to Napa much anymore, even though it is only an hour and a half away. There are some great wines in Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties much closer to home, or in the Livermore area. One winery that I would recommend if you do go to Napa is Kathryn Hall in Rutherford. Not only is the wine excellent, the cellar is beautiful.

https://www.hallwines.com/chandelier-room

It is, however, not at all inexpensive. Worth at least one trip, anyway. Weekdays in Napa off season are bearable. 

That said, I would rather got to Carmel-by-the-Sea (again on a weekday). You can park the car at your hotel and not move it for three days. It really is a walking town. Then hit up Carmel Valley Village. 

I will only go to San Francisco under penalty of great bodily harm. 

I've been to Hall.  Great wines.

td66snrf

MattBTI said:

td66snrf  @Cornholio I'm not trying to bad mouth California. I shouldn't have said "the rest of the state" I should have said the rest of the region that we visited was dirty. We flew in to Sacramento, rented a car and drove to Napa. I didn't enjoy the scenery much between the two places. There was quite a bit of litter. We then drove to San Fran in an attempt to see the Golden Gate Bridge. That didn't work out due to the fog. San Fran wasn't my cup of tea either, traffic, congestion, just took a long time to get anywhere. Not what I'm used to as I am indeed from Kansas.  We then took the coastal highway #1 from San Fran to Bodega Bay which was a cool drive that I did enjoy. 

I certainly didn't cover the state but did cover a bit of those regions. All I was trying to say was that given my experiences, which the OP was asking for other peoples similar experiences to the regions we visited, I would opt for Oregon and Washington. 

Thanks for calling me out on my error regarding "the rest of the state" though and the perceived invalidity of my travel experiences and observations.

Apologies accepted. I've lived here all of my  62 years. I agree there are some nasty parts here but there is so much that is beautiful. FYI  I haven't seen everything that's here. I agree Oregon and Washington are beautiful. 

milesvdustin

In n out 

rlew

55Kevy said:

Rather than Napa/Sonoma consider the wineries in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.  Santa Ynez Valley and the area around Paso Robles have wineries that are every bit as good as those in Napa but without all the crowds and uppityness.  And we're near the PCH - HWY 101 runs right through the SYV.

55Kevy, you sold me. Been reading up on SYV and watching youtube videos. SOLD. Now, what time fo year do you recommend?

td66snrf

If you make it to Paso Robles there is the Firestone Walker Brewery home of the 805 beer. They have a nice restaurant. Well worth the stop. San Luis Obispo is nice little city with lots of restaurants. 

lkapigian

rlew said:

55Kevy said:

Rather than Napa/Sonoma consider the wineries in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.  Santa Ynez Valley and the area around Paso Robles have wineries that are every bit as good as those in Napa but without all the crowds and uppityness.  And we're near the PCH - HWY 101 runs right through the SYV.

55Kevy, you sold me. Been reading up on SYV and watching youtube videos. SOLD. Now, what time fo year do you recommend?

Year round, no bad time..hit Cambria , Cayucous , morro bay as well

td66snrf

If you make it to Cambria do not miss Hearst Castle. If you make it San Luis Obispo try Firestone grill, killer tri tip sandwiches. Be sure to get the beans as a side it's almost like tri tip  chili or stew. 

westernbbq

Napa 

td66snrf

td66snrf said:

If you make it to Paso Robles there is the Firestone Walker Brewery home of the 805 beer. They have a nice restaurant. Well worth the stop. San Luis Obispo is nice little city with lots of restaurants. 

What's with the disagree? 

HeavyG

td66snrf said:

td66snrf said:

If you make it to Paso Robles there is the Firestone Walker Brewery home of the 805 beer. They have a nice restaurant. Well worth the stop. San Luis Obispo is nice little city with lots of restaurants. 

What's with the disagree? 

Somebody probably fat-thumbed AGREE on their phone and it registered as DISAGREE. Happens occasionally.

Of course, since they modified things so that we can no longer see who tagged the DISAGREE/FLAG/OFF TOPIC buttons we can no longer ask the person directly.

westernbbq

Napa

FearlessTheEggNoob

Did some ziplining through the redwoods near Sonoma once, that was pretty fun. Sounds extreme, but it's easy if you're reasonably agile and fit.