California 2013 - Round 1 - Day 5 & 6

Feb 25, 2013 (Monday)

Frog's Leap

This was our last day to take in the sights of the area. Since, we were in the Napa Valley area, aka Wine County, it would just seem wrong not to visit a winery. We visited “Frog’s Leap” in Rutherford. Frog’s Leap is an organic winery, which makes it quite different that the other wineries in the area. Tours are free and if you are interested in tasting there is a $20 fee. 

Lunch at Rutherford Grill

For lunch, we headed to Rutherford Grill. I had the Grilled Chicken Salad. The chicken was just okay, but the rest of the salad was very good. I might have to try to make my own honey-lime vinaigrette! Mike had the Prime Rib French Dip which he reported as very good.

After lunch we wandered around St. Helena and then headed back to Napa. We attempted to visit Napa Smith Brewery, but we had missed the tour. The rest of the evening we just hung out with family at the rental house.

Feb 26, 2013 (Tuesday)

The drive to the airport was uneventful…so was the flight. Detroit had some bad weather roll in at about the time we landed. The drive home was the most exciting part of the day.

California 2013 - Round 1 - Day 4

Feb 24, 2013 (Sunday)

John Muir National Historic Site

After breakfast at the house, we headed to the John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez. We opted to watch the twenty minute film about John Muir prior to visiting the home on the site. For those who might not know who John Muir was here is some basic information: he was born in Scotland (1838) and migrated to Wisconsin as a child (1849), he created a lot of inventions (1860), damages an eye in a factory accident (1867) and then decided to immerse himself in nature (1868). Once heavily involved with nature he campaigns for Yosemite to become a National Park and begins writing magazine articles. Muir helped found Sierra Club (1892) and was elected as its first president. Muir is probably America’s most famous naturalist and conservationist - basically he is the Father of the National Park Service. His writing convinced the U.S. government to protect places that he held dear to his heart. 

The John Muir site is free to visit. The home is quite large and is well furnished with period pieces. The only absolutely original item in the home is his desk. A guide is available inside the home to answer any questions that you might have. There are trails on the property that are available to walk. Also, on this site is an Adobe, which is part of the Anza Trail.  The Anza Trail runs from Mexico to the San Francisco area.

Red Oak Victory Shit at Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front

After lunch with family, we headed to the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park. This NPS site has not been open for very long and there are many parts of the park site are not yet open to the public.  The visitor center has nice displays and a few different videos available for viewing. We watched two videos that were both 15 minutes long.  The visitor center has a self-guided auto tour pamphlet that tells where all the different sites are. We were not very impressed with the actual memorial; it was just a bunch of metal with some photos attached to it. The ship yard and the SS Red Oak Victory ship are quite impressive. The ship was closed by the time we reached the site, so we will have to return to check the inside out. Hopefully, other parts of the site will be opened by then too!  The park ranger at this site told me about a really cool program that the NPS is a part of – NPS Trading Cards! The program is geared towards children to interact with park staff. It is said that the trading card program is more successful that the Junior Ranger programs. Adults also like to participate in the program. Currently there are 87 parks participating in the program. You earn the trading cards by completing activities – like watching a video or reading a display.

We headed back to Napa for dinner at The Thomas.  The Thomas has only been open for a few months, and Mike’s brother just happens to work there.  We tried a ton of appetizers and desserts, and of course we had a main course as well.  My favorite appetizer was probably the duck on flatbread; the grilled chorizo was pretty good also. I had the Thomas burger and fries as my main course, the burger was good but the fries were not as impressive as the ones I had while in NYC. My favorite dessert was the warm monkey bread.

California 2013 - Round 1 - Day 3

Feb 23, 2013 (Saturday)

Originally, we had planned to go to Alcatraz on Friday, but we were unable to get tickets for that day. I had looked before we left on Thursday and there were many tickets available, but then Friday morning when we looked to reserve they were all sold out. Luckily, we were able to get tickets for the 10:30 boat. Tickets for Alcatraz are $28 for the day time tours and $35 for night tours. There are some ticket plan options and tickets are cheaper for children and senior citizens.  Be sure to purchase tickets early – either online or over the phone.

Painted Ladies

We drove by the area with the “Painted Ladies”, otherwise known as “Postcard Row”. The homes are adjacent to Alamo Square, at Hayes and Steiner Streets. This is area is one of 11 historic districts in San Francisco. The Victorian houses are back-dropped by the downtown skyline. We also tried to find the “Full House” house. We found an address online, but we are not so sure that it was the actual house.

Alcatraz

The next plan of action was to find parking for Alcatraz.  We found a parking lot near North Pointe and Stockton that was $16 for the day. A few blocks from there parking was more than double that. The parking lot was a short walk to the Alcatraz dock and to Fisherman’s Wharf. We arrived to the dock about an hour before our departure time. The lines for the boat start about 40 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time. I would advise getting there early for a good spot on the boat. The boat ride is about 15 minutes long. Once arriving on the island there is a brief orientation, mostly about safety. Alcatraz was originally a Civil War-era artillery post, then it was converted to a military prison in 1907, then lastly it became a federal maximum-security penitentiary until it closed in 1963. In the late 60’s and early 70’s American Indian protesters occupied the island, claiming it as Indian land. The island itself is about 12 acres in size. The gardens on the island have a large variety of plants and are well maintained. After arriving on the island and going through the orientation, there was a tour that started almost immediately about the attempted escapes from the island. The tour lasted about 45 minutes and was really interesting. There are also many other tour guide talks available, be sure to check the schedule if there is something you are really interested in hearing about. The tour we took was nice because it broke up the 130 feet in elevation difference that you need to walk up to get to the prison. There is a small tram available if you need assistance.  There are also many stairs once you get into the prison. There is an audio tour available, free of charge. We did not do the audio tour, but it seemed that pretty much everyone took advantage of it. The prison was packed with visitors, making it difficult to get around. I personally was not that impressed with the prison, especially since we went to the Ohio State Reformatory just last year. The Ohio site had a lot more architecture and was much more creepy!  We spent about 2 hours on the island, but I think you could easily spend nearly the entire day there if you really wanted to check things out completely, watch the available videos, or take part in the different tours.

Sea Lions @ Fisherman's Wharf

After returning to the main land we walked down “The Embarcadero” to Fisherman’s Wharf. We had lunch at Boudin Bakery. Sandwiches were around $9-$10. There were also soups and salads. It was a decent option for a relatively quick lunch that tasted good. After lunch, we wondered around Fisherman’s Wharf for a bit, checking out a few shops and of course checking out the sea lions! 

We walked down to the San Francisco Maritime Historic Park. There are many historic vessels on display at the site. You are able to walk the pier for free, but if you would like to board the ships you will need to pay $5/person. The “America the Beautiful” passes are honored at this site. This park is very close to the Powell-Hyde Cable Car Turnaround and Ghirardelli Square. There is also a National Parking Information Center in the area.

Napa Valley Wine Train

It would have been nice to have more time in San Francisco, but we need to high tail it so we would not be late for our Napa Valley Wine Train Dinner reservation!  The Wine Train dinner tour lasts three hours. The unfortunate part of taking the dinner train this time of year was that it was too dark to see the vineyards. The Wine Train serves a five course meal – it was absolutely amazing! I had the Roasted Beef Tenderloin for my main course and Mike had the Grilled Salmon. Tickets for the event are on the pricey side, but all in all I would say that it is totally worth it!  Also, it should be noted that tip is not included in the train ticket price, granted the ticket price was for the train ride and the meal, so you do not have to tip on the entire ticket price. We noticed that some people tipped and some did not, those who did not probably did not realize that tip was not included in the ticket price.

California 2013 - Round 1 - Day 2

Feb 22, 2013 (Friday)

Ice Plant

Now the adventure really begins! After the free hotel breakfast, we headed to the ocean.  Our first planned stop was Lands End, which is a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA). While we were driving along Sky Line Boulevard, we passed by some beaches and decided to stop. The first beach we stopped at was called Thornton Beach Vista. It was a scenic pull off really – wild flowers were just starting to bloom and there were great views of the ocean.  There were a lot of “ice plants”.   

Our journey continued north along Great Highway to Ocean Beach, which is a part of Golden Gate Park. At this beach you were actually on the beach. There are a lot of trails all along the ocean and this beach seemed to be a hot spot for surfers.

View from Lands End

At last we reached our first planned stop of the day, Lands End. We arrived before the visitor center opened, which was fine since the parking lot was open and there were trails to walk. I had printed out a map at home so I had an idea of what trail went where and what there was to see.  Lands End provides excellent views of the ocean and the Golden Gate Bridge. 

Continuing north along Lincoln Boulevard, we reached Fort Point, which is part of the GGNRA. Fort Point is literally stands right under the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge.   Fort Point construction began in 1853.  The walls are very thick – up to 16 feet in some spots.  The fort is in very good condition and was never under attack.  The fort was the only Civil War-era casemated fort on the West Coast.

The Presidio

Our next visit was to The Presidio. The Presidio again is a part of the GGNRA. The site has seen more than 200 years of military presence, with the first being arrival being the Spanish garrison in 1776. The location was handed over to the National Park Service in 1994. There are many things to do/view at the Presidio, including Crissy Field, the San Francisco National Military Cemetery, numerous lookout points, the Walt Disney Family Museum, golf course, beaches, etc. The visitor center has many videos available to view. There is parking available on the street at the visitor center – 30 minute in some places and 2 hours in others.

Golden Gate Bridge

Heading over the Golden Gate Bridge, we went to the Marin Headlands, which yet again is a part of the GGNRA.  Marin Headlands is an area with a lot of wildlife and historic military sites – including a Cold War-era Nike missile site. There is also a lighthouse at this park. The lighthouse is known as Point Bonita. The light house was the third lighthouse built on the West Coast (1855) and is still active today. We attempted to visit the lighthouse, but we ended up walking down the wrong trail, plus the lighthouse is only open Saturday, Sunday and Monday afternoons, 12:30 to 3:30. We will have to revisit the site. 

Muir Woods

At this point, we were getting pretty hungry for some food, so we headed to Muir Woods National Monument. I receive the National Park Magazine and recently there was an article raving about the food at Muir Woods. Muir Woods charges a fee to enter - $7 for those 16 years old and older. The park does except the “America the Beautiful” pass, which of course we used! Muir Woods is a gorgeous site in which you will find yourself surrounded by ancient redwood forest. Many of the trees are over 600 years old. There are a few options on walking trails, all of which are a paved surface. Back to the food – it was very tasty. There were sandwiches, soups, salads, and many desserts. 

After leaving Muir Woods, we headed to Point Reyes National Seashore. Along the way we stopped to check out Muir Beach Overlook, which was a former U.S. Army coastal observatory post. We also stopped by Stinson Beach. Stinson Beach is a cute little town with a few small shops. At last we reached Point Reyes. We checked out the Bear Valley Visitor Center. There are some displays at the visitor center that would be good for kids.  We hiked the Earthquake Trail, which was 0.7 mile walk along the San Andreas Fault. At one point, along the trail you can visually see a 16 foot shift in the ground from the earthquake. There is a lighthouse at this site. The lighthouse is located about 45 minutes from the Bear Valley Visitor Center.  Since we arrived kind of late in the day the lighthouse would have been closed by the time we arrived, again it is a site we will have to revisit. There are many hiking trails at this site. 

For the remainder of our visit, we reserved a rental home in Napa. We found the house online – VRBO Owner Listing 134288. The house was pretty nice, with the only complains being that the second bedroom was a bit cramped, the kitchen drawers were a bit dirty, and the driveway was super steep. A house rental is definitely the way to go compared to having to get two or more hotel rooms. People have gotten burned by bad rentals – my advice - research. There are tons of places to look at reviews now days, so take advantage of it! 

California 2013 - Round 1 - Day 1

Feb 21, 2013 (Thursday)

Off for our next adventure….California here we come! We took an evening flight out of Detroit Metro and flew into San Francisco. We were on a pretty big plane – it was really neat that each seat had its own screen. There were many TV stations you could watch and there also was an option to track the plane location.  The flight was really smooth and took off and landed on time – thanks Delta!  We stayed near the airport, since the flight got in late – especially since there was the three hour time change to consider. The hotel, Days Inn, was not too fancy, but it was cheap (around $80/night) and did not have any reports of bed bugs. The hotel also offered free parking. We rented a car – Ford Edge – from Budget. Budget seems to almost always have the cheapest rental rates, it helps that you get a discount if you pre-pay when booking. The Ford Edge was fully loaded and a great ride.