West Coast recs?

J&K10910

Yeah, sorry I'm all sorts of WR today.  But for our HM, we're thinking about flying into San Diego, roadtripping up the coast, and flying out of Seattle.  Our timeline is fairly flexible.  So any must see/must do things? 

So far on my list are: SD Zoo, Death Valley, Yosemite, a winery in Napa or Sonoma, and Mt Rainier in Washington. 

J&K10910

Yeah, we'll do San Francisco.  I was there once, for two days, and FI has never been, so that's on the list.  I've got plenty of things in mind for SF.  I feel like we actually might need about a month to do this all  

I love aquariums! 

And CS and Sophie are a must see for sure.

J&K10910

Can we do this in 2 weeks?  We were kind of thinking of doing PCH basically from beginning to end (well, 101, because the actual PCH is only part of it, right?), and taking side trips off to do other things.  The one site I'm looking at says to allow 2 weeks to drive the whole thing at a leisurely pace, and I'm not sure if that includes day trips off.  Hmmmm.  Maybe we're biting off more than we can chew. 

kd.joseph

Who's watching the kitty? I'll do it!

Napa, there are so many. We were engaged at Silverado, you have to have lunch at the Oakville grocery. Silver Oak is nice, Opus is beautiful, but you have to have an appt. I could go on, but I'm sure your time is limited.

What time of year are you going?

J&K10910

Early to mid May, hopefully.

beatlesgirl25

Ooh, honeymoon! Yay for you! I vote coming to Boston.

OR, Napa or Sonoma. A wine tour sounds like lots o' fun.

shellydiane820

San Diego! I just got back and it was wonderful!

We really enjoyed the zoo, and Balboa Park was beautiful.  I really wanted to go out to the races at Del Mar but I didn't have time.  There is so much to do there.  I'm not quite sure where to begin.

If you need a rec of a place to stay, we rented a great apartment and I'd be happy to give you the info.  It was a great location and it was cheaper than a hotel. (We stayed a week, I think that's the minimum)

[Deleted User]

So, you're going to Whale's Vagina for your HM? Interesting.

kd.joseph

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_west-coast-recs?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:2b2924e7-bdc5-4e68-8cd9-844c3cf789f4Post:ec18f8da-67d1-4ba2-8a3a-4a991b84f16a">Re: West Coast recs?</a>:
[QUOTE]Ooh, honeymoon! Yay for you! I vote coming to Boston. ;) OR, Napa or Sonoma. A wine tour sounds like lots o' fun.
Posted by beatlesgirl25[/QUOTE]

My DH will be in Boston next week, but I cant come with, kinda sucks.

Next Nov. will be our 3rd Napa visit. I'm not sure if you'll have enough time to fit everything in but PCH is wonderful. Sounds like a great trip.

J&K10910

Stop being jealous, cew.

beatlesgirl25

Kd, that does suck! If you find a way to stow away in his luggage, let me know and we'll do drinks.

J&K10910

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_west-coast-recs?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:2b2924e7-bdc5-4e68-8cd9-844c3cf789f4Post:49c6b6c7-7989-4f69-be17-46b8385be9a3">Re: West Coast recs?</a>:
[QUOTE]Mt. Rainier and Yosemite are kind of deep inland and pretty far from the coast so you guys might have to get off 101 and take I-5 instead.
Posted by Champagne Supernova[/QUOTE]

Right.  And then we'll run out of time.  Maybe we should break it up into two smaller trips.  A Cali one, and an Oregon and Washington one.  Because I'd hate to just be driving the whole time past all the fun stuff we want to do, just to get to where we need to be in time.  The last thing I want on our HM is to be stressed and in a time crunch.

kd.joseph

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_west-coast-recs?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:2b2924e7-bdc5-4e68-8cd9-844c3cf789f4Post:60dc9669-517a-4716-b19e-c13d372e4e44">Re: West Coast recs?</a>:
[QUOTE]Kd, that does suck! If you find a way to stow away in his luggage, let me know and we'll do drinks.
Posted by beatlesgirl25[/QUOTE]

I'm saving the rest of my vacation time to roll over to next year.

But, believe me I would if I could. He's flying in Tueday morning and back out Wednesday for business. I'll make it there someday.

shellydiane820

Cew, I just want to let you know I saw Will Ferrell in San Diego and he mentioned how "He's enjoyed visiting the whale's vagina."

katiepoppy

I agree with skipping Yosemite unless you only do California. I-5 is great in super Northern California (Shasta) and okay through Oregon and Washington, but any stretch that brings you from Southern to Northern California is pretty boring.

I think driving along 101 is a really good idea. There are lots of small towns along the coast between Santa Barbara and San Francisco that are a lot of fun.

An option to save on driving time is to take a train from the Bay Area to Oregon/Washington. I did it last summer and it was a relaxing day. It leaves the Bay Area around 10pm and you get into Portland late afternoon the next day. Then it takes a few hours to get up to Seattle. If you go to Seattle, try to make it out to the San Juan islands. They are absolutely gorgeous!

beatlesgirl25

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_west-coast-recs?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:2b2924e7-bdc5-4e68-8cd9-844c3cf789f4Post:3f3c7cd9-f462-4787-9315-10bc5c9596ce">Re: West Coast recs?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: West Coast recs? : I'm saving the rest of my vacation time to roll over to next year. But, believe me I would if I could. He's flying in Tueday morning and back out Wednesday for business. I'll make it there someday.
Posted by kd.joseph[/QUOTE]

:) It's okay, I'll wait.

J&K10910

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_west-coast-recs?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:2b2924e7-bdc5-4e68-8cd9-844c3cf789f4Post:0536e629-6973-4337-af29-4ca4fed21945">Re: West Coast recs?</a>:
[QUOTE]I agree with skipping Yosemite unless you only do California. I-5 is great in super Northern California (Shasta) and okay through Oregon and Washington, but any stretch that brings you from Southern to Northern California is pretty boring. I think driving along 101 is a really good idea. There are lots of small towns along the coast between Santa Barbara and San Francisco that are a lot of fun. <strong>An option to save on driving time is to take a train from the Bay Area to Oregon/Washington. I did it last summer and it was a relaxing day. It leaves the Bay Area around 10pm and you get into Portland late afternoon the next day. Then it takes a few hours to get up to Seattle. If you go to Seattle, try to make it out to the San Juan islands. They are absolutely gorgeous!</strong>
Posted by katiepoppy[/QUOTE]

This is a really great idea because there probably wouldn't be much we'd want to do between that area.  My concern is that we'll have a rental car.  We'd have to return it before we got on the train, and then rent another one in Portland.  That would give us two separate fees for dropping the car off in a different place than we rented it, unless we flew out of Portland, which is a possibility.  Sorry, just thinking out loud.

katiepoppy

Portland is really walkable. We took a cab from the train station and walked the rest of the time we were there. They may have a zipcar option that would be way more convenient than a normal rental if you need it.

I think there are some rental locations close to the train stations in the East Bay, but it would require some research.

I definitely think you should take the train from Portland to Seattle. It is only  a few hours and goes along part of the Puget Sound. The Seattle train station is right next to the ball park - so you could catch a game

J&K10910

Oh, so there's a train from Portland to Seattle too?  I didn't realize you meant that in your first post as well.  Then we really wouldn't need another car. 

katiepoppy

Yep! Here is the link for the train. A friend and I did it for fun and had a great time.
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer/AM_Route_C/1241245648567/1237405732511

And this breakfast place in Seattle is amazing:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/portage-bay-cafe-seattle

And for good measure, the zipcar link. They have it in Portland and Seattle:
http://www.zipcar.com/portland/find-cars

J&K10910

Thanks Katie! 

katiepoppy

You are welcome!  If you have any questions feel free to page or pm me. I lurk but don't post much.

J&K10910

Will do, for sure!  Do you know how long it would take us to get from SD to the train if we stuck to the 101?  At a fairly leisurely pace to check stuff out.

katiepoppy

If you take 101/1 it will take about 9 hours to get to the bay area without stops. There are great places to spend the night along the way - Paso Robles, Santa Barbara, Carmel/Monterey, etc. The direct drive is about 550 miles. The train actually starts in LA, so you can catch it pretty much wherever you want, although it does go inland a bit after the bay area.

PetraStonegirl

If you're interested in vineyards and are pressed for time, skip Sonoma and Napa. Hit up the vineyards of the San Ynez valley on back side of Santa Barbara. They rival and in many case beat the big valleys hands down. Spend some time in Solvang, too. Seriously yummy pastries. In Santa Barbara, the Zia cafe and Kings Tavern are good for a tasty meal. The Stern's Wharf and the Marina are good places to stretch your legs, and in downtown State Street is the place for a relaxed day of shopping. The SB Botanical Gardens is wonderful hiking. 

Further north (and already recommended) I'd also vote not to miss Hearst Castle and Monterey Bay aquarium. I'd also add Morro Bay and Cayucos as great places for beach combing. Also, between Cayucos and Monterey on the 1, keep an eye out for a sign directing you to the elephant seal beach. You can't walk among them (nor should you want to), but they've build a nice elevated path above the herd and you can get pretty close while staying safe.

Have a great HM!

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

I would go one of two ways with this:

Either get a National Parks Pass and visit a bunch of Parks. SoCal/Central Cal has Death Valley, Channel Islands, Joshua Tree and Sequoia/Kings Canyon. And of course Yosemite in NorCal. All are great, if that's what you're into. But for a honeymoon, I'd do option 2:

Just drive up PCH. And by driving up PCH, I mean drive up the coast/near the coast, it doesn't necessarily have to be highway1 the whole way. Like, drive from San Diego to LA mainly on the 5. You'll still be driving along the coast most of the way, but it's faster. You can also stop at Disneyland on the way, if you're so inclined. FYI, it's like a little over an hour from San Diego to Disney in good traffic. 

If you drive up the coast, Santa Barbara is a great stop. Cute college town on the beach, and wineries further inland (about 30 miles away). 

I'd also hit up Hearst Castle, Big Sur/Carmel on the way to the bay area.

Then do Napa, which is less than an hour from San Fran, depending on traffic.

Lemme know when it gets closer. I can recommend some breweries and bars/restaurants in LA and San Diego if you're so inclined. (For starters, Stone Brwery in San Diego has a restaurant/tour/tastings. The Bruery in Palcentia - near Disney - is basically in a warehouse, but has good tastings.)