CA Road Trip Ideas?

[merle]

I'm looking for some ideas for short road trips in CA (or not too far into adjacent states). These would be places we can get to within a day, where there are enough things to do, buy, at eat to last for a one to three night stay.

In terms of food, I prefer local non-chain places, where meals are in the $2-20 range. No seafood, not much interest in fancy places: just good food and friendly faces. Ethnic foods preferred, but living in Oakland, barbecue counts as "ethnic" (since it's pretty mediocre here).

For things to do/buy, I enjoy museums, short historical tours, used book stores, and crafts stores. It doesn't have to have much to do: our last trip was Redding, where we saw the bridge, the museum, and the nearby dam, but otherwise drove around, shopped, and hung out in the B&B. Neither of us is into outdoor activities aside from short walks.

Places we've gone in the last few years include: Redding, Monterey/Carmel, San Luis Obispo, Fort Bragg, Sacramento, Yosemite, and Reno. And the Napa area, a few times. I can dig up notes on what was good on those excursions if folks are interested.

And, of course, feel free to post about non-SF-based trips, or places that do not match my criteria -- any road trip can be a fun one. Thanks!

[winesonoma]

Hwy 49 in the foothills is where I'd go. http://www.historichwy49.com/home.html

Edited February 21, 2005 by winesonoma (log)

[EdS]

I'll toss out some ideas:

Ashland, OR - Nice town with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. I took a girlfriend up there once and we stuffed ourselves with bangers and mash at a cool pub, got drunk, then went to see a play. We did the exact same thing the following day.

Humboldt/Eureka/Arcata - The People's Republic of Arcata is kind of like a tiny Berkeley by the Sea. The Hotel Arcata on the historic square is a good place to stay. I had some good granola . There are logging towns, Victorian mansions, etc.

Santa Barbara - 90210 by the Sea with Jacko's ranch of horrors nearby.

Hearst Castle - I finally did this a few years ago and to my surprise I had a great time. I thought it'd merely be a tourist trap.

I like winesonoma's idea. Columbia is worth a visit.

I bet if you hit those cities on Hwy. 99 between Sacramento and Bakersfield you'd find lots of good Mexican and other things.

Sorry, I'm half asleep so pardon me if my comments aren't very helpful. I'm sure in any of these places you could find some good down-to-Earth food.

Edited February 22, 2005 by esvoboda (log)

[Carolyn Tillie]

Although you are in Oakland and probably can't make some of my SoCal suggestions, here's a few:

- From LA and/or San Diego, one of my yearly standard road trips was to Julian and surrounding areas of Mt. Palomar. Now that much of it burned down last year, I'm sure they could use the tourist dollars, but I would always go in the fall when the apples started producing. There were great road-side stands for cider and apple pies then the town of Julian was perfect for a little antiquing and lunch with an afternoon hike in the mountains as the pinnacle of the day.

- A Sunday jaunt down the coastline from Oceanside to La Jolla (on bike or car)... Starting in Oceanside, there is a surprisingly good Surf Museum AND an art gallery that shows pretty decent artists, then in Carlsbad the downtown area has great antique stores and an antiquarian bookstore or two worth visiting. After that is Encinitas, Leucadia, Del Mar, Solana Beach, and La Jolla (not necessarily in that order). Each town is a little gem of things to do, from street-side arts and crafts vendors to the Self Realization Fellowship with meditating gardens. Each town has small, intimate eateries worth visiting and it is not hard to nosh your way down the coastline. Also, as an old book lover, I can attest that each town has used bookstores worth visiting!

- Similarly, a coastline drive around Laguna, Corona Del Mar, and Dana Point produces quaint little shops, restaurants, and (in the case of Laguna), lots and lots of art galleries. Go during the summer months around August, and you have the Sawdust Festival, Art-Affair, and Festival of the Arts on Laguna.

Now that Shawn and I have moved up to NoCal, pretty much all we can afford in the way of vacations are small day trips so exploring this area has been great fun. So far, we have had day trips to Bodega Bay and Inverness, Alexander Valley, Russian River Valley, Lake Berryessa, Amador County (most of these involving tasting wine, but also stumbling on used bookstores, an occasional art gallery, and great little eateries). Looking forward to lots more!

[bbqboy]

Merle, come on up to the Rogue Valley. 2 hours beyond Redding, but a whole different world. Lots of bay area ex-pats.

Ashland, Jacksonville, on up to Grant's Pass, and tons of food, books, and crafts.

http://www.ashlanddirectory.net/ashland/restaurants/

http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/03-05/re...oregon-usa.html

[merle]

esvoboda, bbqboy: Ashland sounds good. That directory of restaurants makes it quite appealing. ;-) I drove through there once, and it reminded me a bit of one of the SF north bay towns (Corte Madera? not sure). All that came to mind when I thought of it was "Shakespeare", though, which is why I had not considered it. (I don't mind the plays, but it wasn't enough to make it a "destination".

winesonoma, esvoboda: 49 sounds good, too. I would probably want to set up "base camp" in one of the cities and roam up and down. Columbia, or somewhere else? And would it be better to wait until apple season for this region? (or is it apple country?)

esvoboda: We had thought about the Humboldt/Eureka/Arcata area back when we did Fort Bragg... just never drove the extra hour or so. It looked nice, but mostly it looked like "1900 Victorian houses and $$$$$ bed'n'breakfasts". I don't mind expense per se, but Eureka kind of felt like a tourist trap. (of course, I'm judging based on the B&B web sites I found and how little there seemed (based on those) to do in the area). Was I mistaken?

Carolyn Tillie: Wow, Julian looks like a lot of fun! Not sure it's worth an eight hour drive, but it's going in my book of "if I lived near X, I would...". I'm positive there's a place like that near here (maybe the Apple Hill area). I just need to find it...

Carolyn Tillie: How did you like Inverness and the Russian River Valley? Those were both possibilities on my list. (Inverness mostly for the name and connotations, no other reason, which is why I never went).

Thanks, all -- I knew there must be interesting places left to visit!

BTW, I picked up an interesting looking guide book from the library - "The Best of the Pacific Coast", by Gerald Olmsted. It's twenty years old, so a tad out of date -- but he does try to find off-the-trail places, and his description of Fort Bragg is about how I felt about it (only a lot more eloquently phrased). No idea if there's a more recent edition, but it's turning out to be a fun read.

[melkor]

I've been driving all over the place the past several weeks. For good drives I'd agree with a lot of what has already been written - highway 49 out by placerville, apple hill, highway 1 from stinson beach up to fort bragg, the russian river valley is also really nice. It all depends what you are looking for. There is an endless supply of fun twisty roads all over the state. Most of these areas have fairly mediocre food options, but there are some gems to be found. Just wait for the sun to come out and go enjoy the countryside before summer comes along and turns everything brown again.

[winesonoma]

1. Sonora, gives you access to Colombia, Jamestown (trains), Murphys. Food is at http://auberge1899.com/ , http://www.cityhotel.com/ . Lodging http://www.barrettagarden.com/ , http://www.palmhotel.com/default.htm . More later

Edited February 28, 2005 by winesonoma (log)

[Carolyn Tillie]

Carolyn Tillie: How did you like Inverness and the Russian River Valley?  Those were both possibilities on my list.  (Inverness mostly for the name and connotations, no other reason, which is why I never went).

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The last time I went, I deeply regretted not stopping at some little roadside stand with a sign that read "Homemade Pies" and I never made it all the out to Inverness, stopping short at Inverness Park. I did, however, stop at the Station House Cafe in Point Reyes and had what had to have been the most impressive Oyster Stew ever. Made with Cream, Leeks, Spinach, Mushrooms and Tarragon, at $10.75 it could not be improved upon.

However, this coming weekend, there WILL be another excursion to Inverness after a day on the WineRoad for open barrels in Russian River and Alexander Valleys. A bunch of us are bound and determined to finally dine at Vladimir's for Czech food!

I'll report back!

[Jensen]

winesonoma, esvoboda: 49 sounds good, too.  I would probably want to set up "base camp" in one of the cities and roam up and down.  Columbia, or somewhere else?  And would it be better to wait until apple season for this region?  (or is it apple country?)

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I'm not sure about further south on 49 but there are plenty of apple orchards around Placerville. In November, there's also a mandarin festival in Auburn.

Further north on 49 is Nevada City -- a funky place to visit, although I can't say anything about the food there.

Between Placerville and Auburn, you'll find Venezio Winery. They have a really nice port and a good, full-bodied Zinfandel too.

If you want funkiness, try exploring the Delta for a day. There's Al the Wop's in Locke for food and drink. The last time I went Delta exploring, we ate at a Chinese-Italian-Mexican-American <!!!> place in Isleton. Just because it was on the menu, we ordered the carnitas chow mein to try. Not fine dining by any stretch of the imagination but honest food nonetheless.

[Jaymes]

I'll second the Rogue River. Great place to visit. But I'd suggest that for summer, when you can take the jet boats.

[winesonoma]

2. Fair play Valley, Place to stay http://www.fitzpatrickwinery.com/default.htm , winerys http://www.fairplaywine.com/ .Place to eat http://www.zacharyjacques.com/ . It's south of Placerville and east of Plymouth.

[zeitoun]

Last summer my wife and I did quite a lot of driving in Northern California and Nevada (i think 2,800 miles in 2 weeks!!). We alternated camping in the wilderness for 2-3 days in various locations and 2-3 days stays that were more "food driven" so to speak (Napa, Sonoma, Russian River, Alexander valley and SF of course).

We realized quickly that we did not have to go too far away from SF to start enjoying our little trip. One area that we particulary enjoyed was Point Reyes for the scenery and the little eateries in and around Point Reyes Station and Iverness.

The town of Pt. Reyes Station is home to the Cowgirl Creamery and has a cute little market. If you do go there then continue all the way to the Pt. Reyes lighthouse. You'll be crossing an incredible landscape that will make you think you are hundreds of miles away from SF.

Also, although there is nothing much to be enjoyed as far as food is concerned (and I mean really nothing, we survived on sandwiches and apples), several drives across the Sierra range are absolutely stunning (through the Carsson, Ebbetts or Sonora passes), but for that you will have to wait for the summer when the snow melts...

[merle]

This all sounds great, many thanks! And to think we were resigned to the long drive to Las Vegas, thinking we had seen most everything...

I think we're going to hit Ashland first, since it's further away (and we're looking for a 4-5 day trip next week) -- then maybe a couple of forays out to 49 in the summer and fall, saving the rest of the list for next year. Anyone have fave places to stay/eat in Ashland? (bbqboy's list looked pretty good for food...)

[winesonoma]

In the summer go to Mt. Lassen and climb it, also Hat Creek ( The Falls) and McCloud. Golf in Fall River.

[tanabutler]

Merle, while the idea of Highway 49 and Gold Country is a great one, I caution you against taking it up in the summer. Unless you like perishing heat, you will roast.

September or October would be better bets, unless of course the heat doesn't both you. Or say, at the end of May. We did that, and cherries were in season. There are few things on earth as beautiful to me as an orchard full of ripe cherries. It was ridiculously pretty.

Amador and El Dorado counties are beautiful.

[winesonoma]

Any where but the coast or High elevation in the Summer is hot. Sonoma is hot and I'm 1 hr to the coast.

[Jensen]

Merle, while the idea of Highway 49 and Gold Country is a great one, I caution you against taking it up in the summer. Unless you like perishing heat, you will roast.

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It's not too bad up there in the summer. El Dorado Hills or Cameron Park, neither of which are at close to the same elevation as Hwy. 49, are both at least 10 degrees cooler than Sacramento in the summer.

Nevada City is at 2000 feet, I think.

[tanabutler]

Merle, while the idea of Highway 49 and Gold Country is a great one, I caution you against taking it up in the summer. Unless you like perishing heat, you will roast.

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It's not too bad up there in the summer. El Dorado Hills or Cameron Park, neither of which are at close to the same elevation as Hwy. 49, are both at least 10 degrees cooler than Sacramento in the summer.

Nevada City is at 2000 feet, I think.

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I would disagree, but I am sensitive to heat. It was in the nineties there at the end of May, when we went there. That's too bloody hot for me, but I admit I don't like it that hot. I can handle the high eighties, but mid-nineties is a deal breaker.

[Jensen]

I would disagree, but I am sensitive to heat. It was in the nineties there at the end of May, when we went there. That's too bloody hot for me, but I admit I don't like it that hot. I can handle the high eighties, but mid-nineties is a deal breaker.

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Well, yes, it's all relative, isn't it?

If you're living on the shores of the Styx (AKA Sacramento), then a trip to the river's source (Hwy 49) seems like quite the respite...

Edited March 5, 2005 by Jensen (log)

[merle]

...stuff about heat...

I would disagree, but I am sensitive to heat. It was in the nineties there at the end of May, when we went there. That's too bloody hot for me, but I admit I don't like it that hot. I can handle the high eighties, but mid-nineties is a deal breaker.

I'm with you, tanabutler. I had forgotten that it gets hot during the summer. Living in Oakland, I'm fairly aghast when it gets above mid-80s in the summer. (yeah, I'm a heat wuss... just call me acclimated)

I can wait until fall comes around, or maybe take a second quickie vacation in April. Guess it's the northern coastal areas for me in the summertime!

[Jaymes]

I can wait until fall comes around, or maybe take a second quickie vacation in April.  Guess it's the northern coastal areas for me in the summertime!

Yes, like Gold Beach, and

Jerry's Rogue River Jetboats!

[rjwong]

esvoboda: We had thought about the Humboldt/Eureka/Arcata area back when we did Fort Bragg... just never drove the extra hour or so.  It looked nice, but mostly it looked like "1900 Victorian houses and $$$$$ bed'n'breakfasts".  I don't mind expense per se, but Eureka kind of felt like a tourist trap.  (of course, I'm judging based on the B&B web sites I found and how little there seemed (based on those) to do in the area).  Was I mistaken?

When I visited Eureka area, it didn't feel like a tourist trap to me back in the early '90's. Mind you, I never stayed overnight in Eureka, since I would continue on to the Crescent City area and stay with friends. Between Fort Bragg and Eureka, there are a few things to do:

In Leggett, there is a general store/tourist stop where you can drive your car THROUGH a tree.

North of Garberville is the Humboldt Redwoods State Park which includes the Avenue of the Giants. Absolutely gorgeous!

Five miles west of Fortuna is the Victorian town of Ferndale. The entire town is a designated State Historical Landmark.

In Eureka, I remember enjoying a walk through one of their historical museums. There is a public library that looks really nice. The Carson House is a Victorian building which is used by members of a private club.

Food-wise, there is one restaurant I go to when I'm in the Eureka area: The Samoa Cookhouse. This is where the lumberjacks would eat back during the old logging days. They serve soup, salad, bread, couple of entrees, vegetables, dessert, and seconds, all for one price.

BTW, I picked up an interesting looking guide book from the library - "The Best of the Pacific Coast", by Gerald Olmsted.  It's twenty years old, so a tad out of date -- but he does try to find off-the-trail places, and his description of Fort Bragg is about how I felt about it (only a lot more eloquently phrased).  No idea if there's a more recent edition, but it's turning out to be a fun read.

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I double-checked for you and there is no recent edition of Olmsted's book (I'm a librarian by profession).

[winesonoma]

EUREKA CA http://www.carterhouse.com/ wireless network in the hotel but they don't tell you that> Strongest in lobby. Great winelist, goodfood, Quaint bedroom sizes. Only place in town I'd stay. If you have to be in Eureka, that is.

[Jaymes]

Food-wise, there is one restaurant I go to when I'm in the Eureka area: The Samoa Cookhouse. This is where the lumberjacks would eat back during the old logging days. They serve soup, salad, bread, couple of entrees, vegetables, dessert, and seconds, all for one price.

I spent a few days in Eureka this last summer and also enjoyed the Samoa Cookhouse. It's fun and very interesting from a historical standpoint. Also the food was great. We had breakfast and dinner there.

We also enjoyed the Cafe Marina. It's right on the water. Don't recall the entire meal, other than it was very good and I particularly enjoyed the oyster stew.