northern california - suggestions for a destination...

[chris_markiewicz]

hello. i'm heading to northern california (bay area) in may of 2006

with my girlfriend. i'll be spending a few days with a relative

(sunnyvale), a few days in monterey, and i'm trying to pick one other

spot. looking for a place with a few bed and breakfasts to choose

from, as well as a lot of options for photography (and obviously

something that the gf would like).

 

i know this question is much too open - you don't know what i want to

shoot and you don't know my gf. but i don't have any very specific

thoughts about it. fine with photographing nature, cities/towns,

landscapes, whatever. ideally it would be within two hours of the

sunnyvale area.

 

shooting mostly b/w 35mm - although i'll have color too if it's

appropriate.

 

thanks for your time.

chris

[andrew_wells1]

At the risk of being obvious - San Francisco? Photo ops include pictures of and from the Golden Gate Bridge; ditto Telegraph Hill / Coit Tower; victorian houses in and around Pacific Heights; the street life of Chinatown and Height Ashbury; USS Pampanito (a WWII submarine) ...

 

Moving across the Bay, Muir Woods.

 

Also Carmel for its "quaint" houses.

 

Andrew

[Monophoto]

Chris -

 

My suggestion would be to drive north on 101 through San Francisco, cross the Golden Gate Bridge, make quick stops in Sausalito and Muir Woods (about an hour north of Sunnyvale), and then continue north along the coast on Rt. 1 to Bodega Bay (probably another couple of hours). That would be a good place to stay if you want to limit the amount of driving you do each day.

 

From Bodega Bay to the wine country is another couple of hours. After you cross the Russian River, hang a right and drive back down to Sebastopol.

 

Lodging prices are a bit more reasonablein Sonoma - so staying in Sebastopol or Santa Rosa will be less expensive than Napa, St. Helena, or Yountville. But you will be close enough to those towns to be able to make day trips, tour wineries, do a little tasting, etc.

 

The Wine Train luncheon excursion is a nice event that will occupy the better part of a day. Another interesting stop for the GF might be the Luther Burbank Museum in Santa Rosa. All of the wineries are nice - Chateau Montelene in Calistoga is especially nice. We also enjoyed the Rutherford Hill tasting and tour.

[b_hall1]

Bed and breakfasts ? I'd look for a weekly rental apartment on the side of Nob Hill...above Post at least.

 

Now the top of Nob Hill has a park and some views and a famous hotel drive-thru. North down the hill from here will hit Chinatown. A left through Chinatown will hit North Beach. There's a park there, an impressive cathedral, and a latitude/longitude marker...

 

Next trip, find Van Ness and run to the end of it. Turn left into the Marina District and find the park. And here's there's a route to the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. When leaving the Marina District just walk up the steep hills into Pacific Heights...I doubt if anyone will mind.

 

Another trip, ride out Geary and look for a right turn past the route to the Golden Gate Bridge. There is a modern architecture subdivision and a remote public beach. Also, there is a large public beach nearby where's it's probably best to stay near the parking lot...

 

Another one, stroll through the Height and into Golden Gate Park. Find the grassed public lounging area to the North. Work from there down to Pacific Beach. Take a left to the sand dune area...and ride the European-style trolley back to town.

 

Now the fog blows in at the beach at about 3PM and hits Nob Hill about 4PM while the Mission District is sunny. So be on top of the Twin Peaks for a sunny view down onto the clouds...

 

And there's a park in the Mission District and burrito shops. However, China Basin is sunny like the Mission and has a marina. China Basin is old industrial...and not on the better bus routes.

 

Finally, ride through Sausalo but don't stop. Ride out to Stinson Beach...

 

Leave the b&w at home...

[david_henderson]

Well San Francisco is the obvious candidate and I guess as I'll be there in a few weeks after travelling 6000 miles it must be worth the short trip up from Sunnyvale.

 

But I'd still be tempted to break apart your two hour criterion to head fast up the 101 to Ukiah and then across to the coast at Mendocino and stay there. Then return down the 1 staying at Sea Ranch on the way back.

[gregp]

The City of San Francisco if you like cityscapes. Point Reyes National Seashore if you prefer

seascapes.

[stephen hazelton]

Isn't the Winchester house up there somewhere?

[peter_obaldo]

Winchester is around 60 miles south of San Francisco in city of San Jose.

[chris_markiewicz]

thanks for all of the suggestions. yeah, i'm pretty familiar with SF - been there a handful of times. salsalito as well. i heard other recommendations for mendecino and point reyes - i'll research those online - not familiar with them. cool - thanks again.

chris

[craig_gillette]

In May? The Gold Country - there are a number of towns with B&Bs but the destination? Yosemite! May is usually before the summer rush of tourists and during the high water for the falls. You might have to choose between close lodging or in park if you can find it and "B&B" at more distance.

[oswegophoto]

Don't know how far north you're thinking (there's a <b>lot</b> of territory north of the

middle). If you're anywhere near Redding (upper central valley), I'd say stop by the <a

href="http://www.turtlebay.org/sundial/sundial.shtml">"Sundial Bridge"</a>, then

continue on a bit to the Mt. Shasta area. And then, to the southeast, near Mt. Lassen, is the

<a href="http://www.seti.org/site/pp.asp?c=ktJ2J9MMIsE&b=179146">Allen Telescope

Array</a>, to be SETI's new ear to the heavens. If you like old homes, Eureka (coastal, far

north) is pretty cool. If you're not going so far, I'll echo the recommendations for the

Russian River area.

[deb_mindel]

Heartily agree with Yosemite - about a 3.5 hour drive - if it's early May. Don't bother if you're thinking Memorial Day weekend.

 

Not sure how familiar you are with areas, but here are my (nature-leaning) suggestions around Monterey and SF:

 

(1) Monterey: focus on Carmel (picturesque, architecture, shops, beach) and Big Sur. There are a number of coastline parks a short drive south - Pt Lobos, Julia Pfeiffer. If it's unrelenting fog, head inland to Carmel Valley. If you haven't been to aquarium, highly recommend.

 

(2) Marin: Yep, Sausalito is always a nice spot and provides a launching place for short excursions. For views of GG bridge, hit Crissy Field and Fort Point (SF side) or Fort Baker (Marin side) and snake over to Rodeo Beach (Fort Cronkhite). All within a few miles of each other. You can explore redwoods, oak strewn hills, and beach along the same drive by going to Muir Woods, Mt. Tampalpais, and down to Stinson Beach and Bolinas. Although that's too much for one day. Pt Reyes is another few miles north and has too much to recommend one thing (elk, tidepools, white beaches, light house/whalewatching, estuaries, etc).

 

Info overload, I know. If you want more specifics, feel free to email me directly. And if you want some restaurant recs, happy to provide... :^)

 

deb

[dave wyman]

Check out my book from the library - better yet, buy a copy - of Backroads of Northern California.

 

If I were traveling with my significant other and I had only one location from which to choose, I'd head for wine country, in the Napa and Sonoma valleys - beautiful landscapes, winding backroads, and of course the wineries and vineyards.

[chuck_french1]

if I had only one place to go in all of the United States, let alone just Northern California it would Yosemite, nature's cathedral and then some. But it really doesn't matter, almost everywhere you go in California there are images upon images to be made. I have lived here all my life and constantly find new things to shoot. May is a great month, hills are starting to turn, weather is good, though foggy along the coast and the tourists haven't built up to horde level yet. The coast south of Carmel is spectacular as well.