Me and my bf are thinking of heading over the SF & central California in September and I was hoping that Octillus or any other locals round here might have any tips on good stuff worth seeing etc?

Sonoma and/or Napa valley would be a good place to visit. Wine country, after all.

Santa Cruz. The beaches, the Boardwalk, the redwoods, the Pacific Garden Mall, etc.

[swervedriver]

Highway 1 from SF to Monterey is supposed to be very nice, although when I went there it was all fogged up so I couldn't really enjoy the coast. Also consider going to Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park. Bit out of the way perhaps but well worth the drive.

Highway 1 from SF to Monterey is supposed to be very nice, although when I went there it was all fogged up so I couldn't really enjoy the coast. Also consider going to Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park. Bit out of the way perhaps but well worth the drive.

Highway 1 gets a bit dull between Santa Cruz and Monterey, but gets beautiful again south of Monterey. If you do decide to make a trip down to Monterey, there is a lot of great places to see there, as well. There's the Monterey Bay Aquarium, for one. A ton of nice little shops in the surrounding areas, as well. There's also the Bubba Gump restaurant nearby, which has some pretty tasty food.

Not sure if you eat meat or not, but there is one hell of a BBQ place in Castroville, which is off of Hwy 1 between Santa Cruz and Monterey. It is called The Central Texan, and it is right off the main street through Castroville. Unbelievable pork ribs. The owner is a scrawny old Texan that looks like he fell straight out of 1885. lol

Damn, now I'm really missing that area. lol

If you are into oddball attractions, Santa Cruz has a couple, like The Mystery Spot and the Bigfoot Discovery Museum.

[Octillus]

Ah yes, my homeland and country.

If you go to a Bubba Gump's, go to the one in Monterrey, my roommate's a supervisor at the one in San Francisco. NOT TO BE TRUSTED.

Santa Cruz is wonderful, of course, and my hometown (same with PPinkham), but unless you take time to vist say, Henry Cowell forest, it's pretty much a day trip, hitting the downtown, and the boardwalk in one fell swoop.

I have to repeat what Paul said about highway 1 between Santa Cruz and Monterrey, except I still think Moss Landing's pretty. If you get a chance, there are beautiful wetlands out there.

I mean there's soooo much to see and I've kinda been there the last 24 years, so there's a lot of ground to cover. Definitely spend time out in the city and in Berkeley (i'll be happy to show you guys around), lots of cool museums, historic sights, and pretty natural places.


Oh and we shall go to Land's End:




My favorite spot in the city, basically on the corner of the city where the bay gives out to the ocean.

Obviously there's much to do and check out in the city and the greater Bay Area, so I'd recommend splitting your trip into two halves, the SF part (and its surrounding areas, like Marin, Berkeley, etc.) and then the other half being the rest of your trip.

You also should try to get down to Big Sur if you can, Carmel is also beautiful and uh yeah... hope all of this was helpful.

I'm not a local or anything, but in April last year I was stuck in San Francisco for almost a month due to the Icelandic volcano... and I enjoyed every minute of it. :3 I went there with my school, and they dragged me to some touristy places - some awesome and some not-so-awesome.

Among the awesome ones were City Hall... epic architecture! I also went to Alamo Square (with the Painted Ladies and all) and Duboce Park (peaceful dog park) every now and then just to relax, eat strawberries and read a book. Excluding music events, I think I had the best time of my life doing just that.

I'm not the touristy kind of tourist really. As much as I enjoyed the cable cars, the zoo, Alamo Square, Golden Gate Bridge, Height Ashbury. the botanic garden in Golden Gate Park and all that... the funniest times were the times when we got lost in some random neighborhood.

I also recommend the hostel at 312 Mason Street. Affordable stay and nice staff.

Thank you so much guys, especially Octillus for your kind offer....unfortunately family complications beyond our control have put a stop to our plans hey, there's always next year!

[Octillus]

Yes, of course.

See you in November with the rest of the crazy people?

San Francisco is awesome. I've been there a few times, plus hung out in Berkeley for a day.

[swervedriver]

I may be visiting the area sometime next year. I still have an offer from a friend in LA to stay over, so as far as holidays go that should be fairly awesome to do. Just need to figure out who might accompany me during the days, as doing stuff with someone else is more fun than doing stuff alone.


...yes, I'm quite aware how that could also be interpreted.

My girlfriend and I are doing a trip out to Cali early September too! Doing a little bit of a tour starting in SF for a couple days, then a drive down Route 1 with a couple days spent in Big Sur and then out to Yosemite for 4 days of hiking and worshiping nature before 1 day in Napa to get drunk and unwind before flying back. Should be fun as hell! I have a feeling Ghost is going to be on permanent repeat as we rotate staring out into the ocean with staring at granite monoliths, waterfalls and the like. I've been reading literature and watching film on the regions and I'm whipped into a frothy foam right now waiting for our departure on the 3rd. I'm even growing a beard for the trip so I can be more John Muir-esque!

This thread makes me want to go to Cali even more.

Next year, I will be there.