Trip to San Fran & DLR

[amjt660]

Hello All
Long term lurker - first time poster.
I have always enjoyed reading the forum and have especially like the approach that all of the vets take to newbies.

Anyway, the reason for this post is to gain more info on the San Francisco area.
I have travelled their on business but on March 9 I arrive with the family (DW, DD11 and DD10).
The family has now traveled to Cali two times, both in August, both times to LA,DLR, San Diego. This is our first trip to Northern CA.

I would appreciate some advice on our itinerary.
We arrive mid-day Friday and plan on driving to the Golden Gate park and hanging out till we can get into our hotel.
I have booked the Sheraton Fisherman's Wharf based on advice on this forum.
On Saturday we will check out FW, Pier 39, ride the trolley cars and hang out.
On Sunday we are still trying to decide whether to go to Zeum or the Exploratorium. Advice is more than welcome. After this we will start the drive to Monterey and depending on time stop at Santa Cruz Boardwalk (it is open till 6pm so it depends on when we hit the road)
Monday is Monteray day with the Aquarium, Cannery Row and drive the 17 mile.
Tuesday is travel day to Anaheim. Route suggestions (PCH vs 101 vs I5) are welcome.
Wed-Friday is DLR (we have visited in Aug 05 and 06 so we will try to take it slow and enjoy it)

So what do you think? Any ideas?
And what should we expect for the weather . Currently we are averaging -10 C or 14 F right now so even it is in the 50/60's it will be an improvement.

Thank you
Drew

 

[Lissete]

I would appreciate some advice on our itinerary.
We arrive mid-day Friday and plan on driving to the Golden Gate park and hanging out till we can get into our hotel.
I have booked the Sheraton Fisherman's Wharf based on advice on this forum.
On Saturday we will check out FW, Pier 39, ride the trolley cars and hang out.
On Sunday we are still trying to decide whether to go to Zeum or the Exploratorium. Advice is more than welcome. After this we will start the drive to Monterey and depending on time stop at Santa Cruz Boardwalk (it is open till 6pm so it depends on when we hit the road)
Monday is Monteray day with the Aquarium, Cannery Row and drive the 17 mile.
Tuesday is travel day to Anaheim. Route suggestions (PCH vs 101 vs I5) are welcome.
Wed-Friday is DLR (we have visited in Aug 05 and 06 so we will try to take it slow and enjoy it)

So what do you think? Any ideas?
And what should we expect for the weather . Currently we are averaging -10 C or 14 F right now so even it is in the 50/60's it will be an improvement.

Thank you
Drew

Have you considered going to Alcatraz? We all found it quite interesting. Maybe you can go on Sat. since you have most of the day free. FW & Pier 39 really did not appeal to us much. It's nice to see and say, "I've been there" , but that's about it. Unless you want to shop. You might even be able to do Zeum or the Exploratorium on Sat. if you don't want to go to Alcatraz. That way you can get an earlier start to Monterey.

This town practically shuts down at 5PM. The aquarium gets packed so arrive early. Don't miss the jelly fish or the sea otters! Oh and look for the Pacific Sunfish, one of he ugliest fish I've ever seen! Plus the eyes move from side to side. Are you doing the entire 17 mile drive? We only did part of it, we exited in Carmel, but we enjoyed it.

We drove from Monterey to Cambria along Hwy 1. Beautiful Scenery. If you can only make one stop, stop at Point Lobos State Reserve. And you also need to make a quick stop to see the Elephant Seals, so make that 2 stops . Here is a guide to driving through Big Sur

I'm just writing off the top of my head since our trip was in June 06.

Have fun on your trip!

 

[figment_jii]

I agree that Pier 39 is fun for shopping, but if you're not into shopping it won't be all that fun.

I'd skip the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. It's some thrill rides, but they aren't that great and I remember thinking it cost more than it was worth.

I love the Monterey Bay Aquarium (I'm a member so I go four or five times a year). It's a lot of fun. The sea otters are really cute. They let the White Shark go a couple of weeks ago, but the outer bay tank is still impressive (that's where the sunfish (mola mola) will be). Linguini Louie's on Cannery Row is a pretty good resturant (not to expensive and on the water front). I also love Ghiradelli for dessert (ice cream sundaes). Be sure to bring binoculars so you can look for sea otter out in the kelp beds.

As for travel from Monterey to So Cal it depends on how much you want to sight see versus speed. I would guess that I5 is faster to LA, but it's through the middle of a lot of flat farm land so there isn't much to see. The coastal highway (PCH) is prettier but a much longer drive and if anyone in your group is prone to car sickness, it's not fun.

We've been having a very dry winter here in Northern California, but by March things might be different. I'd bring medium weight jackets and sweatshirts; dress in layers. The days will probably be in the 60's/70's inland, but the nights in SF and Monterey will probably be chiller. SF will probably be colder than LA.

 

[amjt660]

Lisette
Thank you for the reply. Alcatraz does not appeal to the girls but I think it is cool so I will try to squeeze it into a business trip. We will take your advice to do more on Saturday - probably Zeum.
When you say it shuts down at 5pm I assume you mean Monterey and that the restaurants are still open later into the evening right?
Thanks again
Drew

 

[amjt660]

Figment
Thanks for the advice.
Since you are from the area can you recommend 2-3 wineries for us adults. We prefer whites and would like something with both good wine and scenic.
We figure we can sneak in a few tasting without the "I'm bored" coming from the back of the car.
Thanks
Drew

 

[Lissete]

Lisette
Thank you for the reply. Alcatraz does not appeal to the girls but I think it is cool so I will try to squeeze it into a business trip. We will take your advice to do more on Saturday - probably Zeum.
When you say it shuts down at 5pm I assume you mean Monterey and that the restaurants are still open later into the evening right?
Thanks again
Drew

We actually stayed in Pacific Grove. There are several restaurants & businesses along Lighthouse Ave. Cute area sort of like a Main St. When we finished dinner, I want to say around 7PM or so, everything but the ice cream shop was closed. I'm sure that restaurants remain open later but everything else was definitely closed. Pacific Grove has tons of restaurants so you will have plenty of choices!

 

[amjt660]

Lissete
Thanks for the reply. We are still trying to choose the hotel site and did not consider Pacific Grove. I will check out my CAA (Canadian version of AAA) to see hotel choices.
Thanks again
Drew