Planning

The initial plan was to land at SF, drive to Bug Sur, then to Yosemite, South Lake Tahoe, Napa valley and back to SF. But the fires at Yosemite made us redo our plans. The updated plan is to land in SF, then Napa, derive thru Yosemite, to Lake Tahoe, back to SF, and then spend a day at Big Sur. Keeping the schedule flexible so we can add remove things as needed. 

Day 1: Houston- San Francisco – Napa valley

We have a 5am flight out of Houston… a little stressed about waking up at 2am, didn’t sleep too well. Woke up at 2am, loaded the car by 3am, at Parking Spot by 4am. Cleared security and were at the terminal by 4:30am. All the restaurants are closed! We were hoping to grab some breakfast before we got on the flight… but … never mind, had a fruit nut bar. Got on the flight without issues. Got a free upgrade to economy plus… yay!!!. They gave us a waffle/cookie and coffee on the flight. Ride was pleasant. Got some sleep. Very cloudy as we came in to land. 

Picked up luggage, breakfast at Starbucks and drove to the Golden Gate Bridge welcome center. It’s a beautiful view. We spent an hour or so at the park, bought few goodies at the welcome center, took pictures. 

Now to Muir Wood. Muir Wood is beautiful. Lots of wonderful redwood trees. We took a nice long walk thru the redwood forest on one of their moderate trails. We really enjoyed our hike.

After our hike thru Miur Wood, we drove to Napa valley. It was a very nice drive. Sonoma looks really beautiful. Lots of vineyards. We stayed at the Old World Inn, Merlo House in Napa Valley. It is a really nice home. Headed to Whole Foods to grab some Linner (lunch+dinner). Picked up linner for all of us… had linner with the family and slept in by 5:30pm. It has been a long day, plus we do also have the 2 hour time difference with TX.

Day 2: Napa valley

Woke up at 7am. Showered and breakfast by 8am. It’s a cozy home setting at the Old World Inn. The breakfast is delish! It’s a beautiful chilly day at Napa. We hung out on the patio for a few min, and then headed out to Helena. Looking to do some wine tasting here. Castello di Amorosa vineyard looked really nice. We bought tickets for the Wine tasting, and were seated and ready for the experience. Martino was our guide. He was very enthusiastic. We were there from 10:45 till 2 PM. It was a fantastic experience. I tasted 7 different wines including some expensive ones. All tasted really good. We walked around the castle taking pictures, bought a few wines and and then headed back to the Old World Inn. 

Back at the Old World Inn we spent some time on the patio while the kids were having their lunch while watching TV in their room. We got some food from Trader Joe’s for todays dinner as well as lunch tomorrow. 

Day 3: Napa Valley -Yosemite – Lake Tahoe

Got up, ready by 8am. Had breakfast, scrambled eggs, fruit, muffin, OJ and coffee. It was excellent. 

Long day ahead of us. Chatted for a few min with a couple of families, in the parking lot and then headed to Yosemite. It was a 4 hour drive. Made it without any issues. Went straight to the store to buy tshirts and the pin for the walking stick. Had lunch and then tried to figure out the next things to do. It was getting late… there was the green and the purple line. We took the purple line just so we could have a quick ride. After that quick ride, we started driving. Drive close to a few of the attractions, took pictures and started driving to Tahoe. Didn’t have that much time to try hikes. 

Turns out it is a 4 hour drive and not a 2 hour drive like I was thinking! It was a beautiful drive all the way. 

Checked into the Fireside Lodge. A family run business. We loved our room and the whole lodge in general. Our host, Nick gave us a detailed tour of the Lodge. Chatted with him for a bit. I picked up some pizza while the kids enjoyed s’mores. Anagha made one for me. Yum!

Dinner was pizza and wine. I am really tired!  

Day 4: Lake Tahoe

Got up, we all got ready, had breakfast at 9AM. I have to mention, this was the best and most loaded pancake I have ever eaten! Played beanbag toss with the kids, as well as Monopoly. Fireside Inn had bikes that we could borrow, so we did! We took the bikes and went on the trail all the way to Baldwin Beach. It was really nice but also a bit toasty. We splashed in the water for a few min and then headed back. No hikes for today. Kids had pizza for lunch and I had a banana. 

We waited for a bit and then around 2, we drove to fallen leaf lake, very narrow road, beautiful lake. We drove all the way to Glen Alpine falls, took lots of pictures and then drove on to emerald bay. It was a beautiful drive. Too crowded to stop for a hike. We drove around, stopped to take some pictures and then headed back. 

Went to a local grocery store to get some supplies for tomorrows lunch. 

Spent time at the happy hour had cheese, wine, crackers. Kids had pizza for dinner!

Day 5: Lake Tahoe – San Francisco

Woke up and got ready. Ate breakfast at 8am and headed to Eagle falls at Emerald Bay. Spent an hour hiking. It was beautiful. 

Filled gas at South Tahoe and headed to SF. Initially it  said it was going to be a 3 hour drive. But due to traffic it took over 5 hours!

Checked into Holiday Inn express without any issues. Explored fisherman’s warf. Walked to Ghirardelli square. Ordered some of their awesome ice cream. Had fish/shrimp and chips with some wine for dinner from Boudin. Our room had an excellent view of the bay and Alcatraz. 

Day 6: San Francisco

Woke up early, had breakfast and headed to Big Sur. Plan overall is to just drive around and enjoy the views. It’s a wonderful drive. Stopped at Monterey London Pub for fish and chips lunch. Drove south, took a lot of pictures and the drove back to the hotel. It was close to 5 PM by the time we got back.

Day 7: San Francisco – Houston

Woke up leisurely. Breakfast place was really crowded. We picked up breakfast and headed back to our room. Checked out, put our luggage in the office. Headed to the tram starting point and bought a day pass for all 3 rides. Took a round trip on the tram. The line was really long for the way back, the folks wanted to sit in the front and side seats, and no one was sitting on the inside seats. The trams were leaving half empty! After a bit of a wait, found the way out…we walked to the next stop and and got on the tram from there. Got down at Crooked Street, took some pictures, and walked to Ghirardelli square. picked up 6 chocolate bars and had one right there. 

Came back and then took the street car all the way up to Castro and back. It was fun, but much longer than we anticipated. Came back jumped into the car and headed to the airport. 

Filled in gas, dropped off the car and took the train to the terminal. 

Went thru security and had lunch at the entrance. . Walked to the terminal and they were boarding zone 3. Walked into the airplane. Perfect timing. 

Plane took off on time and we reached Houston by midnight. Watched Batman and started watching Lost City on the flight… midway thru the movie by the time we reached Houston.

Overall this was an amazing trip. We all enjoyed it considerably. And in case you are wondering… here is a snapshot of our total route.