Meeting up with a friend to explore Bay Area. Any recommendations on what to see/do?

Hike/bike/photography friendly.

 

Drive to portland.

 

Drive to Sacramento and meat up w/ me

 

I'll probably have an econobox rental car, unless someone has a spare Miata for me to drive ^_^

Accommodations are already set for downtown, but totally not apposed to a day trip. So far I got:


Palace of Fine Arts.
Bother the bourgie folks at the Presidio.
Venture out to Crissy Fields
Walk the Golden Gate Bridge

Andytown Roasters
Devil's Teeth Baking Company
Check out Ocean Beach

Dutch Windmills
Land's End
Sutro Historic District, Sutro Baths
Legion of Honor
Muir Woods and Mount Tam

Two notable Piers: 15 (waves play the organ!) and 39.
Get some goodies at a pricey farmer's market.
Roam around Little Italy/North Beach
Golden Gate Park
Visit a real Chinatown (and check out where your fortunes come from).
49 mile drive

 

if your at pier 39 visit crepe café
I luuuuub me some strawberry/nutella/whipped cream crepes

 

oh and get Hobo stab insurance

 

****, I knew I should have just visited my cousin in San Diego instead.

 

When you say bike, do you mean road or mountain biking?

I would head to Alice's Restaurant in woodside for breakfast one day. Parking lot is always full of a great mix of cars and motorcycles. It's nestled in the redwoods on some of the Bay Area's best driving roads and 5 minutes form epic mountain bike trails. It's about 25 minutes from the beach too.

 

I wouldn't mind me some single track, but the folks I'm with are probably not into that. ****. Maybe I'm travelling with the wrong people. But we're just needing to get out if DC area for a bit, the other is visiting from Barcelona. Right now it's nice to know what options are available, then wing it from there. Chill is good

 

The single track is freaking epic.

Skeggs point Bay Area Trail Reviews

There is some milder single track further south or you can always hike. There are literally trails everywhere and lots of photo ops. If you go on the weekend and the weather is nice all the serious toys come out.

If you can't tell, this is probably my favorite spot in all of the Bay Area.

Highway 9 is a close 2nd, and probably the best driving road around here.

 

The views from Coit Tower and Treasure Island are pretty balleur. You can get to TI and back without paying a toll.

I'm about 50 minutes south of downtown SF if you want to make the trek.

 

Things I enjoyed:

Day 1 -
Drinking Philz coffee in Mission District.


Philz Coffee - Mission District, San Francisco by The Braineack, on Flickr

brunch at Foreign Cinema (one of best I've ever had).

Walked from Pier 3 to Ghirardelli Square. Pier 39 was cool.


Ferry Building - San Francisco by The Braineack, on Flickr


Pier 39 Sea Lions by The Braineack, on Flickr

Alcatraz Night Tour.


Taking in the City by The Braineack, on Flickr

I want to say Kokkari for dinner

Day 2 - it was shitty out so we drove over golden gate bridge (remember to pay your toll online before/after you go across or youll be charged $30+ from your rental company)


Golden Gate Bridge by The Braineack, on Flickr

Looked at Sutro Baths


Sutro Baths & Cliff House by The Braineack, on Flickr

lunch at cliff house (meh) -- cool location though

drove through golden gate park


Conservatory of Flowers by The Braineack, on Flickr

drove to painted ladies


Painted Ladies at Alamo Square Park by The Braineack, on Flickr

drove to Full House house

Drove down Lombard street


Lombard Street from Above by The Braineack, on Flickr


things I wish I did:
eat at: Coqueta, In and Out, garydanko.com
Get Muscles, Get Sourdough, get Laid.
visit Vlad

 

BiRite ice cream shouldn't be missed either.

 

It's always fun to pop over to Fort Funston and watch the hang gliders.

 

Get some Its-Its and go Hwy 101 in Novato and hit up some breweries. then head drunken to Muir Woods for a short hike. Maybe try to find George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch. There's also Lagunitas brewing and Mount Tamalpais for hiking.

Sausalito is also pretty swanky.

 

Wow thanks for the responses folks. Has anyone ever dropped into the Russian River Brewing Company?

I'm transferring in Denver right now

 

Yes, definitely. It's in Santa Rosa. When are you planning to visit? Because the much anticipated (hyped) 12th release of Pliny the Younger is taking place there on Feb. 5th - 18th.

http://russianriverbrewing.com/pliny...unger-release/

 

Send me a message if you go north of the Golden gate bridge. I work in Mill Valley and can meet you in Sausalito. Nice parking by my house for biking on my tam too, I have a few extra bikes.

 

Another thing to consider if you are traveling here during the first week of Feb. is the S U P E R B O W L traffic congestion/madness that will be all over the the entire bay area and most major attractions in the surrounding areas.

 

A couple cool things to do that I've done in the past there:

Alcatraz Tour is definitely awesome.

Walking across the Golden Gate (if the weather is nice).

Driving down Lombard St. (the curvy road).

Riding a cable car.

And also if you have some time, just find some parking, pick a direction that looks interesting and start walking. It's pretty cool just to wander around and see all the buildings and places.