Need a destination for sudden weekend away in CA

[ExcitedMamma]

After I asked for advice for entertaining the kids in Pleasanton and received wonderful advice my DH is now thinking of canceling his work trip and going for a long weekend away instead. We never take trips so I have no idea where to go! We live in Monterey and will be taking the kids. Where should we go? Thank you!

[elektra]

Do you want to stay pretty close? Driving distance? Central Coast still? I love Santa Barbara- I would probably drive down there for the long weekend.

[crl]

San Francisco? There's plenty to do in or near the city with kids: exploratorium, Bay Area discovery museum, California Accademy of Science, Golden Gate Park more generally including the children's playground and the carousel, Chinatown, SF Zoo, Muir Woods. It's a pricey place for hotels though.

Catherine

[Globetrotter]

Tell us what sorts of things you want to do and we will advise lol

It sounds like you've been here before. Do you want to sightsee at all?

[ExcitedMamma]

I have no idea what we want to do which makes it so hard! This year we have done L.A., SF and the Santa Rosa area with the kids while we tagged along on DHs business trips. We live in a beach area so not sure about traveling to one, especially since it's actually been warm to hot here instead of the usual cold and fog. I went to college at UCSB so not sure about going to SB since I've spent so much time there. Kind of looking for some place we haven't explored. The Santa Rosa area was perfect, lots of fun little towns to explore, great parks for the kids and we had a great time. I grew up in San Jose so I'm pretty familiar with that area. Not looking for too far away but if it's a fun drive with places to stop that would make it easier to do with the kids. What areas does that leave to explore?

[SnuggleBuggles]

Too far to drive to Yosemite?

[jenmcadams]

What about hitting the snow? As a CA kid, I remember how special it was to drive to the snow. Your kiddos are little, so skiing might be too much, but some cheap sleds and some bike helmets and a tiny hill could be a lot of fun. Not sure how far you'd need to drive (we live in CO now), but maybe up towards Truckee (Alpine Meadows area). Might be further than you're thinking, but could be fun!

[sariana]

Yes, how far are you willing to go? Lassen Volcanic National Park is great! We were there two summers ago when a fire had closed most of the park, but there was still plenty to do even in the little corner that was open. We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Red Bluff, which was pretty nice and not TOO far away. We had planned to spend a night or two closer to the park, in a little town whose name I can't remember, but they had a fire-caused power outage, so we just went back to Red Bluff each night.

[AnnieW625]

Too far to drive to Yosemite?

I think it is about a 4 to 5 hr. drive and it could be kind of cold unless the temps have been warmer than normal this winter, especially at night. It is not exciting but you could go to Sacramento, there is a nice zoo and Fairytale Town, a childrens musuem (although this is a good 15 miles outside of downtown), the train musuem, and the Crocker Art Museum, but that might be too adult for the little ones. I might consider Tahoe too but just don't go on a holiday weekend of a weekend where snow "might" be expected (because each time it "might" snow it turns into a snow storm and people get stranded along I-80 and everyone is just always underprepared).

For some reason I thought you were by SLO, my best friend lives in Monterey (Spreckels) and loves it.

[rlu]

What about hitting the snow? As a CA kid, I remember how special it was to drive to the snow. Your kiddos are little, so skiing might be too much, but some cheap sleds and some bike helmets and a tiny hill could be a lot of fun. Not sure how far you'd need to drive (we live in CO now), but maybe up towards Truckee (Alpine Meadows area). Might be further than you're thinking, but could be fun!

We did snow at Kings Canyon when DS was little, but TBH, not sure there is any there this year. http://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/snowplay.htm

[mackmama]

Yosemite? Mammoth?

[YouAreTheFocus]

I think it is about a 4 to 5 hr. drive and it could be kind of cold unless the temps have been warmer than normal this winter, especially at night. It is not exciting but you could go to Sacramento, there is a nice zoo and Fairytale Town, a childrens musuem (although this is a good 15 miles outside of downtown), the train musuem, and the Crocker Art Museum, but that might be too adult for the little ones. I might consider Tahoe too but just don't go on a holiday weekend of a weekend where snow "might" be expected (because each time it "might" snow it turns into a snow storm and people get stranded along I-80 and everyone is just always underprepared).

For some reason I thought you were by SLO, my best friend lives in Monterey (Spreckels) and loves it.

You know, I was thinking of suggesting Sacramento as well, but I feared the reaction :) It always gets such a bad rap! But we have gone there twice for long wkds and found plenty of fun activities! As you mentioned, one day we went out to Land Park and did the Zoo, Fairytale Town, Funderland (very close together, we walked between them). We also visited the train museum, the auto museum, and Sutter's Fort. We also had found up a couple cute walking/shopping neighborhoods so spent an afternoon checking those out. In addition to the Kid's museum there is also an Aerospace Museum just outside of Sacramento (we haven't gotten to those).

Added bonus for us (not sure if this is an option from Monterey)--we were able to ditch the car and take Amtrak. DH was thrilled to be relieved of his driving duties for 3 days!

My other suggestion would be Healdsburg, but you might have covered this during your Santa Rosa trip? We've gone 1-2x a year, pre and post kid, and always have a great time there.

[ged]

I think the there is so so so much to do North of SF proper. Love me the Mendocino area, and the whole coastline south of that until SF. Did you go to Muir Woods when visiting SF? Mt. Tam? SO beautiful. Get a slice of JM Rosen's cheesecake up in Petaluma. More of Sonoma/Napa county.

I also like Sequoia National Park, and of course, Yosemite.

And being a Cal grad, you can just hang in Berkely/Oakland Hills for a few days of great eating.

I was born in Sacramento, but don't know it well enough to comment.

If you really want to go inland, I have friends who grew up in the Angels Camp area I believe it is quite lovely in those parts as well.

[Globetrotter]

We often go to your area for weekend trips :)

It has been a very mild winter, but keep in mind that Yosemite, Lassen, Sequoia, etc.. will be chilly and quite a drive for a weekend with little kids. How about the obvious, a weekend in SF? We do that on occasion so we can really spend some quality time there and focus on one neighborhood. If you decide on that, we can give lots of specific recommendations. ETA: I just saw that you went to SF this year already.

Another option is the Napa area. There is a Train Town in Sonoma, which might be fun for your family. Then you can spend some time walking around the downtown, playing in the park and enjoying some good food.. Something for everybody :) That's probably what I would do, if I was in your situation, since you don't live too far from SF. I think your kids are too young for Safari West, which is also in that area.

There is a train to Sacramento, and I believe it ends up near the train museum in their historic downtown. This would be fun for a train buff. I always meant to do this but never did get around to it. I've been to the downtown and it's pretty decent. There is a riverwalk and some restaurants and shops near the train museum, so you could definitely make a trip out of this.

If there IS any snow, that is also an option for you, but it will require a 3-4 hour drive.

[crl]

I really like Sacramento. We considered moving there and have gone for weekends the last two summers and I think it's a fun place. The Embassy Suites on the river is very nice.

Catherine

[lovin2shop]

Oh, I'm just jealous that you live in Monterey!

[Leshoequeen]

San Fran!


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