In addition to my severe fear of flying, I'm a saver. A saver of both money and vacation which are both necessities if one want to get away for awhile. (As a sidenote...can anyone guess what I'm saving for?? Maybe for someone who isn't even a twinkle in my eye yet?? hehe :-) )
This has led me on a search for more weekend getaways that are close to home (within a few hours drive), but won't break the bank. We live in the San Francisco Bay Area which has so many beautiful places to see (and many of which we haven't explored), but since many of these spots are still "touristy", hotel prices are never cheap.
Some areas I've thought of going...
Close to Home
Good ol' San Fran -Can you believe this Bay Area native has never walked or even driven across the Golden Gate Bridge? I think it's high time that The Hubs and I make it to that part of the city which is NOT BART accessible!
Sonoma - A little less pretentious (and expensive) than Napa, but with all benefits of wine, food and a cute downtown.
Big Sur - The Hubs just mentioned going to Big Sur, so I'm thinking we may go out there for a day trip this weekend (The weather is supposed to be AWESOME!). Big Sur is a beautiful place where you can just get away from it all. There are excellent hiking trails to see amazing waterfalls.
A Little Further Away
Avila Beach - The Hubs and I both went to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, so this would be sort of like being in our old stompin' grounds, but a little more adult. We could then go into SLO to hang out and visit my sister who now goes to school there.
Tahoe -I still really want to go snowboarding this winter (although I hate driving in the snow). I'd really like to stay and play at Squaw Valley USA, as it looks like there is SO much fun stuff to do right at the resort without having to leave. Too bad it's expensive though...
Any locals out there know of some fun fairly local destinations that aren't too expensive? Know of any hotels that are nice, but reasonably priced? This girl needs a getaway!
Image Sources: ladybugbkt, Bryan_T, Destination360, Aparajith
Mendocino, Ft. Bragg area is nice. Not quite the quick getaway, probably would want to leave on a Friday afternoon come back on a Sunday, but worth it.
ReplyDeleteCavallo Point is a nice too. Pricey, but nice. http://www.cavallopoint.com/
Big Sur is great too. We Pfieffer Beach is ridiculous. We went to a hike in camping place. I can't remember it or find it now, but it was easy hike in (less than a mile) and real cheap, close to the water, but not within sight. http://www.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=Big+Sur+pfieffer+beach&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1220&bih=687
Tahoe wouldn't be that expensive if you shared a place with another doggie couple in a house that allowed dogs (hint, hint, wink, wink: http://www.petslovetahoe.com/)
Elliott and I bought a deck of flash cards of places to go based on the show the Bay Area Backroads, I think they have info on a website as well. It provided a great resource to flip through and pick a new place to explore - you are welcome to borrow some cards if you want! We have been to Pescadero, Pacifica, San Juan Bautista Mission, Capitola, Point Reyes and probably a few others based on that deck of cards. We normally do day trips so I have no hotel advice. Although we are really wanting to do a camping trip with the dog so if you want to plan something like that let us know!
ReplyDeleteA fun day trip to take Rusty to is Carmel by the Sea! They have a really nice dog beach there and its a fun place to have lunch on the beach!!
ReplyDeleteM