Please help with San Francisco Vacation

[dannopelli]

My wife and I are planning a trip to SF in May. Then on to Napa. Bringing along two small kids.

Any suggestions on good city to stop in between SF and Napa would be GREATLY appreciated! We are all set in SF and Napa.

THANKS!
Danno

[tom]

where exactly are you going, they're less than an hour apart.

[dannopelli]

Hey Tom,

Thanks for the help.

Seven day trip. We are staying in downtown SF for the first three days, then a B&B in Napa for the last two. We are trying to fill in the middle two days.

Thanks again!
Danno

[Dave M.]

If it were me, I'd definitely make a stop >>HERE<< (http://www.infineonraceway.com/major_events/394202.html) . :D

But, that's just me, and I grew up near that area, and I did a few laps around the place in earlier days. ;)
Dave says check it out.

I guess it might be helpful to know how old the kids are, and what kind of interests they have. FWIW, have you looked into visiting the Exploratorium (http://www.exploratorium.edu/) while in SF?

[enr1co]

If you are interested in driving you could do a scenic drive down Highway 1
thru Half moon bay, Ano Nuevo ( visit the sea elephants on the beach)
and end up in Santa Cruz at the Beach.

Keep driving for another hour and you'll end up in Monterey Area.
The aquarium there is one of the top family attractions in CA. You
can do another scenic drive thru Pebble Beach.

On the next day back north to SF you can stop in San Jose
at the Hi Tech museum. There is also the Childrens Discovery Museum.
Driving along the Peninsula along Freeway 101, you will pass
Stanford University/Palo Alto area and make a stop in Redwood
City to Gelb Music and check out their inventory of Andersons ;)

From SF, you can cross the Bay Bridge heading east into Berkeley
area. A drive thru the city and university can be interesting or
keep driving up University Ave to Tilden Park area for some of the
best vistas of the Bay area.

If you are into baseball, a Giants game at SBC park or catching
the A's in Oakland could be an option.

On the way to Napa after crossing the Golden Gate bridge, exit right
and cruise thru Sausalito shops and art galleries. Off to the
west side of Marin county, a visit to Muir Woods to view some beautiful
redwoods. As you near Napa, you'll can stop in Petaluma and
take the Mesa Boogie Factory tour ;) Detour east to Vacaville and the Jelly Belly factory tour can be fun.

Hope this helps- feel free to email or call me if any other questions...

[tom]

+1 on that, enrico knows the area well. since you're going to napa, you'll be wine tasting? make sure you go to rosenblum if you like big zins!

[ToneLounge]

On the way to Napa - make sure to stop at the Jelly Belly factory and take the jellybean factory tour. It'll take 3 hours or so and the kids will love it!

In SF, take the kids to the Basic Brown Bear factory and build your own stuffed animals (near the bay bridge, not the one at Ghiradelli).

In SF, spend a half day at the Exploratorium - a cool hands-on science museum.

[Dave M.]

The Jelly Belly tour is great. A couple of notes about its location. It's actually in Fairfield, not Vacaville. It's also not quite on the way to Napa from SF, but it's not a too far of a side trip. It happens to be located at the junction of I-80 and Hwy. 12, and 12 can take you straight to Napa from FF.

Here's a link to some info: Jelly Belly tour info (http://jellybelly.com/Cultures/en-US/Fun/Tours/Fairfield+Visitor+Center.htm)

Another possiblity might be amusement parks. There is Great America in Santa Clara ( http://www.pgathrills.com/ ), but that's a little south of SF. If you do decide to go to Santa Cruz or Monterey (yes, like enr1co said, the aquarium is awesome), then GA would be in that direction.
If you are going towards Napa then you might want to check out Marine World (http://www.sixflags.com/parks/marineworld/index.asp). It's actually in Vallejo, not SF, and it can be directly on your way to Napa if you travel up I-80 out of SF, instead of up 101 through Marin. It's also a few miles from there to the Jelly Belly factory previously mentioned.

[enr1co]

The Jelly Belly tour is great. A couple of notes about its location. It's actually in Fairfield, not Vacaville.

oopps! Thanks for the correction Dave!

I would have been responsible for dannopelli passing
the Jelly Belly factory and heading to the "State Psychiatric Hospital" :p

[dannopelli]

WOW! THANKS GUYS! THAT WAS GREAT INFO!

My kids are small. One is just two and the other is still and infant. But the two year old would LOVE the Jelly Belly factory, the Discovery Museum, the Brown Bear factory, and Marine world.

My wife mentioned a trip south too. Now we have some GREAT ideas!

Re the racetrack... Prolly not gonna happen! LOL! :(

THANKS AGAIN ALL!