How to cover the real California in 7 days - Day 7

As today was the last day of our trip, we wanted to keep it simple and relaxed.
Also, we had not covered few points of SFO, so the plan was to cover those points and catch the flight back home.

 

                         

 

We started a bit late in the morning around 10 a.m. and it was time for some Golfing. There are lot of good clubs around San Jose for Golf lovers with scenic views. One of the best among them is Cinnabar Hills Golf Club. One of our friends suggested us that it is also good club for novice players, who are looking for just some practice in the range and not the mainstream action. We took a large bucket containing 110 balls for $13. It was sufficient for both of us.

After having a good one-hour at the range, it was time to get to one of the dream places of a software engineer, the headquarters of big 4. As we did not had time to visit all of them, we visited our favorites, Google Headquarter. It’s a completely different feeling when you visit the headquarters of your dream company. We stayed for half an hour checking the campus from outside as only employees were allowed inside the headquarters.

Next, it was time to explore the remaining attractions of SFO.
After having a sumptuous lunch at Subway, we headed towards our first spot, the Lombard Street.

Credits - Here

Lombard Street is also known as the crookedest street in the world. Located in the East-West Street of SFO, this famous attraction comprises of total eight tight hairpin turns winding down the hill.

After driving through the most crooked street in the world and clicking some pics, it was time to head towards one of the most happening places of SFO, Pier 39.

There are lot of Historic Piers in San Francisco which were used for trade and shipping cargo.
Many of them are still actively used, but one of them has become a popular tourist attraction – Pier 39. There are shops, restaurants, cafes, aquarium, pubs, street shows and performances, 7D experience, waterfront and the beautiful & lively sea lions.



You can buy the All-day Pier 39 ticket, which includes all the major attractions of Pier 39 as stated below :
- Blue and Gold Fleet Bay Cruise
- City Sightseeing Hop-on Hop-off Downtown Loop and Golden Gate/Sausalito Tour
- 7D Experience
- Magowan's Mirror Maze
- Aquarium of the Bay OR Flyer San Francisco
- PIER 39 Savings Fun Pack

We spend around 3-4 hours exploring this happening place, though a whole day is less to cover everything at this attraction.
It was around six in the evening and it was time to end this magical and adventurous tour of one of the most beautiful state of USA, and head toward the SFO International Airport to catch our flight to Newark, NJ.

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How to cover the real California in 7 days - Day 1

USA is one of the biggest countries in the world and has its benefits for being one.
Because it covers such a large area, it is home to the best national parks, beaches, architecture, museums and cities in the world.
I would say one of the top tourist destinations.

I have visited close to 15 states in USA and each state has something different and unique, but California stands at the top of the list.
Jaw dropping views of Pacific Coast, the largest and oldest trees in the world, finest wineries of USA, Silicon Valley, World class Amusement Parks, Best beaches of USA and Yosemite National Park, California homes all of them.

There are numerous places to visit in the most beautiful state of USA and even a month’s time won’t suffice, but when you are tight on budget and time, here is how you can explore the true and natural California in a week’s time.

This plan is not for you if you are an amusement park person and want to spend 2 days visiting Disney, sea world and universal studios in LA and San Diageo, as we didn’t cover those places and won’t cover it in our itinerary.
However, if you love nature, this plan fits perfectly.

Accommodation
For the entire trip our accommodation was in San Jose, which is like a center point to all the destinations. I always prefer Airbnb as it is cheaper as compared to any hotel, you get to share the kitchen, there is a local host to guide you and when you are staying for a week the cost even reduces a lot.

Food
I normally prefer McDonald, Wendy, Taco Bell, Subway and Burger King on my travel, as they have drive-ins and you don’t have to waste an hour sitting in a restaurant and waiting for your order to arrive.
So now as we have the accommodation and food settled, its time to plan the itinerary for each day.

Day 1
On day 1, we covered the bay area of San Francisco and the north of California.
We started early around 8 a.m. as we had to reach SFO by 9ish.
First place to visit was the Golden Gate State Park, from where you can have amazing views of the royal Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz prison and skyline of SFO.

Next in line were the two beaches/bay area points in SFO from where you can witness gigantic waves of Pacific ocean, magnificent mountains/rocks and great views of golden gate bridge. These points are Bakers Beach and Lands End. If you are a cave person, Lands End also has a small cave and the most beautiful thing at this spot is a rock with heart shape in it.

It took us around 3-4 hours to cover these spots, especially because I love photography.
If you are good with normal mobile clicks, it might take you half an hour less.

After visiting the points in SFO, it was time to head north.

Our next destination is the home to one of the largest and oldest redwood trees in the world –
Muir Woods National Monument. The hiking trails are beautiful and serene. There are different bridges that define the end-point of trails/loops. If you want to get out of your monotonous and tiring schedule and feel at peace, this is the place to be. If you have time, I recommend to take one of the panoramic paths that take you high up, giving you a view over the sea. However, if you have a time crunch, get at least to bridge 4 which is around 1.5-2 hours loop from the starting point. The entrance fee for the park is $15 per person for people 16 years and older. A parking has to be reserved earlier and costs you $8 per vehicle.

After spending 2 hours in the woods, it was time to take the route to the valley of wineries – Napa Valley.
It is a gorgeous sight to see the hills covered in wineries, which follow a beautiful symmetry.
Head directly to the Napa Valley Information Center and you could be lucky enough to get some complimentary wine tasting coupons as we did. Enjoy the scenic beauty of the valley over few glasses of sparkling wine. It would take you at least 2 hours exploring the wineries and valley.

After the wine tasting, it was time to call off for Day 1 and head towards our Airbnb in San Jose.

There is another beautiful attraction which lies in the north and can be covered - Point Reyes Lighthouse. You can see grey whales migrating and elephant seals lying in their natural habitat from this point. From the visitor center to lighthouse, it is a 1.3 miles moderate trail.
But you have to cover it some other day as there is no time on Day 1 to cover it.

Stats
Total hours of commute           : 4 hours
Total hours at the attractions    : 7 hours
Food and other break                : 1 hour
Start time from San Jose          : 8:00 a.m.
End time at San Jose                : 10 p.m.

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