Hey guys, below is a review of the trip my wife and I recently took to Carmel and San Francisco. We had an awesome time and would jump at the chance to go back. I hope this review helps with someones trip to the area!

Day 0: We flew out of MSY at 7:30 PM and arrived at SFO at 12:05 AM. Picked up our car and we were in Carmel by 3:30 AM. Decided against renting for the few hours and "slept" in the car.

Day 1: By 5:30 AM it was obvious neither of us were getting any sleep, so we drove to Bixby Bridge for sunrise. Would highly recommend getting there early because of how crowded it gets at the bridge later in the morning and afternoons. Classic Pacific Coast Highway view and beautiful bridge.

Next, we went to Lou Lou's Griddle in the Middle for breakfast. Very small restaurant at the Wharf in Monterey, felt "local" and unique, friendly staff. Need to arrive early because it filled up quick. I had the "hubcap" pancakes on a typical size plate and the pancake was larger than the plate it was served on. My wife had strawberry and chocolate chip french toast. Both of us loved our food. When we went to pay, we were told that our bill had been taken care of. We could not believe it. It turned out that a couple that we were talking to outside the restaurant prior to it opening had paid for our meal before they left.

After breakfast we went to Lovers Point, picturesque area with a small park, benches, and rock outcrop. Great place to kill some time. We then drove the length of Asilomar Beach. Beautiful beach and an awesome place to watch the sunset. Did not have much time to explore because we had a 17 Mile E-Bike Tour scheduled with "Adventures by the Sea". We had a great tour guide, but the weather did not cooperate. What started as a slight drizzle when we started turned into a blinding downpour an hour later. Ended up having to turn around early, but were refunded fully by the tour company.

After the aborted bike ride, we changed (still hadn't checked into hotel and had suitcases with us), and decided to drive the 17 Mile Drive. By this time the rain had subsided and we were able to get out of the car at points along the drive. Was very pretty and worth the $10 entrance fee. Pebble Beach was incredible and houses along the drive were ridiculous.

By the time we finished the 17 Mile Drive my wife had been asleep for thirty minutes, so we headed back to Carmel. If I was smart, i would have checked into the hotel so that my wife woke up at the hotel. Alas, I am not, so I went out and explored Highway 1 south of Carmel while she slept. It is simply incredible. Words or pictures cannot do it justice. Eventually this picturesque drive was ended abruptly by my wife waking up and the car was quickly turned around and went to check in.

For supper we ate at Portabella. Very good food with top-notch service. Highly recommend. Reminded both of us of Italy.

Day 2: After breakfast at the hotel we went to Point Lobos and hiked the “loop” around the park. We parked at Whalers Cove and walked counterclockwise, staying on the trails closest to the ocean. To us, the first half of the “loop” was hands down the best. There is an elevation climb because you are on top of the cliffs, however the views are worth it. The second half of the “loop” brings you back down from the cliffs and gives you an opportunity to be much closer to the ocean. This is beautiful in it self, but in a different way. Matter of preference.

Just before we got back to our car we came to the Whalers Cabin. Built in the 1800'S, it was a small cabin that had been turned into a museum that is worth the stop.

For lunch, we ate at the Treehouse Cafe. Food was good, as well as the service. Worth going on a day that you can sit outside on the patio.

After lunch, we hiked the scenic Soberanes Canyon 5.5 mile Loop. Tough day hike with a large elevation change, but worth it for the panoramic views you are rewarded with at the top of the “mountain”. We went on a perfectly clear day and had excellent views. My wife even smiled and begrudgingly said that the hike up had been worth it. Would highly recommend if you have a fog free day.

After the hike we went to Carmel Beach for sunset. Carmel Beach is beautiful. When you first get to the beach you are standing on a hill and are able to look out across the entire beach from an elevation. To the North you can see Pebble Beach Golf Course. To the South is Point Lobos and to the west is the ocean. It’s a quite the scene.

Brophy's Tavern for supper. Both wanted bar food and desert after hiking all day and it did not disappoint. The bar food was very good, the desert was excellent, and it had good aatmosphere. More upscale than what we were expecting, but it had some character.

This post was edited on 3/26/19 at 7:46 pm

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Posted by TheJunction

Mississippi

Member since Oct 2014

953 posts

Posted on 3/26/19 at 7:42 pm to TheJunction

Day 3: Our final full day in Carmel. There were a few things along Highway 1 that hadn’t been checked off yet. We set off early to knock them out so that we could get back to Carmel and explore the town.

However, immediately after pulling out of the driveway, we realized our tire went flat. Great. We fumbled around in the dark, changed the tire to a “May Pop” and off we went to the potholed road that is Highway 1 (disclosure: we filled the flat tire with air before going). Our first stop was Pfeiffer Beach. Located down a long winding road, we were both excited when we finally reached the bottom. We had the beach to ourselves and loved it. The "purple" sand was very cool.

After Pfeiffer Beach, Partington Cove and McWay Falls were the next two stops, but we missed our turn for both. In the Big Sur area, cellphone service is non existent the majority of the time, particularly in the area where we were. Also, there are not signs that direct you where to go. There are small indicators, but to the untrained eye it’s easy to miss.

After going to far and turning around we were able to first find McWay Falls. It is an absolutely beautiful cove that has a waterfall falling off the cliff into the beach below. It’s the top site in the Big Sur, from the pictures we couldn’t understand it, but after seeing it in person we could. It was mesmerizing.

We then went to Partington Cove. However, we still missed it again when we drove by and had to do a second u-turn. From the road, the trailhead looks like a private drive with the road being blocked by a cattle gate. Once you stop, you realize there is a path around the gate.

Partington Cove was very cool. A winding trail leading down to three spurs. Not much to the first spur or last spur. The second spur lead through a wooden tunnel built in the 1800s through the mountain. The tunnel was built to get the cut redwoods to the Cove onto the waiting ships. The Cove was awesome. It had a bench at the end that looked out onto the ocean. It was very quiet, with the only noise being the waves hitting the rocks. We sat here a while just soaking it in. You could see remnants of the Coves past around you from the poured footings and nails that were used to keep the ships tied to the rocks.

After leaving Partington Cove we stopped at Big Sur Roadhouse. Food was was good, but overpriced. Wouldn't go back.

After lunch we made the slow drive back to Carmel. One highlight was drive on the Old Coast Road that goes behind the Bixby Bridge. Being gravel, it has a bunch of potholes and reels and our car situation being what it was we didn’t go far, but the views were awesome. A "must-do" on a second trip would be to drive the entire Old Coast Road.

Once we got back to town we decided to trade in our car to give us some piece of mind. Hated to see the Corolla go, but we loved it’s replacement, a red Toyota Sienna. We spent the remainder of the day exploring Carmel. Very nice, small town with a bunch of high-end shops. Nothing to note. After running out of things to explore in Carmel, we decided to see the sunset in Monterey at Asilomar Beach. Prior to going to the beach we picked up a pizza to go at Heirloom. We ordered a half Heirloom and half New Original pizza. My wife loved it, I didn't.

Asilomar Beach is great and must-do if you are in the area. It is a few miles long, with walking trails lining the entire beach. It has something for everyone. We chose a small pullout and sat in our car, ate the pizza, and watched the sunset. After sunset we explored some around the beach before returning to our hotel.

Day 4: After eating breakfast at the hotel, we made the drive to Palo Alto and Stanford University. To get on campus, we drove down Palm Drive, the historical entrance to Stanford. Beautiful, palm tree lined road. After parking, we walked to the Memorial Church and Hoover Tower. We went to the top of Hoover Tower, nice views of the entire campus.

After leaving Stanford, we had our first experience at In-N-Out Burger in San Mateo on the way to San Francisco and it exceeded both of our expectations. I ordered the usual, boring hamburger, but my wife ordered off the “secret” menu and got an “Animal Burger”. Both burgers were very good, along with the fries. We were impressed and would go back. Nothing major happened from In-N-Out to arriving in San Francisco.

The first thing we did after checking into our hotel in San Francisco was go to Coit Tower to see the views of the city. The views weren’t bad, but you could not get a great view of the city because of the trees. Looking back, we should have paid to go to the top of the tower. After the Coit Tower, we went to Pier 39 at the Fisherman’s Warf. Very touristy, but watching sea lions were a big hit with my wife. She could have stayed for hours.

Next, we went to Musee Mecanique, an arcade that had games from the early 20th century through the early 21st century. It was worth the stop. Seeing the “games” from the early 20th Century puts into perspective just how much technology has evolved in the last 100 years. The first game we “played” had an Oregon Trail theme titled “End of the Trail”. You paid your quarter and fan blew air onto the destroyed wagon, blowing the flaps. That’s it. That was the game. We were couldn't believe that was it and stared at it for a full minute.

After leaving the arcade, we headed to eat supper, but on the way we stopped in front of the Italian Homemade Company “restaurant”. It was tiny, but had character and smell of the food was amazing. We decided to not go where we had planned and ate here instead. My wife had fettuccini alfredo and I had spaghetti. Basic meal, nothing fancy, but the pasta was fresh and food good. Friendly staff. We sat at a small bar facing the street, drinking coke out of a bottle. Could not have asked for a better first meal.

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Posted by TheJunction

Mississippi

Member since Oct 2014

953 posts

Posted on 3/26/19 at 7:42 pm to TheJunction

Day 5: We decided the previous day to do the “Hop-On-Hop-Off Big Bus Tour”. After waking up and eating a typical hotel breakfast we got on the bus. We got off the bus at the “Painted Lady’s”. The Alamo Park is across the street from the houses and a great place to take pictures. It was cool seeing something that you had seen so many times on TV, but we did not stay long. After the Painted Lady’s, we went about five blocks to the “Full House house”, which was unfortunately under renovations. Our plan after this was to jump back on the Big Bus Tour, but my wife “had” to get her nails done, which she did. During this time, I went to Fort Mason, an old fort built during the Civil War, most known for as the staging area for the troops going to the Pacific in WWII. Good place to kill some time if in the area, but not worth a special trip, unless you are a WWII buff.

After two hours, my wife nails were pristine and we went to the Lyon Steps. Great view of the Bay and worth the trip, especially on a sunny day. While at the steps, we walked along "Billionaires Row" to see how the other half lived. The mansions were incredible.

Next was lunch at Culltivar. Cozy, newish (or recently renovated) restaurant. We sat on the back patio. Food was good, but we wouldn't go back. After eating we were off to Lombard Street. Iconic street, views from the top were nice, took a few pictures, but did not stay very long.

Next, we made our way to Ghirardelli's for milkshakes before the Alcatraz Night Tour. “The Rock” is something we had both seen in movies and read about our entire lives, so to be on a boat headed to it was surreal and it did not disappoint. We did an audio tour through the prison that was very interesting. The sun going down while we were there added to the experience. Would highly recommend.

Day 6: Sonoma wine tour day. The day my wife was looking forward to the most on this vacation and possibility the most excited she has been during our entire marriage. We did our tour with the Edge of the World tour company. Great tour, our guide was very knowledgeable about the area. We went to three wineries: Homewood (very small winery, the wine presenter was very good), Cline Cellars (large winery, beautiful vineyard, nice outdoor atmosphere) and the Mayo Family Winery (least favorite, less than ideal experience). Our only regrets with doing the wine tours was that we wish we could have had more time to explore the vineyards themselves.

For lunch we ate at Della Santina’s in Sonoma. Great atmosphere, great food, reminded us of Italy. The owner, an older man from Italy, talked with us for much of the meal and was great. Would highly recommend.

After lunch and the wineries, we went to Sausalito for thirty minutes before going back to San Francisco. Sausalito was a cool, small town with great views of San Francisco from across the bay. Not a bad place to spend an afternoon away from the city.

After leaving Sausalito and being dropped off by the tour company, we went and did the Lands End Trail and were at the Land Ends Labyrinth for sunset. Beautiful views of the Bay and Golden Gate Bridge.

We had supper at Bartlett Hall food was very good, but our waitress was awful. Would recommend because of how good the food and with how we were treated (sans the waitress).

After supper we went to Cheaper than Therapy to watch a comedy show. The show itself was decent, there were four entertainers plus the host and two of the four weren’t funny, but the host was good and two entertainer’s that were funny were hilarious. The stage where they did the comedy show is located in the basement of a larger theatre. The stage is located in a small room was seats for ~50 people, outside the stage room is a bar. My wife and I went early to hangout at the bar before the show and had a great time. The people we met were "different" than we we were, but a lot of fun. Would highly recommend just for the experience and seeing something different.

Day 7: Woke up and ate a really good breakfast at Sears Fine Food. Basic and simply, the restaurant had a lot of character and tons of memorabilia from days gone by. After breakfast we went to the Golden Gate Park and went all out tourists and rented a large funicular (?). My wife absolutely loved it and the park was beautiful. We stayed on the bike and did not get off the bike to explore.

After we left the Park we explored the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Saw a lot of interesting folks and a small protest of High School kids for the Green New Deal.

From Haight-Ashbury went to the Mission District and explored the wall murals including Balmy Alley, Clarion Alley, and the large mural on the Woman’s Building. We both enjoyed the murals and spent a good bit of time at each.

From the Mission District, I talked my wife into going through the Castro District. It was different, with more gay flags than a person can imagine, but we are glad we went. Saw lots of interesting people..

After the Mission District, we went to the free Cable Car Museum, the "heart" of the cable car system. I loved it. Gave the history of the cable car in San Francisco in great detail, as well as the engineering behind it. Was really neat to see.

Lupper was at Cotagna. Reviews were great, service was excellent, cool atmosphere, but we were both disappointed in the food. Just wasn’t our style.

After lupper we took a nap at the hotel before going to the Ferry Building. Neither of us were hungry, but we enjoyed walking through the small shops and stalls. We then did a cable car ride up Nob Hill. After the cable car ride we went to Johnny Foley's Dueling Piano's. Your typical piano bar, we both had a lot of fun.

Day 8: Our last morning in California, we ate breakfast at Sweet Maple before taking an Uber to the airport. Breakfast was excellent, we both really enjoyed our food.

Final Thoughts (Carmel/Big Sur)

Have an idea of how to get to Pfeiffer Beach, McWay Falls, etc. without relying on WiFi or road signs. Cell phone service is non existent in much of the Big Sur area and road signs for the top sights are non-existent.

Take your time on Highway 1.Don't rush it. Go as slow as you need too, just use the pull outs if the line behind you gets long! The drive is absolutely beautiful and indescribable. My expectations were very high going in and they were exceeded.

Final Thoughts (San Francisco)

Walk down the hills and Uber up. The hills are absolutely brutal and well worth it to budget using Uber more than you typically would to avoid them.

We had no issues with the homeless. It was sad to see, but was not as bad as we expected. Not a lot of "in your face" begging.

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Posted by Yat27