[JONAT-chat] San Francisco Leg tour route (long)

[Jerry Mouton]

I find it hard to top Mark's really great sounding 
route through Arizona, but I wanted to let you know what 
to expect in the SF sector.

Unfortunately, I have not found any great events to hook up
with -- driving will be the highlight of this sector.

We'll start in San Luis Obispo, home of XKs Unlimited and
of one of the most beautiful of the missions that formed the
backbone of early California.  There are many great ways 
to go North from here, and I have chosen to highlight the 
California Missions and El Camino Real Saturday morning.
We'll drive up hwy 101 -- El Camino Real -- through central 
coast vineyards and farms, up the steep Laureles Grade.
We'll stop briefly for a rest at Mission San Miguel, which is right
on the highway, then continue on scenic backroads to Mission
San Antonio de Padua.  This mission has been preserved 
(reconstructed, actually) in its original habitat -- wild hills and
mountains.  Most other missions are now integrated into towns
and cities, but here you can understand how the early missions
really looked, and what it must have felt like to live those lives.
The mission is located in the heart of an active military base, 
Ft. Hunter-Liggett, which maintains its isolation.  Its beauty
is maintained by the Franciscan order, which still uses it as 
a church and retreat center.

We'll have lunch at the Hacienda, a beautiful 1930s former guest 
house of the ranch of William Randolph Hearst, designed 
in the mission style by Julia Morgan, the famous architect 
of Hearst Castle, some miles away onthe same huge
ranch.  This sort of rustic place is the only restaurant 
for miles, but luckily it has some of the very best steaks 
and burgers I have ever tasted in my life!  Watch "Citizen 
Kane" the night before to get in the mood.

After lunch we'll begin the exciting run down the 
Nacimiento-Ferguson road, a narrow mountain drive with
spectacular scenery and curves.  This is the real reason 
for taking this route -- this is a spectacular mountain
road -- like the ones in "Victory by Design".

As we proceed, we will 
see the Pacific opening before us, and famous Highway 1 
twisting along the cliffs below.  Turning North on Hwy 1, we'll 
take a break at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and stroll
over to its scenic jewel -- a waterfall dropping hundreds 
of feet onto the sands of the Pacific, in a little cove of colorful
rocks and boiling waves.

Driving highway 1 will be a highlight of the trip -- it's among the
most famous drives in the world.  It hugs the cliffs above 
the Pacific, switchback after switchback, vista after vista.
Certain times of the year, spouting whales are a common sight
offshore -- but in May we'll have to be satisfied with the waves 
and colors of the water.
 
We'll take another break at Pfieffer - Big Sur State Park.   
Above Big Sur we'll cross the 
famous and picturesque Bixby bridge, a real work of
civil engineering art.  Carmel-by-the-Sea is on the route, 
maybe former mayor Clint Eastwood will be driving along with
us --could happen!  Another famous Mission is in Carmel,
if any have an interest in Early California.  We will sleep in Monterey, 
site of some of John Steinbeck's novels, and the Monterey Historic
Car races, and Pebble Beach Concours, not to mention great
golf, and the world famous Monterey Aquarium.

Sunday we'll begin with a run through the Seventeen Mile Drive
(there's a fee), which will take us through Pebble Beach and 
some of the greatest homes and ocean views in the country.
Then we'll drive up Hwy 1 through the Salinas River valley, where
most of the lettuce and artichokes for the whole USA are 
grown.  This valley is the locale for other Steinbeck novels,
such as "The Red Pony".  

North of Monterey Bay and the many quaint beach
towns, we'll turn inland and uphill through the Coast Range
of mountains.  This is Redwood country, and those with open 
cars will want to drop the top to see these amazing giants full-
length.  Our twisty route will be lined with them.

We'll stop for lunch in Boulder Creek, a little mountain town
with a few good restaurants.  Then we'll continue a short way to 
Big Basin Redwoods State Park.  Here we can take a walking 
tour to get a feel for just how amazingly huge -- and ancient --
these treasures are.  

We'll climb through redwoods and toyons on ridges above 
the valleys and vistas of the Pacific below until we reach
"Skyline Drive", a great fast curvy road on the ridge that
overlooks both the San Francisco Bay Area and Sillicon
Valley, but also the San Andreas earthquake fault and 
the Pacific.  We'll run Skyline to its end, stopping 
for photos and rest as the spirit moves us.  

Then we'll drop back to Highway 1 and the Pacific coast,
driving through the redwoods and the unusual mountains of the 
bay area.  Highway 1 will take us up to San Francisco, and
we'll take a backroads entry, cruising along Ocean Beach
to Cliff House.  We'll see surfers braving the frigid waters
to shoot the curl or slide off the back.  Past the Cliff House, 
we'll drive through Lincoln Park to the coast, where we will find
ourselves on a hill above the Golden Gate, seeing the 
bridge from the ocean side.  We'll drive the coast through 
tony neighborhoods and military parks, down to Fort Point.
This old brick fort sits beneath the South Tower of the Golden 
Gate Bridge, just at the waterline.  Hitchcock fans will 
recognize this as the place James Stewart jumped in to save 
Kim Novak from drowning in "Vertigo".  It's a beautiful spot to 
see the Bay, the Bridge, Alcatraz, and the coast of Marin 
County.

Retracing our steps, we'll cross the Golden Gate Bridge to 
see the city spread out from the visitor's viewing area on the
other side.  This is definitely one of the money views on our
tour!  We'll go back over and cross the city along the Marina
waterfront, great views continue!  Then to hotels for two nights -- 
we have a rest day here.  There are unlimited ways to enjoy
San Francisco, and for driving I'll supply a tour map of the
"49 Mile Scenic Drive" that introduces you to all of the city's
neighborhoods and moods, and retraces some of our route
from the day before.  You'll be on your own to enjoy the city
at your own pace.  

The tour is pretty open here, and you are welcome to drive
right over to the Napa Valley or Sonoma Valley wine country
to spend your extra day.  We'll be driving there Tuesday over
a very circuitous route, but those who would love a winery
experience, it's an option open to you.

Those who want the drive to Napa Valley's St. Helena, 
where we plan to stay, will recross the Golden Gate Bridge
and rejoin Highway 1 North.  We'll drive up some wonderful
mountain roads up to "Mt. Tam", the highest point North of
San Francisco for yet another drop dead view of the area.
Highway 1 will take us back to the seaside, beaches and
cliffs and probably fog.  We'll drive past Point Reyes, the
place where Sir Francis Drake is thought to have stopped
and repaired his ships on his world-round journey.  Tomales
Bay adjacent is a major spawning ground for the Great White 
Shark, though we probably won't see any if we're lucky.  
The coast here is beautiful and alternates between bucolic 
and rugged.

We'll stop for lunch at Bodega Bay, the location where 
Hitchcock filmed "The Birds".  A very beautiful bay 
and resting boats provide the backdrop for our meal.

Continuing up the coast, we'll turn inland along the Russian
River Valley.  This quiet and serene valley leads us back 
toward Wine Country.  In fact, we will pass through many
vineyards and orchards on the way.  We'll skirt through 
Santa Rosa, where Joseph Cotten creeped us out in
Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt".
It's also the home of Luther Burbank, plant 
wizard.  We'll enter Sonoma Valley from the North, 
passing through suburbs into rustic farmland, then into 
vineyards and wineries.  We'll pass near Glen Ellen, 
Benziger, and others as we coast down to Sonoma.  As
Napa Valley has become more and more commercial and 
sophisticated, Sonoma has retained its country town
atmosphere, and is highly recommended for restaurants, 
wineries, and just strolling around. 

The Sonoma Town Square is the site of the end of
El Camino Real, on which we set out in San Luis.  The
Sonoma Mission was the last built on El Camino, and while
it's been torn down, the Mexican Garrison buildings and 
historic Hotels are well preserved and very interesting to 
visit.  We'll take a break here for folks to get that ambiance.

Heading back up the valley, we'll cross the ridge 
to Napa Valley on another little twisty mountain road.
We end up in vineyards and wineries and restaurants. 
We will stay overnight in St.. Helena, and depart the
next morning, so those who want to really tour the 
wineries might want to get here a day early, or skip the 
Bodega Bay run and check them out.  There is a huge
wine tasting party going on here every day of the year,
and while the free tastings of the past seem to be 
going the way of the free Bar lunch, for a modest fee 
you can taste some incredible wines.  Unfortunately
the bottle prices at the wineries have traditionally 
been among the highest, this may not be the best 
place to buy, except for special vintages which are 
available ONLY at the winery.

We'll depart Napa Valley to the Northwest, through 
green vineyards, a pleasant winding valley road, few 
cars or stops.  We'll just cruise over into the Coast range 
of mountains, driving through forests of redwoods and 
firs and pines.  We'll take a break in Booneville, a quirky 
little town famous for its own local language, which
is called "Boontling" and a speaker is said to be "Boont",
as I recall.  The "Horn of Zeese" cafe, the Boont word
for "Cup of Coffee", is an example of local color -- 
maybe we can grab a horn in there, or a Boont Ale.  

Returning to the coast, we'll stop for lunch at Mendocino, 
a very neat little seaside town.  Plenty of interesting shops
and hotels/B&Bs, as this is a famous rustic vacation destination.
We should get a chance to see the photogenic front street by the
small bay, and the riot of flowers that should be going
when we pass through.

Out of Mendocino, we'll be taking a fun ride through the redwoods.
This road hss a perfect surface, mostly, with turns and switchbacks
around the redwoods and creeks.  Truly enjoyable driving!
We'll get to Hwy 101, a more "normal" highway for most of the
rest of the trip up to Eureka, where we'll begin the Oregon 
Sector.  For about 10 miles, we'll turn off onto the "Avenue 
of the Giants", a great road through more giant redwoods --
we will find a drive-through tree to enjoy, too, as there are 
several on the route.  

We'll arrive in Euraka to end our leg, and Bill Smith of
Oregon Sector will greet us with an event of his choice.

A great trip completed, another to begin!

Jerry

Jerry Mouton    '64 E Type FHC    "Laissez les bons temps rouler!"
      Jaguar Owner's North American Tour - http://jonat.org
      April 15, 2004 - July 4, 2004