Hi!  I know most of you don't believe this...but I've never been to San Francisco!!  After 38 years of growing up in California...I finally made it.  In addition, since the fourth grade (the year when we Californians study the history of the California Missions) I've wanted to visit all 21 of the California Missions and with this trip...I completed my task...I've now visited every single one of the California Missions on the El Camino Real!

Day 1-Luckily the night before I studied the map. For some reason I just thought you drove up Highway 101 to get to San Francisco! Which does work but can be a 7 to 8 hour drive. Unfortunately, the alternative but faster route is Interstate 5 which is a god awful boring drive. But it cuts the drive time down to about 5 ½ hours. We left at 5 out of Los Angeles and made the tedious drive up I-5 with a stop in Coalinga for gas. Our first stop was Mission San Jose which is actually in Fremont! We toured the mission grounds and then proceeded around the south bay to San Jose which I learned is the third largest city in California after Los Angeles and San Diego which surprised me. We went on a driving tour of downtown and historic San Jose and stopped to have picnic lunch at Kelly Park/Historic Park. I can’t really give San Jose much justice as I was only there for about an hour. The next stop was Santa Clara Mission in Santa Clara which is actually on Santa Clara University grounds. The original mission building is long gone but a replica has been built on the spot. From there we continued up 101 to South San Francisco where we arrived about 3 pm. I was exhausted driving nearly 500 miles with only 4 hours sleep and getting up at 3 am! We stayed in South San Francisco because hotel/motel prices are outrageous in San Francisco and often it doesn’t even include parking. This place included parking for only $45 a night and the room had a microwave, fridge, and coffee maker which helps on saving money with food and not eating out every meal. I was pretty exhausted and ran to the grocery store, stocked up on food, and just watched TV.

Day 2-After a good nights sleep, the day started with adventures into San Francisco. I had found on the Internet a 49-mile scenic drive around the city which stopped at numerous places and the drive began in 1938 and is clearly marked along the streets and highways of San Francisco. The first stop was the Civic Center. I was impressed with the County Building…it looked like a state capitol. Also in that general area were the opera house, theater, and several museums. The next stop was through Cathedral Hill and into Japan town where I went to the Japan town Peace Plaza. The next stop was the city center of Union Square with all the high-end fashion stores…Macy, Saks, etc. It was here that the traffic and the pedestrians tested my patience. You need nerves of steel to drive around downtown as there is a lot of traffic, pedestrians and public transportation coming from all directions and the streets often go one way, then another, and there are bus lanes, and trolley lanes. I grew up in LA so I thought I could drive in any type of traffic but I have to admit, San Francisco tested me severely! Walking and Public transport are the best ways to see the city. After Union Square we drove through China Town, past Coit Tower, and down to the Pier and Fisherman’s Wharf. Here we spent a lot of time…walking around the shops of Pier 39, visiting the Sea Lions, and looking through the trinket shops of Fisherman’s Wharf. We continued up to the Cannery and Marine State Park and eventually Ghiradelli Square (but alas, I didn’t get any chocolate). We then had a wonderful lunch at Lou’s Pier 41 with Crab Cakes and Clam Chowder. After filling up we continued on the 49-mile scenic drive to Fort Point for an excellent view of the Golden Gate Bridge! Then it was off to the Palace of Fine Arts which the architecture was stunning. The drive then went through the Presidio, over to Sea Cliff, down the coast to the SF Zoo. Then a drive through Golden Gate Park and then a detour to Fell Street to see where my mom lived when she first moved to California in 1958 from Chicago. I then had to visit Haight Ashbury. I could have spent more time there with all of the wonderful shops and culture there. By then the sun was setting and we had only gotten half way through the 49-mile tour! We returned to our room and had dinner and prepared for another day of adventure!

Day 3-Rather than go back to the city, we took a detour and traveled some “roads less traveled”. We drove up to Pacifica and then down the coast on Hwy 1 passing through Devils Slide area where the ground shifts and crumbles regularly. Driving through there I kept thinking “please don’t let San Andreas slip now!”. We then continued to Half Moon Bay and passed several other beach side communities and state beaches. Beautiful drive! After about 1 ½ hours of driving south we reached Santa Cruz. Our first stop in Santa Cruz was the Boardwalk which is now celebrating 100 years! I didn’t go on any rides but it was nice to see and I did partake in the food especially Deep Fried Cheesecake! There was live entertainment on the beach and it was fun to people watch. We then headed over to Santa Cruz State Historic Park which contained yet another mission…Mission Santa Cruz. Unfortunately, we were a week early as next weekend they were having their mission days. It was a tranquil mission and the adobe walls still had cracks from the 1989 Earthquake. After the mission I drove north on Highway 9 which was labeled a scenic drive and it was! About an hour north of Santa Cruz was the Big Basin Redwood State Park founded in 1902 and was the first State Park in California. Some of the Redwoods there are 1500 years old. We did a short hike on the Redwood Loop and had a picnic lunch. After, we began heading back to the City on Highway 9. It was a beautiful drive through the forest and the hills but a bit winding in parts. Part of the drive was Skyline drive which was incredible driving along the crest of the mountains and on one side you could see the pacific ocean and on the other side see the bay and cities like Redwood City, Palo Alto, San Mateo! Highly recommend this drive. Again the sun began to set and microwave dinners awaited us!

Day 4-If you thought the other days were jammed pack, this day was probably about the heaviest! We left South San Francisco and headed north and I finally got to cross the Golden Gate Bridge. I guess it’s not that big a deal to cross a bridge but it’s one of those “romanticized things in my head” that I’ve always wanted to do! We entered the North Bay area and our first stop was San Rafael to see…you guessed it..a mission. San Rafael Mission is the second most northern mission. After a brief look at the mission we continued over to Sonoma which was far better than I expected. Downtown Sonoma is a state park containing great architecture, historical sites, and ambiance of old California surrounded by 100’s of vineyards. We first went to Mission San Francisco Solano in Sonoma which was the most northern Mission “The end of the Mission Trail”. I had now seen 20 of the 21 missions. We visited Vallejo’s adobe house, the old city hall, and the site of the Bear Flag Revolt from 1846 where California was it’s own republic for about a month before it became a US Territory. I did not know it was in Sonoma that this happened. After going on the self guided walking tour of Sonoma, we continued through wine country to Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, and then a scenic drive along the Russian River until it emptied into the Pacific ocean at Jenner. I then continued north up Hwy 1 for 14 miles which took forever, it was a winding, steep road, but I wanted to Visit Fort Ross which I studied in Grammar School. Fort Ross was a fort built by the Russians in 1812. California has a such a rich history with Native History, the arrival of the Spaniards, The English, The Russians, then a Mexico territory, an American Territory, The gold Rush, the migrants from the Depression. State Park Fort Ross was beautiful overlooking the cliffs and you can even eat your picnic lunch in the officer’s barracks which we did. We then toured the fort, watched a documentary movie and then headed back down Hwy 1 to San Francisco. Everyone talks about the drive through Big Sur which I agree is beautiful but I felt this drive rivaled that. The cliffs, the ocean, the scenery. We drove through Bodega Bay and then a small town of Olema which isn’t much…but was the actual epicenter of the 1906 earthquake! Continuing through other small town and Point Reyes Light house. It was a bay and there were bars, saloon, and even homes built on piers and stilts! We then drove by Muir Woods
State Park, and finally into Sausalito and back over the Golden Gate Bridge (with a $5 toll going south!). That night we were so tired we treated ourselves to going out to dinner!

Day 5-Today was the return to San Francisco to see what we didn’t see on Friday. The first stop was the last of the mission…Mission Delores. It was a wonderful mission and next to it was the Cathedral of St. Franics. The ironic thing is that the mission survived the 1906 quake but the Cathedral did not! It was a wonderful feeling to complete seeing all the missions but also left with a little feeling of let down…like…”Ok…now what?”. After visiting the mission we drove up to Twin Peak for a stunning view of the city and the bay. There were about 100 other people up there as well. We then went to the Castro Area where I walked around a bit and saw the Harvey Milk Memorial Plaza (Harvey Milk was the first openly gay city supervisor who was assassinated in 1978) The murderer was convicted only of voluntary manslaughter due to the Twinkie Defense and The White Night Riots occurred by gay/lesbian protestors. After visiting this area we continued over to Lombard Street, as I wanted to drive down the “crookedest street” in the world which was a hoot! Finally, went to China Town where parking was virtually impossible but the gods smiled down and a place opened up on the street (after driving around for 30 minutes). We walked around, ate some Dim Sum, and had a great time. We were there for several hours but I could have easily spent the whole day! After this I completed the rest of the 49-mile scenic drive down Market Street through South Market Area (Soma), the financial District, Embarcadero, North Beach, and finally back into town. On the way back, I stopped in Colma, California just south of San Francisco. The odd thing is that San Francisco has no cemeteries (well, 2---the mission and military cemetery at the presidio). Back in the early 1900’s…all the cemeteries were moved out of town and the graves were moved all to Colma. Colma has literally several different cemeteries (Chinese, Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, etc) containing over 1.5 million graves. There are more dead people in Colma than living! So it was interesting to see….if you have time…google Colma Cemeteries for some interesting articles. Some of the more famous people buried there are Ishi, Wyatt Earp, and several of the early California Governors.

Day 6-The final full day! We left this morning and again headed north across the Golden Gate Bridge. Our first stop was the Marin Headland Recreational Area which had numerous relics and building left over from World War II to protect the bay against Japanese Invasion. We then went to Sausalito and drove over the Richmond Bridge into Richmond. We attempted to find the Rosie the Riveter National Park but I absolutely could not find it and gave up. We then continued up to and through Vallejo to Benecia (a little known jewel). California had four capitols…First was San Jose, thenVallejo, then Benecia,  and finally Sacramento. Benecia also has the distinction of being the first city founded in U.S. California by Anglo-Americans as opposed to Spanish towns or territorial forts and outposts. Benecia has a historic downtown walking tour which was very interesting. Aside from the old Capitol building of 1852 there was the site of the first Protestant Church in California, the old haunts of author Jack London who worked and drank in Benecia, several old building, and the Camel Barn Museum which housed camels that the infantry used in the 1860’s for desert exploration. We had a picnic in the center park. We then continued across the bridge to Martinez to see the Muir House National Monument which was unfortunately closed on Mondays and Tuesday. We drove around downtown historic Martinez which incidentally was the birthplace of baseball great and husband of Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio. Also outside of Martinez is the Port Chicago National Memorial where there were heavy casualties during World War II from an explosion of bombs and weapons. However, the National Memorial is on an active military base and you have to make arrangements prior to showing up. We then continued south on the east bay to Danville which has Mount Diablo and the Eugene O’Neill House. We then headed back to Berkeley/Oakland then across the Bay Bridge (which part of collapsed in the 1989 earthquake). Now I grew up in Los Angeles and have had my share of earthquakes and I’ve never gotten use to them. In fact, I’ve got a borderline phobia about them and the thought that the bay area is on a fault haunted me the whole week…especially crossing all those bridges. Los Angeles is about 100 miles away from San Andreas Fault (the biggie). It would still do damage. But the bay area is built right smack on top of the fault which just unnerved me the whole time.

Day 7-At last, all good things must come to an end. In spite of what everyone says about fog and drizzle and clouds and cold and rain….it was 70 and sunny the whole time were there and the vibe of the city is great with very friendly, open minded, liberal people. In fact, while were there San Francisco implemented a health care system for all residents of the city. San Francisco is always a bit ahead of things. We left about 7:30 and it took us 5 ½ hours to get home and again was blessed as I hit no traffic leaving the bay area and no traffic coming back in to LA. So this concludes the Fall 2007 Road Trip….I’m already making plans for the Spring and Fall 2008 Road Trips but need to focus on the upcoming South East Asia Trip.