Posted: 4/28/2026 3:49:15 PM EDT
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Flying into San Francisco on a Friday afternoon. Staying in San Jose for a day or 2. Going to the Winchester house, is there anything thing else to see or do for a couple afternoons? The original plan was to head down to Monterey Bay for a day or 2 before heading to Yosemite. The rest of the time will be in northern California to see the RedWoods and whatever. Just looking for suggestions on where to go and where not to. Thanks |
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I've never really met anyone that was wildly impressed with the Winchester Mystery house. It's a decent place but I really feel like advertising mystique is way overblown compared to what it really is. I dunno. I lived walking distance to the place for 15 years and only ever went once. They also pussed out and packed up their firearms museum, which I think was a HUGE mistake because the firearms are the entire reason the place exists. Monterey is cool, it's one of the places my wife and I like walking around. |
Watching the kids shoot Pieeater's 1919 was great. Nothing warms the heart more than seeing a little kid kneeling in a pile of brass and links.-Pthfndr after the Nov 13th NorCal shoot
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Originally Posted By macloud: Flying into San Francisco on a Friday afternoon. Staying in San Jose for a day or 2. Going to the Winchester house, is there anything thing else to see or do for a couple afternoons? The original plan was to head down to Monterey Bay for a day or 2 before heading to Yosemite. The rest of the time will be in northern California to see the RedWoods and whatever. Just looking for suggestions on where to go and where not to. Thanks We live in SoCal so not super familiar with northern California doings/goings. The Winchester Mystery House is kind of interesting. The builders went crazy and built it out as she wanted, I guess. I wonder about plan checks and permitting these days? Yes, we know, that's not a mistake, it's what she wants.... For a casual wander around, we'd rather do Monterey, Pacific Grove and Carmel, etc. nicer, less crowded, etc., compared to San Francisco. In the Santa Cruz/Felton area, there are some redwood parks and the Roaring Camp & Big Trees tourist railroad. The aquarium is a nice visit, weekends may be busy. A nicer Fisherman's Wharf. Actually San Francisco has some visitable areas, museums, Golden Gate Park, Cross the bridges and sight see them, etc. North of San Francisco, besides the redwoods all the way north, check out the wine country, visit wineries, etc. Sacramento, the state Railroad Museum and some others, Old Sacramento on the river front. The capital building is spectacular, worth a tour. I don't think there's anything worth part of the trip in Oakland or Berkley. Some parts of San Francisco are gritty and some are don't gos. Park and lock everything, car burglaries are a big problem. If you can, ride a cable car. "The city" has history, views, some charm. The residents have varying degrees of suck. |
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In San Francisco you have the Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate park, Steinharts aquarium, a couple cool museums. Alcatraz is a good time. Theres a couple of cool kid museums too. I think Sony is one of them if memory serves. Outside of SF you have Hearst Castle, Oakland Zoo or just drive around International boulevard in east Oakland  Point Reyes State Park has a 20 foot waterfall that hits the beach and runs in to the ocean. Great little walk for the family too. It’s called Alamare Falls. If you head east to the Altamont you can see dozens of windmills as you come in to the valley. Once over the Altamont you have thousands of acres of Almonds. Not much to do but very cool to see. I live in the almonds for 30 years before finally getting the F out and moving to freedom land. Old Sacramento is cool. Train museum is cool. There’s a great redwood park not too far from the Altamont. Lots of good food out there. |
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Originally Posted By Goback: In San Francisco you have the Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate park, Steinharts aquarium, a couple cool museums. Alcatraz is a good time. Theres a couple of cool kid museums too. I think Sony is one of them if memory serves. Outside of SF you have Hearst Castle, Oakland Zoo or just drive around International boulevard in east Oakland Point Reyes State Park has a 20 foot waterfall that hits the beach and runs in to the ocean. Great little walk for the family too. It’s called Alamare Falls. If you head east to the Altamont you can see dozens of windmills as you come in to the valley. Once over the Altamont you have thousands of acres of Almonds. Not much to do but very cool to see. I live in the almonds for 30 years before finally getting the F out and moving to freedom land. Old Sacramento is cool. Train museum is cool. There’s a great redwood park not too far from the Altamont. Lots of good food out there. I could be wrong but I think you need to book your Alcatraz tickets in advance. We just went to the Oakland Zoo this past Friday. The gondola ride to the newer top section was cool I had never been to the top section until Friday. The grizzly bears were AWESOME to look at. The black bears were huge compared to what I've seen in the wild, but just coming out of hibernation they were pretty lazy. The condors are incredibly prehistoric looking. |
Watching the kids shoot Pieeater's 1919 was great. Nothing warms the heart more than seeing a little kid kneeling in a pile of brass and links.-Pthfndr after the Nov 13th NorCal shoot
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