PROJECT.PURPOSE.LIFE
SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK, SAN FRANCISCO, & DOWNTOWN NAPA
Duration: 3 nights/4 days
Looking for a weekend getaway to relax and see some new places? 3 nights and 4 days was a perfect weekend getaway to see Sequoia National Park, San Francisco, and Downtown Napa. Below are the sites and food places that were visited on this trip​, and a little recap of the adventure I took.
DAY 1: SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK
Woke up early Thursday morning to start the drive up north to Sequoia National Park. It was mid January and the weather was still a bit cold. Definitely pack a thick jacket, warm clothes, and water. From the Los Angeles County area, the drive up to the park would be almost 4 hours with no stops or traffic. Since we left around 6:00AM that morning, we arrived at the park around 11:00AM since we made a pit stop at a McDonald's on the way to grab some breakfast. Once we entered the park, it was an indescribable feeling as we began to drive up the mountains. From sun and dry roads to entering beautiful forest with some left over snow. The main attraction in visiting Sequoia National Park is seeing the General Sherman Tree. The General Sherman Tree is famous for it is identified as the largest tree in the world. Its height is 275 feet tall, weighs 1,385 tons, and it's base diameter is 36.5 feet. If you enjoy nature and history, this is a destination to definitely visit. Enjoy the trees, nature, the history behind it, and take a moment to capture its beauty and your visit.
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After spending half the day in the park, we began our trip to the city to prepare for the next day. There are nice hotels directly in San Francisco but can be costly. If you are trying to go on this trip with a small budget, it is best to stay outside the city. I stayed with family in Vallejo and took the ferry out to San Francisco the next day.
DAY 2: SAN FRANCISCO
We took the ferry from Vallejo to San Francisco Ferry Building. Since the plan was to walk around the city, eat, and explore, we took the 12:00PM schedule and arrived in the city around 1:00PM. If you plan to spend the whole day in the area, and enjoy the activities available, it's best to start early in the morning or spend an extra day in SF. From the Ferry building, we started walking towards Fisherman's Wharf/ pier 39. Pier 39 has a lot of shops and restaurants to visit. We stopped by the famous area where the sea lions like to relax in the sun, saw the love locks, and ate at the Boudin Bakery Cafe and ordered their clam chowder bread bowl.
While you're here, visit The Original Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop at Ghirardelli Square. Unfortunately I didn't have time to since I headed out mid-day. Pier 33 is Alcatraz Landing where you can take a tour to Alcatraz Island for an additional fee, in which is set for our next trip. A place to visit while walking back to the ferry or to explore the financial district is Mango Crazy. My husband and I ordered the Ceviche and Corn in a cup which was delicious and just enough for the 2 of us. Make sure to look at the ferry schedules if this is the type of transportation you took to get into the city. The ferry doesn't run 24 hours so be sure to know when the last ferry schedule is.
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DAY 3: DOWNTOWN NAPA
The last time I visited Napa, I just remember wine country and that it took some time to get there from the city. This time around my cousin took me to downtown Napa is which I thought was the same place and it obviously was not. Downtown Napa is just about 15-20 minutes from Vallejo which was great.
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We absolutely enjoyed downtown Napa. It was about mid afternoon when we headed to downtown. The first stop we made was towards Stone Brewing in which we ordered the IPA flight and a delicious sausage platter to eat with our beer flight.
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After enjoying a couple of drinks and grabbing a dish to share, we still wanted to spend time in downtown and wine taste but didn't know what or where to go. Thankfully we found a place on yelp called Gabrielle Collection. Little did we know that they offered food pairings. Unfortunately, those need to be reserved and scheduled in advance, so the only thing they can offer for walk ins is wine tasting, a chocolate tasting, and popcorn tasting at an additional cost. With these two types of tastings, they pair their own wines with a mix of their very own made olive oils and finishing salts.
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This experience turned out to be such an enjoyable time. It is very cozy and elegant, and each party has their own table. Each of the workers were very kind, helpful, and really provided information on their wines and pairing. The Gabrielle Collection sells a variety of different things such as bath,cooking, wines of course, and items for pets as well. Be sure to make a stop here when you visit downtown Napa!
DAY 4: HOME BOUND
Before heading home, we always like to stop at Starbread and take home a box of their famous Senorita Bread. Senorita bread are little sweet butter rolls. This is a family favorite and must have!
**Image belongs to SFWeekly**
**Image belongs to SFWeekly**