Northern California: Our Mini-moon!

Jake and I said “I Do” on June 30th up in Lead, SD! Since we aren’t taking our official honeymoon until next fall, we decided to take a mini honeymoon to Northern California to see some family and tour a new part of the country neither one of us have been to before.

​We flew into San Francisco and high tailed it up to Santa Rosa to visit Jake’s aunt and uncle. Since our flight was delayed, we barely made it out of the city before the start of rush hour traffic.

​We got a total steal on our car rental and it was one of those "off brands" so you have to take their shuttle off-site to go pickup the vehicle. 

Well, that was quite the waiting game and frustrating. For the 30 minute wait we were entertained by this very touchy-feely, lovey-dovey couple that made me want to throw up! Lol! I would consider myself an affectionate person but I definitely don’t “pet” Jake nor are we all over each other in public. As an innocent bystander, I was super glad no kids were around...it was that inappropriate. Anywho, after the grossness we were subjected to at the “waiting island “ at the airport, I was sure ready to start the next leg of our trip.

Due to the economical rental car company we chose to book thru, I had this gut feeling once we got there they would only have one person checking people out. Thankfully there were four people manning the counter and Jose had use driving out of there in a reasonable amount of time! We hopped into our boxey rental Jeep Renegade and were looking forward to our first glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge!
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This picture is actually from when we came back through on our last day because when we arrived there was too much fog to see the view. But as we initially crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and became engulfed in fog, it was a bit eerie feeling...what if the bridge collapsed at that moment? Luckily we were just fine!

After a whole slew of traffic and a stop at Trader Joe's to pick up supplies, we arrived in Santa Rosa and enjoyed a wonderful evening with family. Jake's aunt and uncle have these gorgeous patios at their home with a vegetable garden, tons of beautiful flowers and plants galore! It sure put our garden back home to shame!

After an amazing dinner of fresh salmon, sourdough bread and a salad on their back patio, when then enjoyed some decaf espresso and dark chocolate on their front patio! What a treat and such a sophisticated way to end the evening!

Upon waking up from a good nights rest, we enjoyed a neighborhood walking tour by Jake's uncle and even checked out the historic Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery that was established in 1854. It was pretty cool and a bit spooky since there was fog that morning!

Next on our list was to check out the Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve which is located in Sonoma County, just north of Guerneville. Pictures do not do justice to the 300 foot tall redwood trees. Since the trees are so tall, it was very quite and peaceful. It is so interesting to visit a forest that is so different from where we live in the Midwest. What a beautiful and diverse country we live in!

For dinner, we were invited to join Jake's aunt and uncle at their friends' vineyard for dinner. We enjoyed a private tour of Turtle Vines Vineyard in Sebastopol, which is in the Russian River Valley. The vineyard is in their backyard and their most recent harvest yielded 7 tons of grapes...pretty impressive for a backyard vineyard! And their Pinot Noir is the best I’ve ever tasted!

The next morning we drove out to Bodega Head, just outside of Bodega Bay and enjoyed a hike around the cliffs. It was so beautiful and the clouds went away so we could enjoy some sunshine on our faces. Near the end of the trails was an island, far from the shore, where sea lions gather. It was so cool to hear them from land!

Since it was our honeymoon, we decided to splurge and go glamping at Chanslor Ranch for our last evening before heading to San Francisco.  We weren't sure what to expect at this ranch but it ended up being very charming and the view from the bed was gorgeous! It was pretty cool because everything you would need was right there...a bowl, water and towel to wash your face, a wood burning stove to add warmth, a cozy bed to snuggle in, and a gorgeous view of the bay! 

After we were done checking out our lovely abode for the evening, we drove down to see the ocean at the Bodega Bay Campground. It was such a beautiful sunset and the sand was so soft! It was nice too because noone was out and about!

From there we made our way into town for a progressive dinner in the little town of Bodega Bay. We started at the Gourmet Au Bay for some drinks and appetizers. Each time I travel I always try the local beer. I enjoyed the Pilsner and Jake said the oysters in a half shell were fresh and delicious! I have to say, it was a pretty great way to watch the sunset!

Next we went to Lucas Wharf which was fantastic! Their clam chowder and calamari were divine! We got a table right by their outdoor fireplace and we could hear the birds.

Once our bellies were full, we drove back to our tent and got ready to relax. The restrooms were about a 10 minute walk, or a short drive, from the tent so we made sure to take care of business before we turned in for the night. It was a chilly and breezy evening so we started a fire in the wood burning stove. The flames reflecting off the canvas ceiling were so pretty and peaceful. But then about 20 minutes later we were roasting so we opened up a couple of the flaps! Between the fire, fleece blanket and down comforter we were both sweating! I would like to say we enjoyed a peaceful and well rested nights sleep but that was not the case. There was this beeping noise THE WHOLE NIGHT. Even with my earplugs in I could still hear it. So I was pretty exhausted and a bit cranky by morning.

We wanted to get up super early to beat the traffic on our way back to San Francisco. We took highway 1 so we could enjoy the ocean view during our drive. Getting up at 5:30am was definitely worth it though! Not just for the views and traffic free driving but we happened to drive into Tomales Bay right at the perfect time! Their local bakery, Tomales Bakery, just put out their fresh pastries and coffee! Oh man, were they delicious and turned my grumpiness right around!

We arrived at Stinson Beach right around the time the sun was coming up. It was so peaceful and I enjoyed hearing the waves crashing against the shore.  I wish we had more time to take it all in but we wanted to beat the rush into the City.

We are very glad we continued on because by the time we drove past Muir Woods that traffic had picked up quite a bit.

As we were driving down Highway 1, bicyclists were riding up in droves, with motorists patiently waiting behind them, driving ever so slowly. I give those bicyclists a lot of credit...that is some steep terrain!

Once we arrived at the Golden Gate Bridge, we were able to stop and check out the view on our way into San Francisco. ​

As we drove to our hotel, the historic Argonaut Hotel, we experienced our first San Francisco drive on the steep streets. They were so steep I was nervous what would happen if our breaks failed! We had quite the hike later in the day and I bet San Franciscoians have great quads!

Upon arriving at our hotel, we enjoyed checking out the views from our first stay at Fisherman's Wharf! It was fun to be right in the thick of everything and to just be able to walk everywhere we wanted to go. The one thing I definitely didn't expect was the constant smell of urine and all the homeless people. It was so bad I actually researched it to see what was going on. I found a very interesting article that stated "the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit spent three days surveying 153 blocks of downtown San Francisco to see what they would find. Their search turned up drug needles, garbage, and feces in concentrations comparable to some of the world's poorest slums." Read the full article here. I was pretty blown away by what the article found and that living conditions like that can be found here in the US. 

Despite the unexpected smells, Jake and I enjoyed walking along the wharf, checking out the shops and watching the sea lions lounge about at Pier 39. Fun fact: the different between sea lions and seals is that sea lions are brown, bark loudly, "walk" on land using their large flippers and have visible ear flaps. Whereas seals have small flippers, wriggle on their bellies on land, and lack visible ear flaps.

Since we were by the ocean we had to enjoy sea food! Jake, of course, had clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl and I thoroughly enjoyed a lobster roll! You just can't beat fresh fish!

Besides the seafood and watching the sea lions, we really enjoyed going to the Buena Vista Cafe and trying our first authentic Irish Coffee! Read about the history of the Irish coffee here. 

Watching these guys make over a dozen drinks at once is pretty cool! 

All in all we had a very enjoyable and relaxing mini-moon! 
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​Blog post written by Amy Karras
Unnamed Adventures