I am going to focus on DAy Trip stuff, outside of SF since others already have mentioned the main attractions in SF.
Ok so after you do all the touristy stuff in SF like:
Alcatraz
Golden Gate Park
Coit Tower
Japanese Tea Garden
China Town
Taxi Down Lombardi while drunk (crookedest street in the world)
Pier 39
Fisherman's Wharf
Eat at Scomas (I like the one in in Sausilito , just on the otyher side of the Bridge out of SF)
etc...
If you get bored of doing all the traditional touristy things in the city, it is time to head up north.
I recommend taking a drive at least an hour north of the Golden Gate, on 101 and using the city of Santa Rosa as a base for some adventures. I dunno if you already have your hotel, but staying a couple nights in Santa Rosa would be fun. You can walk around downtown at night and hit a few bars and drive around during the day to see some sights. There are also some excellent restaurants & breweries in the area.
Here are some things you can do:
Wineries
http://www.sterlingvineyards.com/home <-- Sterling is very Cool for a day trip, about 45 minutes maybe from Santa Rosa, they have a tram that goes to the top of a hill where the winery is located. It is beautiful... also you could swing by the small town of Calistoga for lunch / sight seeing...Very cool little town
http://www.prwinery.com/ <-- Paradise Ridge winery....Bring a sandwich or some food and a bottle of your own wine, then go up there and buy a bottle and have a nice picnic at the top. It is a beautiful view, call them and see if theyre open till Sunset the day you are going to be there. It doesnt cost anything to go up there and view the sunset, and is really awesome. Great for taking pictures as well.
There are a million wineries within 45 minutes of Santa Rosa , so I won't bother putting any more unless you want me to...If you don't end up staying a night or two outside of SF, it is Still worth a day trip to go to Sterling & Calistoga IMO.
Breweries
http://www.lagunitas.com/ <-- Its in Petaluma about 45 mins North of SF, excellent Brewery with tours available daily I believe. Great Beer
http://www.russianriverbrewing.com/ <--- Russian River Brewing, right in downtown Santa Rosa...walking distance to the tons of other pubs and shops in Downtown SR. Excellent Beer.
http://www.bearrepublic.com/ <-- Bear Republic (In healdsburg, 75 minutes north of Golden gate, 15 minutes North of Santa Rosa)...fantasic beer in the little town of HEaldsburg.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Street_Aleworks <--- 3rd street ale works in downtown Santa Rosa....Good beer, cheap food....right in downtown SR ...Good place to hang out.
Beaches / Parks
This one is hard to recommend because I don't know the kinds of things you're interested in...The Beaches north of SF are very Beautiful...Rocky Cliffs overlooking the Ocean, with beaches you can hike down to and hike along the ocean and take pictures...Bring a little bottle of booze and some warm clothes... A light hooded jacket / pants cuz it gets windy a lot.
Heres some of my Favorite beaches:
http://www.californiacoastline.org/c...ential&flags=0 <-- Goat Rock (45 Minutes from Santa Rosa, BEAUTIFUL drive to get there )....Just feels good to walk along the beach for a while there...A great spot. It is right where 116 meets HWY 1 , right near where the RUssian River pours out into the ocean....Near the town of Jenner which is a good stop for lunch etc...
http://www.bodegabay.com/index.shtml (Bodega Bay...A little beach town....) You can have lunch here it is near HWY 12 and HWY1 Intersection.... Theres salt water taffy shops, kite shops, Fishing guides available, (group fishing tours too), Boat Rides etc....Cool little town to stop at while you drive up and down HWY 1 stopping at some beaches to take pictures. There are several beaches near By Bodega bay within 15 minutes drive or so.
Theres Way more beaches, but those are just two ideas...
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=450 <--- Armstrong Redwoood Park
If you have never seen an Ancient Redwood, do yourself a favor and come to this park and hike around for an hour or so. There are some PRIZE examples of redwoods that will boggle your mind and make you feel like you are an Ewok in star wars. This park is RIGHT in between Santa Rosa and Jenner on 116 , very Near Korbel winery.... You could visit the park, visit Korbel, and hit Goat Rock Beach (above) and it would be a great day trip.
Restaurants
This is always Dicey, but I am going to give only a couple recommendations....If you want more recommendations in a certain price range, just ask me. I love food and I have eaten at quite a few restaurants in this area. I'll be adding more to this list for sure, but this is a start.
Hole in the wall:
http://www.dierksparkside.com/ <-- awesome breakfast and lunch, closes at 2:00 pm
http://www.yelp.com/biz/lolas-santa-rosa <--- Great Mexican food, CHEAP..One of the best Quesadillas you will EVER have...Order the Super QUesadilla Suiza with carne asada or Carnitas...Its like 6 bucks max, and will AMAZE you. Trust me on this. You have never had a quesadilla this good. Make sure to get the green salsa from the salsa bar. Get your food take out and take to a park or back to your hotel...It isn't really all that great of a neighborhood or place to sight see, just awesome food.
Medium
http://www.yelp.com/biz/lococos-cuci...ica-santa-rosa <-- LA Cocos in Downtown Santa Rosa. If you're staying downtown, this is a convienient and GREAT little Italian place..You can get your buzz and food on then walk around to many nearby bars and/or shops. Solid Italian food....Busy / noisy / energetic atmosphere.
http://www.bistro29.com/ <--- bistro 29 (French) They have really good savory Crepes. You can get a Savory crepe and an appetizer and a beer/wine for not too much and will have a good meal. It is right downtown really close to Bars and shops.
Top
http://www.cyrusrestaurant.com/ <--- Cyrus. There are only 5 restaurants in the SF area that get 2 or higher Michelin Stars. This is one of them....You can go just to the bar and have a beer/glass of wine and an appetizer if you just want a taste of what the BEST restaurant in this area is like...Or you can have a meal there, and treat yourself. Amazing food, with the best service you can imagine. They wont make you feel out of place at all, they will make you feel right at home... It would be difficult and WAY more expensive to find better food and service than this ANYWHERE.
It is in a small town about 15 minutes north of Santa Rosa (75 minutes north of Golden Gate Bridge)....After you hit their bar (or if youre lucky enough to be able to have a meal there) you can walk round the 'square' in Healdsburg and hit some other bars and shops if you like. Cute little downtown area.
Hotels
This is also hit or miss, since I have no idea what price range you are in...If you are just gonna make a day trip and stay in SF then it doesn't matter, but I would highly recommend staying one night (at least) in Downtown Santa Rosa and then using Santa Rosa as a base to explore beaches / parks / wineries /breweries.
http://www.hotellarose.com/ <-- Hotel La Rose , right downtown...within walking distance to La Cocos and MANY other restaurants and bars.
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So, if you want any other recommendations for day trip stuff North of SF I would be glad to cme up with some more ideas and what not, based on things you like to do. Just let me know, I live here so I know whats up.
I Will work on this list some more when I get a chance, but if you let me know which things interest you I can work on that part of the list 1st. Ive been wanting to make a list like this for friends/family coming to visit so you have motivated me!
I can't stress this enough, but once you get north of the Golden Gate, the traffic isn't quite as bad and sinc eyou have a car...I would HIGHLY recommend taking some day trips or overnight trips...Especially since you have two weeks. Tahoe will be GREAT weekend, and I think your trip will be rounded out nicely by checking out the wine country.
