Road trip to Oregon and San Francisco

This year we decided to take a driving vacation down the Oregon Coast and then to San Francisco.  One thing I did not realize was how much fog they get along the coast in the summer, and we were also not prepared for the cool weather.  We started along the coast in Lincoln City and worked our way down highway 101 to San Francisco.  The views are fantastic along the way, and one of my favourite parts along the coast is the Sand Dunes.  Just outside of Florence is where the sand dunes start. There are all sorts of activities you can take part in to enjoy the dunes, including ATV Rides, Sand boards, etc .http://www.florencechamber.com/ 

Love the dunes!

This picture was taken outside of Reedsport.  It was a nice 1/2 mile hike to get to the dunes, and when we arrived we were the only ones there.  We had a blast running up and down the dunes.

After our fun at the Sand Dunes we made our way to Bandon, Oregon.  I really love this little town and would definitely spend more time here.  The town has some neat little shops and of course we wanted to stop at Cranberry Sweets.http://www.cranberrysweets.com/   There are samples to try of almost everything and it would be a challenge to leave the shop without buying something!

Our road trip brought us through the Redwood Forest in Northern California. We even made a stop at the drive through tree!  http://www.drivethrutree.com/
We also drove part of the way through the "Avenue of the Giants", which is a road that parallels the 101 and goes through the Redwoods.

Once we left the Coastal area behind, the temperatures were a lot warmer.  We drove through wine country and had an overnight stop in Napa, California.  We stayed at the Marriott in Napa, and thoroughly enjoyed some relaxing time by the pool, and a bit of wine tasting!

 It was a short drive from Napa to San Francisco the next day and we made sure to take the drive over the Golden Gate Bridge.  What luck, because it was a clear blue sky, and the view of the bridge was fantastic. We stayed at the Fairmont in San Francisco. http://www.fairmont.com/san-francisco/.  This was an absolutely beautiful hotel, and we enjoyed the location on Nob Hill. We were close enough to walk to Chinatown, where we made sure to find the fortune cookie factory.  It was really fun to wander around the shops and see the sights.  Fisherman's Wharf is also a great place to wander around, with great shops, restaurants, sights, and entertainment.
Be prepared for walking the hills when you come here, you will definitely get a good leg work out.   The cable cars were fun to try, but be prepared for line ups most of the time, especially at any of the turn around spots.
We decided to buy a Hop on, Hop off bus ticket, so we could get an overall view of the city.  The best part was when the driver was able to time the lights and go barrelling down Nob Hill on the bus.  It felt like a roller coaster ride.  We later learned that our bus driver was a also a race car driver!  If you want the opportunity to go to Alcatraz, make sure you book well in advance, as it sells out weeks in advance, especially in the summer.  We got to see it from across the water while we were at Fisherman's Wharf.
I really enjoyed the 2 days we spent exploring San Francisco and there is so much to see, that I would definitely go back.