Hi all, The family and I are going to Oakland CA this summer and are planning it right now . We are planning to going toYosemite and I found online the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad . Also we will be going to San Francisco and will be riding the cable cars . Any other points of interest ? Thanks Joe
Try the Napa Valley Wine Train
[#ditto] Definitely, my wife and I rode the Napa Valley Wine Train about five years back and it was wonderful…if budget permits try the “Great Dome” car for dinner, it is worth the price. Also, I would recommend touring Muir Woods (redwood forest north of SF), the aircraft carrier in Oakland (USS Hornet as I recall) and a tour of Alcatraz Island…all worth the time and price. I would pass on Chinatown if I were to do it again…nothing but a bunch of crummy junk shops.
Of course, don’t forget the cable cars! There is a cable car museum located in the shop building, which also houses the machinery powering the cables. I think it’s on the Powell Street line…anyway it’s in the middle of a residential area so it kind of sneaks up on you. Get off at the Fisherman’s Wharf tourist trap and start walking down the Embarcadero-nod toward the old RR car loading apron. As you follow the street, divide your attention between the views of the bay, the historical markers/plaques along the waterfront and the passing historic streetcars on the surface line (“F” route, I think…). When you get down by the Ferry Building, swing through just to look at the overpriced tourist kitsch and continue south (foot or streetcar) to the Cal Train station and pick up some schedules (why pay for postcard souvieneers? These are free and something to read!). Then double back to the brewpub/restaurant that’s almost underneath the Bay Bridge (forget the name-good food, though) and, if you can get a view out the front (or better yet on the front porch) you can eat while watching the streetcars go by. If you have kids, get off by the baseball park and buy ice cream at the Stone Cold Creamery outlet. Finally, go back the streetcars and catch the “N” (Judah) route to the other side of the city. You’ll go up the Embarcadero, into the Market Street subway, back up to street level, through a tunnel, back onto the street and finish up at a loop just a block or two from the beach. Stop in at the nice local coffee shop (Java Beach) for a snack and a warm drink and cross the Pacific Coast Highway for the rest of the afternoon at the beach (dress warm for this part if nothing else!). If there is any sun that day, I’m told the sunset over the Pacific is beautiful (next month will be my 7th year trying to see one)… Be sure to get a milti day transit pass. It’s cheaper and way more convenient that paying fares each trip and it’s good on all the historic s
Thanks Guys for the info, ALL sound great . Can’t wait for June to get here . Yes we have kids , two girls 7&9.
The Niles Canyon RR runs on the old Central Pacific grade between Pleasanton and Fremont in the Bay area. But they only run about one weekend a month. I know they have a web site - but I can’t find it right now.
dd
Information about the Niles Canyon Railway can be found here
They run twice a month through March, then every Sunday beginning in April. A round-trip excursion takes an hour.
Thanks for the schedule update. Since my company’s main office is in Pleasanton, I occasionally am in the area and try to drive over there - but since I am rarely then on the weekend - I have never ridden it. However, it is on my agenda.
dd