Written 11.29.20
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All my life I've heard that if you want to get all the colors of fall you have to go back east. I've also been told that we don't have seasons in California. I have found that neither of these are really all that true. Instead of just listening to others venture out and find out what is really true for yourself.
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Up until last week I had never been up to Northern California or the Bay Area during this time of year (Fall). The opportunity just did not present itself. However, a friend of mine from college has been enticing me to come visit and see his new house for the past year and I finally had the time to check it out.
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The trees were amazing. These pics are all from my travels in and around Sacramento, Folsom, San Francisco, Stanford University, San Luis Obispo, Solvang and Santa Barbara.
Citrus Heights, CA 11.21.20
Citrus Heights, CA 11.21.20
I have taken several road trips, particularly in California, that don't involve too much planning but have a loose idea or goal for the trip. This time I had some really cool things I wanted to do and for once I even booked all the hotels ahead of time.
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I used to use a booking site to book hotels but found that if you run into a problem now you are dealing with a third party entity and it isn't worth the bonus nights that add up using such a site. I do use booking sites to try and find the best price but then I simply call the hotel and book through them directly. Sometimes the hotel has a website and if I can get the price I want through the site I might just book online. The other problem with booking sites is that they might omit extra fees. When traveling to places like San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago, etc.
Where parking is a premium expect to be charged to park at the hotel...but then use it. If you can stay within walking distance to attractions you might be able to save money on parking by leaving your car at the hotel even past checkout instead of paying to park at the hotel and then driving to an attraction that also has a pay lot. Most hotels are pretty nice about leaving your car at the hotel even after checkout the day you are leaving if your plans go past 11am (normal checkout time). This works especially well for staying at hotels near Disneyland where parking is often included in your hotel stay but would cost you $25 in any of the Disneyland Parking structures.
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Hotel Tip#1
In the case of this trip I only decided my itinerary a couple of weeks prior so I booked this trip at the beginning of November. Rates were not bad due to Covid, and but for one unforeseen exception, everything went great. There are always things you can't plan for and it helps when you travel to research as much as you can and be flexible.
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I like to stay on the top floor and always request it when checking in. I'll lug my bags up flights of stairs (most places I stay have elevators) just so I can sleep above everyone instead of being woken up by the people above me stomping around in the middle of the night. I live in a one-story, single family home, so I'm not used to anyone being above me, and unfortunately, I'm not a very heavy sleeper. Make decisions that make sense for you.
Hotel Tip#2
Friday November 20, 2020
Sacramento is about 6 1/2 hours from where I live in So Cal. I took off right after work and headed north stopping a few times for food, restroom breaks, and even shopping.
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When heading north on the 5 out of LA one has to travel over the Tejon Pass and through the local mountains. This is often called the grapevine but there are no grapes and from what I am told this name is from years ago when this area did contain some wineries.
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Coming out of the Tejon pass, on the other side of Castaic, I found the Outlets at Tejon. Very fun and festive. Did some Christmas shopping and enjoyed the music and decorations before getting back on the road.
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Next it was the wastlands of the five freeway for what seems like 13 hours at least. The five is just nothing but almonds and grapes (yes there are grapes, just not in the pass) for miles. Mostly brown and nothing much to look at. At this time of year the sun was setting early so much of this drive was at sunset and in the dark.
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About half-way between LA and Sacramento is Harris Ranch. This is a great place to stop for Lunch or dinner if you can time it right and have the time. They are known for their extremely fresh steaks and like many private steakhouses they are pretty pricey.
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Harris Ranch, or the Harris Cattle Ranch, feedlot is California's largest beef producer and the largest ranch on the West Coast of the United States, producing 150 million pounds of beef per year in 2010. Wikipedia
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I did not have time to stop but I have stopped here many times and always find it a great place
to get something to eat and stretch. They also have a great gift shop and of course charging
stations for your Tesla.
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Note: There are a lot of complaints online of travelers stopping here during the summer months when the temperature can reach 100+ and finding that the smell of 100,000 cattle is more than they could stand. I have not found this to be a problem typically and certainly not inside the restaurant or at other times of the year when it is cooler. I get it though, cows certainly smell.
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Traveling north up the 5 there aren't many landmarks but one place that I find that is always cool to stop is in the city of Lathrop just before Stockton where there is a very nondescript giant white building with the word Ghirardelli on the side of it!
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This is the home of the Ghirardelli Factory Store and Ice Cream Shop. Not much to look at but the deal on chocolate is the best around and you can get a hot chocolate if it is cold or a sundae if it is hot. Due to Covid their bathroom is not open but their chocolate sales is. Don't forget to get your free samples just like at Ghirardelli Square or Disney's California Adventure.
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(Because I was in a hurry to get out of there to use the restroom I did not have time to take a simple pic of the sign at night but I thought it was important to show what the building looks like in case you are driving up the 5 fwy. So this pic is off of yelp and belongs to someone that posted it there.)
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I took off from Lathrop and headed towards the state capital. It was already dark and the capital was all blocked off. Tours of the capital have been canceled for Covid and no one is allowed in the building at this time. I walked around in the cold just to see the capital lit up at night which was pretty darn cool. The capital is impressive and parking around the capital is pretty cheap using the park-mobile app on my phone, particularly at night when few people have any reason to be around. At this time of year it was really cold but with a beanie, jacket and gloves I was able to enjoy it. Missing from my cell phone shots are the cop cars surrounding the capital, the barricades, and the graffiti that was power-washed off recently but was easily still legible. See the blog post from Sunday morning for those pics. Included in the cell pics you can just barely make out the cranes out front that were putting up the Christmas Tree.
Unfortunately, I was too early for all that. Christmas seemed to be getting set up every place I went but I was too early to see decorations. If that is your goal be sure to travel after Thanksgiving. Back in 2009 I was at the capital at night, after driving all day, and I was able to take some decent tripod, long-exposure shots featured below.
I left the capital and headed out to Citrus Heights to see my friend where I stayed for the night. I left my house at 12:30, and after stopping several times, I made it to my destination by 8:30pm. I've managed this trip with minimal stops in about 6 1/2 hours but it was nicer to be able to stop and break up the trip a bit this time.