San Francisco to Portland
Be sure to wear flowers in your hair
My name is Kristi, over the past couple of years my husband Joe and I have gotten some traveling under our belt. I have decided to share our adventures and offer some tips for your future trips! I love building an itinerary and doing the research before any trip we take. This is my first attempt at blogging and documenting a vacation, hope it helps! Enjoy!
March 5th 2019. Flying into San Francisco I knew my first stop was going to be Haight Ashbury (deemed “Hashbury” by Hunter S. Thompson). Psychedelic legends such as Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead & Janis Joplin played and lived close by! I’ve been dreaming of going since I was a Teenager. After researching the Haight area for quite some time, I had to check out Magnolia Brewing Co. It was a grey misty day and I loved being able to peer out of the windows and people watch everyone walking around Haight.
I’m always on the hunt for a super unique Airbnb stay, and I found just that in Mill Valley. Mill Valley is located right across the Golden Gate Bridge, about 4 miles North. We stayed in an Air-stream that was so adorable, perfect for two friends or a couple. So, whether you’re checking out Muir Woods, Alcatraz or spending a couple days in the city, this is a great option! For breakfast, we ate at Shoreline Coffee Shop. They had some really cozy vibes and great food.
From San Francisco we headed out to Glass Beach in Fort Bragg. Glass Beach is about 3 hours and 22 minutes from San Francisco. This was so amazing and unlike anything I have ever seen before,. The site was once a trash dump, so there is smooth glass mixed in with all of the sand. Upon closer inspection, you can find plates, screws, utensils and an array of items lodged into all the rocks, it felt like finding treasure. (keep in mind that foraging of sea glass on glass beach is prohibited). After our quick Glass Beach stop, we continued our way northbound up Us Highway 101. I tend to get car sick, and this trip was by far the sickest I have ever felt. The unvarying zig-zag of going into the mountains, and then out to the sea was pretty intense. So if you are like me, make sure to bring some ginger tablets or Sea bands!
Into the Redwoods
Our home base for exploring around the redwoods was Eureka, California! The cabin I chose was in Samoa, less than a mile from the Samoa Dunes Recreational area and the North Jetty. We ordered take out from Lost Coast Brewery, where there are tons of marvelous beers to choose from. Peanut Butter Chocolate Milk Stout? Yes, please!! After Hiking and checking out the Redwoods, all day it was much needed.
Make sure to bring a light rain coat and a good beanie with you, as it was definitely misty, and slightly chilly
Avenue of the Giants has plenty of attractions to check out. We went in early March, and I loved that it was still chilly and slightly rainy. The Smell is fantastic, if only it could be bottled! Some of the places we stopped on our trip:
- Founders Grove Hike
- Grandfather Tree
- Shrine Drive thru Tree
- Trees of Mystery
- One Log House
Please, please, please, check out the Trees of Mystery! It looks super touristy, but it was a blast and very informative. 36 miles south of the Oregon border and 360 miles north of San Francisco on US Highway 101. From Grants Pass, Oregon and Interstate 5 it’s 126 miles to Klamath, California via Highway 199. They’re located right on the highway (101) and the statues of Paul and Babe are impossible to miss.
Address:
15500 US-101,
Klamath, CA 95548
Que Jurassic Park music! The next day we went to Fern Canyon, which is located about 6 hours from San Francisco. This was where the second Jurassic Park movie ‘The Lost World’ was filmed at Fern Canyon. Located in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, the trail can be done as a 1-mile “lolly-pop” loop, it’s not very strenuous. But be prepared, waterproof boots were a must for us! Also, Elk roam near the trail…. We saw a lone Roosevelt Elk on our way up, which was our first time ever seeing one, so beautiful. Make sure to put this hike on your itinerary!
Onward to Oregon!
Our next Airbnb Was MY FAVORITE EVER IN THE HISTORY OF AIRBNBS! this was all because of our host Rik… Rik runs the Itty Bitty Inn in North Bend, Oregon. We were there in 2019 and I can see there has been a lot of updates to it since, and it looks stellar!! This is a must stay! That night we ate at 7 Devils Brewery. A very cool spot, great food and beer! Of course! For breakfast, we ate at Mom’s Kitchen. If you’re looking for a relaxed atmosphere and want to feel like a local, that’s your place!
One of the stops on our Oregon coast-list was the Sea Lion Cave! On our way there we stopped for coffee in Yachats, OR. Green Salmon Coffee Company. This place was adorable, and they had plenty of vegetarian options! You will find a lot of places do in Oregon… I enjoyed their CBD coffee so much that I not only bought some there, but I also found them online and ordered more when I ran out! I fell in love with Yachats, which has a coastal artsy feel to it. I would love to go back.
Before we hit the Sea Lion Cave, we made a stop at Thor’s Well, located near Cape Perpetua National Scenic Area. Such a cool stop off, we spent a good amount of time there. Thor’s well was formed when the ceiling of an underwater sea cave collapsed. Ocean pressure and wind contribute to geyser like ocean sprays.
Sea Lion Caves, located in Florence, OR is a connected system of sea caves and caverns open to the Pacific Ocean. This is a must see on the Oregon Coast. When you get into the elevator to go down into the cave, the smell of fish was so intense it made us crack up laughing. The viewing area of the sea lions sounds like a rumbling chorus of roars, grunts and moans, it’s almost magical like listening to monks chanting. I found it to be quite comforting. We also got to see a grey whale on our way to the elevator!! Small groups sometimes end their trip north and spend the summer in the immediate vicinity of Sea Lion Caves, feeding very close to shore.
**Keep in mind late September-November there are no sea lions in the cave**
Mt. Hood
Now, I have plenty of photos and other stories from Mt. hood and will most definitely go way more in depth on another post. But on this particular trip we started at Timberline Lodge for a bite to eat before hiking out to the Mirror Lake Trail #664. The 1.9 miles from the trailhead to the lake gains 460 feet at a steady, moderate climb. We were there in early March, so it was still covered in snow. The entire lake was frozen over, so the picturesque views of Mt. Hood reflecting on the water you see in most pictures, will not be there in March. This was a very fun hike, I’ve only done it covered in snow (so I can’t speak for other months), But it wasn’t a very hard hike at all. You might want to get a pair of spikes for your boots to do this one.
We ended our trip by spending the last night in Portland with one of my best friends. After some food, drinks and good talks at Bye and Bye, (an awesome vegan lounge to check out if you are in the Alberta area), we headed into Sandy, OR to stay at a tiny house with the most spectacular view. I highly recommend staying there if you plan on spending a couple days around Mt. hood. It’s about a 54 minute drive to Portland or 1hr 07min to Hood River.
This concludes our San Fran to Portland journey. This is a trip that you have to take for yourself! Every city was unique, every forest is breathtaking, and the coastal views are otherworldly…
