Thoughts from Sean Rutledge:

So, some of my favorite areas in the Bay Area....

Yosemite is the most beautiful park in the US. it is so spectacular! You'll be getting there in September, after school starts, so the crowds will be waaaay down. Make sure to get up early and wander around - it will be like having the park to yourself. I was there over 4th of July one year, and pretty much had the sights to myself between 7-10 AM.

Monterey, CA is fantastic. The aquarium is spectacular. Monterey and Baltimore have the best aquariums. You can do Monterey as a day trip from the SF area, but I wouldn't.

My favorite view in SF is from the rest stop just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. You can see the city (NEVER call it San Fran. it is The City or San Francisco), Berkeley, CA, Angel Island, Alcatraz, the Bay Bridge, and the Oakland Hills. Very spectacular! You can walk across the bridge as well. This is also at the Marin Headlands and there are some fantastic trails on the other side of 101 from this rest stop. Make sure to bring some warm clothes, it gets cold over there.

I've always found Napa/Sonoma a bit overrated. They seem to be like most other ritzy tourist areas i've been to.

Dave Diller recommends checking out the Muir Woods.

More ideas from Michael Clayberg:

Bolinas: After visiting the Marin Headlands, continue into Marin on highway 1 and take the coast road (101) through the redwoods and along spectacular cliffs over the Pacific. Continue on through the small beach town of Stinson Beach until you get to a several mile long estuary on your left (look for sea lions sunning themselves). Take the very first left after the estuary and turn down what looks to be practically a driveway. In a few hundred feet it is paved again and wider. Landmark: just past the end of the estuary, there's a large stand of huge eucalypts. That's where the unmarked left turn is. The locals tear down the highway sign each time the state puts it back up. If you have driven a mile past the estuary, you already missed the turn. In a few minutes you will be in Bolinas, a small town on the ocean that faces SF 20 or so miles away across the bay. Beautiful is an understatement. Have a drink in the only bar in town ... the bar dates from 1856 which out west is as old as things get. It looks like a short drive to Bolinas from the city on the map but budget an hour and a half. Drive slowly, the cliffs can drop a few thousand feet into the ocean and the road is narrow and super-curvy.

Napa: stop at Francis Ford Coppola's estate. Most of the winerys give out tiny tastings of wine. Some even charge. His joint looks like a huge Sicilian estate from one of the Godfather movies. It is beautiful and has well-tended gardens. You can walk the grounds, or (best part) you can actually drink a glass of wine ... drink a huge, inexpensive glass of wine under an umbrella outside. Very civilized. The tour of the caves is neat, too.

Downtown: Stinky's Peepshow (http://www.stinkyspeepshow.com/) which was at the Covered Wagon (gnarly punk rock/metal bar ... sorry for the word "gnarly" ... nothing else fit) but is moving for Sept. Heavyset gals go-go dancing on the bar, cheap drinks, a people watching paradise, and a "peepshow" in a small theater. The last is a complete goof emceed by a guy in a dirty dog costume. The show's different each month and is usually a hilariously stupid takeoff on smut and our consumer culture.

Beer: For draft beer, there no place better than Toronado at 547 Haight. Check out the draft beer list and drool: http://www.toronado.com/draft.htm ... be a little bit careful at night. Crackheads and other lowlifes abound. It isn't really dangerous, but I have seen some weird stuff involving idiots and cops. You're from Baltimore ... you can deal.

Eating: fabulous restaurants abound. The Mission, only a few years ago a desperately rundown area, has a bunch of cool places all packed on Mission St. Upper and lower Haight are also terrific. Enjoy!

Magorn says:

I-280 is not called the Worlds Most Beautiful Interstate for nothing, and the drive between San Francisco and Capitola (seaside town near Monterey, that is gorgeous) has a stretch of road (Route 13, I think) that will fulfill every James Bond driving through the Alps fantasy you ever had.

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