Two Week Northern California Road Trip with Kids, November 2023

When JetBlue had a HUGE flight sale we decided now was the time to take that trip to Northern California we had been discussing for the past couple of years. We’ve road tripped up and down the central and northern part of route one a couple of times and wanted our kids to get the experience too. At this moment in time the stars seemed to finally align. The flights were cheap, the kids were a great age and everyone in my extended family was healthy. We went for it and booked the flight.

The kids and I spent a month before the trip learning about California and finding some possible places we may want to visit; but for the most part we had we had zero plans (other then two nights booked at a hotel in San Francisco). There was no where we had to be or anything we had to do and it was lovely and freeing. We could be present, explore and see where we ended up. We packed very minimally which allowed us to easily move from hotel to hotel with very little physical items to manage or weigh us down.

If you are interested in the route of the trip we ended up taking here’s a google map of it. Not all of the spots we stopped in are on it (it wouldn’t allow me to have that many) but it gives you a general idea of the route we took. Here is how our family of four spent our two week road trip in Northern California in 2023!

Day One Arrival Day Thursday November 16

After a LONG day of traveling that included; a three hour drive to the bus station, an hour drive on the bus and a turbulent puke bag filled six hour flight, we finally happily landed at the San Francisco airport. The first words out of my mouth were, “I am so glad we have two weeks before we have to do that again.”

That travel day behind us we were excited to start this California road trip adventure!

After grabbing our rental car we decided to start the trip by heading south to Monterey.

The drive to Monterey began with a brief stop in Santa Cruz at Tacos Morenos, Jamie’s favorite burrito ever. We continued on enjoying the view of fields of brussels sprouts and artichokes. The rain stopped and we were welcomed to California with a rainbow.

After a couple of scenic driving hours we arrived at our hotel, The Villa Franca Inn. It was a cute and clean hotel, closely located to a lot of things in Monterey. We had been up since 11 PM eastern time and were all pretty done, so we showered, watched a little TV and then were happily asleep by 6:30 PM California time. The majority of our hotels this trip (including The Villa Franca Inn) were booked using Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card points, allowing us to spend very little on hotels the entire two weeks. If you’ve been interested in travel hacking consider this your sign to go for it. The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the perfect card to start your travel hacking journey and if you use my referral link we both get a little points bonus!

Day Two Monterey and Carmel

Sunrise at Lover’s Point

Day two began with Jake, whose body was very much still on his normal schedule, woke us all up at 3 AM California time. Having all slept over eight hours we decided to embrace the early wake up time and headed out to see the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean. Jamie googled and found Lover’s Point in Pacific Grove as one of the best places to do this. And it was absolutely stunning. The sunrise, the ocean, the beach, the wildlife…it did not disappoint. Here are 8,000 pictures because it was so beautiful I couldn’t stop taking them and I just want to share with who ever will look at them.

Cannery Row

Once the sun was up we headed to Cannery Row. Nothing was open, except Starbucks, but we enjoyed walking around for a bit and reading the signs explaining the history of this place. We spotted our first sea lion happily swimming in the ocean.

Walmart

After wandering Cannery Row for a bit we made a stop at Walmart to buy some groceries. The plan was to eat oatmeal for breakfast in our hotel room, have picnic lunches and then only have to eat out for dinner. We picked up things for these meals as well as some fruit, snacks and water. We also bought an adorable red Igloo cooler that I immediately formed an attachment with. The initial plan was to use it throughout the trip and then leave it in California, but I’m happy to report it made its way back home with us safely on the airplane and is now called our “adventure cooler” and adds immense value to my life.

Dennis the Menace Playground

With a trunk full of groceries for a few days we headed to the Dennis the Menace playground in Monterey. It was designed by the creator of Dennis the Menace cartoon. We ate a picnic lunch and the kids played for a bit.

As we left we stopped by the snack shack and got them each a snow cone.

Carmel

After that we headed to Carmel where we went to the beach and saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time this trip.

The kids played in the ocean and Jake promptly fell and soaked himself. Unbothered by this they continued to play for a bit and then he walked back to the car shirtless, pants rolled up to his thighs and barefoot. A sight that induced many smiles from passersby’s.

After a quick change of clothing for Jake we headed to walk around the town of Carmel. A pretty town with buildings straight out of a fairy tale.

We walked through the town, wandered through an art gallery, window shopped at some of the fancy stores until we stumbled upon Dutch Door Donuts. They advertised donuts made fresh to order and we were sold. The kids and I got a beignet and Jamie got a donut. It was amazing.

On the way back to the car we stopped by Cottage of Sweets where Jamie and the kids found Turkish delight, something we’ve been wanting to try since reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

We left Carmel and headed north towards San Francisco where we were staying for the next couple of days. We stopped briefly in Capitola to use the bathroom and get another burrito at a different Tacos Morenos location.

After that we continued our drive up route one to San Francisco. The most entertaining part of this drive was when the man from the hotel called to ask our expected arrival time and Jamie proceeded to ask him if he was a real human. The reasoning being that he wanted to ask additional questions but wasn’t sure if this was an automated call. The man seemed a bit taken back and answers to follow up questions were curt. Examples including Jamie asking, “Is the parking safe?” And the man responding, “No. This is San Francisco.” 

After getting off the phone Anika proceeded to tell Jamie he really didn’t need to ask him if he was a human and that he didn’t seem to like that. We can learn so much from our children. You know things like basic human interaction skills. 🤣

Anyway after a rainy, traffic filled drive we finally arrived at our hotel, The Castle Inn. It was located in the Russian Hill area of San Francisco. It was clean, safe and affordable!

Day 3 San Francisco Sick Day!

Jamie woke up sick and down for the count. We spent the day in the hotel room watching TV, playing card games, writing in our travel journals, doing some other homeschool stuff and got take out for dinner from The New Spot on Polk. I got a California club sandwich that was absolutely delicious. It was a bummer Jamie got sick but I think we all needed a day to relax and it gave us an excuse to do this.

Day 4 San Francisco Do Over Day!

The next morning Jamie woke up feeling better so we decided to head out and explore San Francisco. Our day began with a donut from a local spot and Jamie got his first of many Peet’s coffee of the trip.

Cable Car Ride!

After what felt like a long and very hilly walk we arrived at a spot to get on the cable car. We paid for the day pass, that allowed us to hop off and on as we wanted. It was 13 for this pass or 8 dollars for one ride.

Boudin Bakery

We rode the cable car down to fisherman’s wharf where we stopped at Boudin Bakery and got a small loaf of sour dough bread for only three dollars. We ate it together and then headed for a walk to pier 39.

Pier 39

At pier 39 we saw the sea lions and then stopped at a store to pick out our California magnet. We’ve decided each trip we take we get a magnet of that state for fridge. It’s a perfect souvenir for us since it’s small and doesn’t take up much space in our bags and something we genuinely love having at home. A fridge full of kids art work and magnets make us smile. The kids also each got a California pressed penny here too.

Souvenirs acquired we briefly stopped at the candy store and then the kids and I rode the carousel.

After that we went to In and Out Burger for lunch.

The Exploratorium

Then we headed to The Exploratorium, a hands on science museum for the afternoon. We have the ASTC pass that allows us to visit different participating Science and Children’s Museums for free. This was one of them.

Chinatown

We followed this with a walk to Chinatown and dinner at the House of Nanking. This place has ruined Chinese food for me forever. It is so good. The owner is on site and we ask him to choose for us. 100 percent eat here.

We took the cable car to the area our hotel was in and then headed back to our hotel to shower, watch TV and bed.

Day 5 Golden Gate Bridge, Sausalito and Gualala

The Golden Gate Bridge

Today we left San Francisco and drove over the Golden Gate Bridge on the way out. We stopped at a couple of different spots for a view of the bridge. The Marin Headlands being one. There was zero fog and we had a perfect view of the bridge.

Here’s a video I made!

Sausalito

We drove to Sausalito where we all split a breakfast sandwich and a cinnamon roll from Sausalito Bakery and Cafe for a mid morning snack. We walked around this beautiful town for a bit stopping by Munchies of Sausalito, a candy store and a souvenir type shop where we picked up some postcards.

Walmart Round 2!

After a couple hours here we drove to Walmart to get a few more groceries before heading further north up the coast.

We had a “parking lot picnic” and got ice cream from Baskin Robins before heading north on route 1 to Gualala.

Gualala

We made it to our hotel for the next couple of days, The Gualala Country Inn.

We checked in and then got some takeout for dinner from Vue Kitchen and saw our first sunset on the Pacific Ocean. Then showers and bed!

Day 6 Gualala and Point Arena

Exploring Gualala

This is our third trip to Gualala and it is still one of our favorite northern California towns and great place to use as a home base to explore surrounding towns in the area. Previous times we’ve stayed at The Seacliff Hotel and planned to return, but a huge big price increase and a lack of anything larger than full size beds for a family of four lead us to try somewhere different this trip. We ended up at the Gualala Country Inn and were so happy we did. We felt like we had been upgraded because the room was so large and not only included two queen size beds but also an sitting area with a table and four chairs next to a fireplace with a view of the ocean. It sounds silly but a table and chairs is such a luxury for our family. We eat mostly takeout for dinner and having an actual table to sit and eat it at is game changing. The prices were reasonable, we were walking distance to town, the rooms were clean and safe, and the view of the ocean was amazing. The rooms have been updated (at least the one we stayed in) and are much more modern then their websites pictures.

We woke up on this morning of the trip to some adorableness. The kids were huddled behind the window whispering. When Jamie asked them what they were doing they said trying to see the sunrise. Awwwww.

We started today off with a walk around Gualala. This small towns shops and restaurants are easily walkable distance from our hotel and each other.

We started at Surf Market where Jamie got a coffee and looked for a hat to replace the one he bought here ten years ago. No luck.

Then we walked along the Gualala Bluff Trail.

After that we got a cinnamon roll from a bakery and then brought it back to our room to eat. We relaxed in the room for a bit and played some card games while we ate our cinnamon roll.

Point Arena Lighthouse

Then we headed to Point Arena and saw the lighthouse, the ocean, some ravens and a gopher. The woman at the gate overheard us talking about the raven, and she explained that this particular raven and its mate have lived near the lighthouse for 10 years now. They currently have a nest full of babies. She taught us a little bit about ravens and explained how intelligent they are. She said one of them even dropped a pebble for her as a gift once.

We walked along the cliff and saw the ocean. We hung out in the gazebo and enjoyed the warm sun. We replenish our vitamin D supply. We ate a picnic and then headed back to our room again for a bit to write in our journals and do some other homeschool stuff.

We got Mexican for dinner from Gualala Pizza Bakery. I know the name is confusing, and doesn’t mention Mexican, but it was delicious. This was the same place we got our cinnamon roll. This is a pretty affordable food option in Gualala.

Day 7 Mendocino and Fort Bragg

Mendocino

Today we left Gualala and continue to head north up the coast to Mendocino.

Fort Bragg and Sea Glass Beach

We then continued north along route 1 to Fort Bragg where we checked into our hotel, had some sandwiches for lunch and then headed back out to Sea Glass Beach.

After spending some time looking at the beautiful sea glass that came from garbage this town use to dump into the ocean, and exploring the tide pools, we got dinner from Miss KJ’s Bangin Bites. The mac and cheese here was phenomenal and the prices were fantastic. 100 percent get takeout from this local restaurant.

We wrapped up the night eating dinner in the room, watching the new Disney Christmas movie The Naughty Nine and doing laundry. This is going to sound insane but this evening is one of my favorite memories of the trip. The kids were so excited to watch this movie, as they had seen previews for it and we happened to make it back to the hotel to watch the premiere showing, which made them so excited. Jamie helped me carry the laundry back and forth and I happily folded it while watching the movie with the kids. It was just a cozy, sweet evening. I also learned that I love doing laundry on vacation and it’s going to be a new part of our packing plan. We tend to like to just chill in our hotel room at night anyway and it allowed us to pack far fewer clothes.

Day 8 Humboldt Redwoods State Park and Arcata

Humboldt Redwoods State Park

Today we continued north in search of redwood trees! Also it was Thanksgiving and we stopped at Starbucks for Jamie’s coffee and I got my first peppermint mocha of the season, my Thanksgiving tradition.

We took route one along the coast before cutting through on curvy, like really really curvy mountain roads. Multiple time throughout this trip I found myself saying, “Really, California? Really? This road seemed like a good idea to you?” This state does not care, they will put a road anywhere. Side of a huge cliff? Lets put a road there! We don’t need a shoulder. Mountain? Let’s blast it out and put a road going through it? Insanely Steep Mountain? No problem, let’s just put a vomit inducing winding road going down. I think its a testament to how lovely the weather is here. There is absolutely no way Maine could have roads like this.

We finally made it off the mountain and got to nice, calm and flat 101. This ended up being our absolute favorite road to drive in California. We arrived at The Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt Redwoods State Park. We stopped at the first stop and walked through the trail to see the redwoods. We saw their cones too.

Seeing the redwoods was one of my favorite parts of this trip. The energy in this forest was unreal. It was so quiet and calm and cool. I left feeling reset and renewed.

We left the trail, had a parking lot picnic and then continued along our way.

Arcata

We drove to Arcata where we checked into our hotel, a Hampton Inn and Suites and the kids and I went for swim. It was a beautiful, clean pool with a hot tub too and we had it all to ourselves.

After our swim we got takeout from Pepper’s. They were having a Thanksgiving dinner special that was AMAZING. It included mashed potatoes, yams, turkey stuffing, cranberry sauce and a roll for 16.50. You could add a slice of pumpkin pie for a 1.50 more, which I of course did.

We ate, showered, snuggled and watched TV before going to sleep.

Day 9 Redding and Turtle Bay Exploration Park

Jake lost a tooth!

This morning the kids climbed in bed to snuggle with us first thing in the morning and Jake looked at me and said “I guess the tooth fairy is going to have to come to California” as he held up a tooth that had been loose for some time and finally came out.

We ate our first free hotel breakfast of the trip and were all very happy not to have oatmeal out of coffee cups in the room this morning.

Drive on 299

After breakfast we grabbed our stuff and headed out. We made a quick stop for gas and to check out The Grocery Outlet. This was a chain grocery store we’ve seen and were curious about. Food in California is expensive, whether you are eating out or just buying groceries. This store was excellent. They had high quality food for the cheapest prices we’ve seen anywhere. We grabbed some granola bars, crackers, chips, water and fruit. I also picked up some ginger chews, to hopefully help with nausea on those winding roads.

Groceries acquired we began our drive across route 299 today from Arcata to Redding. It was another curvy mountain road with cliffs on either side. We stopped at a pretty scenic overlook to break up the trip but it was cold and windy so we didn’t stop long.

A quick visit to Whiskeytown Lake and the visitor center, where Anika got her free 4th grade National Parks Pass.

We stopped at Shasta State Historic Park where we saw the remains of an old gold rush town.

After this we stopped at a small grocery store where we used the bathroom, bought some pickles and then it was parking lot picnic time!

Turtle Bay Exploration Park

After lunch we continued our drive to Redding where we went to Turtle Bay Exploration Park. This was another science museum that we got into for free with the ASTC pass. I cannot recommend this pass enough. We used it on two museums this trip that would have other wise cost us well over 200 dollars to get into. It would be a great suggestion as a gift for a grandparent to give for holidays or a birthday.

We started our time at Turtle Bay by crossing the Sundial Bridge, a popular landmark in this town. After this we spent some time inside the museum and saw exhibits about snow, A.I. and gold mining. Then we ventured outside and the kids happily played in their outdoor area. A zip line, GIANT slide and trail with live animals (raccoon, fox, eagle, and owls to name a few) were all a big hit. Would 100 percent recommend this place for families with kids.

After the museum we checked into our hotel (I cannot remember where we stayed this night) and then we got dinner from From the Hearth Kitchen and Pie Shop. Redding surprised us. It’s a great city centrally located to a lot of great spots. Prices were reasonable here too and it could be a home base to explore this region of California. They also claim to be California’s sunniest city, so there’s that too.

Day 10 Chico, Lincoln and Auburn

We enjoyed some free hotel breakfast and then headed out towards Gold Mine Country. We stopped at Dutch Bros, along the way. I’ve wanted to try it since this Dude Dad Youtube video. I tried their version of a peppermint mocha.

As we drove we had an excellent view of Mt Shasta, which is crazy because it was still an hour away.

Chico and the National Yo-Yo Museum

We stopped in Chico about half way through the drive to go to the National Yo-Yo Museum and see the world’s largest public collection of yo yo’s. They are also home to the world’s largest wooden working yo-yo.

Chico was a really cute town. The leaves were absolutely gorgeous right now, in full color changing mode. I think we picked a perfect time to visit California. Back home our leaves were brown or on the ground. It was like we cheated time and got to have two falls this year.

Lincoln

We walked around the town for a bit then continued on to Lincoln. Lincoln is one of the small cities that has seen a boom in population since Covid. We stopped and got takeout from La Villa Mexican Food and ate it in a lovely little park nearby. There was picnic tables and the leaves were also still changing color here.

After lunch we stopped at a thrift store on our walk back to the car. I was curious what thrift stores were like in California. This one was pretty similar to Maine.

Auburn

We continued onto Auburn, stopping a farm stand that sold mandarins and persimmons. We got to talk with an employee who passionately taught us about the fruit. She let us sample some and her love for the fruit was so contagious. She showed us a prickly pear cactus too.

We arrived at our hotel in Auburn, The Best Western Golden Key. Another great hotel that Jamie found us. It was clean, safe and had free breakfast. Jamie booked all the hotels this trip and did a fantastic job. Any of the hotels we stayed at I would 100 percent recommend to others. The kids wanted to go in the hotel pool but it was outside and not heated so they settled on the the hot tub instead.

We had snacks for dinner since we were all pretty full of Mexican from lunch.

Day 11 Marshall Gold Discover State Park, Columa and San Jose

Marshall Gold Discovery Park, Columa

We ate free hotel breakfast (Jamie’s goal became attempting to find us hotels with free breakfast) and then checked out of our hotel and headed to Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park in Columa. This state park is home to the exact spot where the gold rush began.

The Museum

We started our morning here by walking through the museum; a combination of actual artifacts and replicas from the gold rush days and information about the gold rush presented in writing, audio and video format. We also picked up a free Junior Ranger Booklet. The kids could complete activities throughout their visit and turn the book in for a free junior ranger badge.

Gold Panning

After some time in the museum we learned to pan for gold. It was 10 dollars per person for a brief lesson by a park ranger, a small bottle to hold any treasures found and about 45 minutes to try and pan for gold. This was 100 percent worth the cost. The park ranger was phenomenal, very passionate about the subject and so good with the kids.

Sutter’s Mill Replica

After the kids panned for gold we continued exploring the park. We saw multiple buildings that replicated what you would have seen during the gold rush. We saw Sutter’s Mill and the exact spot that James Marshall found gold.

This ended up being another big highlight of the trip for me and I was pleasantly surprised how into the kids got. I think the three of us could have spent all day here, but we called it good after four hours.

The original plan had been to drive more of highway 49 and see some other gold rush spots but we all felt pretty satiated with this topic after spending the morning here. We decide to change plans and after a quick picnic lunch we headed towards San Jose and Silicon Valley.

San Jose

It was a long, busy full of traffic drive (not a fan of highway 5) but we finally made it to San Jose. We checked into our hotel (I can’t remember the name of this one either!) then headed to the nearby Westfield Valley mall because we were curious what a mall was like in California. This was an experience. Malls in Maine are dead or dying with very little people, stores or food. This was not the case here in San Jose. This mall was packed, full of stores and had a food court full of options. We ate dinner in the food court and felt like we were back in 2001.

After dinner I got a Boba tea and then we headed into the Lego store for a bit. They had a build your own mini Lego Figure section and the kids were thrilled. This is something they have wanted to do for awhile and they had a blast. For 12.95 they each got to design three mini figures and add accessories.

This unexpected night was also one of my favorite parts of the trip.

Day 12 Capitola and Monterey

Capitola

After enjoying free hotel breakfast we left San Jose stopping at Peets for coffee for Jamie and I tried my third peppermint mocha of the trip. It was definitely my favorite so far.

We headed back to the coast and stopped in Capitola. This was an adorable beach town.

We hung out at the beach for a couple of hours. The kids played in the sand and water happily.

We got lunch from Mijo’s Taqueria a quick walk away from the beach.

Monterey

Next we decided to bring this trip full circle and end it where we began in Monterey.

We checked into our hotel, Days Inn Monterey Downtown. This hotel was so cheap (something like 60 dollars a night!!) and the rooms were all updated, large and impeccably clean. The people caring for these rooms go the extra mile The beds were made perfectly in a way I could never replicate and the towels were folded like origami. The outside of the building is so well cared for too. There is no free breakfast but they do have free granola bars and juice in the mornings. It was walking distance to lots of shops, restaurant’s and even a Trader Joes. This would be an awesome spot to use as a home base while exploring the nearby areas.

We were in the room for a bit then headed to Fisherman’s Wharf where we got dinner at London Bridge Pub

Day 13 Ano Nuevo State Park and San Bruno

Trader Joes

We started our day with oatmeal in the room and then a walk to Pete’s coffee. A happy discovery was a Trader Joes right next to it! Trader Joe’s is a favorite and we have missed having one close by since moving. We of course went in and explored. We found our Christmas star cookies that we love to take home with us and the kids found the hidden animal and got their free lollipops.

Then we went to Parker Lusseau Bakery and got one last morning bun and chocolate croissant.

We walked back to the hotel, checked out and drove up CA 1 North towards the airport.

Ano Nuevo State Park

We stopped at Ano Nuevo State Park along the way. Jamie (and only Jamie somehow) got pooped on by a bunch of pelicans on the walk in to the beach…a lot…but was a good sport about.

We played in the waves and sand for an hour or so and soaked up some last California sun and ocean air before walking back to the car and having a picnic at one of their tables and hanging out a bit longer.

San Bruno

We continued to drive up route 1 until we arrived at our hotel in San Bruno. Our hotel here was a five minute drive to the airport and we were pleasantly surprised by San Bruno. We got Hana Hawaiian BBQ take out for dinner. It was amazing.

Day 14 Headed Home! Wednesday November 29

We ate free hotel breakfast, packed up and headed to the airport. Honestly we were dreading this travel day home but shouldn’t have. Our flight was able to leave early and was the smoothest flight I have ever experience. There were zero vomit bags needed. Somehow it only took us five hours to get back to Boston. We hopped off the plane and were able to get to the area where the bus picks up just in time to get on an earlier bus. It was a quick bus ride and an easy zero traffic drive back home. We still arrived home after midnight, but much earlier then we originally anticipated. So thankful for such a smooth trip back.

This whole trip was an absolute dream and I am so grateful that we had the opportunity to do this with our children. I know how unbelievably lucky we are. It was such a reset for us and a reminder of what we really need and what’s important. It forced us to slow down and be present and reminded me how wonderful life is when you do this and open yourself up for what the universe wants to present to you.