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Just like the Beverly Hillbillies, California is the place that our family of 8 has got to be! This was a trip that I had been planning for awhile but had not gotten around to actually booking. Thankfully in our case, procrastination (which I’m really bad at) did not bite us too badly and I was able to get the trip booked with no problem.
[The horrible thing that happened when I put off booking my hotel room]
Booking our trip
Originally I had thought about using Barclay Arrival miles to book a flight on Frontier. CVG-SFO has gone on sale as low as $49 but as time got closer to needing to go, the cheapest flights we saw were $79 one way and $109. For $200+ I figured I’d fly a “real” problem.
Once again, miles and points to the rescue!
Delta continues to have great availability at the saver level in economy. Just like when we were flying back from Seattle, American and United had nothing available but Delta had great availability for 8 people, even on the direct SFO-CVG nonstop
It’s even “on sale” for only 11,000 Skymiles one way. “On sale” in quotes since Delta doesn’t actually have an award chart, so the price is whatever they feel like.
A few days ago they “only” had 5 seats at the 11,000 level but this morning they had all 8, so I went ahead and booked it. 70,000 Skymiles from my surprise 2nd lifetime bonus on an Amex card and 106,000 transferred from American Express (boo to US excise fees)
Where we’re staying
We are still trying to figure out where we’ll stay – I had hoped that the Staybridge Suites Sacramento Airport Natomas would be on the newly released IHG Point Breaks list (it’s been on several times before) but alas, it was not.
We’ll probably spend 1-2 days down at Yosemite and 1-2 days in the Bay Area as well
Things to do?
Anyone have any suggestions for things to do in northern California? As we mentioned, we’ll probably do a day or 2 in Yosemite and then go to the Bay Area as well.
I have been to San Francisco once before, but only for 4 hours on my way back after I taped my episode of Wheel of Fortune
But it was a true whirlwhind tour – in addition to the above pic overlooking the Golden Gate bridge, I drove down Lombard Street, went to Ghirardelli Chocolate and Fisherman’s Wharf and that was about at.
So California experts – where should I go / stay? And maybe we’ll have to have a San Fran reader meetup as well while we’re out there!
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
Sorry for the spam Dan, but I just posted about a potential option for ya today! Could work if you’re trying to get rid of some Hilton points.
https://ez-journeys.com/2017/02/01/the-first-good-value-bay-area-hilton-award-redemption-ive-ever-seen/
Thanks for the tips – I’ll make sure and check them out!
If you have kids, then you should check out the Exploratorium and the Ferry Building downtown, and/or California Academy of Sciences & Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. Plus walk across the Golden Gate Bridge.
Do I have kids????? 🙂
Thanks for the tips – I’ll be sure to check that out
Hey Dan! Welcome! Here are my tips: http://pointsandpixiedust.boardingarea.com/fun-things-to-do-in-san-francisco/#sthash.CzqcBCBr.dpbs
Thanks Kendra!
Here’s what I would recommend – stay in peninsula area near the airport so you are close to Millbrae Bart station.
Day1 — take Bart to SF and get off at Embarcadero (the last stop in the city). Walk through Ferry Plaza if you like or save it for end of the day. Take the California Street Cable Car line from the entrance of Hyatt Regency, up to Nob Hill where Fairmont and Grace Cathedral (worth a stop, it is beautiful). There is usually no line for this cable car line. And from Fairmont walk a few blocks north to Sacramento Street, and walk downhill towards Chinatown. Spend a few hours there browsing stores. Then walk down Columbus street and have lunch in little Italy area (Stinky Rose is a great place with awesome roasted garlic). After lunch, walk down towards Embarcadero, you can hit Pier 39 or Exploratorium or both.
Day2 – take Hwy280 to 19th Avenue and visit Golden Gate park, especially California Academy of Science. Stop by Palace of Fine Art and Legion of Honor for photos or skip it. Drive further across Golden Gate bridge, or you can drive there just to walk the bridge (but it will be cold). Across the bridge is a small lovely town Sausalito. Once back in the city, go towards Ocean Beach/Cliff House.
Yosemite is a bit of a drive (5-6 hours) from Sac. I really don’t recommend the Natomas area, it’s not a tourist area. The only thing I can think of slightly interesting in Sac is old town. It’s a cute western style town with a fantastic railroad museum. The museum is worth a stop.
Areas within reach of the the Bay Area include:
Monterey (2 hrs)
Carmel (2.15)
Napa (1 hr)
SF (others have covered that)
Yosemite really is a more of a destination than a place within easy reach of other attractions.
I agree, the railroad museum in Old Sac is definitely worth it. We took my 10 year old granddaughter last year and she loved it. There is an Embassy Suites across the street from Old Sac that has beautiful views of the river.
Muir Woods National Monument was a huge hit with my family. Stunning place!
We drove to San Jose to visit the Winchester Mystery House and that was also a kid-friendly tour.
My kids loved Alcatraz! Book it ahead of time.
Psh. SF doesn’t qualify as “Northern California”. Come visit *real* northern California behind the Redwood Curtain. You can pretend to visit a redwood forest at Muir Woods, but we have the real deal.
I would LOVE to more about the “real” Northern California. You might say that I am eagerly awaiting any and all posts with information about said Northern California 😛
I live in the Bay Area and can help provide suggestions if you can share more info about your kids’ ages and what types of things your family enjoys. Outdoor, active stuff, museums, etc. Will you be staying in San Francisco?
Pam I have 6 kids from 16 to 4 – 3 boys and 3 girls. We enjoy a lot of different things. We’ll be in SF proper probably only 2 days / nights
Dan, if I had only 2 days in SF, I would focus on outdoor activities since the area is so beautiful, and not do the museums as every city has them. Here is my list of top things to see and do (not in any order). Pick and choose those most suited for your family and their interests.
-Walk the Golden Gate Bridge (even if it’s sunny it’ll be cold)
-Alcatraz (gotta book tickets in advance, includes the ferry ride to the island so great view of the bay and the GG Bridge)
-Chinatown (visit the fortune cookie factory, have dim sum, visit Stockton St. where the locals shop)
-Muir Woods (for redwoods)
-Baker Beach for an unforgettable view of the GG Bridge
-Walk up and down Lombard Street (your boys will love it)
-Sausalito, Tiberon, or Angel Island via ferry
-Fisherman’s Wharf (have a meal there)
I purposely left out some of the more touristy places such as Pier 39 and Ghiradelli Square.
Have fun!
My Brother moved from CLEVELAND to SF a few years ago, and while he has no kids, here’s my suggestions:
Alcatraz, Muir Woods/Bridge Combo, Warf area if you have the $, and Ameba Music record store if youre into sounds / Haight Ashbury wouldnt scare them.
The Science Center there is sweet, and the older ones might like the DeYoung Art Museum right next to it.
Yosemite is an INCREDIBLE National Park, worthy of its own visit… But alas, its a 4-7 hour drive, and its REALLY hard to find cheap stays there if you don’t do the ‘Yurt/Tent’ deal for $59 a night… its SUPER cold in Sept, guessing its too cold to even do that in Feb. The only hotels with points redemptions are on the 1.5 hours away area into the park region… But its a lot of beauty once you get there.