Romantic Anniversary In and Around Sausalito
Author: David Reichman

For an unforgettable anniversary near one of the most
vibrant cities in the world, add Sausalito, California to
your Road Trip Planner. Sausalito is a picturesque bayside
town with a great waterfront area. There are houseboats
and flower-lined side streets, quirky stores and plenty of
places to dine, most with a view of the bay. It's also
very near the Redwoods (Muir Woods, about 8 miles), a
couple of beaches within 20 minutes (Muir Beach, Stinson
Beach), Angel Island & Tiburon just a tad north, and of
course, San Francisco about 15 minutes south.

You'll find a broad range of hotels to suit your budget.
Consider indulging yourself at the Casa Madrona Hotel & Spa
($200-$405/night) that's right on the waterfront (street
side) and where every room has a view of Richardson Bay.
Another good option is The Inn Above Tide, which sits right
over the water ($305 to $1025/night). Both hotels are on
Bridgeway, the main street in Sausalito. If a less
expensive hotel fits your budget better, add one of the
following hotels to your road trip planner: Hotel Sausalito
(a bit of French Riviera on the park in Sausalito) starting
at $155 or one of the others in the low $100s/night range.

Sausalito attracts visitors from all over the world as
evidenced by the amount of different accents you overhear
as your stroll along the waterfront. And yet, Sausalito
manages to retain that "hidden gem" feeling. Another
standout was the number of exclamations, "Wow! Look at
that skyline!" Pictures were taken in abundance, and
deservedly so.

Another favorite activity to add to your road trip planner
is to rent bicycles in San Francisco, then plan a full day
where you ride from San Francisco, over the Golden Gate
Bridge, coast into Sausalito, even venture further north
into Tiburon if you're so inclined, then take the ferry
back to San Francisco from either Sausalito and Tiburon. I
snapped a photo of the last ferry leaving Sausalito showing
that the majority of passengers came with bikes.

Below are some examples of the things you can do in this
area. Adding these to your road trip planner will give you
a varied (and full) vacation!

Day 1 - Sausalito's Waterfront: Bridgeway is the main
thoroughfare but on the next street up the hill, Caledonia,
you'll find a movie theatre, an historic hardware store,
antique shops, dining spots, and art galleries. Definitely
worth a visit. A travel tip: You can get free wireless in
and around the library. You'll also find free wireless in
a few of the coffee shops on Bridgeway.

Day 2 - Muir Woods: There are many hiking options
available to experience the California Redwoods, from an
easy 1/2 hour stroll to a strenuous 4.5 uphill Ocean View
loop. While there, I spotted a number of bus tours that
went to Muir Woods: www.SFShuttletours.com, Tower Tours,
www.city-sightseeing.us.

Day 3 - Alcatraz Island: We lucked out with a docent
connection who gave us a private tour so we got to
experience a unique Alcatraz! He took the stairs two at a
time to show us Al Capone's cell, the Birdman's cell and
also where Clint Eastwood stayed during the filming of the
movie, Escape From Alcatraz. The ferry takes up to 300
passengers at a time and when you arrive, the group is
split into three groups of 100, each led by a docent. The
ferry is located near Pier 39 so you can easily make a day
of it between the Pier activities and shops and Alcatraz.
A travel tip: Save $ by parking after 4 p.m.; you can even
find some free parking on Bay Street (which Ts onto the
Embarcadero).

Day 4 - The Lighthouse Cafe is a small dining
establishment with 5 tables and 8 bar chairs. They are open
from 6:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. and while we were there, all the
tables were kept full. Being the only Danish place in town,
I went for the Copenhagen Burger with remoulade. Tasty!
Then it was off to Muir Beach for some primetime kite
flying. A travel tip: Games People Play on Bridgeway in
Sausalito has a large inventory of cool kites (I picked up
an 18-foot frog kite but there are others that are more
than 60-feet long!).

You might just need to tack on a few more days to your road
trip planner because both Angel Island and Tiburon are also
worth exploring while you're in and around Sausalito.


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