San Francisco Part 1: Getting There

One of the loveliest things about going to San Francisco from Ventura is the drive.  We made the most of it & stopped at a few of our favorite places along the way.  We discovered that a couple stops are a must while on a long drive with a 6 and half month old!  Maverick got pretty bored in his car seat after a while (who would blame him) and really enjoyed our pit stop at the park in downtown Santa Cruz!

We spent a little time in sunny and warm Santa Cruz, which was one of our favorite weekend day trip spots when we lived in the City.  We stretched out our legs in the peaceful park at the end of downtown, where Maverick was happy to crawl and inspect the leaves.  If you drive up to San Francisco from the Central Coast, I highly suggest a break in Santa Cruz for lunch or just a rest.  It's a cute college beach town, which Toby loves because of how bicycle friendly it is!  We daydreamed of living here someday, since it retains a small-town feel, sits along the ocean, has great weather and is only about an hour away from San Francisco.

After taking a refreshing rest in lovely Santa Cruz, we headed off to the City!  But first, we had to stop at the amazing Swanton Berry Farm!  Swanton's is located along the Pacific coast in Davenport (between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay-one of my favorite stretches of coast in California) and grows organic strawberries, artichokes and a personal fav, olallieberries.  They encourage and support bicyclists, giving them a special discount when they ride to the farm.  Swanton's is simply a magical place to visit and of course, their homemade pies, jams and pastries are amazingly delicious.  They also welcome visitors to sit & relax in their cozy shack for as long as they want!  We bought a freshly made blackberry pie to give to our friends who hosted us in the City.  A must stop along your drive to San Francisco...and, if you have kiddos, you can pick your own berries!  What fun!

 
Be back with Part 2 of our San Francisco trip!  It includes lots of old favorite spots and a few new suggestions as well.  We had so much fun and traveling with a baby wasn't so bad.  Although I will say this: I am utterly exhausted!