Help Planning a Vacation???

[theokieangler]

I had pretty much resigned myself to not being able to take a vacation (again!) this year...

But, I just had some frequent flyer miles thrown at me that need to be burned and am suddenly faced with too many destination options!

(image courtesy of http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/routemap.html)

My fiance Reese still isn't too into fly fishing yet, but she does love the outdoors and is pretty content reading/sunning/napping/taking pics/etc while I fish, but I'd still like to find a place where she can have something to do if she doesn't feel like spending a day on the water.

My west coast experience was pretty limited to the Santa Barbara area (a couple of weekend trips to the kern mixed in there), so pretty much all of the options would be something new to us (and she's only been to Seattle). I was thinking Tahoe would be a good place, seems like it would be pretty easy to find something for us to do if she didn't feel like fishing a day or two. Open for any suggestions!!!

We're thinking aug 1-8 will work best for us, so we aren't going to have a ton of time to plan, but I think we'll be able to put something fun together!!

[stanbery]

Tahoe is a nice place to visit and it does have the truckee river.
Visitor center info
http://www.visitinglaketahoe.com/?source=Adwords&gclid=CKGP_v215psCFcZM5QodqUOt6A

Truckee River Info
http://www.flyfishingtahoe.com/
http://www.renoflyshop.com/

Another option would be Yosemite Valley. Reese would really love this area.
http://www.nationalparkreservations.com/yosemite.htm?gclid=COy9wuq25psCFc5L5Qod1VKF5g
http://www.nps.gov/yose/
http://www.yosemitepark.com/
http://www.yosemite.national-park.com/
Some pictures of the area




And if you can get Papa(Jon) to give you some info on the place.

Jon

[theokieangler]

Thanks Jon. Lots of good links to check out.

I was thought that Yosemite would be a good choice too. Reese has been talking about wanting to see some giant sequoia's! Is the park really crowded this time of year?

I was thinking maybe fly into sacramento, rent a car, spend a day/night in napa to check out a winery or two... then head over to yosemite. It's a tough choice, too many options and not enough time! ha

Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction,

ward

[rayfound]

Flying into Sacramento and out of Reno would allow you to cover a lot of interesting ground without having to double-back.

[briansII]

Tahoe is very nice, as is Yosemite. Both will be crowded this time of year, but Aug. should be a bit better than July. If you can put your vacation off till Sept, that would even be better. Both areas have fishing, but both will have lower, warmer waters in the streams. Not ideal time of year to trout fish in the State. The Napa idea sounds great, and the weather is much cooler towards the coast, than it is inland. Not much trout/fishing in the Napa area, but still very much worth a visit.

If you decide on either Tahoe, or Yosemite, I would check the links Jon provided, on reservations. Yosemite can be booked up early in the year. There is a new hotel just outside of the west Park entrance. You shouldn't have a problem finding a place in Tahoe, but....... The South Shore has all the casinos. It's closer to the Carson drainage, and Hope Valley.....and Desolation Wilderness(lots of trails and small lakes) The North(and west)Shore is closer to the Truckee, and IMHO, a nicer area to stay at. If Reno appeals to you, it's relatively close to Tahoe/Truckee.

The Sacramento Valley up to Redding is going to be HOT. Plan accordingly. Should be a chilly 105 in central Ca. today.

briansII

[theokieangler]

Flying into Sacramento and out of Reno would allow you to cover a lot of interesting ground without having to double-back.

Glad you said this Ray... definitely a great idea.

The tentative plans are now:

Fly into San Fran (even closer to napa than sac) and spend a day or two in Napa. I think we'll probably spend the night in San Fran (hour drive doesn't seem too bad) to save a bit of money. Seems tough to stay in Napa without throwin' down some serious dough. After we experience the wine country, we'll head to Yosemite to check out some Sequoia's, do some hiking, and of course get in some fishing. Haven't decided how long we'll stay yet, but I thought it might be cool to head up to the Tahoe area and fish the Truckee or little truckee before flying out of Reno.

Thanks for the PMs... the plans still aren't set in stone, so keep 'em comin if you think I'm leaving something out or that I should switch em out! Destinations may change depending on if we can find affordable lodging! Have the honeymoon coming up in may and I'm not trying to drop everything I have on this one

Thanks again!

[mk4]

Fly into San Fran (even closer to napa than sac) and spend a day or two in Napa. I think we'll probably spend the night in San Fran (hour drive doesn't seem too bad) to save a bit of money. Seems tough to stay in Napa without throwin' down some serious dough. After we experience the wine country, we'll head to Yosemite to check out some Sequoia's, do some hiking, and of course get in some fishing. Haven't decided how long we'll stay yet, but I thought it might be cool to head up to the Tahoe area and fish the Truckee or little truckee before flying out of Reno.

For NorCal, the water will be quite warm for the next month or two. This includes the Truckee, although there is some cold water in the Truckee system, I just don't know if I'd want to drive all the way across the state to fish one stretch of river (I have and I sometimes wonder about myself).

If you do end up in Norcal, the best fishing will probably be a drift down the lower Sac. Contact The Fly Shop in Redding. If you can pack along some camping gear, you can travel relatively cheap. From SF you can make it to the Lost Coast in a few hours. Usal, Westport-Union Landing State, Clam Beach, etc... There's tons of beach front camping along the coast with spectacular ocean views. Take a drive along 101 or the 1, stop at a seafood joint and eat some oysters, clams and seafood along with some local wines.

If it were me I'd head further north to Seattle, New York, etc... I'd even think twice about making it a fishing trip and maybe go to New York or Boston, catch a Red Sox vs. Yankees game at Fenway. But if you do go to Norcal, PM and I'll give you some info.

[theokieangler]

Thanks for the info mk4. Afraid drifting won't be in the budget though.

I'm going to gather up all the camping gear this evening and see how effeciently I can pack it. If I can get it on the plane, I'd definitely like to have it. We've been having a hard time finding a place to stay at Yosemite (booked up), and having tents/sleeping bags would make life a lot easier. I'd still prefer to find a place to stay though, I know Reese would appreciate AC/showers/etc.

If Truckee really isn't worth the effort I guess we could always book a couple extra days in Yosemite, plenty to do and see around there.

[theokieangler]

Hope it's not annoying that I ask so many questions

I'm striking out when it comes to finding lodging at Yosemite... Think I'll have to find a way to fly with all the camping gear. Since this is such a last minute deal, getting a campsite reservation is a no-go. Any of you have any experience with the first come-first serve areas? How early do you think would be early enough to get in to grab a site? I was thinking we'd try to camp Mon, Tues, and Wed nights (maybe thurs/fri night too if Truckee/Tahoe turns out to be a mistake). I was thinking the crowds would thin out a touch following a weekend and we'd have a better shot.

Any suggestions based on aesthetics? Was thinking I'd try White Wolf or Tuolumne Meadows first, the bathrooms are appealing. The happier Reese stays the better off we both are If it came down to it, I'm sure one of the other campgrounds with the vault toilets and no potable water would work too. I don't think she'd mind as much once she was out there!

Thanks again for all the help!!

[stanbery]

Check in Oakhurst for a place to stay
http://travela.priceline.com/hotel/searchResults.do?jsk=2003010a2103010a20090723074552975b11317259&key=fxh6io7o&showDP=y

Here is another one
http://www.yosemitethisyear.com/resthotmot.php

http://www.yosemitethisyear.com/index.php

Campsites in the area
http://www.yosemitethisyear.com/outdoors.php#RV

Jon

[briansII]

These are some of the options outside of the Park. The Yosemite View is the one I mentioned above. It's new and right on the Merced River. Cedar Lodge is older, but not a bad place. It's across the street from the river.

http://jrabold.net/yosemite/lodgn140.shtml

briansII

[briansII]

From experience, I would think the best thing to do (during the summer season) is stay the helll away from Yosemite Proper and it's overcrowded lodging. Just too many tourists and not enough places to hide. Staying in Mammoth or Bishop would offer many more possibilities - and hot showers for your gal. Just something else to invade your brain.

To further Doc's suggestions, here is a stat on 2007 visitors to the Park. "3.6 million"

http://www.nps.gov/yose/naturescience/p ... istics.htm

Yosemite is beautiful, and definitely someplace you want to take your gal to. IMHO, winter is the best time. It's stunning/breathtaking then, and there's not nearly the people as in the summer. But if you have your heart set on it, and can find a place to stay, go for it!

briansII

[theokieangler]

Well... The trip is finally set in stone... WHEW!

We worried that we might feel rushed trying to fit in Napa/Yosemite/Tahoe all in a week, so we decided to cut Tahoe from the list. We're going to fly into Reno on Sat and drive through Tahoe to check it out on our way down to the cinnamon bear inn in Mammoth Lakes. It was a lucky find, literally everywhere was booked... but we ended up with running water, flushing toilets, hot showers, and even a full kitchen. Definitely wont have to worry about Reese being comfortable any more, ha! I think we'll try to knock out the touristy stuff in an afternoon and spend the rest of the time exploring and doing some fun high sierras fly fishing.

We're going to leave Wed afternoon and head to San Fran. Lucked out there too... Reese found some trendy joint (cant remember the name, will have to check when I get home from work) that had a buy 2 nights get 1 free deal so it turned out to be pretty reasonable. I figure she's making an effort to be "outdoorsy" I can bite my lip and be trendy for a couple of nights ha. Don't have much of a to-do list for San Fran/Napa, figure we can just wing it and be ok. Heard about some platypus tour that would take us to some wineries, might check that out. Any thing in particular we'd be crazy not to go check out?

Really want to thank you all for your help... As a "big trip" planning rookie... I definitely appreciate all the advice/info/suggestions that you gave. Really glad I was pointed to this forum a while back. Thanks again!

Ward