Another beautiful area of the United States, the west coast of California and Oregon, an area with many
vineyards, four star restaurants and historical lighthouses. Along the West coast is one of the National Park
wonders, the Redwood National park, which is an awesome visit in the shaded park during the mild California summers. Summer vacations to the west coast are breath taking both from a tour perspective and a self-drive vacation. This self drive designed vacation from Star Banquets and Travel is another best of the best vacations of 2011. A Globus tour is also detailed that expands a little further east to additional National Parks and further North through Washington to Seattle. We will detail a few of the incredible wineries in both California and Oregon. Read about some of the best hotels starting in San Francisco then heading North and some of the best four star restaurants. Such incredible vacations make some wonder if going overseas is necessary to find the best of the best vacations. Knowing that wineries is part of this West coast vacation article, the Sonoma Valley will obviously bea major focus but, we first get settled in San Francisco, one of the best culinary cities in the U.S. A choice locations to settle in San Francisco for a couple days is the Hotel Adagio, which is a Joie de Vivre Boutique Hotel. The hotel is located near Union Square, which offers an astonishing selection of antique shops, art galleries, bars, cafés, coffee, department stores and some of the best restaurants in the country. Take a stroll after dinnerand choose from five ice cream and sweet shops. First choice for dinner is simple, Fisherman’s Wharf and Star Banquets and Travel offers many selections on our San Francisco website, www.sanfranciscoreservations.info for Fisherman’s Wharf than include Fog Harbor Fish House, Fishermen’s Grotto #9, Alioto’s, Ana Mandara who is on our top 2011 picks. Ana Mandara is our top pick for the first night in San Francisco. With 171 reviews on OpenTable.com alone, a menu that is as unique as they come, and a menu layout that is just quite interesting
and will bring the curiosity out of anyone. Highlights of their menu, starting with appetizers, Vietnamese crispy
rolls, crabmeat, shrimp, & Shiitake mushrooms; or another that will catch the eye, seared beef Carpaccio,
julienne Papaya – green Apple, Tamarine sauce and Shrimp crackers. The menu offers many choices, it is quite large and entrées include fish of the day dusted with Wasabi, sautéed Brussel sprouts and fried green tomatoes served with chili – honey mustard sauce. Those who are not seafood fans, the menu brings a Prime Filet Mignon with grilled pineapple, sautéed mushrooms, crunchy sweet rice cake and pineapple sauce or try the slow roasted Sonoma duck breast with Daikon (Turnips) cake and long beans served with Pinenut sauce.
Whether a long day of travel was required for your visit to San Francisco will determine as to one or two
nights in San Francisco. So, when you are rested, excited, ready to move on, the next leg of the vacation is heading north to a tour of Sonoma Valley wineries. The plan for Sonoma winery is a day of touring of your choice of Vineyards to visit while driving through beautiful countryside then settling in at The Lodge at Sonoma Resort & Spa by Renaissance. Guided tours of Sonoma and Napa Valleys are available through California Wine Tours, which you can view online at www.californiawinetours.com. If you prefer to discover the vineyards/ wineries yourself, some of the key vineyards are Benziger Family Winery, Gundlach Bundschu Winery, St. Francis Winery, Bartholomew Park Winery, Kenwood Vineyards, Valley of the Moon Winery,
B.R. Cohn Winery and Ravenswood Winery. Planning to stay two days is important so to also enjoy the amenities of the resort, The Lodge at Sonoma Resort & Spa. They advertise to come and relax, indulge, play and savor. That is so true with what the four star resort offers. The Raindance Spa is exhilarating as they offer body scrubs, messagesand go as far as to offer astrology readings. “Raindance Spa offers treatments that draw upon the natural healing properties of the region’s herbs, plants, minerals and fruits, including lavender and grape seed.” But, there is much more the resort offers that include an outdoor pool, spa tub, sauna and fitness center. The onsite Carneros Bistro Wine Bar was named one of the top 50 restaurants in the Bay Area by San Francisco Magazine. The restaurant is our top pick after the long day of vineyard touring. The second day though, after a day of relaxing you should feel fit to venture off to our top pick
restaurant for the evening. Redd is one of our top picks for dining, located in Napa Valley, the restaurant could be a choice pick for lunch as well. Redd has also received the Diners Choice award from OpenTable.com. Two highlights of their dinner menu are, a prime New York steak and short ribs, salt potatoes, bacon and Cipollini onion ragout; and second, Berkshire pork chop, sagepolenta, roasted artichokes and root vegetables. Menus will be part of the vacation planning package supplied by Star Banquets and Travel. Direct online booking is available at www.vacationsnationalpark.com or you can call Star Banquets and Travel for assistance in planning a personalized vacation. Now onto to the start of the sight seeing part of the vacation, which first is Redwood Forest NationalPark. “Most visitors know Redwood National and State Parks as home to the world's tallest trees—icons that inspirevisions of mist-laden primeval forests bordering crystal-clear streams. But did you know that the parks also protect vast
prairies, oak woodlands, and nearly 40 miles of wild coastline, all of which support a rich mosaic of wildlife
diversity and cultural traditions?” (U.S. National Park Service) If you wish to break up the drive to Oregon, then a couple choice spots are available from Eureka to Crescent City (see our booking links above). Two hotels in the area, the Carter House Inns, which is a luxury hotel is rated 3.5 stars but, a Red Lion Hotel thatis 1/3 of the cost is rated near the same at three stars. Details on Redwood National Park, things to do, trails is offered on VacationsNationalPark.com as well as dining stops along the way. and skiing. So, we did a little research and found a very good source about the Oregon lighthouses. Oregon seems to have many more lighthouses than the average state, even the east coast states such as Florida. The first lighthouse we will mention is that of thephoto above, Cape Blanco Light Station was built ona large plot of land covering over 45 acres. A house was built large enough to house two families. The first Fresnel lens was lit on December 20, 1870. The lighthouse is the oldest and continuously operated lighthouse in Oregon and
is the highest coastal light in Oregon rising 256 above sea level. The U.S. Coast Guard took over the lighthouse in 1939 and it stayed operation until 1987. The Coquille River Lighthouse is the 2nd of our Oregon light house tour, constructed during the 1890'sand lit for the first time on February 29th, 1896. The area was settled in the 1850s with the intention of developing a port for exporting lumber and other goods from the Coquille River Valley. The lighthouse was built on an Island but with the construction of a jetty, the island was connected to the mainland at in the early 1900s. The lighthouse had a short life due to a forest fire wiped out thetown in 1936, which resulted in closing down the lighthouse. Captain James Cook, a famous British explorer to name what is now Cap Argo, where the Cape Argo Lighthouse was built. He named in Cape Gregory when he sailed past the bay area. The area was renamed Cape Arago in 1778 and the lighthouse constructed atCape Argo was the first lighthouse built after Oregon became a state in 1859. The lighthouse has been rebuilt three times and sets on an island named Lighthouse Island but, also called Chief's Island. The last construction was of a permanent concrete construction in 1934 and is the youngest of the historical Oregon Lighthouse tour. The lighthouse base was setup with a life-saving organization and with one of the strongest Fresnel lights to serve as not just a light for the channel but for the area seacoast. This lighthouse was decommissioned in2006 and the lights removed and is not part of the historical tour for it is closed to the public. It serves as the historical landmark adding to the picturesque coastal sunsets and sunrises at the Sunset Bay Park. Lincoln is our suggested location for accommodations. Looking over small islets in picture perfect blue water and its residences of sea lions and seabirds with a Oregon sunset makes Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint one of our top choices on the Oregon Lighthouse tour. Cape Mears is at the north end of the "Three Capes Scenic Route and is open for public tours. The area well know for its Sitak Spruce trees and scenic rocky coast but, nothing beats watching the yearly migration of the whales from the high view points. Cape Meares also offers more than just the lighthouse with a national wildlife refuge, nature trails and picnic area. it was located on a 217 foot cliff and has a visibility of 21 miles. It is
the top choice of the scenic Oregon lighthouse tour. The picturesque area is a good stopping point to grab a
hotel and rest for an all day tour of the park. More detailed planning including hotels and restaurants can be found on 1 Touch Reservations for self-planning vacations.
Oregon wines are just as good as California wines and I have personally seen in many restaurants. Last night I tried A to Z Pinot Noir and it was very good. Sources are available in the members area of
1 Touch Reservations for planning wine tour vacations that include Oregon vineyards and wineries. You can view their featured tours at
www.orwinetours.com. They cover the Northern Willamette Valley from Portland to Salem and the Hood River Valley. Some of their featured wineries include Styring Vineyards, Vidon Vineyard, Anderson Family Vineyard, Cristom Vineyards, Natalies Estate Winery and Springhouse Cellar Winery.
