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to stay at this vintage-1950s ocean-side motel to listen to the seals, which have since migrated to Fisherman’s Wharf. Rooms need updating (think 1970s rumpus-room style), but they’re big and most sleep up to four people. All have refrigerators; some have kitchens. It’s good for families who want to spend time at the beach and hiking the coastal trails. Reserve way ahead for the upgraded 3rd-floor fireplace rooms. A heated pool (summer only) and Ping-Pong keep the kids from getting antsy. There’s wi-fi in the lobby.

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EXCURSIONS

* * *

METROPOLITAN LIFE

NATURE

PICTURESQUE TOWNS

BEACHES

OAKLAND & BERKELEY

OAKLAND

BERKELEY

MARIN COUNTY

MARIN HEADLANDS

MUIR WOODS & MUIR BEACH

SAUSALITO & TIBURON

MT TAMALPAIS

ANGEL ISLAND

WINE COUNTRY

NAPA VALLEY

SONOMA VALLEY

RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY

HEALDSBURG & DRY CREEK VALLEY

POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE

EATING

SLEEPING

THE ROAD SOUTH

SAN FRANCISCO TO HALF MOON BAY

HALF MOON BAY TO SANTA CRUZ

SANTA CRUZ

* * *

Cross the Golden Gate into Marin County and you would never know you were in the USA’s fifth-largest metropolitan area. Within an hour’s drive you’ll discover primordial redwood groves, long rocky beaches, fragrant eucalyptus groves, fern-laced waterfalls and sweeping hilltop vistas of the Pacific Ocean. Head east and you’ll reach the culture centers of Berkeley and Oakland. And then there’s Wine Country – provenance of some of the world’s greatest vintages – where rolling hills turn the color of lion’s fur in summer, and lazy rivers cut serpentine paths to the sea. Take our advice: get out of town.

The East Bay is inextricably linked with San Francisco, and Oakland and Berkeley feel almost like boroughs of SF. But don’t be deceived: they’re cities in their own right, each with its own character and soul. Around the time of the dot-com boom (1996 to 2000), working-class Oakland benefited from a huge influx of San Franciscans prospecting for cheaper rents, and these days its formerly depressed art deco downtown is looking pretty spiffy. Berkeley remains as contradictory and politically complex as its reputation suggests. Liberal and elitist all at once, the little city derives its vibrant energy from its famous university; North Berkeley’s skirt-and-sweater matrons provide a counterpoint to the hippie-grunge around campus. Marin County, on the other hand, goes to great lengths to remain separate. Its citizens successfully blocked both a freeway up the coast and BART trains from infiltrating its borders. As a result, Marin looks pretty much as it always has, with small towns, dense woodlands and rolling hills.

It’s a quick ferry, bus, train or car ride to the East and North Bay regions. Though not all destinations listed in this chapter are easily accessible without a car, you’ll find plenty of nearby opportunities to muddy your hiking boots, bone up on your Shakespeare, get sand in your shorts, and purple your tongue with the latest vintages.

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METROPOLITAN LIFE

Just a few BART stops from San Francisco, downtown Oakland has a prominent African American community, much larger than anywhere else in the Bay Area. The city has a gritty, atmospheric Chinatown, elegant art deco architecture along Broadway (the main downtown street) and excellent restaurants within blocks of Lake Merritt. BART also accesses the city’s more affluent Rockridge neighborhood – on the Berkeley–Oakland border – known for top-notch shopping and dining. To reach Berkeley, hop back on BART and transfer trains to the Richmond line. Berkeley’s compact downtown is worth a stroll, but the adjacent university campus is most compelling. Students spill off campus onto Telegraph Ave, the location of some of the Bay Area’s best book and record stores – but be prepared for panhandlers, drug-addled former hippies and grunge. North Berkeley, up Shattuck Ave, couldn’t be more different: locals call it the ‘Gourmet Ghetto,’ and you’d be hard-pressed to spot a tattooed skateboarder within eyeshot of legendary Chez Panisse.