Tour the famous Winchester Mystery House! It's a lot of fun and not that spooky in the daytime. It takes a couple hours and is close by.
I've never been, but it's another wacky, fun touristy place. It's about a 45 min drive over a windy road, in Santa Cruz. Pair it with some exploring of the coast and find a nice place to eat.
This place is featured in movies like The Lost Boys. It's a nice place to stroll and there are restaurants nearby. If you don't like the carnival atmosphere, try Capitola or Natural Bridges State Beach. It probably won't be hot, but you can sit by the shore and enjoy the water.
Go see where Clint Eastwood was mayor. Carmel is a gorgeous, quaint town with lovely views of the coast, the 17 mile drive to Pebble Beach with views of gorgeous houses (wave to Brad Pitt). There's a fantastic Thai place and lot of nice places to eat. This is 2 hours away, so it's a full day trip
This is one of our favorite getaways. It's an outdoor spa that has hot tubs, saunas, steam rooms, cold plunges and areas to rest. If you brought your swimsuit, think about making a reservation. They recommend a specific order of going through the different areas to detoxify and relax. It's a SILENT, NO PHONE space. Think of it as a mini retreat. Probably not great for anyone with a heart condition. This is down in Carmel, so it's about 90 minutes from where we'll be. You need to make a reservation, so plan ahead!
This really is an amazing aquarium. If you're headed to Carmel, Monterey is next door. You'll want a few hours to explore, so this might be the main focus of the outing. It's on cannery row, which is a very touristy spot, but fun to drive through. We like the more chill Carmel area.
Gilroy has some nice outlet stores if you're up for shopping. It's about 45 min south. We sometimes pair it with a trip to San Juan Bautista, see separate entry.
There's great viewing of marine life year round in the Santa Cruz area. If you're feeling adventurous, and you're an early riser, head down--it's a 45 min drive south to get there
Some people like seeing the historical missions. We have one in San Juan Bautista, located in a town that feels like Old Mexico. You can check out the mission and then have lunch at Jardines de San Juan - with a sweet courtyard for dining. Food is usually tasty. We sometimes stop at the Gilroy outlets before or after. It's a little over an hour away.
There are tons of things to do in San Francisco. You can just drive around and get a flavor of the buildings, hilly streets, bridges and beautiful views everywhere. All the neighborhoods have different flavors. Pier 39 is very touristy and safe. Ghirardelli Square - can't go wrong. Scott loves Height-Ashbury for it's great music stores. I've linked an article to give you a sense of what there is. If you go, be prepared to spend money for parking and don't leave ANYTHING in your car. Go early and leave before dark, stay away from the Tenderloin district. Other than that, it's still a beautiful city. It's about an hour north.
If you want a museum day, it's in a beautiful location in San Francisco and this is the spot for the best art collections.
If you want to see some giant redwoods, Henry Cowell State Park is about a 40 minute drive through windy roads, but once you get to the park, it's a short, flat walk through some giants. Pay to park, otherwise, it's a long walk. Scott grew up in this area, so it's like a second home.
You're coming to Silicon Valley - want to learn about the history of computers? It's not everyone's cup of tea, but if you're a computer buff, you'll probably find it interesting. My dad liked it.
Our military buffs will enjoy a tour on the USS Hornet. My Dad obviously liked this one too. You get to go on the aircraft carrier. It's in Alameda which is a quaint island in the SF Bay