California Tour: Day 1, San Francisco

All photos by Dirtbag Darling

The end of January—it's the time of year when most East Coast natives are about ready to hang up their fleece hats and migrate to some sunnier shore (one without ice-coated windshields). Luckily for me, I work from my laptop, and my laptop can be anywhere I want it to be. So for the next two weeks, it'll be hop-scotching around California with me as I reconnect with business contacts and explore my favorite coast.

Day 1: San Francisco
Our trip out West started off with some hiccups. My boyfriend and I both forgot we had water in our Nalgenes and had to be escorted back through security. An inch of snow in Philadelphia meant a two hour delay in order for the plane to be de-iced, meaning we missed our connection in Dallas. But everything worked out in the end and we made it to San Francisco.

Lesson 1: Double and triple check your liquids are empty or in a travel-sized clear container before you get to the security line.

San Francisco is my favorite city in the country. It's clean, the people are friendly and the views are just incredible. There's so much history (Alcatraz is a must-see) and culture, but if you want to escape all the hustle and bustle, a short drive takes you over the Golden Gate Bridge to a few lookout points and trails. Now here's what struck me as odd: There are literally thousands of tourists and locals walking across the GGB and taking photos at the lookout points, but NONE of them took the trail we were on the entire time we were there. No one person!

Battery Wagner trail is only .3 miles long, winding through gorgeous forest and spilling you out at Kirby Cove, where you're treated to a secluded little beach campground site. We were alone down there for two hours, save for a group of kayakers who stopped to wait for the tide to change. We plan to head back there and camp out on Tuesday night if the weather permits.

Lesson 2: Budget some time to explore local foot trails and go beyond the lookout points. A little efforts makes for some mega rewards.

After our mini-hike, we drove down a single-lane road to explore more of the coastline and enjoy the sunset. We'd stocked up on non-perishable food at the Safeway in the city, so we could spend more time lost in the woods with our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches instead of fighting for parking in a crowded city and overpaying for food.

Lesson 3: Pack a lunch. You'll save time, money and stress, and you'll always be prepared.

On day two we're headed to Kirkwood Mountain near Lake Tahoe for some slope time, then it's back to the sun for Napa and Sonoma. Any suggestions of spots we need to check out?