Must See/Do in Sausalito??? Suggestions sought.

[michelem]

DH and I will be celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary at the Inn Above Tide in Sausalito in the beginning of April. We'll be taking the ferry over on a Friday, staying the night, and ferry back on Saturday. Check in is at 3pm and check out is at noon. I've confirmed with the Inn that they will keep our bags for us before/after check-in/check-out time so we can roam about unencumbered.

Any suggestions for must see/do options while we're there? It's a quick trip, and we'll be on foot. Unfortunately, no cycling (want to keep the peace -- DH finds road cycling "boring"; I find mountain biking "scary").

DH wants to do the night-time Alcatraz tour on our way home Saturday night. Sounds cheesey to me, but he thinks it'll be cool.

We're not much into artsy shops, for which I know that Sausalito is well-known. We like to hike/walk and DH is into learning about the history of stuff/places.

From what we hear, the rooms at the Inn are so fabulous we many not want to come out anyway. Tee hee!

Help???

[maillotpois]

I think that Alcatraz tour would be great. Totally touristy but fun and informative. Plus the night one sounds really fun - never done that one.

I think there may be some nice wine tasting bars in Sausalito. Also I have heard great things about the new Cavallo Point resort - maybe not walking distance but a quick and easy taxi ride from town: http://www.cavallopoint.com/

You could hike from there up into the headlands as well.

[Veronica]

We did the night Alcatraz tour several years ago. It was a lot of fun and I guess quite a bit different from the day tours with more interaction with the rangers.

Veronica

[NbyNW]

Dang -- I just checked the website for the Bay Model and it looks like they're closed until the end of May.

For history, there used to be a walking tour of the area where they used to build ships. They would tell you all about the role of the shipyard in building and repairing ships during WWII, and how a lot of Rosie the Riveters worked there. The docents seem to be associated with the Model, and I imagine they must still be able to run tours even if the Model is not available for viewing. It's worth giving them a call:

http://www.spn.usace.army.mil/bmvc/b...ship_tour.html

There might also be some easy-to-access trails up to the Marin Headlands &/or the Golden Gate Bridge. Visitors center for the GG Bridge is on the SF side, don't know if you'll have time for that.

Also, I used to rent kayaks out of a place called Sea Trek. That section of the Bay is beautiful, calm, and a manageable size. They're not far off the main drag either.

[michelem]

Thanks so much for all the suggestions!

I'm feeling a bit better about the Alcatraz tour now.

I'll be looking into all of these things and give you a full report upon our return.

[michelem]

Just wanted to give you all a little trip update:

On Friday morning, we started out at North Concord/Martinez BART, got off at Embarcadero and walked to the Ferry Building. Sure glad we used our REI 20% off and dividend to buy ourselves raincoats with hoods! Took the ferry to Sausalito and were able to get an early check-in to our room.

The Inn Above Tide was awesome. We had King Deluxe room (no fireplace, but we did have sunken jet tub). I highly suggest getting a Deluxe room so that you have the little private patio overlooking the ocean. They surprised us with a large bottle of organic sparkling cider to celebrate our anniversary (actually, at first it was going to be a 1/2 bottle of champagne, but when I explained we don't drink alcohol we got the cider -- it was from Healdsburg and really, really good). The buffet-style continental breakfast was really yummy -- I had irish style oats and fresh fruit; DH had pastries and fruit. We could have had it delivered to our room, but didn't. Lots of good (Numi?) teas and coffee.

After getting ourselves situated in our room, we ventured out in the rain to get some lunch -- sandwiches at the Geneva Delicatessen -- yummy.

Went back to the room and I put in my Bryan Kest Power Yoga dvd while DH napped. The room was small with the king size bed, but there was room enough to do yoga. The dvd player in the room was a nice touch. Apparently, they have over 700 dvd's to check out, but we didn't end up borrowing any.

The weather finally cleared around 6pm, so I went out on the patio and took some photos of the beautiful view. Then we went walking around town. It didn't take long, as Sausalito is a pretty small town. The shops close up by 7pm and our dinner reservation wasn't 'til 9:30pm (note: make reservations a few days in advance! Making them earlier on the same day you want to eat doesn't leave many choices!). We hung out in a little Italian cafe, drinking coffee and listening to live music. Then we went to dinner at Sushi Ran. I got the shitaaki (sp?) mushroom miso soup, seaweed salad, and two pieces of nigiri. DH got the spicy tuna roll and the vegetarian roll. Good stuff.

Back to the room where we warmed up in the sunken spa tub.

Next morning I did some more yoga in the room while DH slept in. We leisurely ate our breakfasts on our little patio and then showered and packed. We checked out at noon, but the ferry wasn't scheduled to come for another 45 minutes, so they held our bags for us while we walked around a little more.

Took the ferry back to SF and got our lunches at the HUGE farmers' market. WOW!!! It would have been better if we didn't have our bags with us; we would have stayed in the city longer. Even though they were backpack-type bags, they were bulky and just not fun to lug around in the big crowds. So, after eating we headed back.

So, that was it! Thanks for all your suggestions. We would have like to tour the Bay Model, but like NbyNW said, it was closed for renovations. I had put off getting the Alcatraz tour tickets since we didn't want to do it if it was pouring down rain, but by early last week it was already sold out anyway. The ferry did slow down as we went by so we were able to see a bit that way.

Saw lots of cyclists on Saturday morning and DH even said he might like to come back and ride. Now, that would be awesome!

[malkin]

That sounds lovely!
Happy anniversary to you!

[jobob]

Yikes, it was really pouring on Friday, you poor thing! But at least it cleared up for you on Saturday.

Sounds like you had a very good time despite the weather. Excellent.

[michelem]

Thanks!

[NbyNW]

Glad you had a nice time!