Practical Wanderlust

Off-Beat Couple's Travel Blog

Big Sur is one of the 10 best weekend trips from the San Francisco Bay Area!
United States

The 10 Best Weekend Trips from San Francisco, California: A Local’s Guide

If you live in the Bay Area, very weekend is a chance to explore one of California’s many iconic destinations. Within a few hours drive from San Francisco at any time of the year there’s beach, forest, mountains, snow, desert… anything your heart desires. Here are our 10 favorite weekend trips from San Franscisco, plus what to do & where to eat in each destination.

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The best hikes in Northern California near the San Francisco Bay Area.
Hiking & Outdoor Adventure, United States

24 Mind-Blowing Northern California Hikes (Near San Francisco Bay Area)

I haven’t always been a hiker. In fact, when I moved out to the San Francisco Bay Area, a 5 mile hike sounded like a huge challenge. Anything over 5 miles required a day-pack filled with water, snacks, first aid, emergency supplies, an emailed itinerary to friends and family … you know, preparation.But now that I can safely call myself a (very slow) intermediate hiker, anything under 5 miles feels like a walk in the park (literally – ever tried walking through Golden Gate Park??). So after a few years of experiential research (there were spreadsheets) I’ve put together a list of my favorite intermediate level Northern California hikes! I bet you haven’t heard of some of these!

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ABOUT

Meet Lia & Jeremy

Recent Posts

  • We met 5 years ago yesterday, on 12/13/2013 (thank goodness it's an easy to remember date because I have a goldfish memory). The very first message Jeremy ever sent me on the site where we met was a premonition: he said "clearly, we're meant to be adventure partners." How did he know?! 🌍✈ It took me a year after that initial message to get my sh*t together and actually meet him in person, which is definitely the least cute part of this story. But finally, after a year of infrequent messaging where I kept thinking "hm, he seems really cool" and then not doing anything about it, we decided to go out on a date. For realsies. After all, I'd run out of excuses: in the year I'd been stalling, he had somehow ended up living just 5 minutes away from me in Oakland. If that wasn't fate sending me a message, what was it!? I remember spotting him from across the street as I walked towards the restaurant on our first date 5 years ago. I remember thinking, "damn, he knows how to dress."🙃 He was wearing a black (fake) leather jacket, a forest green flannel shirt that set his ginger beard off like a beacon of beauty in a world of darkness, black jeans on mile-long legs, brown (fake) leather boots, and a Chrome bag slung over one shoulder, which at the time was totally Bay Area Cool. He was a tall drink of ginger ale 😎🥃 Roughly a split second after I appraised his outfit, he caught me staring at him (oops, awk). But then he stood up on those mile-long legs and flashed me the biggest, kindest smile I've ever seen, and I felt the weirdest thing: I was immediately, totally at ease, like I'd just come home. We hugged hello, and it felt like I'd known him for a million years. 💖 The rest is history (actually, there are a lot of really good stories I want to tell, but y'all know I have to spread my content out over multiple posts, right!?). We got engaged on our 1 year anniversary, 12/13/14 (also blessedly easy to remember). Then we got married and immediately took off on the adventure of a lifetime. But the crazy part is that our lives together are still just beginning. 5 years? That's nothing... and I can't WAIT to see what the other 60 are like. Happy anniversary, my love!
  • If you asked me a few years ago what was worth spending my hard-earned money on, I would have said travel, the occasional good meal... and that's it. I didn't shop. I didn't buy STUFF. I cut corners I didn't even need to cut so that I could save every penny to see as much of the world as I could. . Well, things have changed. Maybe it's because that I'm rapidly approaching 30, or maybe because my business had a GREAT year... but I now see the value in spending money on STUFF. Sometimes stuff makes you happy. Sometimes stuff fosters a sense of peace and well-being and joy. Like this handmade mug from Etsy, which makes me happy every time I drink out of it (link in bio, plus other travel themed holiday gifts I want). . Or maybe I'm just looking for an excuse because we went WAY overboard on Christmas this year 🤣 I told you guys a few weeks ago about our Trash Tree. This year it was finally time to upgrade. We headed to a craft store (aka my happy place) and loaded our cart up with shiny ornaments and cheerful decorated wreaths and garlands. It was all completely unnecessary and totally consumerist - everything 25 year old Lia would have been horrified by. . After binging on consumerism, we went to the Christmas Tree lot by our house, run by an amazing local charity called Delancey Street that works to assist & rehabilitate our homeless neighbors here in the Bay Area. We brought our tree home and decorated it with all of our new holiday schwag. And it felt ... great. Our apartment has smelled like a pine forest all week. We even made GINGERBREAD COOKIES. Like, who are we?! When did we grow up and become such domestic homebodies?! . I still love to travel and see the world, but after spending a year as a nomad, I can truly say that having a place to return to - a place that feels like HOME - is worth spending money on. I love our little apartment. And this year, it feels like a real Christmas - right here in sunny California. (Side note: I actually grew up celebrating Hannukah, too. 2020 goal: buy a Menorah.) . What do you prioritize spending your money on? Do you prefer to spend it on travel, or do you splurge on nice stuff for your home, too? Drop us a comment!
  • The hush of falling snow. ❄The scent of crisp pine. The crack and tinkle of ice-laden branches shaking off their winter coats in the midday sun. 🌲The quietness of a world blanketed in white. Tracks in the snow left by deer hooves, raccoon paws, or plump red cardinals.🐾 . These are a few of the things I associate with winter - not with the holidays, but with winter itself - that fill me with utter joy. It wasn't until I moved to California that I realized just how much I LOVE winter. I love snuggling up all cozy and warm in my bed, watching snow fall outside with growing anticipation. To this day, there is no more exciting feeling than waking up to a snow day: a whole entire day dedicated to nothing but playing in the snow and warming up again afterwards?!?! What could be more fun than that?! I got to relive that feeling here, in Hallstatt, Austria: it snowed all night and I could barely sleep from excitement. Snow turns me into a giddy 6 year old again. . Last year, we spent the days between Christmas and New Years exploring Hallstatt (pictured here with 3 swans that we may have definitely given adorable swan nicknames) and I haven't stopped dreaming about its snowy Alpine beauty ever since. This year, we plan to kick things up a notch. Not only are we going to wintry Canada - Quebec City, Montreal, and Banff, for the perfect city/mountain balance - but in January, I'm heading to Norway to explore the Arctic Circle for the very first time. I'll be bundled up and frolicking in the snow for the entire month of January, and I could NOT be more thrilled about it! . Does snow make you a giddy 6 year old too? What's your favorite cozy winter thing to do? Drop me a comment below!
  • I've gained 40lbs since I started travel blogging, 2.5 years ago. I'm closer to weighing 250lbs than I am to 200lbs. Most of my clothes from before our year-long honeymoon are now too small for me. The kicker is that before we left, I was SO sure we'd lose weight on the trip and return as svelte, ab-tastic versions of ourselves that I got rid of most of my bigger sized clothes, which probably would have fit me today 😄 . But here's the thing: even though I don't love not being able to wear most of my clothes, I don't feel bad about it - or about myself. This extra 40lbs is definitely not welcome to stay forever, but I don't look in the mirror and dislike what I see. I look in the mirror like "DAYUM girl you look fine AF! FLAWLESS, slayyyyyy!" (Yes: my internal monologue is every drunk white girl in a club bathroom.) . See, this extra 40 lbs came from all the amazing, delicious things I've enjoyed all over the world. It's 40 lbs of croissants and cheese in France, beer and chocolate in Belgium, pasta in Italy, tacos in Mexico, schnitzel in Austria, dumplings and goulash in the Czech Republic, eierpunsch and bratwurst in Germany, smørrebrød and gløgg in Denmark, gallo pinto in Costa Rica, arepas in Colombia, and nasi goreng in Indonesia. This is 40 lbs of things I enjoyed with the person I love. This is good, happy travel weight. . If you asked me 10 years ago whether "fat" was a bad word, I would've said yes, because I was still struggling with an eating disorder. I hadn't yet learned to love myself and embrace my body, flaws and imperfections and all. Today, I know that there's nothing wrong with fatness. I'm fat, and it's fine. I'm fat, and I'm happy. I'm fat, and I'm gorgeous and confident and living my best life. I'm fat, and I love going to the gym. I'm fat, and I love lifting and working out because I like feeling strong and healthy. All of these things coexist, and they're all an expression of my self love. . Have you ever picked up a few extra pounds of travel weight? What awesome foods and experiences contributed to that weight? Do you think you can make your peace with those extra pounds (even if you don't want them to stay forever)? Drop me a comment!
  • Every year around this time, we crave snow like CRAZY. ❄️You'd think that living in California would make us ultra-sensitive to cold, but actually, living in year-round 65 degree weather has only deepened our appreciation for that heavenly white powder. Er, I'm talking about snow, you guys, stay with me here. It's 2018, not 1985 ☃️ . Luckily, we don't have to travel too far to frolic around in the snow: we can drive 3 hours to the east and visit Lake Tahoe or Yosemite, two of the most beautiful places on earth at any time of the year which are particularly magical in the winter. Or, we can hop on a plane: 2 hours away are the Wasatch Mountains in Utah or the Cascade Mountains in the Pacific Northwest (because snow is always better when it's on a mountain). This photo may look a bit like it was taken in Germany, but actually, it's Leavenworth: a charming little Bavarian-themed town nestled in the mountains about 2 hours away from Seattle, Washington. . But weekend trips can only do so much to sustain our craving for the cold, so we also take a long trip over New Year which doubles as my birthday trip (January 7th, hayyy). While some folks travel to somewhere warm and sunny during the winter months, we've made it a habit to seek snow and holiday cheer. For the past few years, we've fled to Europe to stuff our faces with Christmas Market treats and mulled wine 🥨 This year, we're escaping to Canada to explore Montreal and Quebec City and hit the slopes in Banff. (Also to stuff our faces with poutine.) It just might be the coldest trip we've taken yet, so we're loading up on down jackets and wool sweaters and hoping for the best! . Do you seek out warm weather or crave snow this time of the year? Are you taking a holiday trip? Tell us about it in the comments!.#leavenworth #leavenworthwa #exploreleavenworth #visitleavenworth #bavarianvillage #washingtonstate#explorewashstate #cascadeloop #DameTraveler #wearetravelgirls #sheisnotlost #GirlsWhoTravel #girlslovetravel #sheexplores #WomenWhoExplore #radgirlslife #thetravelwomen #girlsvsglobe #femaletravelbloggers #girlsjustwannatravel #ladiesgoneglobal
  • Instagram makes our lives look a little too perfect. It makes it look like we're forever traveling. Like I'm always wearing makeup, and my hair always looks halfway decent. Like Jeremy and I are forever gazing at one another with a mushy look in our eyes (that bit is semi accurate - we do make googly eyes at each other, like, a freakish amount). On Instagram, you only see the highlights, like last year in Prague when we rung in the New Year with Trdelnik and dumplings. But don't buy it: our lives aren't picture perfect. It's just that nobody wants to see us laying around on the couch covered in drool and crumbs, wearing stained sweatpants and watching our 8th episode of Marriage Bootcamp in a row (I just love trashy reality TV so, so much). But even if you can't see it on our feed, we hope our reality is reflected in our writing - both here and on our blog. We don't want you to look at our lives and think we're perfect. We want you to read our writing and think "oh my god, how are these two insanely clumsy, disaster prone humans even still alive?! And how are they STILL so bad at traveling?!?" Whether you're judging us for our constant mistakes or crying tears of camaraderie (we see you, fellow disaster prone travelers), we want you to know that we are just two very, very flawed people, who like, do cool stuff in cool places sometimes, but also make a zillion mistakes while we're doing it. We recorded a Podcast with World Nomads telling the story of some of our favorite disaster stories from our year-long honeymoon, like the time I was rescued off a waterfall, the time we tried to hike the Inca Trail and had to turn around and hike back, the time we got a BMW stuck in a medieval castle, the time my grandfather faked his own death, and the time I had to delay our flight home so I could get a shot in the butt on the very last day of our disastrous honeymoon. If you can make it through the amount of times I say "like" in the first minute, we think you'll enjoy it ;) The link is in our bio! Are you as disaster prone as we are? Does your Instagram feed Instagram makes our lives like your real life or like the best version of your life? Drop us a comment below!
  • Jeremy didn't grow up traveling. When we first met, he'd never left time zone where he was born. He'd always wanted to travel, but it felt impossibly far out of the realm of reality. But when I told him about about my wild plan to quit my job and take a year long backpacking trip, over drinks in a loud bar on date #2, I casually added "you can come too, if you want." He grinned and said "okay!" Little did he know that my crazy dream was a stone cold plan... . In the 2.5 years before our trip came to fruition, as we scrimped and saved and settled and merged our lives together, Jeremy began to blossom. He found his passion and calling. He went from working in a coffee shop to teaching high school here in Oakland. He evolved from a flailing 20-something to a dedicated, caring teacher helping guide underserved youth through some of the most crucial and challenging moments of their young lives. . When it came time to quit his new job to take our year-long honeymoon, he was excited about our adventure, but heartbroken to leave his kids. Over the next year, as we explored the world in all its wonder, my mind would go to storytelling and blogging - but Jeremy's would go to teaching. I would stay up late in our hostel dorm room typing up blog posts on my laptop, and Jeremy would be on the bunk bed above me, typing up lesson plans. . Seeing the world ignited my passion to help the readers of my blog travel; it ignited Jeremy's passion to help his kids learn & grow. I got to witness travel transform my partner, and it was one of the greatest joys of my life. Now, we get to share that joy with his kids. . FLYTE, the Foundation for Learning and Youth Travel Education, is sending 20 of Jeremy's amazing students with him to Colombia this summer - a dream come true! We are THRILLED - but we need your help. Starting today, #GivingTuesday, my goal is to raise $1,000 to cover food & flights for one student. Donating even just $10 will help empower Jeremy's kids and change their lives forever. Can you help us? Head to the link in my bio!.Have you ever experienced the transformative nature of travel? How did your first trip abroad change your life? Tell us about it in the comments!
  • Copenhagen was the very first stop on the European leg of our year-long honeymoon - meant to soothe our frazzled nerves after the Machu Picchu Disaster (tl;dr: we couldn't hike the Inca Trail and we lost out on $1600 bucks, and yes, we're STILL salty about it). But Copenhagen was the exact opposite of Peru, and it was exactly what we needed. Our plane touched down in early December and we immediately fell in love with the entire city. . We loved the winding cobblestone streets. We loved the snow and cold, which were a welcome change after 4 months of sunny South America. We loved the fancy coffee and the stick-to-your-ribs holiday food and the Hans Christian Anderson references and the way some words sounded kind of like English, but garbled. We loved that everyone spoke English, so we were never fully lost or completely confused (another welcome respite after 4 months of half-baked Spanish practice). We loved that everyone rode their bikes everywhere, although we kept getting honked at for being in the way (whoops). We loved Tivoli Gardens, the amusement park in the middle of the city. We loved the weirdness of Christiania, the anarchist commune that coexists in the middle of the city. We loved the fairytale castles. We loved the hygge. But most of all, we loved the Christmas Markets. Ohhhhh, the Christmas Markets! . This is the famous Nyhavn Canal in Copenhagen: a harbor and shipyard flanked by colorful pastel townhouses covered in rows and rows of little windows. During the winter, Nyhavn is home to a Christmas Market - just like pretty much every other street in Copenhagen. Yep, it's magical. (Psst: our Copenhagen Travel Guide is on the blog). Scroll to the right to see Parliament, a castle, and Tivoli Gardens! . Now that it's officially Christmas Time, I can finally start flooding your feed with wintery photos from previous trips. Which means I get to relive each of those experiences! And we all know that's the real reason why we all use Instagram, right? ... Right?? . Do you travel over the holidays? Tell me about your favorite Christmas trip! Where did you go? What did you love about it? Drop us a comment below!

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