Seven Day Itinerary Modesto-Yosemite-San Francisco-Napa

Seven Day Itinerary
Modesto-Yosemite-San Francisco-Napa Valley-Sacramento-Gold CountryCapitola
Modesto
Modesto Convention and Visitors Bureau
1150 Ninth Street, Suite C
Modesto, California 93534
209-526-5588 www.visitmodesto.com
Seven Day Itinerary
Modesto-Yosemite-San Francisco-Napa Valley-Sacramento-Gold CountryCapitola
Arrival Day
Check into your comfortable hotel in
beautiful Modesto, California. Get
unpacked and settled in for a fun-filled
seven day adventure Northern
California style.
5:30PM Load onto your motor coach for
the 45 minute trip to Oakdale and the
Sierra Dinner Train. Starting at 6:30PM,
have cocktails with your fellow
passengers before boarding the train
for your sunset trip through the golden,
rolling hills of the California Sierras.
Enjoy a delicious five-course dinner
while being entertained by the
unspoiled landscape rushing by your
window. Stroll down to the lounge car
to enjoy an after dinner drink.
9:30PM Train returns to the Oakdale
Terminal and you board your coach for
the return 45 minute ride back to
Modesto.
Seven Day Itinerary
Modesto-Yosemite-San Francisco-Napa Valley-Sacramento-Gold CountryCapitola
Day One—Yosemite
8:00AM Load onto your coach for the
45 minutes to Atwater, California,
and the Castle Air Museum. Tour this
outdoor museum, which includes
vintage World War II aircraft up to
present day examples of state-of-theart equipment.
10:15AM Return to your coach for
the two hour ride to the Southern gate of Yosemite
National Park. Enjoy your day viewing the breath
taking scenery and wonder this natural preserve
has to offer. Take advantage of lunch at the
Yosemite Lodge, which is buffet-style and offers a
wide variety of options.
4:00PM Start your return drive through the
Northern Route which will bring you through the
heart of the Gold Country of California. You might
want to take a break in Sonora or Jamestown to
wander their historic streets, do some antique
shopping or eat in one of their cafes. These
pristine cities showcase buildings dating back to
the 1800’s.
7:00PM Return to your hotel in Modesto. You might
want to venture out to downtown Modesto to walk the
tree and flower lined streets. Find dinner among the
many options from steaks to sushi.
Seven Day Itinerary
Modesto-Yosemite-San Francisco-Napa Valley-Sacramento-Gold CountryCapitola
Day Two– San Francisco’s California Culinary
Academy, Alcatraz & Teatro
Zinzani
8:00AM Before you leave Modesto, have
breakfast at the Old Mill Café, which
features a country breakfast like Mom’s.
Check out their biscuits and gravy!
9:30AM Travel in your coach for the short
two hour picturesque ride to the city by the
Bay, San Francisco. Stroll along the famous
Fisherman’s Wharf and view Pier 39 and the hundreds of sea lions sunning
there.
12:30PM Drop by the California Culinary Academy and enjoy simply the best
food in San Francisco. You just cannot beat the main dining room of this
famous cooking school for lunch.
2:30PM Tour the famous sites with a step-on guide. Wind
through Chinatown, view Union Square and Golden Gate
Park. Stop off at the Trolley Car Terminal for a fun ride up
and down the streets of San Francisco on your way back to
the Wharf. Leave the pier at famous Fisherman’s Wharf for
a 10 minute scenic boat excursion to Alcatraz, the
infamous Federal penitentiary long off-limits to the public
(and despised by inmates). Visit the museum and gift shop
after a self-guided tour, where you can hear the actual
voices of some of the most notorious gangsters. See where
they slept, ate, and exercised. You can even step inside one
of the cells.
6:00PM Your evening will take place along San Francisco’s
historic waterfront at Teatro Zinzani. Get ready to laugh and
watch in awe the European cabaret, cirque, divas and
madmen spectacle with live music while enjoying a gourmet
five-course dinner served in a most unconventional way, all
in the setting of the nightclub of your dreams.
9:15PM Head back to your Modesto hotel after “Leaving
Your Heart in San Francisco.”
Seven Day Itinerary
Modesto-Yosemite-San Francisco-Napa Valley-Sacramento-Gold CountryCapitola
Day Three—Rio Vista—
Napa Valley
8:30AM Start the day with a full buffet
breakfast at the Fruityard Restaurant.
This flavorful facility is set in an
orchard and is a favorite for many
farmers in the area. Stroll over to see
the best of fresh produce grown in our
fertile valley. On the way out, your
coach will stop briefly at the Beekman and Beekman
Honey and Lavender Farm. You will receive a brief
presentation on honey production and do some honey
tasting before continuing on your way.
11:00AM Load back onto your coach for the hour ride to
the town of Rio Vista along the Stockton Delta to Foster’s
Bighorn Bar & Restaurant, established in 1931, designed
as a trophy haven where the public can view a
collection of over 300 animals, birds, and fish—
heads only! Moose and Wild Boar heads stare
down at patrons from high ceilings. Sit under a
full-grown elephant head with a 13’ base to
trunk tip with 5’ long tusks, known to be the
largest mammal trophy in existence. A special
lunch will be served in this very inique location.
1:30PM Return to your coach for a scenic ride
to Napa Valley, home of America’s most
prestigious wine producing region. Your coach
will stop at three wineries for tasting. Take the
aerial tram up to Sterling Winery and see the
spectacular view of Napa Valley.
5:00PM Return to your coach for the trip back to your
hotel. If you have not had enough, try a stop at Modesto’s
McHenry Village for dinner or dessert.
Seven Day Itinerary
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Day Four - Local Tours—Hilmar Cheese—
Classic Wine and Vinegar—
8:30AM Leave your Modesto hotel and go to Mallards Restaurant
where Chef Diamond will demonstrate how to prepare the breakfast
you will be enjoying. Learn how to make fabulous breakfasts at home.
10:00AM Tour the McHenry Mansion, a Victorian home which has
been restored to its 1890’s glory. Walk through the gardens, across
the street to Modesto’s Rose Garden, McClatchy Square. Then across
the next street to the McHenry Museum which features many different
displays.
11:30AM Next, take a 30 minute coach ride to Hilmar Cheese
Company where you can see cheese being made, get complimentary
cheese samples, pick up souvenirs at the gift shop plus have a
delicious lunch.
1:15PM Next is the Classic Wine & Vinegar
facility for a tour of the plant where you can
see the process of vinegar being made,
bottled and labeled. Actually enjoy the
experience of vinegar tasting inside the lovely
gift shop filled with very unique gifts.
2:30PM Drop by the NASCAR shop downtown
to try your hand with the race car simulators.
Watch out for the dangerous turns.
4:00PM Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the
Gallo Center for the Arts. Tour the areas the
public rarely gets to see. Stand on the stage
and sing a note. You can tell your friends
back home you performed on stage.
5:15PM Take part in a progressive dinner
featuring three of downtown Modesto’s fabulous restaurants. Try
appetizers and salad at Aqua Shi, main course at Claytons, and
dessert at Dewz.
Seven Day Itinerary
Modesto-Yosemite-San Francisco-Napa Valley-Sacramento-Gold CountryCapitola
Day Five—Blue Diamond Almond
Growers-Sacramento State Capitol
Tour & Railroad Museum
8:45AM Leave your Modesto hotel and travel by
coach for a presentation at Blue Diamond
Growers, the largest tree nut processing company
founded in 1910.
9:45AM Travel on to Sacramento for an
educational tour of California’s Capital City with a
local step-on guide. Learn about the background
of this Gold Rush City first hand with a visit to our
State Capitol. Stop at Fort Sutter, founded in 1839 by
John Sutter, a Swiss immigrant, establishing
Sacramento.
1:00PM Enjoy a delicious lunch aboard the Delta King,
a moored paddle boat. Walk along the
rustic sidewalks of Old Sacramento until
you come to the Railroad Museum
featuring trains of the past and where you
can enjoy a leisurely tour and visit to the
gift shop.
4:00PM Depart the Capital City for the
journey back to Modesto.
6:00PM End the day with a culinary
experience of Old World Italian cuisine
with the ambience of Classic San
Francisco at Galletto’s Ristorante, locally
owned by the E and J Gallo Winery family.
You are in for a treat, as you experience
wine tasting—Gallo style.
Seven Day Itinerary
Modesto-Yosemite-San Francisco-Napa Valley-Sacramento-Gold CountryCapitola
Day Six—Sonora/Columbia
Black Oak Casino
8:30AM Start the morning with a traditional American
Breakfast at Scrambl’z Kountry Kitchen. Enjoy their fluffy
pancakes or mountain high omelettes with bacon and lots
of hot coffee.
9:30AM Then travel up into the Sierra Mountains to the
Black Oak Casino. Spend some time playing the very
modern slot machines or get in a few hands of blackjack. You can
even bowl a game in the downstairs bowling alley. Enjoy the allyou-can-eat lunch buffet, then return to your coach for a short ride
to Columbia State Park.
1:30PM Columbia’s old Gold Rush-era
business district has been preserved with
shops, restaurants and even old rustic
saloons from the bygone era still serving
Sarsaparilla. Visitors have the chance to
time-travel to the 1850’s imaging life when
gold miners rubbed shoulders with
businessmen and the other residents. Visitors
can watch proprietors, such as a blacksmith
in period clothing, conduct business in the
style of yesterday. There are opportunities to
ride a 100 year old stage coach, hire a “fine
steed” for a horseback ride through the
“diggings,” pan for gold, or tour an active
gold mine.
3:30PM Head back to Modesto for a culinary experience with a
Middle Eastern flare.
6:00PM Dinner tonight at Skewers Restaurant, the experts when it
comes to rice and kabobs.
Seven Day Itinerary
Modesto-Yosemite-San Francisco-Napa Valley-Sacramento-Gold CountryCapitola
Day Seven—Casa
de Fruta—
Shadowbrook
Restaurant—
Capitola by the
Sea
8:30AM Depart your Modesto
hotel for the quick trip to
Clayton’s Restaurant known for
local pastries and coffee. Enjoy
the newly remodeled facility located across the
street from the Gallo Center for the Arts.
9:30AM Drive by the scenic San Luis Reservoir on
your way to Casa de Fruta for a stop at one of the
largest fruit stands on the West Coast. Visit the
wine shop, deli, sweet shop and leisurely feed the
ducks.
11:15AM Back on the motor coach for a ride to
the scenic coastal town of Capitola by the Sea,
where you will take a cable car down to the “built
on the bluff” famed terraced Shadowbrook
Restaurant for lunch. If you are real adventurous,
you can stroll down the winding, lush garden
pathway to the restaurant. You may even see
some of their resident black swans strolling the
grounds or swimming on the picturesque Soquel
Creek which empties into the Bay. Soquel Creek
is home to the yearly Bequonia Festival.
After lunch, stroll the streets of the quaint beach
town of Capitola to shop in the stores or stroll out
on the pier to watch the fishermen. Enjoy an ice
cream cone at one of their two ice cream parlors,
or take it with you and sit on one of the memorial
benches donated by families so you can enjoy
watching and listening to the sounds of the
Pacific Ocean. You may even see some surfers.