This was one of my favorite spring breaks that I’ve had while at USC. It was a hard decision between going to Cabo with the rest of our friends, or taking a Northern California road trip and getting to visit all the places we’ve wanted to but never had the time. Because we’re an adventurous group, we opted for the second choice—best decision ever. I had an incredible week with 2 of my roommates and our good friend. Here’s a play-by-play of what we did:
Friday: My roommate’s grandparent’s house to eat an awesome home-cooked meal and to do all of our laundry and shop for food before the week began.
Saturday: The adventure begins! First stop: San Francisco for St. Patrick’s Day. We didn’t make it in time for the parade, but we still had a great time in the Marina district afterwards. We met some really awesome people while out and about, and (shamefully) had chipotle in Union Square for dinner.
Sunday: Shopping all day in Union Square! They have the biggest stores, and pretty much everything we could possibly want. We of course stopped to take pictures by the green fountains and some of the touristy shops. Then we packed up and headed to our next destination: the pear ranch.
Monday: Day 1 in the middle of nowhere. It was so relaxing to have a nice little house to ourselves and just hang out. We even played board games..pretty crazy. My roommate’s family owns the pear ranch, so we were free to roam around and hang out on the dock nearby. The town we were in only has a population of 500, so it was nice and quiet.
Tuesday: We headed to Nappa Valley and explored some awesome vineyards. We tasted at three different places, the best being Robert Mondavi Winery. The property was huge and beatuful, and they had several cool tasting rooms. It was rainy, so we chose not to do the bike tours of the vineyards, but that’s definitely something I’d do if I ever go back!
Wednesday: Off to Yosemite! We stayed in a big log cabin that was conveniently located right next to the indoor pool and jacuzzi. We signed up for a night hike that first evening, and got to explore the woods when it was pitch black (with flashlights). Our guide was a tree expert—I never thought I’d learn so much about trees in my life.
Thursday: We hiked a three-hour trail that was of course all uphill. It was a great experience, and we were sufficiently exhausted after! We also had to see the famous Yosemite Falls and get pictures.
Friday-Sunday: More relaxation time at my other roommate’s house in Fresno. We watched about a million movies and shopped near her house. A great way to end a relaxing yet adventurous spring break!
Robert Mondavi winery
Our picnic that we brought to the dock!
Yosemite
Modeling the giant wine bottle
Scenes at the Pear Ranch
Exploring downtown Sacramento
