road trip from SFO back to Austin

[msdw24]

So work is taking me out to Walnut Creek CA for three weeks starting the week after Thanksgiving and ending 12/16. My better half is going to fly out that day and I was thinking we would make a vacation of driving back to Austin, do one or two days in San Fran, one or two days in wine country Napa/Sonoma/or central coast area. Drive over to Vegas for a day or two, then stop at the Grand Canyon go back through Northern New Mexico and be back in Austin by Christmas eve.

So I'm trying to decide on the number of days in each place, weather or not to go to Napa, Sonoma, or the Central Coast for the wineries (we both love wine, but want to enjoy it in a laid back, RELAXING style). She would LOVE a cute B&B...that wont kill our wallet.

For the Grand Canyon is it worth staying in one of the Cabins on the South Rim for a night?

Recommendations or ideas??

 

[Cheese Taco]

If you do the Grand Canyon in Nov/Dec, you better enjoy the cold. I was there in April one year and it was miserable.
On the other hand, cabins should be plentiful and cheap.

 

[YoLaDu]

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[msdw24]

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[Uninformed]

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[laidbackhorn]

We lived in Clayton for 3 years (outside Walnut Creek) so I am familiar with the area and the drive to and from Texas. When we drove my car out in mid-December we ran into a snowstorm in AZ on I-10 so you'll need to be mindful of the weather, even driving the southernmost route. I am biased towards Napa for the wineries, not sure what you wanted as far as "laid-back", but since Napa Valley is small compared to the other wine areas, you will be doing much less driving and will have a much easier time getting to your destinations, especially in such a compressed time period. There are a variety of experiences to suit almost anybody. November and December are the "slow" seasons in Napa due to it being the rainy season and the holidays, so you will get more personalized attention. Depending on your interests, Hearst Castle is also especially interesting decorated for the holidays. They have night tours in December with docents dressed up in period costumes, which adds to the experience. The drive along PCH getting there is a bonus!

 

[A. BETTIK]

Taos: Mabel’s Room at Mabel Dodge Luhan House.

I haven't been there in winter, but the two times we visited, I was completely enchanted by the architecture, function, location and landscaping.

 

[THEU]

My suggestion on the way back is stay up in Red River instead of Taos.

 

[KevinC]

Excellent idea for a road trip but I think you have too many possible destinations for the number of days you have to spend. If the trip basically goes from the evening of the 16th to the end of the 23rd you might be able to do something like this. 16 and 17 in SF. 18 in Paso Robles/San Luis Obispo. Lots of wineries and B&Bs. 19 drive to Vegas. 20 and 21 in Vegas. 22 New Mexico and 23 home to Austin. Lots of driving but should be fun. This route avoids snow in the Sierra and also avoids U.S 1 in CA which is absolutely beautiful but ery, very long monotonous dirve that you just don't have the time for on this trip.

 

[ChiroHorn]

For Spring Break this year w/the kids, we did a Austin to San Diego to LA to Vegas to Grand Canyon to Ruidoso to Austin road trip. PCH is a beautiful drive. I recommend just seeing the south rim @ the GC unless you plan on hiking, COLD water rafting, etc. We saw everything we needed to in 2 hrs (south & east rims) & continued to NM.

 

[pneuma]

Go for Bucky O'Neill cabin about 15' from South rim, no ****. May have to shoo idiot euro tourists thinking it a museum but otherwise best way to sample GC IMO.