Enjoying Los AltosCA

[n3833v]

I am going to be in CA for the next 6 days at my brothers in Los Altos and hope to fly on Sunday for a scenic flight. He is in the process of flight lessons and hopes to fly better than me. We leave San Carlos [SQL] and will fly the area. I don't know if Columbia [022] will be in our sights or not. Just going to enjoy the area.

John

[falco]

columbia is a good day trip, one runway is grass, easy 10 min walk to historic gold mining town. a state park I think.

[Flyfshr]

If you get a break in the marine layer, a flight up the coast to Shelter Cove (0Q5) is worthwhile. The runway splits a golf course that overlooks a cliff coastline. And it is walking distance to a deli with fantastic fish and chips.

Request the Bravo transition out of san carlos and you can get a great look at downtown and the golden gate bridge along the way.

Enjoy!

[Robert Eilers]

From SQL you are close to several very nice destinations. KHAF - Halfmoon Bay is just over the coastal hills West of SQL. A great place for breakfast at the 30 Cafe, or a short walk into town where there are several great little restaurants around the harbor - this time of year may be a problem. South of SQL is Watsonville and Monterey. Monterey is great day time destination. Fly into Monterey Bay Aviation and catch a cab into downtown Monterey where everything is a short walk. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is a great way to spend an afternoon. North of SQL is Petaluma and the 29er Dinner. Northeast about an hour away is Auburn and Columbia,which you have already heard about. Southeast of SQL is Hollister and Frazier Lake, which has a beautiful grass strip. The Ding-a-ling Cafe @ Hollister has a great Breakfast. Breakfast at Petaluma and then a flight to the Point Reyes sea shore and South down the coast to Watsonville is a very scenic trip. Come to think of it, there is a great little Cafe at SQL.

Watch out for Class B. However, with just a little planning you will find you can stay out of and below it. I definitely recommend the SFO TAC - VFR routes are clearly depicted and the NORCAL controllers are a good group of professionals.

[GAHorn]

Hey! All you Bay Area guys... Any of you ever eat over at Cliff House by Seal Rock?
One of the greatest breakfasts Jamie and I've ever had, with a tantalizing view of history.

After the fantastic convention at Tehachapi (Hosted by Miles and Karen Bowen), we flew over to Lompoc to visit my Aunt/Uncle and landed in the middle of the J-3 Cub convention. Two days later, we hugged the coastline at 500-feet all the way up to the Golden Gate (flew across Monterrey Bay in 1/4 mile/Fog about 100 ft above the water monitoring Monterrey tower freq...no one but us out there...even the sea gulls and pelicans were grounded/floating on the water. Boy were THEY surprised! ) Really a fantastic coastline-flight up the Pacific shore. I recommend that one! Saw lots of seals, otters, etc. on the way.

Anyway...as we rounded the shore-cliffs at the entrance to the Golden Gate, expecting to see the big orange bridge.... LO! .... It was completely covered in cloud! Only the tops of the towers poked above the summer fog. Despite all the corporate flying I've done out there....I'd forgotten about that!
As I was saying.... as we rounded the point at Seal Rock we saw that "little cafe" hanging on the cliff-side and decided we'd have to visit it while in the area, and it was no disappointment! Wonderful memory!

http://cliffhouse.com/

[Flyfshr]

Hey! All you Bay Area guys... Any of you ever eat over at Cliff House by Seal Rock?
One of the greatest breakfasts Jamie and I've ever had, with a tantalizing view of history.

http://cliffhouse.com/

One of the best views to go with a bottle of Napa's finest.

[n3833v]

Well, I had the best tour ever. Went up over SFO and then to Candlestick

, Golden Gate ,

, Fisherman's Wharf

,Cliff House

, and on our way to Half Moon Bay .

It was a teriffic ride and tour.

John