Port Costa is one of those places that doesn't feel like it exists in today's hyper-modern…read moretechno-world. Descending into the old valley ('Bull Valley') feels like you've entered another time. It's as if somebody preserved a scruffy, gritty Gold Rush port town and the next 150 years just passed it by. Back in the day it was a major ferry crossing for the transcontinental railroad, and you can still feel that history hanging around, everywhere. The whole town is basically one charming street - Old buildings. Interesting people. Artists. Motorcycles. Dogs. Oozing character. The Warehouse Cafe is reason enough to visit. California bikers figured that out a long time ago. Part saloon, part museum, part collection of wonderful and weird stuff, it's packed with old signs, railroad relics, taxidermy, local history, and enough oddities to keep you looking around between beers. Do yourself a big favor and grab a cold one and take it out on the patio - overlooking the strait - that's when Port Costa really gets its hooks in. You stop checking the time, your phone may not even have reception, and you could not care less. One beer becomes two. An hour becomes three. If you're planning ahead, stay at the Burlington Hotel. It's old, creaky, charming, and exactly what you hope it will be (great for a pleasant stay, after a night of revelry at the saloon). And you can walk right over to Bull Valley Roadhouse, which serves some of my favorite roadhouse-style food anywhere. Great food, great atmosphere, and it truly works because it's in Port Costa. This town is not polished. It's not trendy. And it's become one of my favorite places on Earth.

** The following review reflects my experience prior to the shelter-in-place order currently in…read moreeffect. ** For some unjustified reason, I thought this would be a quaint village that would reek of seaside charm, but I was disappointed to discover the commercial area of this one-street community consisted of just a block of buildings dominated by a big tavern appropriately named The Warehouse, a popular gathering place for bikers and tourists. The town was honestly no more than a ten-minute stop when I first drove here with Jamie W. on a weekend whim. The high point was a stop at an overstuffed antique store that had one of the legendary Doggie Diner heads (photo: https://bit.ly/2W754Wu). I came back several months later by way of a long walk on the George Miller Trail in the Carquinez Regional Shoreline. There's a scenic detour you can take on a barely marked trail over the cattle-grazing hills. You eventually amble into Port Costa and in a more leisurely way that better matches the slow pace of the village. That was a preferable experience, and this time I found a place to get coffee and a slice of honey cornbread at the Honey House Cafe in the Burlington Hotel (photo: https://bit.ly/2VMG3B2). The bikers had not arrived yet, so it was actually pleasant. I may have actually stayed a half-hour. RELATED - Exploring this part of Contra Costa County? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2VyCP18

Very functional bridge. It got us from Sacramento to Antioch with ease. Fast track or invoice. They…read moreno longer take tolls at the booth. There wasn't a line. We zipped on thru. I like this route to Antioch.

A nice enough toll plaza. COVID made these things a relic. Be sure to slow appropriately to…read morenavigate what's now a hazard. In about a week you'll get your invoice in the mail. Slow for the cone zone.

Awesome highway. Highly recommended, to anyone driving from San Francisco to New York.read more

"Interstate 680" is the preferred route from the Fairfield (I-80) to San Jose and back again. You…read morewill avoid the I-880/ I-580 freeways and the concentrated urban centers of the SF Eastbay. I-680 tends to have less interchanges, so less merging traffic. The road is better planned and better maintained. Last week, I drove from Benicia to San Jose. It was a fairly smooth drive. The right lane south of Pleasanton has been repaved, the usual beatup roadway had been fixed up. It's great how there's extra lanes for slower vehicles to climb the Sunol grade going in both directions. Overall, it's not a bad drive if you don't hit commute traffic.

This freeway runs from the 80 at the north end near Fairfield all the way south to San Jose where…read moreit turns into the 280 and heads back north to SF. The north portion from the 80 down across the Benicia Bridge and thru Concord is not bad if you hit the traffic right. The section from Walnut Creek to Pleasanton is a fast section thru East Bay suburbia with carpool lanes and that stupid fastrak. The part I really hate is the section from Dublin all the way to Fremont over the Sunol Grade ... what a traffic mess all the freakin time! But hey, traffic is traffic but what gets this freeway a 2 stars is the stupid implementation of this TOLL lane combined with carpool lane. You HAVE to have the Fastrak transponder in your car, or you're SCREWED! How the hell do they (toll and Caltrans) expect all of the out of area travelers to know this, especially out of state tourists who never even heard of this "fastrak, and tolls!" $25 fine for using the lane with out the Fastrak thing, even if you have enough people for the freakin CARPOOL! I hate the Bay Area freeways for this! I come infrequently, maybe 3 times a year to the Bay Area and I'm not gonna fork out a Fastrak deposit and then deposit money on the thing just to use the infrequent times I get into this mess of traffic. Tolls to use the lane to get ahead ... yeah, I know why it's called the "Lexus Lane", only people with money get to use it! California with all it's uppityness for equality and non-discrimination .... WTF? I-680 is becoming more and more infested with these money lanes! Otherwise, it's a fine freeway to drive late at night and really fast!

There is ample parking in the parking structure,except on Tuesday's. The parking is also free but…read morethere is a 2 your time limit.

Reminds me of the Wild Mouse Ride in Santa Cruz. You either love it or you hate it. You're so busy…read morewatching the road (if you're smart) that you can't look up to enjoy the view and there's nowhere to pull over nearby. And don't even THINK of pulling over "down the road" and walking up, too dangerous, don't do it. JUST DON'T. You're not that invincible.

This road... is quite an adventure…read more It was definitely an unexpected adventure, as I didn't expect my GPS to make us take this route! We were originally planning on going through the Old Sonoma Highway them up to Hwy 29 to get to Napa from Sonoma... but good ol' Garmin decided to put us off course. By the time we entered Trinity Rd and realized what route we were taking (I spent a lot of time studying Google Maps), it was already too late to turn around and my boyfriend decided to commit to this drive. Thank goodness he was driving, because I would've been a nervous wreck. While not quite as crazy as the Road to Hana in Maui or the Muir Woods road in SF... it's still very windy with lots of steep turns and blindspots - seriously, be careful for locals who drive really fast on this road (good for them, conquering a road like this). The speed limit is 45 mph, but with all the sharp turns and switch backs it's impressive people can drive the speed limit here. Doesn't help my nerves to know that they don't put rails on the areas where if you were to slip off the edge... it's a long way down. But after calming down, I got to appreciate the route for what it was. Though a bit exciting with all the turns and the one lane bridge... it's very scenic with the nature covering the route. You'll see some vineyards (which is pretty amazing given how high up the road is) and a few farmhouses along the way. Honestly, I think we were lucky to accidentally take this route from Sonoma to Napa - the view at the end is very pretty and worth the crazy drive. It's amazing how much the weather differs between Napa and Sonoma. Driving up, we didn't get a view of the valley because it was so foggy in the morning... but once we hit the Napa side of the mountains it was so clear and beautiful. This will definitely become our tradition whenever we want to go from Sonoma to Napa. ;)

The first thing that comes to mind about this city, Hallmark. It's such a cute and quaint beachside…read moretown. I have friends that have properties here which is a major plus for me. Gives me a reason to stay and check this place out. Of course what makes it sweet, we happened to be in town during the Fourth of July. Imagine a place you would see in a movie of a small town, it's here. Even arriving in the evening, it's not something you see back in the big city. Driving into town, the main strip of downtown, there were rows and rows of chairs and other items left out on the street. Reserved spot for the parade that was happening along the strip. And the park at the entrance had blankets and towels just laying out all day and night. You would never see something like that back in LA. It'll be gone by the time you get back. The main strip is basically the heart of town. Cute boutiques, mom and pop shops, a couple of amazing bakeries, bars and restaurants. Just browsing each stores and walking in, you literally feel like you're in a hallmark movie. And just the next block over, the waterfront. Catching the sunset after dinner or walking along the path, it's nice to experience something completely different from the hustle and bustle of the city. Just like your tiny town, places do close early. Restaurant tend to be closed around 8/9pm depending on where you are. We only checked out the main strip of downtown as the property was literally steps from it. Everyone was so friendly. We also happened to be there when the farmers market was happening. Thursday late afternoon was when it was held towards the end of the road. Vendors with their trinkets, baked goods, fresh fruits and vegetables and so on. Also a good amount of food stalls on hand. It does bring the people into town. From my first experience, I would say this city is so cute. Definitely will be back again, hopefully soon. And to see chairs just on the sidewalk overnight to reserved a spot, it was quite something. People respecting others properties.

We came to benicia for a dog meet up. I was a little hesitant to drive this far North. Most of what…read moreI know about benicia is from the news,and it's usually bad. It turns out that they have a really nice part of town near the marina. Plenty of restaurants and shops. I will definitely be coming back. Too bad it gets such a bad rap from all the refinery mishaps

My husband and I were visiting Napa and spoke to a woman whom I made the mistake of not getting her…read morename, but I had to give a shout out for the Napa chamber of commerce, given she was so very sweet and kind, gracious and seriously well mannered. She actually thanked us for coming to Napa and supporting the tourism in the city. She recommended a breakfast/brunch place, which we're going to try tomorrow.

The people at the Napa Chamber of Commerce are REALLY good at taking FREE stuff, but they totally…read moredrop the ball whenever it's time to recompense and they NEVER follow thru on their promises. My dealings with the Napa Chamber of Commerce, I was initially alarmed to find out that this place had a 5 star yelp rating, but once I saw that there were only 2 reviews it became much more understandable. My experience with the Napa Chamber of Commerce was far from a positive one. In my business dealings with them, they were completely underwhelming. Their staff failed to honor numerous agreements we had in place, and it became rather cumbersome for me to contact them regarding egregious business ethics. Many things were promised to me as part of some work I did for them, and they failed to compensate me with anything that they said the would. They seemed incredibly slow and inattentive whenever I reached out to them, but I can't help but notice the expedience in which I was removed from their mailing list after I reached out to them. My experience with the Napa Chamber of Commerce was very unfavorable, and I hope to spare others from this deplorable experience.