Indian Summer Weekend Day Trips

Used up your vacation time? No problem. Here are some easy late-summer weekend-travel ideas to wrest you from your nine-to-five hypnosis—and they don’t require much driving. Get outdoors! Bask in the glorious late-summer sunshine as you celebrate the harvest, take a boat to the Farallons, scour the sky for nesting raptors, or pony up to an old-fashioned lunch counter in an abandoned Chinese fishing village hardly anybody knows about.

When’s the last time you saw a hawk? Raptor season has arrived in the Marin Headlands. Falcons, red-tailed hawks, giant osprey, and wide-winged vultures are swooping down by the hundreds every day at Hawk Hill. Come and see them—if you’re lucky, you might even spot an eagle. You won’t believe the musculature of these birds. But it’s their feathers that are so mesmerizing.

Bring binoculars and get here between 10am and 2pm for the best viewing. On Saturdays and Sundays through November (when the season ends), volunteer docents from the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory give ‘hawk talks’ at noon, then do banding demonstrations at 1pm. Bring a picnic. After lunch, hit the Point Bonita Lighthouse, where you’ll cross a rickety, bouncing footbridge over the crashing surf. Kids go nuts for the adventure it! NB: If it’s foggy or raining, the Raptor Society cancels its activities. Check the fog satellite before setting out. Arrive at the lighthouse well before 3:30pm, when the tunnel closes.

Go whale-watching on a boat tour—humpbacks and blues are migrating right now. The venerable Oceanic Society leads naturalist-guided, all-day weekend whale-watching trips to the Farallon Islands. As you ply the waves, keep your eyes peeled for porpoises, seal pups, sea lions enormous sea birds—and of course, whales. You’ll likely see many breaching in the distance, but it’s not uncommon that they roll over right next to the boat. Amazing.

Trips run $95 a head—but really, how often do you get to sail off toward the horizon from beneath the Golden Gate Bridge? Bring your own lunch. Wear non–slip shoes and a waterproof jacket to combat sea spray. And if you tend toward motion-sickness, wear acupressure wristbands (they really do work), don’t go below deck (stay close to the bow and watch the horizon), and eat lots of crystallized ginger (Dramamine works okay, but it’ll make you sleepy).

Explore an abandoned fishing village at China Camp State Park, in San Rafael. Most come here to hike (or mountain-bike) through century-old oak woodlands, along bayside flats, and atop rolling grassy hills with sweeping vistas eastward toward Richmond. But to my mind the best reasons to visit China Camp—besides the views—are to fall back in time and eat.

China Camp Village was the center of a small shrimp-fishing community founded by 19th-century Chinese immigrants. It thrived for a few decades until the Chinese were racially marginalized and chased out. But they left behind some rickety shacks filled with rusted antique fishing equipment that the park preserves in an arrested state of decay.

The treat: At the edge of the village stands a frozen-in-time, old-fashioned lunch counter with just a handful of stools lining the Formica. The specialty? Shrimp-salad sandwiches, naturally. But the best part is, normally the owner fishes the shrimp himself, straight out of the bay. And would you believe it? They’re delicious, briny-sweet, tender, and oh-so fresh. But the season this year has been bad, and he’s been forced to buy them frozen. Talk to him about shrimp-fishing while you’re eating. Afterward wander down to the shore and wiggle your toes in the bay’s warmest waters, then hike uphill and watch the early autumn sunlight play on the East Bay hills. Delicious. (Note: the lunch counter is only open on weekends and has no telephone. For information, call the park at 415-456-0766.)

Up for a spontaneous road trip? Celebrate the harvest this weekend at the Mendocino County Fair & Apple Show in the bucolic Anderson Valley. It’s the classic country fair, with livestock judging, tractor pulls, a rodeo, wine- and apple-tastings, and family-friendly entertainment, including a petting zoo, clowns, musicians, and even a hypnotist. The fair runs from 9am to midnight, through Sunday, September 16. Everyone in Boonville shows up for the event, providing a rare glimpse into this otherwise closed society. It’s a little far for a day trip; splurge on a night in Mendocino, or find budget lodging in nearby Ukiah.