You go out to eat alone, the movies, alone, and the occasional concert alone but have you ever traveled for pleasure with just yourself?

I just got back from my first “solo” trip to the Bay Area and had the time of my life. Now If we’re being technical I’ve traveled solo before in small increments of time when interviewing for jobs and such but never a full 4-day stint solo.

This post is part one of a two-part series. The first part will be all about what I did while there and the second post will be a sample itinerary for solo Bay Area travel all opinion based and off of my experience/research. I’ll also share tips or things to consider when planning a trip of your own. 

A little back story:

It all started when I saw the line up of the Lights on Fest curated by the singer H.E.R.  The festival would take place in Concord CA, which is not too far from the Bay area, and my trip was decided.

Now this festival had the line up of my dreams and hosted all of my R&B faves. I considered inviting some friends then just said Nah I’ll go solo. Thinking to myself I’m like umm solo to a festival...ahh it’ll be fine I thought. I knew things would work out and they did. Keep reading for more.

Trip days: Thursday-Monday

I am so grateful to have a few friends in the area. This was great because I got to catch up with them when I wanted to but still be on my own schedule to explore. 

Thursday:

I landed Thursday morning in San Jose around 11 am PST and headed over for lunch at the Facebook HQ where my friend works.

I spent the rest of the day at Facebook enjoying the food, great conversations with my new “adopted” friends and exploring the huge campus. I stayed around for dinner and HH too. After that I checked into my Air BnB because my body was still on East coast time.

Friday:

I picked up my rental car from San Francisco airport and made my drive to Downtown Napa, California. The drive was breathtaking and I loved seeing the views as I crossed over the Bay Bridge and beyond. 

I am not a big wine drinker but was so excited to visit the first and only black-owned winery in Napa, Brown Winery and Estates. Now the actual estate tour is only open to members but you can book experiences in their tasting room in Downtown Napa which I did. 

The Brown family story is an amazing one and you can read about it here. I was also excited to hear that the Brown tasting room was the most visited tasting room in downtown Napa.  #blackexcellence 

My experience was memorable.  I did the tasting with two other beautiful ladies from Houston TX, who also traveled to the area for the Lights On festival. The pairings were exquisite-I especially enjoyed the Rosemary Zinfandel.

That evening I linked up with a friend who happened to be in the area for work and we decided to hit the streets and explore. We went by the Golden Gate Bridge, explored Chinatown to see the countless murals and ended the night with dinner at China Live a really cool spot to eat, shop, and hang out. My day was perfect.

Saturday:

This was festival day the reason I headed to the west coast. My vocals were prepped and I was on my way to Oakland to link up with another friend who was heading to the festival. Not being familiar with the area it just made sense to all head that way together. I made at pit stop at Rudy’s Can’t Fail Cafe first for some fuel for the day ahead. The food and service was bomb 9/10 would recommend.

We pulled up to Concord Pavillion and watched rows and rows of people swaying to the smooth sounds of R&B and in their feels (my kind of show). The vibes were on point and the performances were everything that I imagined. the show was totally worth it. I made new friends and everlasting memories this night. 

Sunday:

Today was a wild card. I didn’t have set plans but knew I wanted good food and fun. I hit up my friend who mentioned a yummy Thai place in her neighborhood she wanted to try. I was geeked to see more of Oakland so I went right over.

We sat by the water in Jack London Square and had the best girl time ever. I am so proud of my friends for following their dreams and taking leaps of faith. I’ll also add the food was amazing. We dined at Farmhouse Kitchen a farm to table Thai restaurant. Get the red curry and blue rice.

After that, a few girls I met the night before through my friend invited me to a day party so I crossed the bridge back to San Francisco to see how the Bay gets down. It was dope I just felt super overdressed.

In typical Tay fashion I met more new friends and the night ended with Chinese food and table laughs as I checked into my last Airbnb in Oakland.

Monday:

My plan for this day was to visit the Museum of the African Diaspora, to go thrifting, see the Painted Ladies houses all before my 5:15 pm flight.

I realized that the museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. I was really bummed but continued with my day. After coffee and a bagel, I made my way over to Community Thrift store

On my walk down Valencia Street to Community Thrift, I stumbled upon the most amazing store I’ve ever visited called stuff. Now STUFF is a vintage and modern store that literally had everything from Chanel jewelry to furniture. I bought some beautiful vintage finds while there.

I decided on tacos for lunch at Puerto Alegre deemed the best mexican food in San Francisco.  My time in the Bay area came to an end as I took my last photos at Painted Ladies and ordered my Lyft to the airport.

This trip exceeded my expectations and was the perfect mix of solo moves, catching up with friends, and creating memories with new ones. The Bay showed me so much love and I will definitely be back hopefully sooner than later.

Stay tuned for part two of Tay in the Bay. Have you ever visited the Bay area? LMK.

xOxO- Taylor