Business ended early. Got home Friday night. No suggestions, so I guess I didn't miss anything.

 

^That depends. If you didn't come up to wine country, you missed a lot!

 

You did not miss anything but a felony assault.
I avoid the bay area (San Francisco/Oakland/Berkley/ etc) like the plague. The congestion, prices, people, filth, crime, abysmal infrastructure, congestion, drug users, homeless, human excrement, garbage, congestion, drug paraphernalia, inadequate public transportation, (oh, did I mention congestion?) make for a hell on earth. I usually take along an extra magazine for my concealed carry. It is a third world country.

 

Sorry to hear this update on the Bay Area, Cosmo. I haven't been there in about 20 years. I darn say that the best and cheapest Dim Sum we found was at some place in Oakland. As a former California native from the Los Angeles area, I did visit the Bay area several times before I moved to Arizona, and even a time or two after that move. I always enjoyed my times in the City.

 

The San Francisco of "The Summer of Love" and a place to leave your heart behind are gone with the ocean wind. Everyone I have known who has lived there (Son, niece with family and kids, college friends, sister, and colleagues) have all moved out for a better life elsewhere.

 

I've been up there and as I said in the original post, I was looking for something to kill a couple of hours in Berkeley. Wine country would be significantly longer than that.

 

What I saw didn't seem that bad. I was in the area of the University.

 

I would have to agree with Cosmo, partially. The homeless problem in SF is out of hand. There are areas of the city we just stay away from. It's still a good place to go for the day, and we can take a ferry in and out, or drive at certain times of the day without too much trouble.
Napa is a complete opposite, and while we have homeless here, they aren't milling around downtown and visitors don't see them, only the beauty of our valley.

 

I have a daughter that lives south of SF in Half Moon Bay and she hates going into the city.

 

I don't think I would recommend a visit to New Orleans. Although prices are probably better than SF and human excrement on the street is relatively rare. And your concealed carry would fit right in.

Gentle ribbing aside, given your many travels, I would love to know your favorite cities?