Day 6 Road Guide

Date:Thursday, June 11, 2026 Crew:Jason, Karen, Sierra, Christian Sleep:Mom's house — Manteca

SF (Hotel Zephyr) → Shopping (Union Square + Westfield) → Berkeley → Manteca

Route Map

Open full route in Google Maps →

San Francisco Shopping

Union Square + Westfield SF Centre — biggest concentration of shopping in central SF

Where to shop (in order of value for the time)

Union Square — luxury + major brand stores, the "big kahuna" of SF shopping
Westfield San Francisco Centre ⭐ — multi-level indoor mall, Nordstrom + Bloomingdale's anchor, great for teens, easy if weather turns
Hayes Valley — boutique alternative if Sierra wants indie/cool shops (5 min cab from Union Square)

Things to do besides shopping

Walk through the actual Union Square park — palm trees, hearts, photo ops
Cable Car Museum — free, watch the actual cables running, 15 min stop, 8 blocks from Union Square
Chinatown — Dragon Gate at Bush + Grant, 5 min walk from Union Square, lunch dim sum

SF vintage / thrift (Sierra pull)

Goodwill Boutique — 1700 Haight St (in the Haight, the original counterculture vintage neighborhood)
Buffalo Exchange Haight — 1555 Haight St, curated trade-in vintage
Wasteland — 1660 Haight St, designer + vintage
Crossroads Trading — multiple SF locations, including Haight
Haight-Ashbury is 15 min Uber from Union Square — worth the side trip for serious thrift

Quick lunch picks

Tadich Grill — SF's oldest restaurant (since 1849), classic seafood
Hog Island Oyster Co. — Ferry Building, oysters + clam chowder
Mission Chinese Food — modern Chinese, fun for teens
Yank Sing — best dim sum in SF (Stevenson St location)

Parking + logistics

Best parking: Union Square Garage (333 Post St), $30-50/day
Don't street park downtown — break-ins, meter chaos
If you want to skip parking entirely: Uber from Hotel Zephyr to Union Square (5 min, ~$12) and back
Bay Bridge to Berkeley is east — easier to leave SF going east in late morning before traffic

Berkeley

~30 min from SF via Bay Bridge (I-80 east)

Landmarks

Sather Tower (the Campanile) — iconic bell tower, take the elevator up for the best view in Berkeley ($5)
UC Berkeley campus — walkable, historic buildings, student energy
UC Berkeley Botanical Garden — uphill from campus, 34 acres, $15
Koret Visitor Center — start here for campus tours, Mon-Fri 8:30-4:30

Things to do

Walk Telegraph Avenue — Berkeley's counterculture corridor, street vendors, indie bookstores, record shops
Amoeba Music — legendary record/CD/poster store on Telegraph (Sierra spot)
Walk through the campus from West Gate to Sather Tower
Take the elevator up the Campanile for 360° views

Gourmet Ghetto (North Shattuck)

Chez Panisse — 1517 Shattuck Ave, Alice Waters's restaurant since 1971, birthplace of California cuisine. Reservations required for dining, but worth a drive-by photo.
The Cheese Board Collective — pizza of the day, daily-changing menu, line out the door, worth it
Acme Bread — legendary bakery
Saul's Restaurant & Delicatessen — old-school Jewish deli, family-friendly

Tilden Park (if time allows)

Tilden Regional Park — 2,000 acres in the hills above Berkeley, scenic drive
Steam-powered miniature train ride (kids' favorite, $4)
Tilden Merry-Go-Round (1911 historic carousel)
Lake Anza (swimming in summer)
Skip if running short on time — Manteca is still 1.5 hr away

Berkeley quick-stop strategy

1.5 hr version: Sather Tower elevator → walk Telegraph → Cheese Board pizza
3 hr version: Add Gourmet Ghetto + Botanical Garden OR Tilden
Parking on Telegraph + near campus is hard — try Stadium Garage or Lower Hearst

Mom's House — Manteca (Sleep)

~1.5 hr from Berkeley via I-580 east → I-5 south → Hwy 120 east

The drive from Berkeley

I-580 east through Livermore Valley → I-5 south → Hwy 120 east to Manteca
~1.5 hr if traffic is clear, 2+ if rush hour
Best to leave Berkeley by 4 PM to beat Bay Area commuter traffic
Plan dinner at Mom's instead of along the way

Time with Mom + Larry

Family dinner at home
Kids get a low-key evening after 5 days of go-go-go
You get a real break — no hotel, no driving in the morning at first light
BBQ if weather's good, or take Mom out somewhere local

If you want to take Mom out

Bass Pro Shops Manteca — outdoor mega-store, kids will spend an hour
Promenade Shops at Orchard Valley — Manteca's main shopping center, restaurants
Manteca Steak House (Doubletree) — solid steak dinner spot

Friday prep — Yosemite tomorrow

Manteca → Yosemite (via Hwy 120/Big Oak Flat entrance) is ~2 hr
Get up early — Yosemite parking fills by 10 AM in summer
Pack the car the night before
Fill up on gas in Manteca — gas inside the park is $$$
Pack snacks + water bottles — food inside the park is limited and pricey