Spend a day on the Bay, al fresco-style

Remember the joy of first learning to drive? The way it felt like the world was at your fingertips? The burst of main character energy that came with wheels that could propel you to new cities, new landscapes? The feeling that driving could be fun?

That’s how it felt crossing the Bay Bridge in a rented BMW luxury convertible on an early June afternoon. Surprisingly, compared to many of the Bay Area’s luxuries, renting a sumptuous convertible for the day is a comparatively affordable option. My weekday rental was $126, plus insurance, for 24 hours, as well as the costs of gas and parking. Here’s how it went.

In all honesty, the day started with a logistical challenge. It’s pretty uncommon, apparently, to show up at the airport car rental hub, with a car of one’s own. The rental agency, Sixt, didn’t have on-site parking, so I had to schlep my personal vehicle out to SFO’s long-term parking. With that hurdle overcome, I returned to the hub and slid behind the wheel of my ride for the day: a 2024 BMW 4 Series convertible.

A little anxious about driving the nicest car I’d ever been in, I was determined to see if Barbie and Regina George were really onto something with their signature open-air rigs. My first stop was the Glen Park BART station, where inimitable photojournalist Karl Mondon hopped into the back to document the adventure. We rolled back the top to let the sun in and headed across the Bay Bridge to take in the start-of-summer vibes. Before crossing the bridge, though, I added the rental’s license plate to my FasTrak account, which I was told would help me save a few bucks in extra fees.

First stop: Treasure Island to take in the scenery from Panorama Park, then we picked up a coffee at the charming Aracely Cafe (driving through some industrial streets that had us questioning our directions). Not to sound like a car commercial, but I was quite impressed with the driver-side projection onto the windshield that showed the speed limit and my speed plus radio stations so that I never even had to look down at my dashboard. So. Fancy.

We’d both heard the stereotype that folks behind the wheel of BMWs can sometimes drive like jerks. But feeling the smooth power beneath the accelerator, I finally understood the temptation in a new way. I wanted to gun it and feel the engine purr as I slickly wove through traffic, an impatient but graceful fish in a school of automobiles, all hurtling in the same direction. But old habits die hard, and my defensive Yaris-wielding “No, really, YOU go” tendencies eventually kicked back in.

The next stop was to pick up my cousin Madeline, who recently finished a graduate program at UC Berkeley and was available on short notice during the week to participate in the East Bay portion of this joyride. Our objective was to have a photogenic picnic, so the natural destination was Strawberry Creek Park, where a grassy lawn full of other picnickers and afternoon sun-seekers confirmed we were on the right track. Playful pups chased each other while we sat and cheerfully ate our sandwiches, discussing our plans for the future. There was tofu banh mi for me from Banh Mi Bite, and a Mediterranean chicken wrap for Madeline from My-O-My, a Canadian shawarma joint.

Fueled up, we wanted to soak in the sunshine and glorious wind along the Bay, so we headed for the Albany Bulb. As is frequently the case, I-80 through Berkeley was a traffic-riddled mess, but with the wind making Medusa-like tendrils of our hair, we barely noticed. At the park, we took in the kites on the horizon over the hazy city across the Bay and smiled.

After dropping Madeline at her place, we headed across the Bay to our next scenic lookout, the Crystal Springs Reservoir in San Mateo County. On the way, we hit a snarl of traffic on I-880 south. Looking around us, it seemed bizarre. Why aren’t there more convertibles on the road? It’s not like there’s a shortage of luxury cars in the region, but so few are open to the fresh air. I couldn’t understand it. We were having fun, enjoying the breeze and the vibes – and all at rush hour! And then we were crossing the San Mateo-Hayward bridge, flying over the water for what felt like a long time – perhaps because, at 7 miles, it’s the longest bridge in California. Then we turned onto Highway 280 and stopped at a vista point to see the gentle browning hills overlooking the water of the Crystal Springs Dam, fingers of fog poking over the westward mountains. I-280 is part of Caltrans’ official Scenic Highways, which, among other conditions, means that there are no billboards and nearby development is minimized – ideal conditions for appreciating the Peninsula’s temperate beauty. Enjoying every minute of the golden hour, I dropped Karl at BART and headed home.

But the adventure wasn’t over yet. My sister and roommate, Amy, and our cousin Sommer were finally free for the evening and wanted a turn as passengers (obviously). So we ventured out in search of sunset views and dessert in the vague direction of Pescadero, cresting the four corners intersection where Alice’s Restaurant perches, just ahead of closing and in time to order three kinds of cake – molten lava cake, cheesecake and carrot cake. Sated, we reconfigured our route northward instead, taking Skyline Boulevard to Half Moon Bay, then Highway 1 to Pacifica and back to the car rental hub.

By now, we’d figured out how to connect our music to the convertible’s audio system, and the party was on. Driving through the winding roads of the Santa Cruz Mountains beneath the redwoods hits differently when the car is doubling as an open-air karaoke room. DJ Amy queued up on-theme hits, such as Taylor Swift’s “Getaway Car,” Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” and Harry Styles’ “Keep Driving.” Between turns along Highway 35, we’d catch the pastel rainbow of the sunset flashing by amid the silhouettes of dense evergreens. My two passengers, blankets atop their laps, grinned from ear to ear as they sang along, even as the fog thickened and darkness fell.

By the time we hit the coast, the air was crisp, and we felt a world away from our stresses. The briny smell of the ocean drifted our way as we climbed north, and I felt a sense of calm wash over me. If we’d been visiting during the day, we might’ve stopped to dip our toes into the water at Montara State Beach. As it was, the cold air was starting to bite, and as our windswept hair started to tangle into mats, we realized that there was a distinct possibility that maybe convertible life might feel less exhilarating as an all-day, every-day kind of thing.

As we drove through the yellow-lit bore of the Tom Lantos Tunnel, we shouted a series of feral hollers, each louder than the last, riding past the echoes reverberating through the walls. The scene could’ve been straight from “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” but as the car coasted into Pacifica to begin the journey to return the car, something in the air had shifted. Summer had started, and it felt good to take a deep breath and lean into the joy of the ride.

In a time when people don’t much “go for a drive” for the fun of it anymore – and for good reasons, carbon emissions and pricey gas among them – it was a pleasure to reconnect with the raw joy of being behind the wheel, to feel fancy for a day, and to share in an experience that brought giddy grins to everyone along for the ride. If you’re looking for a way to capture those feelings, renting a convertible for the day might just be the answer.

If you go:

Sixt Rent-A-Car. Open 6 a.m.-1 a.m. daily at Rental Car Center, 780 N. McDonnell Rd, San Francisco; sixt.com.

Panorama Park. Open 6 a.m.-7 p.m. daily at 66-324 Yerba Buena Road, San Francisco.

Aracely Cafe. Open 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday-Tuesday at 401 13th St. #312, San Francisco; https://aracelysf.com.

Banh Mi Bite. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily at 1814 Euclid Ave, Berkeley; banhmibite.com.

My-O-My. Open 11 a.m.-12 a.m. weekdays and 12 p.m.-12 a.m. weekends at 1866 Euclid Ave., Berkeley, instagram.com/my.o.my.shawarma.

Strawberry Creek Park. Open 6 a.m.-10 p.m. daily at 1260 Allston Way, Berkeley; https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/parks-recreation/parks/strawberry-creek-parkberkeleyca.gov.

Albany Bulb. Open 5 a.m.-10 p.m. daily at 1 Buchanan St., Albany.

Crystal Springs Regional Trail. Open daily until Labor Day until 8 p.m. at 950 CA-35, Redwood City.

Alice’s Restaurant. Open 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 8 a.m.-7 p.m. on Sundays at 17288 Skyline Blvd., Woodside; alicesrestaurant.com.

Montara State Beach. Open 8 a.m.-sunset daily; Highway 1, 8 miles north of Highway 92; parks.ca.gov.