<p>Dining at Scoma’s, a seafood restaurant in Sausalito, has become a ritual for me and my son whenever we are in the area. It sits right on the bay where the boats coming from Fisherman Wharf dock. It has good seafood and incredible views - you can sit inside or out right on the water watching the bay, boats, seagulls and San Fran while you eat. I just returned from a visit and we drove on a one way road up into the hills of Sausalito where remnants from WWII army guns and bunkers exist, and if you follow the road it will take you to a beach on the Pacific with black sand and waves crashing against the rocks. Very cool and fun for all ages.</p>
<p>There is also an REI outlet in SF - down somewhere around Harrison and 9thish. Lots and lots and lots of stuff, including North Face BTW. If your kids like Mexican food you have to take them to the Mission for tacos. Go to <a href=“http://www.chowhound.com%5B/url%5D”>www.chowhound.com</a> and do a search on taquerias. Delicious and cheap. And if you guys like restaurant food, SF is the kind of place where there is always a place of the moment - right now it might be Myth, or Town Hall, or Quince, or A16. Lots of others will also be findable on Chowhound.</p>
<p>Dim sum can be found any time, though its possible that some restaurants may offer it only on weekends. But there will be plenty that offer it every day. Usually it is available only morning-early afternoon, with most places stopping serving it by around 2 or 3 pm. But then, nothing is set in stone - we’ve got a dim sum take-out near our house that is reasonably good and dirt cheap, open until 8.</p>
<p>R&G Lounge is another great Chinese food place - Hong Kong style.</p>
<p>Check out City Hall- what a magnificent building, Go to the Beach, the Cliff House Restaurant was recently remodeled. Its crowded, but get drink at the lounge and watch the waves, Fort Funsten and the Hang Gliders, paddle or row boat ride on stow lake in golden gate park, Union Square, go into the Hyatt Regency at the end of Market, its stunning and been in many a movie, Haight Street is a blast, some of the best restaruants are the least fancy, I heard that you can get tours of the ballpark when no games are on, walking across the Golden Gate Bridge is wonderful, even when its cold and foggy (good chance of that), Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill, Top of the Mark, Grace Cathedral, St Marys Cathedral- both very different architecture, but both beautiful- San Francisco has some amazing Gothic Style Churches, the art galleries around Union Square, Angel Island- a boat ride away, Fishermans Wharf is typical tourist but its FUN…Pier 39 as well, The Ferry Building, Coit Tour, University of San Francisco campus, Sea Cliff-there is a walk along the cliffs next to a golf course- Robin Williams house is nearby- Its the one with the big ole sculpture in the yard, </p>
<p>In Carmel, Montery Bay Aquarium, if you drive there, take Highway 1, its longer and very windy, but the views are so worth it.</p>
<p>How old is S? There are poetry slams, concerts, free concerts in the park, I have a teen who knows all the scoop!!</p>
<p>Also, free concerts in Stern Grove on Sundays, Shaekspeare Festival, Blues/Jazz Festival,</p>
<p>Twin Peaks, the Presidio (old army base)</p>
<p>Okay, I will come up with more!!! San Francisco is my HOME and I love it!!!</p>
<p>The whole area around the Metreon is great-bowling ice skating movies and Museum of Modern Art, the Exploritorium (mentioned before) is GREAT for all ages…my H plays with all the gadgets and the cow eye dissection is awesome.
The Flower Conservatory in Golden Gate Park, in the park is also an area (name escapes me) that has plants from all over the world, mini cloud forest, cacti, and a lot of turtles in the pond. Even a section with pre-historic plants. Very cool.<br>
Transamerica Pyramid and Bank of America Building</p>
<p>Restaurants- the Rain Forest Cafe- vegetarian,
Asia- great tapas and the waitstaff is all guys in drag
There are a couple of Morocan Restaurants, one near Vanness and one out on Clement Street- sit on the floor, watch a belly dancer, eat with your hands and enjoy!!
There are some great family style (everyone shares plates) restaurants in North Beach
Try Thai= The Khan Toke Restaurant on Geary is beautiful, you can sit on cushions or on low seats…wear clean socks…the food is really good and the atmosphere is wonderful
You can also try Vietnamese, Indian (good place on Irving Street)
Park Chow on 9th Avenue</p>
<p>The bus system is pretty good, parking is tough sometimes, the cabs are easy to get and fairly reasonable, and the City is very safe.</p>
<p>It can get chilly in SF, so do the layer thing, its how we natives do it. </p>
<p>Go to</p>
<p>sfgate.com</p>
<p>its the local newspapers website. it has lots of details, and links under entertainment for museums, shows etc.</p>
<p>Don’t forgot Napa Valley/Sonoma for California wine country.</p>
<p>Availability of Giants tickets depends on when you will be here (if they are even at home), and what opposing team is in town. If it is the Dodgers or Cubs or another hot team, hard to get tickets that are any good on the day of the game. Go to the Giants website and check the schedule to see if they are even home–if they are, you can go to the “Double Play” window and get good tickets in advance, or just try the regular online ticket sale window–but those are not the greatest seats usually. You can click on the seat on the stadium map and see where your prospective seats are and what the view is like. </p>
<p>From City Kayaks you can go kayaking on the Bay if your kids like that kind of thing.</p>
<p>I prefer Tiburon to Sausalito…a bit less touristy and the views from Corinthian Island (big hill at the end of Main Street) are enchanting. You can take the ferry from SF to Tiburon and you can take a smaller ferry to Angel Island from Tiburon, great hikes and views all around the Bay.</p>
<p>Ok, I have to put in my two cents on this one.</p>
<p>Food:
Mescolanza, out in the avenues (I think Clement between 23rd and 24th Ave)
Il Pollaio, on Columbus Street in North Beach (I’ve been eating at this place for all of my 19 years)
LIGURIA BAKERY on Stockton Street in North Beach, right off of Washington Square, up the block from Sts. Peter and Paul Church; world’s best focaccia
Golden Boy Pizza on Green between Grant and Columbus in North Beach</p>
<p>Not-so-obvious places to go:
Twin Peaks at night (the view is stunning)
Fillmore Street (the upper part); lots of shops and whatnot
For a fun hike, Mt. Davidson, on the outskirts of the city, near Twin Peaks
The Cannery, down by Fisherman’s Wharf, and Acquatic Park, a beach in that area
For a fun ride, take your rental car over the Filbert Street “bump” (ask around; people will tell you where it is)
Ok, this one is obvious, but I don’t think anyone has mentioned LOMBARD STREET! - the crooked street, that is. It’s always fun to take a car down this one.</p>
<p>These are the things that immediately came to mind.</p>
<p>Second Lombard St - a must, so what if it’s touristy? Also Twin Peaks.</p>
<p>Just remembered the hillside restaurant in Sausalito-Alta Mira.</p>
<p>Also, since you’ll have a car (agree - don’t bother using it in The City, just on your excursions): drive up (or down) Route 1 (coastal route) in Marin County from GG Bridge to Point Reyes National Seashore. Unique “park” experience. Drive is breathtaking, nothing like it anywhere else. Was anyone else (non-native) terrified their first time? It is a windy, cliffside ocean-front drive (you’ve seen its equivalent on TV car commercials, scary chase scenes…)</p>
<p>Yosemite–should be amazing this year because of all the snow and rain! The waterfalls should be out of this world. If your boys like to hike, take the Glacier Point bus one way from the valley to the top (Glacier Point) and hike the scenic trail back down. (Unless anyone in your group has aging knees because it is almost entirely downhill and would be hard on the knees). You get constantly shifting, beautiful views all the way down. Some of the most beautiful hikes start from Tuolomne Meadows, which is the “high country” above Yosemite, to beautiful mountain lakes. Again, there is a hiker’s bus that I believe goes up there and you can hike down from there. There is a wonderful hike that goes down along Yosemite Falls so that you hike along the stream that feeds it until you come to the top of the falls, then hike back down from there. The main thing you want to do, if possible, is to get out of the valley which is awfully crowded with tourists. Late sunset-evening walks will usually bring views of deer grazing in the meadows. Another wonderful thing to do is to rent a raft and float down the Merced River through the valley–again it may be too full for rafting this year so that may not be possible.</p>
<p>Try to have a meal or a late afternoon tea at the Ahwahnee Hotel–one of the most gorgeous dining rooms (huge) you will ever see in your life and also a grand lounge adjacent. </p>
<p>The City Kayaks site is <a href=“http://citykayak.web.aplus.net/[/url]”>http://citykayak.web.aplus.net/</a>
The Top of the Mark for drinks if it is a clear evening has wonderful views of the City, bay, etc.<br>
Union Square area for shopping–for the boys, I believe that there is a huge Niketown there. (I think, but citygirlsmom should know that for sure…I don’t shop in SF often anymore).</p>
<p>One of our favorite cities! In addition to the great recommendations you’ve received, kids and H enjoyed a stop in the cable car museum (Mason and Washington Sts.) to get an overview of the inner workings of the system-you actually see the cables in action. </p>
<p>We also enjoyed a walk down the Filbert Steps after visiting Coit Tower. The Filbert Steps are a wooden staircase that descends an almost treehouse-like neighborhood of lush gardens and pathways. (From Coit Tower take curving sidewalk along Telegraph Hill Ave and turn left at Filbert-when youreach the bottom you will be on Sansome).</p>
<p>Great photo ops at Alamo Sq. on Steiner St.-painted ladies (used in the opening shots on Full House) and at the Marin Headlands-easy to reach on your way back from Muir Woods.</p>
<p>The Buena Vista Cafe (Hyde and Beach) is a great spot for breakfast or Irish coffee at the end of the day. Located by the waterfront at the cable car turnaround junction-nice views.</p>
<p>Wear comfortable shoes and have a great time. Our whole family loved our SF area vacation.</p>
<p>And the Buena Vista has been there for something like 30 years. It remember having Irish coffee there right about the time I was first legally able to drink. (You don’t have to share that little anecdote with the teenagers of course…)</p>
<p>On the way to Carmel, if this hasn’t already been mentioned, if your boys like old-fashioned roller coasters, stop at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk: <a href=“http://www.beachboardwalk.com/[/url]”>http://www.beachboardwalk.com/</a>
It is a really fun amusement park right on the beach. The Giant Dipper is a wooden roller coaster built in the 20’s I believe. I am not a big amusement park person but this one is really pleasurable because it has that beachy, old-fashioned feel to it.</p>
<p>And, if you want to get in the mood for the beauty of Yosemite, pick up a copy of John Muir’s My First Summer in the Sierra. Exquisite, simple writing conveys the wonder and stunning beauty of the area.</p>
<p>Note on Liguria bakery: get there early, they sell out every day. The best choice is the foccacia with pizza sauce.</p>
<p>I used to walk past there on my way to work every day, and that was breakfast more often than not.</p>
<p>The Asian art museum is definitely worth a visit.</p>
<p>If you do make it to Berkeley, check out Moe’s book store.</p>
<p>Changed my mind having just been in Tiburon and Sausalito yesterday—Sausalito. It will be more fun for the boys. I hope you have a marvelous time and as someone pointed out above, do come prepared for any weather. The windy/foggy summer days can be a disappointment if you are not prepared for them. But hopefully you will have beautiful weather!</p>
<p>Dear CC friends,
Thank you all for your wonderful advice. Our family had a great time in California. I carried a printout of this thread around and did as much as time allowed. To those of you who live there - you are so fortunate. I particularly loved the terrain. The mountains and cliffs are breathtaking. We made it as far north as the Point Reyes lighthouse,
I loved seeing the cows and green rolling hills, so near the beach. On the return we had dinner at Scoma’s in Sausalito. The city was exciting and colorful. We made it to the Exploratorium, Alcatraz, City Lights a Giants game, Pier 39 and Union Square. L’Osterio del forno was wonderful. We also made it to several of the churches St. Mary’s, St. Patricks, and the one in the North Beach area as well as Mission Carmel and St. Juan Baptista. (citygirlsmom it is easy to see why you love your City) We rode the Big Dipper rollar coaster at Santa Cruz. Carmel and Monterey were lovely, we enjoyed the Aquarium and Pebble Beach from the Rosedale Inn, and we also had a fine meal at the Fishwife. Yosemite was Magnificent; we stayed at the Awahnee and hiked to Vernal and Nevada Falls. Again thanks to all, with so much to see your suggestions were much appreciated, as to those things we did not get to see, we now have a reason and desire to return!!</p>
<p>if you’re in berkeley, a great chinese restaurant is Vegi Food (<a href=“http://www.shopinberkeley.com/v/vegifood/index.php[/url]”>http://www.shopinberkeley.com/v/vegifood/index.php</a>)</p>
<p>WOW!!! You did a lot!!! And today its about 70 degrees, sunshine, and so pleasant</p>
<p>This weekend was the Haight Street Fair, you can just imagine the crowd…</p>
<p>I do love my city!!!</p>
<p>PS- From my bedroom, we can see Angel Island, and Ocean Beach…</p>