<p>My mom lives in the city, and I live down the Peninsula near Palo Alto. She sends out-of-town relatives and friends to the Hotel Majestic on Sutter Street, which is a good location for walking to many places. I went to a family breakfast there once, and it’s a nice place. It’s about $150/night.</p>
<p>For walking tours - if you’re a mystery reader, there’s a great walking tour of Dashiell Hammett sites around the city. These are given by a man named Don Herron (donherron.com) who knows Hammett’s work very well. I went on this tour when Herron was a newbie and I enjoyed it a lot.</p>
<p>You probably know all about the museums already, but if you haven’t gone to the De Young since it re-opened (after being damaged in the 1989 earthquake), you might enjoy that. There are some good exhibits plus a tower with fantastic all-round views of the city. The Legion on Honor has good collections and is in an excellent location for hiking around at Land’s End. </p>
<p>You might want to consider renting a car for just a day (you can get one on Van Ness or other downtown locations) and going north to Point Reyes. This is the season for gray whale migration, and Point Reyes is the closest land they swim near, so there’s a chance you could spot some whales if you go to the lighthouse or Chimney Rock. Point Reyes is a huge area, very beautiful and filled with hiking trails. It’s a longish drive (60-90 minutes?) but worth it. For whale info, see: <a href=“http://www.nps.gov/pore/planyourvisit/wildlife_viewing_whales.htm[/url]”>www.nps.gov/pore/planyourvisit/wildlife_viewing_whales.htm</a></p>
<p>I lived in San Francisco for six years after I finished college, and I always liked just walking the neighborhoods. You might enjoy visiting some of the neighborhoods that don’t get a lot of tourist traffic.</p>
<p>I hike every weekend in the foothills around Palo Alto, and you’ll be too early for the wildflowers. Still pretty, though.</p>
<p>Forgot to say - if you’d like some hiking ideas for anywhere in the Bay Area, look at bahiker.com. There’s a link on the left side for hikes sorted by difficulty.</p>
<p>You’re probably right and besides it is so wet the hikes would be awfully muddy unless the sun shines steadily for the next two weeks (which it won’t). Although, I did see poppies out at Stanford the other day! It WILL be great in March or April…</p>
<p>Take BART accross the Bay to Berkeley. Walk around Telegraph avenue, the campus. Head up to Lawrence Hall of Science, located high up in the Berkeley hills for killer views of SF, Marin, both bridges. The kids can enjoy the hall’s hands-on exhibits at the Hall. Then head down the hills toward the northern side of Berkeley campus and explore the gourmet ghetto. Get some cheese/bread/great fruit for a picnic lunch at the Rose Garden.</p>
<p>2boysima: If you are going to stay in Monterey area, Monterey is the best. there are a lot of motels in that city and some have great rates on weeknights. Check with the AAA. From there it’s about an hour and a half north to Santa Cruz and half an hour south to Big Sur. To see a great beach, stop at the Big Sur ranger station on highway 1 and ask how to get to Pfeiffer-Big Sur park.</p>
<p>Restaurant recommendations for SF: the best vegetarian restaurant in the city is Greens, in Fort Mason, but it’s not that cheap. Just as good for vegetarian food in general are the Golden Era (near downtown, Vietnamese/Chinese) and Cha-Ya (Valencia near 17th St., vegetarian Japanese). A very good ethnic restaurant is Angkor Borei (Mission near 30th, Cambodian). There are some reputedly good inexpensive Turkish restaurants in the city.</p>
<p>If you can hold off deciding until you know what the weather will be, I would do that. Monterey/Carmel in the winter can be spectacular if it’s dry. I spent the first winter of the 1976-7 drought in Pacific Grove (next to Monterey) and rode my bike to school every day along the water. I thought I had fallen into paradise.</p>
<p>There’s plenty to do there for 4 days - Monterey Bay Aquarium is amazing - that plus Cannery Row/Fisherman’s Wharf is good for 1 day, Carmel is good for another (charming town with lovely architecture and cute shops, mission, gorgeous beach), Pt. Lobos Nat’l Reserve is one of the most beautiful coastline areas in the country (it inspired Robt Lewis Stephenson to write Treasure Island) and is great for walks, and you could either drive down to Big Sur, or if you’re tired of the ocean head inland to the Pinnacles. However, if it’s raining, none of this except the aquarium will be any fun. Right now it’s rain for the foreseable future, but maybe it will clear up after next week.</p>
<p>I had pretty much decided on San Francisco…but haven’t booked any lodging yet and Marin Mom’s descriptions sound very tempting…</p>
<p>I have been to the SF area in February and it was fairly overcast…but I’ll probably need to make some firm lodging plans at least a few days before I go. If I put off getting a hotel long enough, the decision may be based on where I can find the best deal!</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the suggestions…I’ll continue to read whatever additional posts are made…and…when I come back…I’ll let you know what I decided!</p>
<p>Another vote for the Monterey Penninsula. Pacific Grove is one of my home towns, and is a more reasonably priced and laid back place from which to explore the area. Going through galleries in Carmel can be fun. Pacific Grove is on a point, and there is a path along the beautiful rocky coastline to bike or walk while watching the waves crash. Asilomar beach in Pacific Grove is great for walking and exploring tide pools. There is a conference ground across the sand dunes, a California state park, that rents rooms if not otherwise busy. A lovely breakfast is included. You sit at a table with others, and I had some great conversations in the process. </p>
<p>For very good and reasonable healthy food, eat at Tillie Gorts on Lighthouse Ave, and note the photo of the staff in the '70s, my counter culture past. Close to the aquarium. </p>
<p>There are numerous hostels in that area of California, most with private rooms. My dream is to stay in one of the lighthouse hostels on the coast. </p>
<p>GLM - The lighthouses seem WONDERFUL! They have very limited availability so…in spite of my wanting to stay in one place for the 4 nights I’m there…I may have to change my plans. Now, maybe, I will spend 1 or 2 nights in SF, and then go down the coast for 1 or 2 nights. I will also look into Pacific Grove.</p>
<p>Anyone have an experience in the hostels in San Fran? The 2 called “Downtown” and “Civic Center” seem to be converted hotels, and they have some private rooms with baths. (The Fisherman’s Wharf hostel doesn’t have any rooms available when I will be traveling) I’m thinking the San Fran hostels might actually be a little nicer than some of the 1 and 2 star hotels. I’m finding the 1 and 2 star hotels get very mixed reviews on assorted tourist websites.</p>