<p>[Berkeley</a> police departments collaborate to establish patrol on Telegraph Avenue | The Daily Californian](<a href=“http://www.dailycal.org/2012/05/02/berkeley-police-departments-collaborate-to-establish-patrol-on-telegraph-avenue/]Berkeley”>http://www.dailycal.org/2012/05/02/berkeley-police-departments-collaborate-to-establish-patrol-on-telegraph-avenue/)</p>
<p>I went to the de Young museum the other day and I’m pretty sure they had some glass art! You should call to check about what exactly they have, though - I’m not exactly an art expert :), although I enjoy it. Hope you and your family have a great time in SF!</p>
<p>Oh, yeah, and the Cal Academy of Science in GG Park is fabulous! [California</a> Academy of Sciences - San Francisco Museum and Planetarium - Bay Area Natural History Museum](<a href=“http://www.calacademy.org/]California”>http://www.calacademy.org/) aquarium, planetarium, rain forest, earthquake zone<br>
Take public transit and get $3 off per ticket…</p>
<p>If you’re open to it, I would suggest a visit to the Castro district and the GLBT History Museum. SF has been a safe haven/destination for gay youths for a long time. Maybe watch “Milk” first. You are likely to see some things the boys will talk about for years.</p>
<p>If you listen to Glenn Beck or like to quote Leviticus, nevermind.</p>
<p>There is also a submarine museum:
[Maritime</a> Park Association - USS Pampanito Home Page](<a href=“http://www.maritime.org/pamphome.htm]Maritime”>San Francisco Maritime National Park Association - USS Pampanito)</p>
<p>Agree that parking a car is an expensive hassle in many parts of the city of San Francisco, so it may be best to rent only as needed for day trips to which one cannot get to by walking or public transportation.</p>
<p>Public transportation:
[San</a> Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA, Muni, Sustainable Streets)](<a href=“http://www.sfmuni.com%5DSan”>http://www.sfmuni.com)
[BART</a> - Bay Area Rapid Transit](<a href=“http://www.bart.gov%5DBART”>http://www.bart.gov)
[url=<a href=“http://www.caltrain.com%5Dcaltrain.com%5B/url”>http://www.caltrain.com]caltrain.com[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Definitely take the Blue and Gold or the Red and White fleet tour. Have dinner waterfront at Fisherman’s Wharf (our favorite is The Franciscan). Take the shuttle from Tiburon to Angel Island and hike around the island. Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge and back. If you like to sail, there are charters you can take for a few hours. There are also walking tours through the city. Take some time at Pier 39 as suggested earlier. Although I’ve never done it, a bus tour to the city sites sounds like a good idea. Oh and spend some time at Golden Gate Park. Have fun!!</p>
<p>Oh I am SO looking forward to being cold!!! We’re celebrating a cool front of only 95 for a few days.</p>
<p>Musee Mecanique looks like a must do! Wish we could stay longer - I’m pretty sure we’ll run out of money sooner than we’d run out of things to do. Buying plane tickets tonight on SouthWest - around $300-325 pp so not too bad. </p>
<p>VirologyNerd, the de Young looks wonderful. I’ll just have DH drop me off for at least half a day. Thanks!</p>
<p>I’m torn on the rental car - will try to find a cheap hotel with free parking on hotwire. There do seem to be some available.</p>
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<p>While cities on both coasts have developed as many ways as humanly possible to make sure that happens, it remains that San Francisco is devilish (and superbly effective) in extracting the last pennies of your wallet, and without any shame. In so many words, nothing in SF will be inexpensive --especially trying to get rid of your car at all times of the day. In a way, that is part of the sophistication of the city. </p>
<p>So bring a large roll of them greenbacks! And be prepared to see them dissapear like ice on your Houston sidewalk!</p>
<p>the beautiful Japanese Tea Gardens-- and, if you arrive before 10 AM on Monday, Wed and Friday NO Admission</p>
<p>How important is it for you to stay in SF?
Another less expensive option is to stay in Marin. You could have the car for visits to Muir Woods and Point Reyes. The Northern Ca coast is unique and worth a visit if you haven’t been. You could take the ferry into the city for the day or drive in if you really want to have a car. You also can take a ferry to Angel Island from Marin. We have stayed at the Best Western Corte Madera. It isn’t far over the bridge. They have a great pool and play area for kids. You also get breakfast delivered to your room.
We have also stayed near Union Square. Parking is expensive and many of the hotel rooms are pretty small. Plus most don’t include breakfast. If we have a car we park it and leave it for the duration of the trip.</p>
<p>Regarding Alcatraz tickets. Be sure to use the official National Parks Service ticket vendor:</p>
<p>[Alcatraz</a> Island - Official Tickets Site - Guaranteed Lowest Price](<a href=“Alcatraz Cruises (Official Provider) | City Cruises”>http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/)</p>
<p>when purchasing the tickets. They tend to NOT be the first vendor which pops up on the search engines. The other vendors add a significant processing fee to the basic ticket charges.</p>
<p>If you want to venture a bit further south a visit to Santa Cruz will probably go over well with teens. The Boardwalk is the most obvious tourist destination and there are free concerts on Friday nights. Henry Cowell State Park has redwoods which rival those of the Muir Woods, but tends to be much less crowded. Traffic on the main route to Santa Cruz can be very heavy on the weekends - either leave very early in the morning, or come in the very late afternoon.</p>
<p>We’ve occasionally gotten good hotel deals in Union Square, e.g., at The Handlery, which operates a small family-owned chain of California hotels. Other times we’ve stayed in the East Bay where it’s cheaper and taken BART into the city, or stayed in Marin and made that our base. I agree you don’t want a car if you’re staying in SF; no place to put it that won’t cost you an arm and a leg.</p>
<p>Some of our favorites: Muir Woods (always!), Chinatown, cable cars (cheesy, I know, but you’ve got to do it), Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park (classy old sailing ships, gives you a sense of SF’s seafaring past), City Lights Books in North Beach (great independent bookstore but also a cultural shrine to the Beat Generation), Golden Gate Park (including Japanese Tea Garden, DeYoung, Cal Academy of Sciences), the Presidio, Lombard Street, Angel Island (SF’s version of Ellis Island but also a beautiful spot for a hike in the middle of the Bay), hiking in the Berkeley Hills.</p>
<p>For a side trip I’d highly recommend Monterey. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is spectacular, great fun watching sea otters right in the harbor, excellent whale watching (humpbacks and blue whales this time of year), Cannery Row, Fisherman’s Wharf (I actually like it better than SF’s), and Monterey State Historic Park (Monterey Old Town, where a lot of California’s early history took place). Plus you’re just a few miles away from Carmel and the northern reaches of Big Sur with its spectacular coastline. Though the Marin coastline is nice, too, if you don’t want to travel as far as Monterey (about 2 hours drive from SF).</p>
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I was surprised after visiting SC a few years ago after not having been there in a long time in that it appeared to me to have declined considerably - lots of homeless people, shady looking people, and general shabbiness. I’ve mentioned this to a few others who live in the bay area and they concurred with my observations. Come to think of it though, the last time I went to the boardwalk there many years ago my car was broken into so I guess it wasn’t so great back then either.</p>
<p>The boardwalk might still be fun for some people though if it’s been kept up.</p>
<p>For amusement things - there’s the Great America theme park in Santa Clara and I think a six flags somewhere in the bay area? I went to the former shortly after it opened and haven’t been to the latter so I don’t know how good they are now.</p>
<p>I think Monterey is more like 3 hours from SF (with the traffic) and Santa Cruz closer to 2 (with the traffic). If you visit Santa Cruz, the area around UC Santa Cruz is beautiful and I would skip the commercial part (unless that is your cup of tea).</p>
<p>My husband loved Monterey - me and the kids not so much. Cannery Row is interesting.</p>
<p>Carmel is even further from SF, past Monterey.</p>
<p>^^ Carmel is really on the south end of Monterey, they’re basically connected, so if you go to one you’re essentially at the other.</p>
<p>Carmel/Monterey is a nice area with some nice ocean views.</p>
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<p>The SC city council prides itself on making the town attractive to the homeless of the world :). Yes, downtown is just skanky…but you can bypass it easily on the way to the Boardwalk.</p>
<p>All This…Southwest is having a sale…some flights $139. Also…if flying to Bay Area, try pricing into Oakland. Just as close as SFO, but smaller. If you’ve already booked, still check because they will credit you the difference (not in cash, but future flights).</p>
<p>gosmom, I saw that, but of course, neither Oakland of SFO is on sale from Houston. It’s still VERY reasonable though. Hoping to buy the tickets tonight!!!</p>
<p>San Jose is in the neighborhood as well. Any luck with a cheaper ticket into SJC?</p>
<p>I would not take the time to go all the way to SCruz. If you want to get out of cold SF, visit Great America in Santa Clara- an all day trip , but be sure to bring sunblock and hot weather gear as the south bay weather in the summer is NOTHING like SF weather . Usually its at least 80+. Stop in at Stanford U and Santa Clara if your HS student wants to see a couple of colleges here.</p>