San Francisco:
We only spent 24 hours in San Fran. On arrival day I booked a hotel that was walking distance to Fisherman's Wharf. I knew we had a limited amount of time and did not want to spend it negotiating travel to the things we wanted to see. I used Tripadvisor to find a family friendly hotel for a great price. I swear by this website! We got a hotel on Lombard Street and the descriptions on TripAdvisor were dead on!! We paid around $200 for a 2 queen room. It was quiet, safe, had free parking and was walking distance to the Wharf. Pretty good deal if you ask me!
There is so much to do and see in San Francisco. I recommend staying there for several days to see it all. This is what we did in 24 hours. We dropped our luggage and walked a few blocks toward the wharf. The kids got to run on the beach at the Aquatic Park near Pier 47. This was a great view of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge and the perfect first stop for kids who had just been on a 6 hour flight! We moved on to Pier 45 and the National Liberty Ship and then hit The Embarcadero. If you are not familiar, the Embarcadero is the strip that starts around Pier 45 , goes through Fisherman's Wharf, goes past the Exploratorium (a science museum which I want to see next time), under the Bay Bridge and ends at the AT & T Baseball Park. We didn't walk that far.
Right in the Fisherman's Wharf area, there are a ton of shops, restaurants, and street performers. So much to see and do! Yes it can be touristy, but sometimes that is for a reason! We stopped at a restaurant with tables on the street, had a beer while the kids ate meals and we munched on an appetizer. The people watching was fantastic! We hit a few shops, bought cheap sunglasses for ourselves (because YES we forgot to pack ours!), bought a few small souveneirs for friends, and found a candy shop for the kids. We continued walking down to Pier 39 - where all the touristy action is! The kids took a ride on the carousel, we saw a TON of sea lions laying out on the docks, and there was a show going on at the end of the pier.
We ate at Neptunes at the end of the pier. Pricey but the food was delicious and the views were amazing! Worth every penny. Plus we scored a Restaurant.com gift certificate before we left home. I paid $4 for $25 off! So worth it!
On our way out, we stopped at the wine store for cocktails at the hotel (we had the kids up since 4am EST & it was now 9pm EST). We went to the taxi stand at the end of the pier, got a cab in a few short minutes and were back at our hotel. The kids got in their jammies and watched TV, while mommy and daddy enjoyed some wine.
Wharf Tip: Even in august it can be cold and windy! And the weather changes on a dime! Wear layers, bring jackets or you'll really be a tourist and be buying a Fisherman's Wharf sweatshirt!
The next morning we were headed for Lake Tahoe to meet up with family. But before we left, there were a few key places we wanted to see! So we hopped in the car and drove to the curvy part of Lombard Street. No trip to San Fran would be complete without it. And at 10am on a weekday morning, we had the whole place to ourselves! From the top we had great views of Alcatraz again. Then we drove down the windy street and got out to take more pictures.
From here we just had to hit Haight/Ashbury. It worked out that we were going right past it to get on the highway out of town. So we drove in, stopped at 710 of course, and walked around a little bit. Now early morning weekdays are NOT the time to go to the Haight if you are looking for action. It was dead. But sometimes these are the sacrifices you make with kids.
I have to say, for 24 hours we saw and did a lot! We even had kids with us, which makes this feat even more amazing. Did we bribe them with candy at times? I'm not above it! Hey there was no whining. And we all got to see and do things that we enjoyed!
Things I would like to see next time we go:
The Exploratorium - a museum of science, art and human perception
Muir woods
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco Zoo
China Town
Go across the Golden Gate bridge
Ride a trolley
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