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Our trip itinerary was very full, but included most major San Francisco highlights. I’m recording it here for future reference and in case it’s helpful for any other family visiting the City. We were two adults and two 14-year old girls and we saved a great deal of money by driving instead of flying, staying at my brother’s apartment, and eating many of our breakfasts and dinners at home.

We stuck pretty close to our original itinerary, which you can see here.

The City Pass, which includes tickets to SFMoMA, the Exploratorium, a one-hour cruise, the Asian Art Museum, the Aquarium, de Young/Legion of Honor, AND unlimited rides on the muni and cable cars for the week, was well worth the money. (A cable car ride costs $5 one way!)

*Note we saved the things the girls loved best for the end of the trip, so they would have stuff to look forward to.

Friday – Leave OC and drive to SF.

Saturday – Drive Songbae to the airport (2X). Eat gyros for lunch downtown. Pick up our City Passes at the Asian Museum (Visitor Information Center at Powell Street Station closes at 3 pm). Dinner: ravioli at home.

Sunday – Breakfast with Songbae. Take the cable car to Union Square, Westfield SF, Powell Street and let the girls get some of their shopping urge satisfied. Chad and I spend the morning at the Asian Art Museum.

Monday – Alcatraz ($24.50 for the cruise over and tour). We spent about three hours there.  Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill was cheap ($4) and great for views. In the afternoon, Chad and I went to visit SF State, while the girls went back to Union Square.

Tuesday – We made it over to the DeYoung by the time it opened and got upstairs right away for the view. The same day ticket gets you into the Legion of Honor, so we went there next. Lunch: a Mexican place on the south side of the park.

Wednesday – Tour of UC Berkeley campus (free 1 1/2 hour tour every day at 10 am). Lunch on Telegraph Avenue. I went to hang out with an old friend and her kids in Oakland, Chad went to explore the Presidio, the girls went back to Union Square.

Thursday – We spent the morning at SFMoMA (which opens late, so we let the girls sleep in and then breakfast at the cafe downstairs). Then Chad treated us all to fondue at Melt! and chocolate sundaes at Ghiradelli Square for Valentine’s Day. Later we walked out to the end of the pier and gazed at the San Francisco skyline by night.

Friday – Exploratorium. The kids LOVED this and we ended up paying an additional $6 per kid to do the tactile dome – worth it. We also explored the Presidio a bit and tricked the girls into a very short hike in the woods. The Exploratorium is located in the Palace of Fine Arts – great photo opps here with the swans and classical Greek architecture. We had crepes for an early dinner on Chestnut Street on the way home.

Saturday – One-hour cruise in the morning with the Blue and Gold Fleet. Aquarium and Boudin Bakery Tour. Lunch: sandwiches at home. In the afternoon, Chad and I hike the Coastal Trail from the Cliff House to Crissy Field. Bella and Dawkins hang out at Union Square. Dinner: the girls made themselves mac-n-cheese, Chad and I had Mexican at a forgettable place called Rico’s.

Sunday – Drive home, swing through the Stanford University campus on the way.

Dawkins has been picked up, the dog has been washed, and the first load of laundry is done.

what a trip, what a trip. Nine days is a great amount of time to spend in San Francisco.

Our last day there ended up being my favorite (Chad’s too). First we killed off the the rest of the tour tickets left in our City Pass booklet: the cruise, the aquarium, and the Boudin Bakery tour (a “bonus” ticket). None of those things were really worth paying for, but the girls loved the touch tank at the aquarium and we got great views of the city and Alcatraz on the cruise.

The best part of the day though was after lunch. After the morning on the wharf, we walked home via Trader Joe’s, had turkey sandwiches on toasted sourdough for lunch, and then jumped on a 30 bus going back to Union Square. The girls have been enjoying their independence – shopping there and getting back home on their own by cable car – so we set them free again for the afternoon. Chad and I continued on to the coast on a 38 bus; we went all the way to Cliff House just north of the Sutro bath house remains. There we picked up the Coastal Trail and spent the rest of the day hiking to the Golden Gate Bridge and beyond.

The walking was mostly level and as the name suggests, all along the ocean sea cliffs. The sea breeze was bracing and the views were absolutely spectacular; crashing waves framed by towering jagged cypress with the orange Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. There were parts of the trail under construction, but most of the time we were either in the woods, skirting the Presidio, or scrambling down to the beach – one part of the trail took us by a few breath-taking mansions on Sea Cliff Avenue.

When we got the Bridge we discovered that there was an entire scenic viewing area dedicated to the tourists who are crossing the bridge on foot, so we started across – until I discovered that the Bridge was not Chad’s intended final destination – he wanted to hike all the way to Crissy Field! So we turned around at the first big post on the bridge (not before catching some intriguing glimpses of Fort Point underneath – save that for another trip) and tramped on another mile to Crissy Field and the Palace of Fine Arts. Despite my grumbling and fatigue, it was all very worth it to be by the sea all afternoon and into the sunset with my husband. In fact, we loved it so much that Chad and I have decided to do this hike every time we’re back in San Francisco.

Our trip is quickly coming to a close and it’s a pity because we’ve worked ourselves into a good rhythm, finally.

Yesterday, Valentine’s Day, we let slip to the girls that Songbae had left a pre-paid tab at the great cafe downstairs (Caffe Sapore); this morning they were ready a half an hour in advance so they could go down and order Nutella and banana bagels.

The nutella was just the beginning of a day full of sweet melted things. Well, melted anyway. Chad was everybody’s Valentine and took us all out for fondue at a cafe on Columbus called Melt. We went for dinner early, sat in the sun, and delighted in dipping our grapes, apples, and crusty bread into the sharp cheese and rarebit. Then we strolled down to the wharf to have hot fudge sundaes at the Ghiradhelli shop before walking to the end of the spiral pier and gazing out at a night-time view of Alcatraz.

Considering that we had started the day by spending the morning at SFMoMA, it was an exceptionally good Valentine’s Day – my ongoing squabbles with my teenage daughter not withstanding.

The skies are still blue, but the warm weather has passed. We got up this morning to walk Giselle and all of us were shivering in the wind. Giselle is learning city-dog ways, although I am still not exactly sure what “curbing” your dog means – does it mean she actually does her business in the street gutter? Or just near the sidewalk? We’re just getting her to do her thing in the little patch of dirt allotted to the sidewalk trees.

We let the girls sleep in while Chad and I chilled downstairs at Caffe Sapore, just your typical neighborhood cozy cafe, with spicy mint tea and warm breakfast croissant sandwiches. They’ve just come in to join us.

Yesterday we all did our first official college tour; it was of Cal, known to the rest of the world as UC Berkeley. I see more of these in our future… although it was not the most interesting thing we’ve done, it was not the least interesting thing either. Campus is actually quite beautiful and was designed to resemble a European garden with winding pathways and lots of blooming magnolias tipping pink blossoms onto the roads. Many of the buildings were designed in a Greek style – and the library, the third largest in the States – not including the Library of Congress – was very imposing and stately. I don’t know how much information the girls absorbed, but they did get an overall good impression of the UC system and how competitive it is to get in (average unweighted grade of entering freshman: 3.8, average SAT 600 in all three areas).

We gave the girls money for lunch and let them loose on Telegraph Avenue; when we regrouped, we wandered over to the Berkeley Public Library, which used to be a favorite haunt of Chad’s.

Then we all split for the rest of the day: Chad took the girls back to San Fran via the BART and dropped them off at Union Square before he went off to explore the Presidio on foot. I got picked up by a dear friend, who now lives in Oakland with her husband and two adorable children. She and I spent the rest of the day gabbing nonstop over tea, cheese, fruit, the contented nursing sounds of the baby, and the louder happy sounds of her 2-year old toddler. Six or so hours passed like nothing! By the time her husband drove me to the Bart, we were trying to make plans to see eachother again before the end of the weekend. Sigh. Friends like her are to be treasured

I am actually considering slipping off to go back to Berkeley, but to see another old friend with a new baby – she’s somebody I’ve known since third grade and I am anxious to catch up. This is the typical end-of-the-trip panic I get into – trying to fit in a snowballing number of things to do.

SFMoMA today. Perhaps a few galleries in the area.

Well, when Chad and I set up our San Fran itinerary last week in Laguna, I never imagined that we would be following it this closely. But I’d forgotten that Chad is happiest when things go according to plan.

Yesterday we made it to Golden Gate Park and the de Young. The weather is still gorgeous and so the visibility from the observation floor of the de Young impressed even the girls. The permanent collection there is strange and uneven with artifacts from Africa, Meso-America etc, and then a new exhibition of Gilbert and George, a performance art duo??

The same-day ticket is also good for the Legion of Honor. So, afterwards we made our way along the west coast (past the Cliff House and Sutro bathhouse remains) to the Legion of Honor.

Of course we rode as many street cars as possible as well. The girls never tire of holding on the poles – and now they are trying to high-five the passengers on the oncoming passing cable cars.

Just heading to UC Berkeley for a free campus tour…

It seems inhumane to have built a maximum-security prison within view of the San Francisco peninsula. In fact, it’s something that most of the former inmates who are interviewed for the audio guide point out; especially on New Year’s they could hear, see and even smell the festivities… Can you imagine being in prison for fifteen years without a call, visit, or letter (like one inmate explained), yet be able to smell pasta from North Beach?!

The 45-minute audio-guide of Alcatraz, which is included in the cruise price, was exceptionally good and included interviews of former inmates, warden, and even children of prison guards who lived on the island. The sound effects were realistic, and the alternating clips of prison ambient sound and tour directions pushed the audio towards an art form (while Cardiff’s audio-walks pushed towards an audio-guide). Interesting note: the sound of the 250-pound steel cell doors closing was recorded by George Lucas to be the sound of the Death Star’s doors closing in Star Wars.

We spent about three hours all told with glorious blue skies and balmy weather. It was worth the price of admission, but I’m glad I waited to visit until I was with Bella and Dawkins. It is one of San Fran’s main tourist attractions and over a million people visit every year! We avoided the worst of the crowds by buying advance tickets for the first boat over on a weekday morning, still there were more people than I expected.

Touristy notes: while the weather was warm for us, normally it’s cooler on the boat and on the island. Also, there is no food on the island, so bring snacks if you want to spend time exploring.

The crumbling warden’s house.

We had lunch when we got back on the wharf – which was touristy and expensive, even just standing at a counter, ie Bella didn’t like her $8 fish and chips and barely touched her food. I was irritated to learn that she ate a filet of fish at Burger King later, but as Chad pointed out: it should be a lesson to me not to keep pressing her to eat outside of her comfort box (esp. when it costs more) and that the food hadn’t been very good anyway.

What am I complaining about anyway? Those Alcatraz inmates, even in the general population, lived in those tiny concrete cells. There was a rec yard sure, but just for the weekends. Total and absolute monotony in prison.

We all needed a small rest back at the apartment after a snappish and tired lunch.

In the afternoon, the grown-ups and kids parted ways. They wanted to exchange an item purchased the previous day and we wanted to visit Chad’s old undergrad campus, San Francisco State. Chad and I dropped the girls at the end of the Powell-Mason cable car line with specific and easy directions on how to get back home. They did it! And the independence of running free in San Francisco made them giddy and excited for the rest of the evening. Chad and I enjoyed quiet hours talking and holding hands on the MUNI and numerous buses – and he showed me all around his old campus telling me stories. We spent a bit of time on top of the student union, which is cool because it has stadium-style seating on top of a four-story building, ostensibly just so students can hang out and watch the rest of the campus.

So far nothing has quite gone according to plan, but all of us are slowly shifting into a more flexible traveling mode.

The trip up Friday (last night) went surprisingly well considering we were driving through and out LA between the traffic hours of 4-6 pm. We did however pass a standstill line-up over twenty miles long on the southbound 5 because of an accident that had closed all five lanes. Poor bastards.

We were entertained by some of Bella’s comments, “Mom! Did you know that we’re voting for a president right now?! And there’s a woman and black guy running?!?!”

And then I taught Bella a Bluth-style lesson at the Target (we stopped to buy an air mattress for Songbae.) She and Dawkins had gone in to the bathroom – when I came in I could clearly see Bella’s purse laying on the floor of the stall just by the door. It was practically begging to be stolen. So I did what was called for; I swooped in, grabbed the purse and ran. I ran to the other end of the stalls and was just closing the stall door when I caught sight of Bella flying out of her stall in hot pursuit. I laughed until I peed. Bella was so relieved to have her purse back that she overlooked my cruel-ish prank. She and I have traveled a lot together – and she’s even witnessed me getting pickpocketed – so she knows better than to leave her purse so easily snatch-able.

We did at least walk down to Union Square where the girls were duly impressed by the mega-shopping that awaited them. The Visitor Center had closed (at 3pm on Saturdays) however, so we left the girls to shop while we strolled through downtown to the Asian Art Museum where we were able to buy our week-long City Passes (available for purchase at any location they are used.) We also had excellent gyros on the way.

The girls turned in early (see below for why) and Chad and I made a few short trips out and about: a couple walks with Giselle and a couple trips to the nearby trader Joe’s. Our first trip to Trader Joe’s at 9 am we passed a dread-locked fellow smoking the stub of his joint on his front stoop. Waking and baking for the early worm stoner tourists, I suppose.

Unexpected change of events so far:

After we arrived and drove to Songbae’s garage to switch out cars, his car battery was dead and he had to borrow a AAA card at 1 am (possible only for somebody like Songbae).  While he was waiting for AAA, he went back to his office to continue working!

Then Saturday we made two trips to the airport because Songbae forgot his passport the first time – and then, he still missed his flight to Asia. (We forgive him – he left a $100 advance tab for us to use at the cafe downstairs in his building. And we’re loving his apartment!!)

Dawkins came down with a cold on the ride up.

Bella got sick Saturday night and puked massively three times.

Needless to say, there has been no dim sum in Chinatown, and relatively little San Fran exploration so far.

Today we’re adjusting and everybody feels better! This time though, Songbae is taking the BART to the airport and we’re about to take the girls on their first cable car ride.

Luckily just staying at Songbae’s place in North Beach is an experience.

Right around the corner from his place is the famous church where Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio were married.