YOU WENT WHERE? SAN FRANCISCO (With Kids)
During the toddler years, my family’s cranky moods (mine included) disappeared with some creative distraction and a change of venue – if severe. Now that the tween and teen years dictate the mood in the house, when the bickering levels get intolerable, Mom offers a proportional change up – Roadtrip adventure!
I’ve been dreaming of a trip to San Francisco since the last time we’d been almost 13 years ago. My teen son only remembers riding in a limo at 3 ½ years old (over riding his first cable car) and my tween daughter simply made it through that trip to her due date! I love the energy of the city with its cool modern minimalistic hotels next to classic historic hotels with warm solid mahogany bars in the lobby. I love that everywhere you turn, distinct neighborhoods welcome you with their distinct charm, as do the piers decorating the waterfront! So the three of us set out on an adventure blending history, new experiences, old favorites and of course something weird!
32 hrs in San Fran (with kids)!
DA, DA, DA – ANOTHER ONE RIDES THE MEGABUS
Always up for an adventure, the wheels in my head started turning immediately (The wheels on the bus go round and round)! When you put things out into the universe, the universe responds! Amazingly, we received the opportunity to try Megabus.com for free in exchange for our honest opinion. I immediately responded, “Yes, Please!” after a great first-hand testimonial from my office mate who used this bus line recently during her East Coast holiday adventure.
Planning a weekend getaway limited our time in San Francisco, so the idea of showing up only 30 min. early, getting on a bus with reclining seats and sleeping my way to San Francisco – then waking up refreshed at my destination – cemented the decision for me! The night we left, California disappeared under the rainstorm that my generation will retell vividly for generations to come. The Megabus travelled securely on the roads, unfazed by the elements. In fact, for both directions of the trip, energetic and helpful employees kept us on track. Their rates remain reasonable, only additional charge should you wish to reserve seats! Check their site often for their $1 sales! I wish I’d known about this when I was a college kid – weekenders would have educated me! For a full review click here.
YOU ONLY GET ONE CHANCE FOR A FIRST IMPRESSION
As we crossed the Oakland Bay Bridge, the sun shone on the waking city and almost converted me to a morning person (Hah, you know how unlikely that’d be). The bus dropped us at the Caltrain station and Uber picked us up before we even stretched out our rested bodies! Everything feels closeby in San Francisco and in minutes we arrived at the Hilton SF Union Square – a hotel I’m super familiar with thanks to my Team In Training (TNT) years. Though they aren’t the most hipster or historic place in town to rest your head, they consistently provide a comfortable experience that seems upgraded from the price paid (especially with their renovated rooms). Feels like dropping in for a visit with a long-time friend! What cinched our future return was letting us check in 8 hours early! Thank you!
Despite our welcome middle of the night snack from the roadside rest stop, we arrived to San Francisco hungry for adventure …and breakfast! Wanting to set the tone for the weekend, and to fuel us for the day, we chose another favorite from my TNT days, Sear’s Fine Food!
The moment you enter, you step into your grandparents’ era for some unconditional love delivered in a heaping serving of delicious warm food. With our bellies and hearts filled up, we left for our first adventure… except nothing was open yet. So we went to the hotel to plot our course, unpack, watch TV…
THRILL OF A NEW RIDE
While the kids power napped, I navigated and doubled back cross-checking the Cable Car routes to deliver us to all of our desired locations. We opted for a single-day pass immediately opening up our access to the city. I purchased our tickets while the kids watched the city’s tradition of re-directing the cable car at the turn about. We hoofed it 2 blocks to the next stop up from there (where 10 people stood in line vs. 100s at the turntable). For the first leg of our trip we jumped onto the outside of a crowded cable car and held on! My daughter told me later that she got nervous – not that she’d fall off – that other people wouldn’t get out of the way.
One of the most memorable visuals of the city flashed briefly at the change between the Powell-Hyde and California lines as we looked downhill through the city.
OFF TO EXPLORE – AH, TOUR – EE, YUM!
One parental benefit allows us to run alongside our kids, watching the world through their curious eyes, bright with wonder. At the Exploratorium, everyone’s minds expanded and repeatedly blew as we flew from exhibit to exhibit, squealing like loudly deflating balloons! Each new stop offered fascinating exhibits where you learn by interacting with the exhibit! This museum encouraged touching or climbing into and through exhibits! My daughter’s and my favorite experience deprived us of our sight as we traversed through a maze in complete darkness. As a pair, we relied primarily on touch and sound while traveling through the Tactile Dome (slight additional, but highly recommended fee). She turned out to be an amazing leader providing step-by-step directions as to what challenge I would find next. My son’s favorite challenged him to learn Morse Code – harder than it looked considering it’s only dashes and dots! Totally exhausted though only getting a fraction of the experience done, we finally broke for dinner!
PEPPER MEAL WITH HISTORY
As a divorced mom, I haven’t shared a lot of their Dad’s and my history. At first I lacked an age-appropriate answer for their innocent questions, “So if you had fun, why’d you break up?” Later, out of respect for his new wife, and largely because I’d boxed them all away, wrapped in impenetrable box in my self. 11 years later, I realize that the generic statement “Even though we’re no longer together, you were created from love.” doesn’t carry weight if I don’t sometimes share proof. Their Dad and I enjoyed The Stinking Rose restaurant a few times both here and the one in LA. One thing we actually agreed on was that only the SF one seasons the experience with a mythical bohemian feel – being that it’s the original location. Also, honestly, this restaurant wouldn’t have teased my palate without his family’s cooking. The first time they opened their door, a rush of garlic took my breath away! The rest is history.
WALK RIGHT DOWN THE STREET
After dinner, though absolutely stuffed, we desired something light but sweet. We calculated the distance we needed to walk to make enough room for Gelateria Naia (who are we kidding – there’s always room for gelato)! My kids stuck with classic flavors of mango, coffee and chocolate chip (though not all together). They featured a whiskey flavor I’d never encountered before that blended smoothly with chocolate – the recipe for the perfect evening nightcap.
I SPY… SOMETHING GOLDEN
The next morning, after we slept in a bit, we hunted for a meal large enough to rush us through the day and sustain us until we got on the bus to relax for the ride home to Los Angeles. Originally, we went fishing for a fish and chips truck, but, they weren’t open when our stomachs started growling at us. The mist of the heavy fog led us straight to Tarantino’s Restaurant on the pier promising a view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the top floor (talk about multi-tasking when on a limited timeframe). The kids laughed at the names of boats in their slips, communicated telepathically with seagulls begging for the kids’ fries through the scenic glass window, and squinted to find the bridge through the fog. We raved about the crispy golden seafood (lightly battered and fried, without any recognizable fish features).
LIKE KIDS IN A CANDY STORE
As we exited the restaurant, the bright red logo of Rocket Fizz served as a beacon from across the street. My son’s sentimental side insisted that we go “support the company” so that they don’t go out of business (I doubt there’s any danger of that, he’s still sore we lost the location in Westchester). Your sweet tooth compels you to stop the next time you pass near this store. It offers many childhood or jumbo-sized favorites and hard-to-find imported candies.
WTF: WEIRD, TOTALLY FUN!
Headed towards the Pier, we pulled inside a doorway to briefly to plot our course …and never left. We’d stepped through a door into the most fantastically freakish place – Musée Mécanique! This features the personal collection of Edward Zelinsky’s arcade games, and other mechanical wonders, collected from 1933 on (though some originated from decades earlier). This collection felt slightly unsettling only because we had no idea what to expect (or was it the large clown at the entrance). Uneasiness immediately yields to exponential levels of excitement as you discover each new relic from a player piano, to old-time picture machines, to Space Invaders and a steam motorcycle. We completely fell into this parallel universe, lost track of time, and wish we could have stayed longer.
MY NEW PERSPECTIVE
After a relaxing and a more spacious ride home (less people on the bus so each person could take a row of seats), we returned home from vacation refreshed, a little exhausted from our adventures, and with new perspective. Our Three-thumb review is 3 tired thumbs up. My tween daughter loved the unique challenge of the Tactile Dome and a new appreciation for her vision. My teen son left for San Francisco believing that one beach town resembles the next one. He returned with an appreciation for the history and the varied terrain (and we didn’t even visit the largest or curviest hills) of Northern California.
I caught a glimpse of my children and how they treat each other when mom’s not around thanks to the water fountain experiment in the Exploratorium. It featured back-to-back water fountains and two buttons on each side: SIP or SQUIRT. Each sibling simply pressed one button and if they match, it happens, if it doesn’t match, it cancels each other and nothing happens. I fully expected to need to buy new dry clothes, or that they’d cancel each other out. My heart grew when I witnessed my kids gently lowering their heads (and dare I say they were both a little bit surprised) to get a sip of water.
I found out AFTER we got back that if we purchased a CityPASS for our trip it would have reduced my time researching fun destinations AND saved us money! San Francisco’s CityPASS offers two options: 1 booklet of 5 attractions, or one booket where you choose 3 out of 8 attraction choices. (Note: This is an affiliate link which means if you purchase the CityPASS not only will I be super excited for your upcoming adventure, but I earn a little bit of change towards my next CityPASS purchase – at no extra cost to you!)
If you want even more detailed reviews on each place we visited, check out the Yelp Reviews. Plus subscribe to check back when we update the list after future roadtrips!
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What about you?
What is your favorite San Francisco gem?
What do you do to save your sanity on trips?
How do you remain present and not skip ahead to the next destination?
What changes in perspective do you encounter while traveling?
How often do you travel with your kids vs. on your own?
Where are you off to next?
Where should we go next?
I love visiting San Francisco. I love about an hour away and my brother lives in the city, just a few blocks from Ghiradelli Square. He always knows a good restaurant to try out. I recommend the Rocket Boat if you’re visitng in spring or summer. Loads of fun, but you will get wet. My kids also love the Exploratorium and the California Academy of Sciences. My oldest loves to go to SFMOMA and the DeYoung museums too.
Thank you for so many suggestions for our next visit! We did pass through Ghiradelli Square. Such a pretty area! I appreciate you wandering by!
That was Laughing Sal. It friggen scared the living sh*t out of me when it was at Playland (think of it like Santa Cruz Beac Boardwalk). Still gives me the chills thinking about it. That laugh is hard to not remember! The Museum Mechanique used to be at Ocean Beach where Cliff House is. Growing up we’d go there frequently to play the games,the interactive mechanical puppets, penny films etc. My fave was the crane that picks up gumballs. In 2001 I went there one last time before it move to its current location. Everything was the same. Love the nostalgia & vintage machines & arcades. And the best part? Playing the crane for gumballs! All I can say is, it was the best place to go on dates and or hang out with friends bc it was affordable.
There is sooo much more in the City to check out. You visited 1/8 of what the City has to offer! There is sooooo much more to see/visit. Lets go together so I can show you around. This City girl is ready to go home! I am soooo homesick.
Totally! We just barely scratched the surface and can’t wait to go back! It would be so fun to hang out! We will get up there for a USC away game one year. Too much fun (you can sit by us but root for the other teams).
I really need to go to San Fransico again. I went once when I was about 7 and I remember NOTHING but I have heard such great things about it!
Absolutely you should go again! Each neighborhood is so deliciously different and provide their own adventure. Muir Woods is beautiful too though we didn’t get there this trip.
I have only ever been to San Fran once, and I would love to go again. My children are much younger than yours so I think all the walking you did would make my littles so grumpy! I need a vacation now that I have read this!
They would live the Exploratorium! All of the attractions are set up to teach older kids but amuse younger kids if too small to know the science behind it. I’d recommend the great parks for you too! Thank you for wandering by!
Thank you for the memories as I haven’t been to San Fran since the 80’s and remember the seafood and cable cars as being my favorite.
Sounds like you are due for a return trip! Thank you for wandering by!
I love the photos! Really added to the content (and the waffles made me hungry haha). But I’ve been to SF twice now and decided I hated it but this was all before reading your blog haha you made SF look enjoyable and eventful. My next destination goal is La Jolla cove, heard it is gorgeous!
La Jolla is beautiful! I’m from San Diego! The cove is amazing and if you get time to snorkel I highly recommend it. Enjoy!
This looks SO fun! I’ve been to SF several times, but haven’t had a chance to take my daughter there. I’d love to go this summer.
Yes! Such a fun trip! The kids already want to go back! Let me know if you need any suggestions! I have many friends who live up there too if we need to pull in some experts! Thanks for wandering by!