February vacation to Frisco with kids

[Niels Olson]

HN parents,

I need your help. One vacation plan fell through and we're making a
mad dash to plan February's school vacation (19-25 Feb). We had a
great experience at a bed and breakfast, Noe's Nest, so we're staying
there again. The question then is what to do? Golden Gate Bridge,
Alcatraz, Exploratorium, SFMoMA, Chinatown, what else? Any issues
taking kids on the BART? Other gotchas SF holds for a family in
February?

Kind regards,

Niels

[Noah Gibbs]

BART is generally fine with kids, though there's the expected bit of wrangling getting them on and off :-)

SF's not my strong suit - I'm in the South bay.  But there's great stuff in Golden Gate Park in the city:  "http://www.golden-gate-park.com/category/attractions"

---

From: Niels Olson <niels...@gmail.com>
To: hn-parents <hn-pa...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 7:11 PM
Subject: February vacation to Frisco with kids

[Joël Franusic]

How many kids and how old? I'm a resident of SF.

[Sam Livingston-Gray]

Sounds like you've got the major highlights (+1 to SFMOMA and the
Exploratorium). A few random thoughts...

BART can get crowded during commute times; be prepared to squeeze in.
There's definitely a pattern to BART etiquette; where to stand is
important. (Hint: the train doors always line up with the black
high-traction tiles, and the escalators are 'stand right, walk left'.)

I haven't been to the Cal Academy of Sciences in decades, but I did
drive by when I was in town last November, and the building looks
really interesting -- as does the big art gallery across the way from
it.

Skip the Japanese Garden in Golden Gate Park (visit the one here in
Portland instead). ...actually, if I remember correctly, there's a
small one in San Mateo that might be nice if you happen to be there
already.

Taqueria Pancho Villa was an old favorite of mine; there's a location
in San Mateo and one in the Mission near the 16th Street BART station.
A trip to the Mission location will be especially amusing if you've
read about the Alameda-Weehawken Burrito Tunnel:
http://idlewords.com/2007/04/the_alameda-weehawken_burrito_tunnel.htm

This one's definitely *not* for kids (okay, maybe older teens
depending on your parenting style), but if one of you is inclined to
sneak off while you're in the Mission, Good Vibrations offers a safe,
comfortable, sex-positive shopping experience; you can ship yourself
some souvenirs -- or ask for recommendations for age-appropriate
books. They've got a section of their website specifically for
parents: http://www.goodvibes.com/display_category.jhtml?id=catalog70002_cat35943
(NSFW alert, obviously).

Final tip: don't call it "Frisco" in front of a native. The proper
Bay Area pronunciation of "San Francisco" is "The City". ;>

Enjoy,
-Sam

[Vishal Verma]

On Tue, Jan 31, 2012 at 7:11 PM, Niels Olson <niels...@gmail.com> wrote:

> there again. The question then is what to do? Golden Gate Bridge,
> Alcatraz, Exploratorium, SFMoMA, Chinatown, what else? Any issues
> taking kids on the BART? Other gotchas SF holds for a family in
> February?

Saturday mornings till 2pm, there's a quite nice Farmer's Market at
the SF ferry plaza.
Highly recommend Cal Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park (GGP).
GGP is anyways a great place to be. There's the de Young museum,
Japanese tea garden, Conservatory of Flowers, Botanical Garden etc.
all insdie GGP.
Also recommend a trip to Fisherman's Wharf (kids will enjoy Sea Lions)
and Ghirardelli square (chocolate).

[Niels Olson]

kids are a 7 yo boy (does piano and rock climbing) and a 10 yo girl
(gymnastics and many smatterings of other things)

On Tue, Jan 31, 2012 at 7:11 PM, Niels Olson <niels...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Joël Franusic]

Ah! Very useful to know. Thanks. I haven't closely read the other suggestions here, but the ages of your kids helps me think of what you could do.

• You should have no problems on BART given the ages of your children. I've got an infant and would be a little stressed about BART travel.
• I'm not sure if my memories of being 7 or 10 are correct, but I'm pretty sure that a 7 or 10 year old me would have LOVED the "Pirate Store" that is a 15 minute walk from the B&B you'll be at: http://826valencia.org/store/
• Before we had kids, my wife and I had season passes to the Cal Academy of Sciences. It's a great place to visit. I especially love the large tank with tropical fish.
• There is a "Shakespeare Garden" next to the Academy of Sciences. I got married there, it's kind of magical place.
  
• I love the Botanical Garden, it's currently my favorite spot in the city. I like it because it's an escape from the hustle and bustle of city life, so not sure how much your kids would appreciate it.
• If your daughter is into vintage fashion, there are lots of great places that sell vintage clothes on Haight Street.
• If you plan on having a car while visiting:
• Take a drive up to Twin Peaks for a great view of the city.
• Drive across the Golden Gate Bridge, then visit the Marin Headlands for some amazing vistas and fun hikes to old military bunkers.
  
• The cable cars are really fun to ride on. There is a free cable car museum that is really fascinating if you like knowing how things work.
• Agreed on Taqueria Pancho Villa. I still eat there when possible. (Fun fact: Burritos were invented in San Francisco!)
• If you need to spend some time just relaxing, walk to Dolores Park, buy some Bi-Rite ice cream and have fun people-watching.
• I normally dislike Pier 39, but the boat tours of the bay are quite fun.
• I've been on the "Ride the Ducks" tour of San Francisco. I enjoyed that too. (Fun fact: You'll see an old ice breaker/transport ship when you enter the water on the ride. The tour operator will tell you that it's owned by a rich dude, no so anymore! It's now owned by some NASA scientists and tech entrepreneurs!)
• Use Yelp to find good places to eat. You can't go wrong with it.
• Consider eating in Noe Valley when possible. It's a very family friendly place (people call it "Stroller Valley") and has some great food (The bakery there is good!)

I'm sure I've forgotten a lot of stuff, hope this helps though!
My w