plotting and planning

[wendyzski]

If I get a CityPass, that's $40, but it includes not only Muni for 9 days (of which I will only use 3), but also includes a boat tour ($20-ish), the Exploratorium ($12) and the Academy of Sciences and Aquarium. So even if I am only using 3 days worth of Muni-ness, it's still cheaper than the 3-day Muni pass at $15 plus any two of these places.

One Day
Food tour of Chinatown
Tour the Old Poltero Distillery
something else, depending on timing

Another day
Fisherman's Wharf - eat something and see sea lions
Alcatraz Tour (hopefully evening if I can)
Exploratorium

Third Day
Aquarium (It's in a temporary location, so it can be seen in less time)
Wander Haight-Ashbury or Golden Gate park
Sunset over the pacific someplace where I can get wet toesies!

Comments

san francisco

[(Anonymous)]

if you're wandering GGPark, take along a picnic lunch & take your time to walk as much as you can. the park is beautiful. i don't know if the buffalo are still there...

when you get tired, make your way to the Fulton side of the park and take a buss toward Ocean Beach. if you get off at about 44-45th & Fulton, you'll be able to walk into the park and over to Queen Wilhelmina's windmill -- beautiful little spot & pretty gardens. my husband & i were married there some 18 years ago. about a block further on, you'll find Ocean Beach, where you will be able to wade a little (don't go out too far; the riptides are *fierce*) and listen to the seals at Seal Rock.

wherever you go in SF, make sure that you take along a sweatshirt -- it always pays to dress in layers in SF b/c, depending on where you are in the city, it can be quite sunny and hot or very foggy and cold. and it can change from one to the other very quickly. that's why so many people in SF carry backpacks -- it gives them a place to stash the rest of the wardrobe.

when you're on Haight street, go down toward Masonic -- between Ashbury and Masonic, really, and look for Discount Fabrics -- a good deal of Northern Renfaire clothing has had its genesis there, along with some really fabulous stage & party & parade costumes and outfits. unusual fabrics, some really good prices -- you never can tell what you'll find there.

if you have a chance to get downtown and have a yen for a bead store, somwhere around -- i think it's 10th or 9th and Minna (Minna being little more than an alley between major streets), there's General Bead -- again, you can't always predict what you'll find, but generally great prices are the rule.

then again, over on Gough and Linden (Linden being, again, little more than an alley-sized street), you'll find Dark Garden -- great place for custom corsets & other clothing. the designer, Autumn Adamme-Carey, got her start in the RenFaire world. most of Dark Garden's clothing is custom, but she does carry some of her own stock as well as some products from other designers in her store. it's worth going into the store anyway, just for the fabulous wall murals.

have lots of fun -- i wish i had the time to drive down & enjoy some fresh Fisherman's Wharf crab and sourdough!


lea bob
formerly RPFN
fellow denizen of afr

[that-david.livejournal.com]

At the far western end of the Embarcadero -- if you follow the row of touristy shopping and restaurants from Fisherman's Wharf/Pier 39 -- you will find a small park (National Maritime Park, if I recall correctly) that belongs to the National Park Service and primarily consists of the park itself and the part of the bay in the immediate area. It is the only National Park with the majority of the park being water/beach. Also on the grounds is the National Maritime Park Museaum. It's full of neat exhibits relating to sailing and maritime trade and what-not, as well as some really cool panoramic pics of SF circa 1900 displayed side-by-side with pictures circa 1980. The Museaum itself is at the end of the beach and looks kinda like a docked ship (but it isn't). There is also a tall-ship (frigate of some kind I believe), that I think is part of the park and is accessable via the wharf at the eastern end of the park. The museaum is free, but I'm not sure if the ship itself is. If, in fact, it is part of the park it likely is, but you can inquire from the people overseeing the place.

Just south of the park/museaum and clearly visable from the beach is Ghiridelli Square -- a rather upscale cluster of shops and restaurants, but with a really cool view of the bay. The best view is from McKormick and Culleto's -- very pricey -- but also one of the best seafood restaurants that I've ever been too. There is also a 50s theme diner nextdoor that also has a good view and a terrace. Of course, there is a Ghiridelli Chocolates outlet there and some of the chocolate is well worth trying. They also usually hand out various samples. Mmm...Chocolate.

Chinatown is well-worth looking around. Just remember, that some of the best food will come from the smaller and usually dingier looking places. The Chinese tend to focus on the quality of the food first and amibiance second. The best restaurants that I've been to are along Stockton or Sacramento streets. Also, as I'm sure you know, the various "Benevolent" societies are typically anything but. They don't bother tourists as a general rule, as tourists bring money to the community, but be a little more careful in their proximity on the off-chance that some of the more "energetic" members of rival societies decide to display that rivalry. As much as the asian-american community protested the movie "Black Rain" and the massacre scene in the restaurant, the event did actually happen in SF's chinatown -- at the Golden Dragon if I recall correctly -- and as part of an intramural fracas within/between the major tongs/triads.

[jfc013.livejournal.com]

Gonna give my recs before reading those of others. So there.

Chinatown is a great wander. We had a fabulous dinner at this second-floor establishment (that Jake's MOM remembered from their college days), but I'll be dinged if I remember its name.

Pier 39 is very mall-like at Fisherman's Wharf, but alongside it is where most of the sea lions hang out. There's a couple of cruddy-looking streetside cafes where you can pull up a stool to a counter and eat amazing seafood.

Don't forget Ghirardelli Square! (Chocolate...)

They moved the aquarium? Even the feed-the-fish circular (doughnut-shaped) tank? Drat! If not, it's a must-see! You go up in the center at feeding time, and the fish swim around you and eat the food that gets dumped in for them. It's a madhouse!

[angelle-n-brian.livejournal.com]

Sounds wonderful!! :) You had me at 'food tour of Chinatown'... ! ;)

Waaaah, I miss living in the SF area! I miss it being 72 and sunny most of the time! I miss taking the train to work! I miss WALKING to work! I miss making obscene amounts of money at work (LOL!)! I miss being in shape! Oh, wait -- I can do that here, maybe. ;)

Seriously, sounds terrif! Have a wonderful-fantastic time!! :)