Vacations Blog

I recently posted on this blog about first-time air travel with a toddler. As I mentioned in the previous post, we encountered some successes as well as some genuine teeth clenching moments associated with our 20-month-old’s first airline travel to San Francisco. This post is outlines our actual weekend in that fair city.

Accomodations- Queen Anne Hotel. An historic Victorian 4-story hotel in the Pacific Heights neighborhood, the Queen Anne is very romantic with charming rooms and fireplaces in the downstairs common areas. It was walking distance to the trolley line and a few parks – perfect for those with kids in tow. And, while the Queen Anne doesn’t market itself specifically to families, so we were pleasantly surprised by a number of child-friendly amenities. These included a travel crib, high chairs in the dining area, a full breakfast and cookies (with brandy or the adults) in the evening. The staff, with one exception, was wonderful! If you are traveling with children, we would recommend you book a suite, which includes a sitting/living room area with fridge, sink coffeemaker and a separate bedroom with door.

Queen Anne Hotel

The down-sides to staying at the Queen Anne were few: the travel crib was older and needed repairs (which the staff saw to only after we insisted) and a few of the antiques in the room were not toddler-friendly. We didn’t break anything, but it was definitely a learning curve for a child whose own home has few hands-off zones. And, while the website says the hotel offers childcare, it doesn’t. So, don’t book thinking this service will be available and you will be able to have a “date night” in San Francisco. Overall, the hotel was very nice. We would recommend it to friends, even those with toddlers, because the location is excellent, the staff is friendly, and the few disappointments did not make a difference in our stay.

Day 1 – After a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, we became typical San Francisco tourists. We loaded our son onto his mother’s back and we set out for the nearest cable car stop. It was a beautiful day, so the 5 minute walk to the beginning of the California Trolley line was refreshing. We checked out the unique San Francisco architecture dotted with turn of the century row houses and, to these Seattleites, surprisingly few trees. Our son loves trains, so the California trolley line was a little slice of heaven. We rode the entire cable-car loop through the business district, to the waterfront, and back to where we started. Our son learned to yell “ding, ding” as we rode through town.

Cable Car at Fisherman's Warf

We spent ample time at the waterfront browsing gift shops, watching the ferries come and go, and snacking on the local fare, before boarding the F-train along the Embarcadero towards Pier 39. Pier 39 bills itself as “San Francisco’s Premier Bay Attraction, a festival marketplace with more than 110 stores, 12 bay view restaurants, and a variety of fun-filled attractions for all ages including world renowned sea lions, street performers and live daily entertainment.” We spent the rest of our afternoon wandering around, eating lunch, people watching, and riding on the double-decker carousel – which was a bit hit with our son. After leaving Pier 39 we completed the trolley loop by boarding the Powell-Hyde line at Fisherman’s Warf and riding the cable car back up the hill to where we started. Our son fell asleep on the way back, so after a late nap we had an early dinner and walk in the nearby Filmore district. We then returned to the Queen Anne for a nightcap and bed.

TIP - If you plan to go on more than one trolley ride in a day, purchase a day pass for the cable cars, trains and buses. We got ours at the gift shop of the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway Hotel on Van Ness steps from the beginning of theCalifornia line, as well as good advice on the optimal sightseeing plan from the friendly local staff.

Day 2 – This was a day for family to visit us in the city and our last before heading east to continue that visit. After a few planning calls, breakfast and checking out of our hotel, we decided to head over to Golden Gate Park to visit the California Academy of Sciences and more specifically the Steinhart Aquarium. We had heard rumors about tickets to the Academy selling out and since this was a Saturday we got there early and explored the grounds near the Academy and the de Young Museum while we waited for family to arrive. The grounds were open, spacious, and pleasant and deserved to be explored much more than we had the time or ability to do with a little one along.

Soon the crowds started to arrive in droves. Once our party of 9, including many young children, finally arrived the Academy was absolutely swarming with people. We proceeded in and attempted to enjoy the visit, however the sheer number of visitors made it nearly impossible to enjoy the quality exhibits on display throughout the Academy and the Aquarium. After a couple hours we decided to picnick out on the park grounds where we could enjoy some fresh air. After lunch a few of the party braved another trip in but the results were similar to those before lunch, so we decided to call it a day. We left the city shortly thereafter with a scenic drive across the Golden Gate Bridge , which was itself an awe inspiring experience and left us wanting to return as soon as our situation would allow.

TIP - Academy of Science tickets will run you $24.95 for adults, $19.95 for kids 12-17, and $14.95 for kids 7-11. Parking will set you back another $20.00, so come with a fat wallet, and elbow pads.

Beware of Ghosts at the Queen Anne Hotel

Things We Wished We Had Time For:

As I mentioned this was our first trip with our son.  It was aslo a far cry from the types of trips we are used to taking, where we could cram the maximum amount of touring pleasure into even a long weekend.  Yes, it was a different speed, but it was also still a lot of fun.  I think the key for us was to not plan too much, but rather to enjoy the the sights we could comfortably see without over-taxing our little guy.  With that in mind, here are a couple of things we didn’t get to this time but look forward to on our next trip to the Bay area.

San Francisco Ghost Hunt- If your children are older, you might check out this haunted tour of the Pacific Heights neighborhood that meets each evening in the lobby of the Queen Anne! Apparently several ghosts reside in the Queen Anne, as well as other neighborhood haunts. We didn’t take the tour but did see the tour guide, Jim Fassbinder, in his cape, tophat and lantern. We stayed on the third floor, apparently the most haunted on the hotel, and did see one ghost – but he seemed to be pretty friendly!

Golden Gate Bridge

 Bicycle Tour of the Golden Gate Bridge - We saw many advertisements for this during our short tour of the city and would have attempted this if we had more time. Baring that, at least a walk across the bridge would have been preferrable to the drive. The bridge was packed with walking tourists and that is also an option we will explore on our next visit.

Cable Car an Queen Anne Hotel Photos from Uptake.com
Golden Gate Bridge Photo by Rodefeld
Ghost photo miraculously snapped by the author

The city and the Golden Gate.

Early last year my wife and I took a trip to Larkspur, CA.

Now I will admit, Larkspur was not necessarily top on our list of “Places We’d Like to Visit Before We Die,” but at the time we were in possession of a $150 Marriott Hotels gift card and were in search of a local destination at which to cash it in. Much to my surprise, Marriott doesn’t have much to offer that’s off the beaten path, so in our quest for “exotic locales,” Larkspur won out over Walnut Creek and San Jose.

That being said, Larkspur is a very quaint little town, close to Mt. Tamalpais and only a stone’s throw from Sausalito, just over the Golden Gate Bridge as you leave San Francisco. The Larkspur Marriott, located at 2500 Larkspur Landing Circle, is but a short walk from the Larkspur Ferry Terminal. The hotel itself is your standard Marriott fare; far from horrible but certainly nothing special either. What did we care, we were only planning to sleep there.

Most of our day was spent testing out my wife’s new Digital Rebel.  And what better place to snap some beautiful test photos than the Marin Headlands.

Situated just North of San Francisco, high above the Golden Gate, the Headlands offer some of the most spectacular views of the world’s most famous suspension bridge, and the jewel that is San Francisco nestled below.  We spent several hours in the Headlands and watched the skies change from the crystal blue you see above, to the foggy white for which San Francisco is famous. It’s amazing how quickly the fog rolls in when you’re on the ocean, high above the city; how it spills over the hillsides, filling the valleys like mustard gas, only without all the uncomfortable blistering and accompanying screams of agony.

With the fog came the cold, the temperatures dropping from a comfortable 70 to somewhere closer to 55. At that point we decided to drive down to Sausalito, where we enjoyed some hot clam chowder and a cocktail at the now defunct Cat ‘n Fiddle Public House. Believe me, if you’ve never been you aren’t missing a thing. Seriously, where else can you pay nearly $30 for soup and a cocktail?

In search of a restaurant where our money would stretch a little further, we ended up at the Marin Brewing Company. This was much more our style; reasonably priced pub grub and beer, or at least what passes for reasonable in Marin County.

We spent the latter part of the evening enjoying the Marriott’s  hot tub, that is until the chiropractor from Nevada, his wife and three kids showed up. If I may interject a slight pet peeve here, I’m of the opinion that hot tubs are for the relaxation of slightly inebriated adults, not lap pools for youngsters.

In any event, after a good night’s sleep it was once again time to eat. We queued up for the Marriott’s plentiful breakfast buffet. As we ate, I watched an elderly gentleman rise from his chair to muck around with his wallet or handkerchief or some such thing that elderly folks are forever mucking with, and I noticed that his chair was in danger of tipping backwards. Timing my rescue with my third trip through the buffet line, I caught his chair just as balance lost its battle with gravity, righted it and moved on, all in one fluid movement. Batman could have done no better.

My wife nixed my suggestion to swing by San Quentin Village on our way home. Perhaps an adventure for another day.

Marin Headlands

Hawk Hill Tunnel

The author and the photographer

Marin Headlands

Photos: Lisa Romano

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is huge and spans three counties.  These are the thirteen things I love about this area in just Marin County (north of Golden Gate Bridge) and only about 30 minutes from the city.  Most of the time, I don’t think of these as part of a national park, but a destination in and of themselves.

1. Bolinas Ridge-a beautiful ridge for hiking or riding that offers views of the shoreline 200 feet below.
2. Fort Baker–beautiful little park for picnics and has the Bay Area Discovery Musuem
3. Fort Cronkhite-a dog friendly ocean beach, good sand castle opportunities, and the crashing waves are not too overwhelming for kids
4. Kirby Cove-just over the Golden Gate, this beach is usually only frequented by locals, not too many tourists are willing to make the mile long hike to get to the beach
5. Marin Headlands–good bird watching and great for road and mountain biking
6. Muir Woods National Monument–I love the trees, but really think this is overrated, if I was a tourist, I would just take a hike on Mt. Tam starting at Pan Toll and walk to Stinson Beach, lots of redwoods and not too many tourists
7. Muir Beach-close to Muir Woods and the Pelican Inn, an English pub, offers all sorts of beers to cool off after a hike on Mt. Tam
8. Muir Beach Overlook–spectacular vistas of the Pacific and of the valley, it feels as if you could fall into the fog sometimes
9. Nike Missile Site-described as an educational cold war museum by the parks dept. it offers tours Wednesday through Friday and on the first Saturday of every month.  Take the elevator to down to the missile area.  A nice break from hiking and a bit of history, to.
10. Olema Valley–bed and breakfasts, campgrounds and access to Pt. Reyes National Seashore
11. Point Bonita Lighthouse–built in 1855, this lighthouse is reached by crossing two bridges, tours are currently closed, but it is worth checking back with the park service to find out if it is going to re-open, still a beautiful drive, hike and picnic area
12. Stinson Beach–my favorite beach for swimming, surfing and sea kayaking, the southern end of the beach offers fun little pools and crab catching
13. Tennessee Valley–a flat ride of only 2 miles will place you in the protected cove, you can hike up to an old missile site on either side of the beach

Golden National Recreation Area is the best part of the bay area.  It offers a respite from the concrete, a glimpse into the past and serves up the crashing waves of the Pacific next to the peacefulness of  a redwood forest.  Highly recommend you visit any of these places if you live or visit the bay area.

Golden Gate Bridge, February 2008