My son and I (pictured — not the guys in white) spent a recent weekend in San Francisco, and it was fantastic.

We rode on the cable cars, hung out with friends, and spent some quality time with the good people at 20th Century Fox (who supplied the trip) and Lucasfilm. That’s right, we visited Skywalker Ranch and the Presidio location (right by the Walt Disney Family Museum!). We’re talking Star Wars, people (The Phantom Menace mostly)!

My son ranks it as the best weekend ever. Who am I to disagree?

This post is part of the Uptake Friday Family Fun series.

Photo by Araya Quanah Diaz, courtesy of 20th Century Fox

We rode the cable car (pictured), walked along the curves of Lombard Street, took in the view from Fisherman’s Wharf, and shared a couple of scoops at Ghirardelli Square — all in all, a good father and son vacation in San Francisco (and that was just one afternoon!).

It was his first time visiting the city of San Francisco, and the look on his face shows it.

My oldest son and I took a weekend trip to San Francisco, just the two of us — although we spent time with friends during our stay. It was a different experience, and while we missed the rest of the family it was nice to have the time together. More to come!

This post is part of the UpTake Friday Family Series.

Photo: W. Honea

There is no lack of art and culture in San Francisco, one of the best cities that America has to offer (no, I don’t work for their department of tourism), but should you want to see something off the beaten path then take a walk through Chinatown. You’re probably going there anyway.

This original Banksy has been preserved by someone who understands great art isn’t just hanging on museum walls — sometimes it’s in the form of graffiti. Believe it.

This post is part of the UpTake Public Art Series. If you see an interesting piece of public art, snap a picture and send it in. We’ll feature it on UpTake!

We’ve been inspired! This series usually showcases various pieces of commissioned public art, and we’ll continue to do so, but for the next few weeks we’re going to look at some awesome street art, too.

Photo: sfslim via Flickr

The Walt Disney Family Museum is located within the beautiful confines of San Francisco’s famous Presidio. They found a pretty nice spot. Breathtaking, really.

In fact, one of the best exhibits in the museum isn’t an exhibit at all. It’s a window. As you are walking from one of the many rooms to the next there is a hallway with nothing but a bench and a view. The Golden Gate Bridge sits on the other side. That experience alone may be worth the price of admission. Hence the picture above.

So what else do you get for your ticket? Quite a bit. There are family movies, personal letters, awards (including the famous Snow White Oscar), behind the scenes footage and a level of detail that some may find overwhelming and others will recognize as the way Walt would have wanted it.

I was traveling alone in San Francisco (stayed at the awesome Crescent San Francisco Hotel) and having a family of Disney fans at home I was reluctant to visit the museum by myself. I’m glad that I did. While there are plenty of interactive activities throughout the winding maze of the museum, few of them are designed to hold the attention of young children — especially those that can’t accept the fact that this Disney attraction doesn’t twirl, fly or hug them for pictures. There are no churros. I’m sure that my boys would have had fun, but it would have come at a price, that being my chance to stroll leisurely through years of Disney history. Read More »