Day 10: San Francisco
This day is reserved for our daughters. After all, our California vacation has to include our kids. Plan the whole day at Golden Gate Park. Later, move out from the quieter Marina District to the busy and chic Nob Hill.
Highlights
- Visit the California Academy of Sciences, one of the world’s largest natural history museums. You can spend an entire day here checking out the four-story rain forest, watching the fish from the Philippine Coral Reef, check out the African wildlife exhibit, watch a show in the planetarium, and say hi to Claude, the albino alligator.
- Visit the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park, the oldest one in the US.
- Visit the Painted Ladies, the postcard-pretty Victorian houses lined up in a row in Alamo Square. Just chill on the grassy hill across and gaze at their beauty. Or if the kids get bored, let them play at the nearby playground.
- Visit Ghirardelli Square for the chocolate and ice cream.
- Ride a cable car, a must-do in San Francisco.
- Eat at Lori’s Diner, a 50s-style diner, for burgers, hotdogs, fries, Coke, and shakes.
Day 11: Muir Woods, Sausalito & San Francisco
While there’s still much to see in San Francisco, you shouldn’t miss the towering giant redwood trees of Muir Woods in Mill Valley and the relaxing bayside city of Sausalito.
Highlights
- Explore Muir Woods, the serene and atmospheric national park known for its towering age-old redwood trees and hiking trails.
- Visit nearby Sausalito, which is usually combined with a tour of Muir Woods, to grab lunch after your trip.
- Visit Ferry Building Marketplace, San Francisco’s gourmet destination, and sample an eclectic array of artisan and locally produced food at the farmers market and among the established merchants.
- Get a massage at Golia Beauty Center in Chinatown.
- Eat at Fish & Chips of Sausalito. Do takeout and bring your calamari and fish and chips at the nearby picnic tables for a breezy lunch near the sea.
- Eat at Lappert’s Ice Cream for some of the best ice cream you’ll ever eat.
- Eat at Cowgirl Creamery and sample their cheeses and their sister shop Cowgirl Sidekick Cafe & Milk Bar for their yummy grilled cheese sandwich.
- Eat at El Porteño Empanadas for mouth-watering Argentinian empanadas.
- Eat at Humphry Slocombe for their strange but delicious ice cream flavors.
- Eat at R&G Lounge, a popular Cantonese restaurant in Chinatown. It was our first complete meetup with all my always-hungry siblings and their families. We spent a fortune (get it?).
