San Francisco and Environs Trip - Calling all Left Coast Liberals

[Ravenseye]

I posted awhile ago for ideas for things to do for a few days in and around San Francisco for a possible trip. Here's what we came up with. Anything to add or change for the better that youc an think of please let me know. The trip is in June and is restricted by a starting and ending location in Reno Nevada, as well as going from Thursday morning till Saturday evening.

Thursday
Drive to San Francisco. Hotel near Union Square (got a good deal). Cable Cars to Fisherman's Wharf for crab, chocolate, harbor seals, etc. Coit Tower. Get car and hit other highlights depending on our mood. Golden Gate Park. Twin Peaks. Anything else that we should do that really screams San Francisco? (besides Alcatraz...we're not really interested in that) Dinner somewhere. Sleep.

Friday
Head north. Golden Gate bridge. Muir woods. Point Reyes seashore. Coastal highway for a bit. As far as maybe Salt Point State Park, depending on time. Head back to San Francisco, and if time, hit more of the town. Head east and stay the night near Yosemite.

Saturday
Hike around Yosemite. Free climb then base jump El Capitan (just kidding). Early afternoon hit the road and head back north to Reno.

I know there are tons more things we could do, but that seems to be our general outline. We're not going to hit wine country this time around, because my wife is pregnant so she couldn't get sloshed, and really...what'st he point of going to wine country if you can't taste the wine? Anything else we should see in San Francisco on limited time? Anything we should rethink about that layout? Any input appreciated from you Left Coast Liberals. Particularly a good and inexpensive place to eat dinner in San Fran that you just won't find anywhere else. Something unique. (We love all food, but my wife is a vegetarian though will eat fish when pressed but doesn't like to talk about it...she likes it. Everyone has to have a sin. So unique to san francisco, preferably with a vegetarian or good fish option)

Thanks in advance.

[LeftyMom]

1. Here's a great listing

http://www.happycow.net/north_america/usa/california/san_francisco/index.html

For inexpensive veg food in San Francisco, I'd go to Lucky Creation in Chinatown. It's an uminpressive looking place in terms of decor but the food is really really good and not expensive.

[Ravenseye]

4. That looks interesting

We have a good veggie chinese restaurant here in Pittsburgh, but I mean...it ain't Chinatown in San Francisco right? Definately a finalist.

[China_cat]

2. Sourdough bread bowls

filled with clam chowder.

[Ravenseye]

5. Lunch first day probably

Thanks for the reminder. I forgot that the sourdough bread bowl is a very San Francisco thing. On my list.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

14. ACK! ACK! ACK! ACK!

"Sourdough bread bowls filled with clam chowder."

Never, never, NEVER!

That is some fictional dish dreamed up by someone NOT from San Francisco! It is an insult to the beauty and deliciousness of our blessed San Francisco sourdough.

As a native born San Franciscan I can say with authority: There is only one San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf food and that is freshly cooked crab from one of the sidewalk boilers. (I'm a vegetarian and I can't believe I'm saying that.)

As for sourdough: fresh or toasted with sweet butter slathered all over it or as an accompaniment to a North Beach Italian dinner.

[radwriter0555]

3. Dinner in china town, if it doesn't make your wife puke, can be fantastic.

The key is to find a restaurant filled with local chinese people and not tourists, then you'll score the great meal.

[Ravenseye]

6. That's always the trick

When we lived in Boston we had a favorite Indian place. It was a hole in the wall, but always had other Indian's eating there. you had to walk by a 'fancy' indian place, that got listed in all the magazines for their great food and decor, but it always had white people eating there. The food was SO much better at the smaller hole in the wall. We went there so much that after we moved to a different part of town, we made a special trip to go back there, after being gone for a few months, and the waitress basically said, in her heavy accent "where were you? is everything ok? We haven't seen you in so long!"

[radwriter0555]

21. Yes.... I travel a lot and my best meals have been with the locals,

of course.

My favorite was in Beijing. I had badly injured my knee the night before we left for Beijing, but we decided to go anyway. I was traveling with my friend who is also a doctor... that kind of helped, but I was still pretty crippled, hobbled on a cane.

That didn't stop me from shopping. We were at the Pearl Market and had just blown a wad of cash on jewelry and were STARVING. We asked the shop girl to recommend to us a decent place for lunch. That lovely young lady put on her coat and took us several blocks to an AMAZING old dining hall filled with only locals for the best meal we had in China.. of pineapple and shrimp for about $5 each.

My point about being hobbled was how slowly I had to traverse, and her patience.

The dining hall was so cool, all wood floors, wood tables, lanterns, antique decor, all authentic and none of it intentional... they just hadn't changed it in 80 or more years. It was spartan, but cool.

We always eat local. It's the only way to experience the heart of the region you're in. I'd rather eat in a diner filled with workers, laborers, than in a 5 star restaurant. That's how you learn about the soul of the town you're in.

[Book Lover]

7. Travel advisory

Highway 1 is closed at Devil's Slide, just south of pacifica. Don't plan on driving straight down the coast from SF to anywhere south of town; if you want to go to Half Moon Bay or the like, you'll have to take the 280-to-92 detour.

[LibDemAlways]

8. It's a shame you don't have more time for Yosemite.

It deserves more than a few hours. If this was my trip I'd head toward Lake Tahoe the second night and spend Saturday on a leisurely drive around the lake before heading down to Reno. You are trying to cover a lot of territory in a little time. Just my opinion.

[Ravenseye]

9. Not our first time out there

I'm intimately familiar with Lake Tahoe. I've been there countless times. One of my favorite places in the world honestly. So, sadly, we're not even bothering with it on this trip as we have limited time.

We plan on sleeping at Yosemite and spending basically the whole day there. We could probably spend a few days, or even a week there if we had time just hiking and exploring and relaxing. Mostly we just wanted to get away alone for a few days, leave our daughter with my parents outside Reno, and enjoy a few days with just the two of us before our second child arrives this fall. We actually had on the table just going to a casino in Reno getting a hotel room and staying there for ac ouple of days.

Any of the places we're going I'd much rather spend 2-3 times more time there, but there isn't much we can do. Since we don't know next time we'd be able to head out there to be touristy, I wanted to get my wife to see as much as possible within the time alotted. I've travelled far more than her, so this trip is also a little bit about getting her to see some new places, hence what I've laid out. I'd rather she have a day in san fran, a day on the coast, and a day in yosemite than just one of those places.

[LibDemAlways]

10. Oh, ok.

I'm just looking at it from the pregnant woman perspective. If she's up for it, by all means. I just remember that before my daughter was born I didn't have the stamina for a rigorous itinerary and would have preferred spending a few days relaxing in one place. Whatever you decide, I hope you have a great time.

[Ravenseye]

11. We're definatley going to play it by ear

Mostly car tourism outside of San Francisco. She's still early second trimester so shes' entering her energetic pregnancy phase. She's probably in better shape than I am. Still it's definately on my mind. Most public transport or cabs in San Francisco, and then driving the coastal road, a little bit of light hiking in Yosemite. Nothing major like we'd love to do, but alas not this time.

[kwassa]

12. Yosemite is very large

you'll have barely enough time to drive through, much less hike. I suggest the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias, and the complete driving tour of the valley floor. You'll probably head out through the Tioga Pass.

[Ravenseye]

13. Probably going to hit the valley

Come in via Arch Rock and see how much time we spend in Yosemite Valley. Various Falls. Views. Etc. Then we might just head via 120 over to Tioga Pass and take our time depending...Stopping here or there. I wish I could spend a week there, but it just ain't gonna happen this time around. Probably be a good place to bring the kids when they're old enough to hump their own gear.

[Xithras]

22. Major warning about Tioga Pass! Read!

Tioga Pass is the only major pass through the Sierra's that CLOSES during the winter (Yosemite gets snowdrifts up to 30 feet deep at the crest). During normal snow years, the pass reopens between mid-May and the first week of June, but in heavy snowfall years it can get MUCH later. Last year, when the Sierra snowpack was about 150% of normal, Tioga didn't open until the very end of June. And this year? Our snowfall ended the season somewhere aroung 175% of normal...the NPS isn't even bothering with a projected opening date yet. On top of the incredibly deep snow, there's apparently a bit of avalanche and landslide damage that will need to be repaired before it will open this year. Their goal, according to a very good friend of mine who lives just outside of the park, is to have the road open by the July 4 holiday.

Be prepared to take an alternate path out of the park, and be aware that those alternate paths are going to take you via the Central Valley and add 4-5 hours to your drive.

Keep an eye on this page for road updates and a projected opening date: http://www.nps.gov/yose/now/tioga.htm

[Ravenseye]

23. Now that's a good tip

Yosemite might be out this year. It was pushing it as it was, but if that road is closed, it'll be impossible. Thanks for the heads up.

[Xithras]

25. That's a shame.

The flipside to the heavy snow is that the waterfalls are absolutely stunning as all that water rushes back off the peaks. There is no better time to see the valley than during a heavy snow year.

[Ravenseye]

26. We were pushing it as it was

Probably better to just do San Francisco and save Yosemite for when our spawn are all old enough to hike along with us.

[mulsh]

15. best way to see Fisherman's Warf

walk down to Market St from your hotel. Get on an F line trolley and ride it to the end and back. Do it anytime after 11am and you'll see Fisherman's Warf in all its over crowded, over priced glory. if you decide to get off and walk around don't miss the Hyde St Pier - but having done this trip with at least half a dozen tourists and relatives most people seem to realize that there are far better places to be in SF.

You can find much better sea food at Kuleto's on Powell st ( near your hotel) than you can on the warf but take the above poster's advice and get a crab cocktail. the other option is get a whole crab or two and a loaf of bread and have a picknic at aquatic park, right up the street from the tourist mecca.

[Ravenseye]

16. Good advice

Yeah Fisherman's Wharf is touristy and overpriced. I figure though if you're going to start someone out, to understand what's actually good, they have to do what's traditional.

Here's what I'm thinking. We're staying near Union square so I thought we'd take the Hyde St. Streetcar. Gawk at the top of Lombard street without getting off, then off at the bottom. Walk over to Fisherman's wharf, get some touristy crab, take in the toursityness, try and see seals (my wife's request), and then to Ghiradelli square to get chocloate (my wife is pregnant after all). By then it'll be early afternoon I would think, and we could grab the bus up to Coit Tower. From there i'm not sure...maybe walk down Lombard and over to the 'curviest street' portion to gawk if it's a nice enough day. Otherwise dunno...

We might meet up with friends if we can work out a schedule. Otherwise at that point I'm not sure what to do.

[musiclawyer]

17. Frankly you're trying to do too much

You want be in the North Bay on Friday morning and then be in Yosemite on Friday eve? You would be going with traffic on a Friday afternoon! Unless you leave before 3 pm , you're looking at a 3 hour ordeal(bumber to bumber traffic) just to get to Modesto. Then 2 more hours of driving. If I'm you, I go to Yosemite OR the Bay Area, but not both. You'll have a much better, interesting and more relaxing trip. Myriad things to do around the Bay Area. Myriad things to do around Yosemite. And you still won't have seen enough.

[Xithras]

24. Good point, I missed that.

I live just north of Modesto. On a Friday evening, at the beginning of summer, traffic into the Sierra's is going to get downright nasty. Three hours from SF to Modesto/Escalon? Maybe, if there are NO accidents (you don't know traffic until you've spent 10 minutes sitting in the same spot on the 580 in the middle of Pleasanton). Surface streets from there to Oakdale will be packed that time of day, so the next dozen miles will probably tack on another 30 minutes. Once you spend another 20 fighting your way through the gridlock that is Oakdale on a summer evening, you'll have to deal with the two lane, loaded with semi's goodness that is 120 between Oakdale and Yosemite Junction. It's fairly smooth sailing past there, but I'd still say the drive from Oakdale to the gates will set you back two hours.

Seriously, the Bay to Yosemite in June on a Friday evening? Plan for a 5-6 hour drive. I live in this area and visit Yosemite a half-dozen times a year, and there are certain times that just SUCK for travelling up there. If the OP is going to do it, the trip needs to take place a LOT earlier in the day...BEFORE all the commuters get off work and plug the roads.

[Ravenseye]

27. K Sold

We're not gonna do Yosemite. The traffic, plus the pass being still closed...We'll stay in and directly around San Francisco the whole time...Thursday morning till Saturday afternoon.

[Oeditpus Rex]

18. There's a creperie in SF

at 16th and Valencia (Mission District) called Ti Couz. Fabulous crepes, and about 30 different kinds. There's gotta be some to satisfy a vegan palate, and I know they have seafood crepes because my gf had... red snapper, I think. Marvelous!

http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/profile/868137/san_francisco_ca/ti_couz.html

[Ravenseye]

28. mmmm crepes

I love crepes. Saving to my citysearch area...I'm racking up restaurants to go to.

[Bridget Burke]

19. Do you like Bookstores?

San Francisco has some great ones but City Lights is my favorite. Founded by Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, it's got excellent selections of literature, poetry, non-fiction, etc. Almost all in paperback. Lots of atmosphere...

www.citylights.com/

Located in North Beach. Go around the corner & you're in Chinatown. Since SF is such a small city, this is bound to be near other places you will visit.

Years ago, I ate at the Straits Cafe, serving the cuisine of Singapore. Especially memorable, even in a town with many fine places to eat.

www.straitsrestaurants.com/

Your itinerary does sound a bit full. Perhaps you should consider more time in SF--just checking things out. For example, I had a fine time visiting Noe Valley--just a nice little neighborhood with some interesting shops & places to eat.

Parking is a bitch. Consider walking & public transit where possible.

(Fisherman's Wharf is touristy but does have the sea lions.)

[Ravenseye]

29. More time in SF it is

I love Noe Valley. A friend of mine used to live there and I vistied. Great neighborhood.

My wife might be interested in the bookstore. She's a big poetry chick, so of course went through her beat phase...loves all that stuff, to which i'm completely and utterly ignorant. I'll mention it to her.

Parking is a bitch. I do remmeber that. I plan on finding a hotel that has parking at a decent daily rate, and just leaving the car most of the time, and using public transportation.

[tigereye]

20. we loved the Maritime Museum/National Park

it's near Fisherman's wharf. The ships are great to look at if you like ships.

Have a great time!