San Francisco - pre-#2 trip, any recommendations from locals/freq flyers?

[naomi01]

So DH has a conference next week in SF, and I decided that it was only fair that I should get to go too(free accomodation at the Hilton!:-)) We are bringing DS, aged 21 months, and I have been searching the web for fun things to do with him while DH is tied up all day conferencing. I should mention I will be 32 weeks with #2, so probably not too interested in hiking or anything overly energetic.

It occured to me that my BBB pals would be the best kid-friendly resource (after all, its where I look first for most of my other kid questions!)

Can anyone suggest any of the following?

- safe nearby playgrounds
- toddler friendly water or museum choices
- beaches?
- fun kid stores
- dare I hope, outlet kind of stores (but we won't have a car during the week)

We live in Kansas City where choices are a little limited at times, so if there are any great baby stores I would love to take a look too.

TIA! I know it will be exhausting but I am really looking forward to a change of pace before the last (oh so fun) month of pregnancy.
:-)

Naomi
DS 12/02/02
EDD 10/29/04

[Mom to Brandon and 2 cats]

Where is the Hilton you're staying at? The Steinbeck museum is pretty cool, and there's an aquarium, which our toddler loves.

SF is pretty cool right now, so I don't know about going to the beach, unless you're going just to play in the sand and not in the water.

If you're going to be downtown, the shopping at Nordstrom galleria is great (it's actually a mall), and there's a HUGE Old Navy (with maternity clothes, too).

HTH

[brubeck]

I don't know too much about playgrounds in the City but there is a nice beach at Ocean Beach if you just want to play in the sand and look at the waves. Too cold for swimming though, plus there are riptides.

You could look for a playground in Golden Gate Park.

Your DS would probably enjoy Fisherman's Wharf, especially all the sea lions. There are usually some dinky rides there as well.

The entire Union Square shopping area is very ritzy, although the FAO Schwartz is now gone :( . If you want a nicer, child-friendly lunch place you could go to The Cheesecake Factory (they have a nice complimentary 'baby' plate with bread and sliced bananas that my 20 month old DS got last weekend). It's at the top of the Women's Macy's. Fresh Choice (in the basement of the Men's Macy's) is also a good place to eat that is toddler-friendly. You could also just try wandering around North Beach or Chinatown and I'll bet that on a weeknight they would be happy to accomodate your toddler in any number of restaurants there.

The big movie theatre complex (at 5th & Mission, is it the Metreon?) has an indoor play area based on Where the Wild Things Are.

If you get a car you can drive down to Valley Fair Mall in San Jose that has a Tier 1 Gymboree, Naartjie, Jainie & Jack, Janeville, April Cornell, AND Hanna. There's a really nice (free) toddler play area too and if you get there early enough you can borrow a free fire engine stroller.

Hope you have a great time!

[gisele]

There is a book called something like Things for Kids to do and visit in the SF Bay Area. And this time of year (Sept/Oct) is actually the warmest time in San Francisco. We are going to have a heat wave this weekend, which means 70/80s in the city. But it is always windy around Ocean Beach, you always need a sweater/sweatshirt handy.

If you don't have a car, then in addition to some of the SF suggestions above, the San Francisco Zoo is good for kids. This is right by Ocean Beach so you could also hit both. (we have membership there)

If you have a car and get to San Jose, the Children's Discovery Museum is also great for kids. They have a new water ways exhibit which kids love. If your son likes planes, there is also an Air Museum in San Carlos.

Two good baby stores in the area - Lullaby Lane in San Bruno and Baby Super in San Jose

[wencit]

Jennifer, are you referring to Steinhart Aquarium in Golden Gate Park? I've never heard of a Steinbeck Museum. Of course, I don't get out very often, so I could be totally wrong! :)

Also, I haven't seen anyone mention the Exploratorium. It's a fun, science-oriented discovery place.

To the OP, too bad your husband's conference isn't one week later. The Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival is going to be held on the weekend of the 18th. :(

[miki]

If you are going to be at the Hilton at the Embarcadero Center, you are close to a lot of stuff. That's the only one I can think of near the convention center. Yerba Buena Gardens is a good place to go. It has a park area, a carousel to ride, a neat fountain you can walk under, and an indoor area where you can pick up something to eat.

A fun (but pricey) kid's clothing store is called Kidnikki. It's in one of the Embarcadero Center buildings on the street level. I used to walk there at lunch to look at the cute stuff when I was pregnant.

HTH. Have lots of fun.

[peasprout]

FYI, Steinhart is closed in GG park. It moved to howard st.

[naomi01]

We are going to be at the Hilton in the Theatre District, I am pretty sure it is on O Farrell St.

You are guys are truly amazing!

As soon as I get downstairs (no printer up here) I am going to print up details on all your wonderful suggestions.

Thanks so much, everyone! BBB to the rescue, yet again!

Naomi

[pixelprincess]

Hi Naomi, SF is a great city to explore and you can do so without a car, since the public transit (Muni) isn't bad (some locals don't think so).

If you are staying downtown by the Union square, you can pretty much walk and entertain yourself. There is or used to be a grassy area across Macy's that DS can walk around in. Another fun thing to do would be to ride the Cable car to the Fisherman's wharf. It runs on Powell street which is a busy street with restaurants and bookstores (Borders).

There is also lots of shopping around Market and Powell. Be sure to check out the info/visitor center so you can get free SF maps to negotiate the city. Muni also runs underground trains that are street cars which can be fun to ride. The SF zoo (we were there yesterday), is a 35m train ride from Powell/Market by L Taraval.

It has been hot and nice the last few days, but SF weather in general tends to stay cool, so be sure to bring some layers. The SFMOMA, Yerba Beuna Center for Arts, Metreon are all fun places to go and south of Market st.

One of my fav stores is the Tintin store. I think it is on Sutter st. They have lots of little kids and grown up kids stuff.

ps. If you decide to go to the zoo pls. let me know and I can mail you a free admission/train ride coupon. It expires at the end of sept. and not sure when you are coming. you can pm me if you need any more info. i used to live downtown and could help you with transit info.

[C99]

The science and technology museum is really fun. I can't remember the name off the top of my head, but it's near the Palace of Fine Arts. There are parks and playgrounds all around the city. There is a huge playground in Golden Gate park, w/ slides built into the hills and a carousel, and elsewhere in the park, a duck pond with boats that you can rent that just motor around the pond on their own. The playgrounds in SF are generally safe because there is an ordinance in the city that adults unaccompanied by children cannot be in the playgrounds.

There is also the Metreon, a huge mall-type complex near Yerba Buena and the convention center. They have movies and restaurants and they used to have this great exhibit for little kids at the top, Where the Wild Things Are. I know it was a traveling exhibit, so it may be something else now, or gone altogether. There's also a carousel near Mosconi (convention center) at Mission and 4th.

There's this really cool vintage toy store/cafe (it's mostly a cafe) called the Toy Boat Cafe or something on Clement in the Richmond area. Yummy ice cream and sandwiches.

I know that there is a Children's Museum in the bay area, but I think it's down the Peninsula a bit.

There's not much that is kid-friendly in the water. As someone else said, it's too darn cold to swim and sometimes it's too cold/foggy to even wade around. There is a beach at Land's End, but it will be hard to get to without a car. There's also waterside areas at Fort Mason (and a super yummy, much raved about vegetarian restaurant, Greens).

Shopping...since they closed the Espirit outlet, I can't think of what else there is that's outlet shopping that you don't have to drive to. I can think of tons of great shopping though!

[ShayleighCarsensMom]

We often take day trips to the city.
My DD loves to ride BART...It is a train trasportation that takes you all through the bay area...
You can take the muni line from the powell st station all the way to the zoo...its a great zoo.
You can hop on the cable cars at powell st and take it over to fishermans wharf which is right next to ghiradelli square and pier 39.
Union Square is a great place to shop and just hang out.
There is an aquarium in golen gate park.
When you get to the city you can call Muni and let them know where you are and where you want to go and they will lay out the route for you so that it is not confusing. They are a huge help...
We've never taken a car into the city with us, parking is a nightmare and the hotels charge $30-40 a night to park you car. Plus, what child wouldnt love riding a bus or train!
Also, there is a childrens discovery museum across the golden gate bridge in Sausalito...but there is so much to see and do in SF that you really dont need to leave!
Have a great trip!

[tiffany04]

As someone mentioned upthread, we're supposed to have a heat wave this weekend, so definitely watch the weather. Either way, be prepared to dress in layers -- the temp varies in different parts of the city.

The kids science museum is the exploratorium http://www.exploratorium.edu/ -- I haven't been since before i was a mom, but even then it was fun.

Zeum http://www.zeum.org/ is in Yerba Buena, and is some sort of kids/arts place. I've never been inside, but they do have a nice kids play area outdoors.

I really like the store Kids Only on Haight Street (although Haight can be a zoo). They have a nice range of brand name and small label clothes. There are a couple kids stores on 24th Street in Noe Valley (which is generally a family-friendly neighborhood). You can take the streetcar (J-Church) there from downtown. There are also some kids stores on Sacramento Street near Laurel Village (in the Richmond District), but I don't know any names offhand.

Have a fun trip!