Here are 3 fun things to do in San Francisco that may be useful to anyone planning a vacation to this wonderful city in California.
1. While visiting our son in Santa Rosa, California, my wife an I ventured into San Francisco for a couple of days of sightseeing. On a tip from a friend, we planned to stop at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area on the way.
Driving down Rt. 101, we found the park just before the entrance to the Golden Gate Bridge, but, we were not prepared for what happened next. The park road took us up the hill which is on the northwest corner of the bridge and soon we were higher than the top of the bridge. We stopped at a designated parking spot and sat down in a grassy area.
The view was beyond spectacular. It seemed that we could reach out and touch the bridge. Continuing on, we found a large tunnel in the top of the hill which allowed us to take a short walk to the other side of the hill where we found an awesome view of the Pacific Ocean and the northern California coast.
We learned that during WWII a large gun was located in the tunnel to repel an enemy attack on our west coast. We highly recommend this site.
2. After our adventure of climbing higher than the Golden Gate Bridge we drove over to the Embarcadero which is the area along the waterfront including all of the piers.
This is a busy area with a wide variety of fun things to do, such as bike rentals, whale watching and sailing trips plus a large conference center. You can take a boat or ferry to Alcatraz, Angel Island, Sausalito, Oakland and several other interesting spots.
Our heads began to spin with so many options that we headed for Pier 39 to spend the rest of the day. First, we found many interesting places to eat; anywhere from fine dinning overlooking the water to quaint cafes. Our favorite treat turned out to be clam chowder in a bread bowl.
Shortly after arriving, we heard some awful bellowing, so we followed the sound and discovered a large family of sea lions which were sunning themselves.
It was great to see them in their natural environment. We took a romantic ride on the Carousel and ended the day with a wild ride around the harbor on the RocketBoat.
3. The next day we drove to the Exploratorium which is something like a museum and is full of very entertaining interactive exhibits. We found the exhibits to be terrific.
They taught is a major scientific principle, while having fun at the same time. We read some where that the Exploratorium has been called "a scientific funhouse" and we believe that's really true. The exhibits seem to be a very effective learning tool regardless of your age or prior knowledge.
They seem to stimulate your curiosity in ways you've never experienced before. We particularly liked the "Making your own telescope", " Build a solar system" and "Your weight in other worlds".
If you're visiting San Francisco and have children along you can't go wrong to check out the Exploratorium.
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