OT - December Travel Plans? SF Suggestions for 1989 UM Grad?

Looking forward to having my kids back home from GVSU and MSU respectively for the break. We are not going anywhere other than the wife and I for a quick weekend getaway to Chicago before Christmas.

I haven't been to SF other than for conferences since mid 90's so don't remember much. I'm sure there are Bay area natives who will provide meaningful info.

Your "50 year old man who is too stupid to plan a vacation" shitpost is a welcome break from the "idiot who is too stupid to buy bowl game tickets" shitpost....

This is a strange year for me. I'm usually full of holiday spirit, spending days decorating the tree and inside the house and going full Clark Griswold outside.

This year I just want it to be over as soon as possible. It's really odd.

consider going down to the piers in downtown SF.  cross the golden gate bridge.  have lunch in tiburon.  i think you will be out there for the red box bowl, so hey, par-tay down at a football game.  go down to santa cruz and walk on the beach.  go to the monterey aquarium.  maybe drive through pebble beach golf course, carmel (say hello to clint while you are there) and the 101 north of there.  very pretty.  

looking forward to the two oldest coming home from college.  got to see them both for a little during thanksgiving, but need to have everyone home, in front of the fire, reading, listening to music, maybe watch a little football, hunt, chop wood, just be together.  miss them and know that the times when we'll all be together will grow more infrequent.  

New Zealand is nice this time of year.

I was in the Bay Area for six months earlier this year for work.  Two words:

AVOID TENDERLOIN.

Anywhere else and you'll have a good time.

North beach is fun, as is mission district, not too touristy. Golden Gate park is a little touristy but fun, as is the palace of fine arts. 

Watch out for the feces.

My $0.02 assuming you won't go more than a few miles outside the city:

• Muir Woods is a touristy thing to do but it's pretty cool.
• Unless you're an oenophile I wouldn't bother with Napa Valley. Sacrilege, possibly, but I think it's overrated. It's to SF trips roughly what Broadway is to NYC trips. (I'd choose Napa Valley over Broadway any time. I'm speaking to how certain items become standard/obligatory on people's itineraries.)
• Show your kids what happens when demand exceeds supply in real estate. You could also do this down the peninsula, too (Menlo Park, Palo Alto, etc.), in Marin County, or across the bay. Berkeley would be a fun UMich comparison.
• Have a meal (or two or three) at a Michelin-starred restaurant. San Francisco has a bunch of those.
• Highway 1 south of the city is underrated for its scenery.
• Visit Golden Gate Park and the de Young museum.

With that many days, you could find time to go across the bridge and get outdoors.  All of Muir Woods National Monument, Point Reyes, and the hike to Pointe Bonita Lighthouse are worth the trip.

In the city, if you can find your way past the Tenderloin, you will be in a beer-lovers dream world.  City Beer Store is pretty great and seems to attract happy people.  There is also a park at the top of Bernal Heights that has some great views of the city and is decidedly local.

Just up the hill from Berkeley is another good hiking area, Tilden Regional Park.

Enjoy your trip!

Places to go:

Palace of Fine Arts (outside only)

Lombard Street

Fisherman's Wharf

Haight Ashbury

Sausalito

Golden Gate Park

Twin Peaks

Union Square

Things to do: 

Walk across the Golden Bridge

Go to Alcatraz. Get tickets before you go.

Take a cable car.

Have a sourdough bowl of clam chowder.

Take a ferry to or from Sausalito. The Blue & Gold Line

Go to Muirwoods

Go to the top of the De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. Great view and it's free.

Drive down to Monterey. Go to the Aquarium.

Take 17 Mile Drive thru Pebble Beach and go to Carmel. Have a deli sandwich at Bruno's Supermarket, and have a beer at the Hog's Breath Inn.

Have fun!

Japantown in San Fran is usually not bad with tourists and it’s fun area with good food and fun things to see. Drive or Uber there , don’t take bus as that goes through the Tenderloin to get to Japantown ...Not good area. 
 

japantown is safe though! 

*

Former No Cal resident here.  My suggestions:

1). Stay at Loews, in Embarcadero.  Unbelievable bridge to bridge views.

2). Eat at Scoma’s in Sausalito.

3)  Take the first off ramp north of the Golden Gate and go west, under the freeway, to the Marin headlands.  Amazing views of the city.

4) There are organized  commercial city walks- the one through Chinatown was cool.  Get to see a lot of Chinatown I wasn’t aware of.  Lots of back alleys, that sort of thing, all of it interesting.  Heard the Castro walk was cool too.

5) Locals will roll their eyes, but the Bay tours out of Fisherman’s Wharf aren’t bad for a complete newbie.  Can also go to Alcatraz from there.  The Wharf is otherwise a tourist trap.

6) Carmel and Monterey are amazing-plan a 3 hour drive from downtown.  Aquarium is worthwhile.  Go on 17 Mile Drive.  Prepare to drop your jaw if you are a golf enthusiast.  Stay at Tickle Pink in Carmel Highlands.

7). Point Reyes is cool.  So is Bodega Bay, particularly after watching The Birds.

8) Lombard Street (twisty part) is tourist, but still kind of cool.

9) I personally wouldn’t bother with East Bay, but ymmv.

10). Go to Top of the Mark for a drink.

That’ll keep you busy for a few days:). Have fun!

Visit the Yoda statue at Lucasfilm HQ in Presidio. 

Walk thru the lobby, and get a cup of joe at the corporate Starbucks. 

You might strike a conversation with an employee about upcoming projects....  just sayin' 

Go Blue and May the Force Be With You. 

House of Prime Rib.  One of my favorite restaurants.  It might take reservations days or weeks in advance to get in, depending on the date you might pick.

Zachary's Pizza in Oakland.  Also very, very busy.

Although I didn't get to see it when I lived there (I was gone by then), I'd go for the USS Hornet museum in Alameda, across the bay.

Golden Gate park, and the Japanese Garden there.

The Cargill salt ponds are fun for all ages. But what do I know? I took my wife to the Reynolds Wrap factory on one of our first dates. (She loved it and I knew...)

Seriously, get Salt and Pepper Crab at R&G Lounge in Chinatown. You’ll thank me later. 

Lived there 11 years and 2 more in Oakland. First a big shout out to Underdogs! Watched Michigan beat Indiana there many of times. 

The Mission is a neighborhood that is likely now touristy but it used to be the part of town just to the south of all the part of town on all the tourist maps you get at your hotel. You can take BART (the subway-type substance) there. Get off at the 16th and Mission stop. Walk a block west to Valencia Street then make a left turn and head south to wherever you are going (Mission Street immediately south of BART is sketchy as hell). 

Here are my Mission recs in no particular order, look them up on Google and decide:

if it’s nice out check out Dolores Park. At night, you can catch a good view of the city if it isn’t foggy. During the day, especially on the weekend you can find all sorts of tomfoolery here, silent disco, kicking it with friends. Best rec is to get prepared food at Bi-Rite market (everything they have is the bomb) and take it there for a picnic. 
 

The most local thing you can do in the Mission is wait in line. Some of the best lines (and maybe worth it to wait if I had friends in from out of town) are Tartine, probably just as packed as an Alcatraz tour. Mission Chinese used to be impossible to get a table and I always ordered it to be delivered. If you go, get anything involving the cheeks of animals. 

The Mission has the best burritos outside of LA and San Diego. Taqueria Cancun was one of my go tos for late night action. Just order “Al Pastor Súper Burrito.” You will love it. Another place that’s rad is La Taqueria. They had some sort of crunchy cheesy thing. 

For dinner (if you want to do a little spendy) get a reservation TODAY at Mr. Pollo.  This place is most definitely local, hole-in-the-wally, and also amazing.  Get there now before the New York Times does a write-up on it.  It’s a price fixed (not crazy expensive) menu where there are only about 12 customers in total that can squeeze inside this place.  You won’t be disappointed. 

If you like walking, go to the top of Bernal Heights Park.  

Some non-Mission recs: get lunch at Tu Lan.  If you’re staying downtown this is close to you. The neighborhood is whack but you won’t likely get jumped during the day.

Palace of Fine Arts (outside only) is worth checking out if you are in that area.  Read the interpretive signs or look it up on Wikipedia.
If you’re getting a rental car, go to the top of Twin Peaks. I’d also go do a short hike at Land’s End, a free National Park.  Park at Sutro Baths and afternoon checking those out, work your way North-east along the coast to about Lands End labyrinth or so.  If the weather sucks and there are no views, skip this, or schedule it for a clear day. Marin Headlands are also great. 

There are awesome walks to be had in the neighborhoods. Look on Google Maps or equivalent for dotted lines that indicate weird staircases connecting streets. These are fun and interesting and found all over the city. The single family home architecture of the neighborhoods is also fascinating.

Visit the elkhorn slough either by renting kayaks are by a boat tour on elkhorn safari, you will see a lot of sea otters.  This is just north of Monterey.  You can also go on a whale watching trip by boat from San Francisco piers or half moon bay.

My wife and I spend about 6 weeks a year in SF. Mix of work and fun. 
 

Golden Gate Park is a treasure. The botanical gardens, academy of science museum and deYoung are worth it. 
 

We stay up in Portrero Hill which is a great neighborhood in the SE side. Good food, some cool little shops. Drop down into Dogpatch for a few more stops. Not far from the Chase Center and a bunch of new SF on down to the ball park then over to Embarcadero. 
 

North Beach is a great neighborhood. 
 

Union Square and Fisherman’s Wharf are tourist traps. Skip them. 
 

A week in SF will more than cover it. I’d look at 4-5 days in SF and a couple days north into the hills. 
 

I live about 6 hours north of the city. Marin/Sonoma/Mendocino are worth the trip. I really like the coast up by Stinson Beach but the drive to the town of Mendocino is a good overnight. 
 

This isn't off the beaten path, but go to Tartine and get a ham and cheese croissant. One of the best foods I've ever eaten in my life. 

Monterey and Big Sur! (bit of a trip, but gorgeous down there)

Long post here - recommendations for non-touristy "local" stuff:

If you're active, SF is a fantastic walking/running city. Few suggestions for that:

- Running at Land's End along Coastal Trail is awesome. Incredible views and good trail.

- If you're up for a challenge, there's a (relatively) new hike from one end of SF to the other called the crosstown trail, mostly through parkland. It's 17 miles and has some pretty big hills, but it's a great way to see the city and makes for a fun day.

https://crosstowntrail.org/

- Less aggressive but nice is walking along the bay from Ft. Mason through Crissy Field. From Crissy Field you can head up into the Presidio or over to the Palace of Fine Arts. Plenty to see and basically flat.

- As others have suggested, Golden Gate Park is great. Easy to get to, lots to see. Great place for a run.

- If weather cooperates, head across the GG Bridge and hike the Marin Headlands. Great trails, incredible views. Muir Woods is great, but can be crowded, requires a reservation. Headlands are close, beautiful and uncrowded. If driving, stop at the Pelican Inn near Muir Beach for a pint.

Other fantastic hikes nearby in Marin are Dipsea/Steep Ravine trail that goes from above Muir Woods down to Stinson Beach, or Cataract Trail that starts not far from top of Mt. Tam and heads down along a stream with dozens of waterfalls.

To easily get around the city without dealing with parking, you might want to download the Jump Bike app - they're the bright red electric bikes you'll see around the city. Zip around the city, and hills are a breeze. App tells you where to find available bikes, drop off anywhere you can lock 'em up when done.

Suggestions for good cheap food:

- Dim Sum: Good Luck Dim Sum on Clement in Richmond District. Fun, authentic and cheap.

- Chinese: San Tung on Irving in Sunset District. Worth the wait, get the chicken wings. For something different, try Old Mandarin Islamic Chinese on Vicente in Outer Sunset. Order Crack Fish and Cumin Lamb.

- Thai: Saap Ver, Lers Ros, and Marnee Thai are all really good.

- Ramen: Lots of great choices in Japantown. Great on a cold day.

- Burritos: Plenty of great choices in Mission District. Can't really go wrong.

- German: Suppenkuche on Hayes. Ok, not super cheap, but huge portions and great german beer.

- Brunch/Cajun: Brenda's on Polk. Again, not super cheap, but filling and good.

- Food Trucks: There's a food truck party at Ft Mason every Friday evening. Lots of food choices, live music and fun scene. Roller skating too!.

- Beer: Magnolia's on upper Haight brews their own good beer and food's pretty good too. Toronado's on lower Haight has a giant selection. Other good places are Southern Pacific Brewing on Treat or Hopwater Distribution on Bush St. Might want to check out 21st Amendment on 2nd or Beach Chalet on Great Highway (in GG Park across from Ocean Beach).

My favorite museum is SF MoMA. Asian Art museum is good too. 

p.s. I've lived in SF for ~20 years - it's quite safe for a large city (previously lived in A2, Detroit, Chicago and DC, visited all major US cities so have experience to compare). Currently live in Japantown and walk everywhere, including through Tenderloin almost every day/night. Never had a problem. Tenderloin is filthy, however. 

Yes, there are lots of homeless people and junkies in SF, and DO NOT leave anything in your car. Petty crime - plenty. Violent crime - very little for a big city. 46 murders in SF last year in city of ~900k. People posting about rampant crime are very unlucky, equating poverty with danger, or do not live in a large city.

Proof:

https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/Killings-violent-crime-in-San-Francisco-drop-to-13485344.php

https://sfist.com/2019/07/10/sf-homicide-rate-on-track-for-historic-low-in-2019/

Hope this is useful - have a great trip!