Note: Keep an eye peeled for the magic sunglasses symbol:  if you click on it, you will get a picture of whatever I'm talking about at the moment.

What to avoid

Please, as a personal favor to me, avoid the places below. If your local San Franciscan friends are taking you there, it's because they don't like you. : )

These are very tourist-trappy, shallow, Disneyland versions of a San Francisco experience. If you are determined to think San Francisco is an amusement park, then I guess I will not try to stop you.  

Pier 39 / Fisherman's Wharf
Ugh! The most egregious of the offenders. Much interesting stuff here, but not really what you came across the world to see, is it? You came to see San Francisco.

You could see this generic tourist trap stuff, and be overcharged for schlock in a million other tacky places all over the world. Stay at home and go see your local Wax museum and magic shops. Come to SF to see what makes us unique.

One possible exception may be the recently-opened under-water aquarium, where you walk along a giant underwater plexiglass tunnel. You can see the local sealife swimming by, inches from you. They are captive in a tank, it's not really out in the bay - but still, possibly interesting. I saw it on the news, the walls of the mammoth tank are made out to look like rocks, to preserve the illusion.

Electronic stores near Market street or other tourist areas
Be wary of the many electronic stores with the permanent SALE signs and the speakers blaring outside. Cell phones, ipods, cameras, at low, low prices. They get busted now and again for selling rejected merchandise as new. Mind you, some are honest. Just be sure of what you are buying.

Here are the insider's secrets. Don't abuse them, overuse them, or litter them, or I'll have your San Francisco passport revoked.

To give directions from the four points of the compass would be burdensome, so I will assume that once you are here you can find a way to get directions to these spots. People know them by name.

Twin Peaks
No, not the TV series. Near the geographical center of the city, a tall hill with two twin peaks juts out at about 1000 feet. This is just about the tallest thing in the city. Please note that in the picture linked above, Twin Peaks are the two little hills to the extreme left of the picture. The huge green mountain with the three-legged antenna on top is not Twin Peaks, it's Sutro Tower atop Mount Sutro (next hill over).

Twin Peaks offers fabulous, commanding views of most of northern and eastern San Francisco, including the Castro, the Mission, the inner Sunset, the inner Richmond, Market Street, downtown, the bay, Mount Tamalpais, etc, etc. Don't miss this one.

Sometimes, T-shirt hawkers put up stands near the vista point, but this commercialism isn't bad enough to justify missing out on the view. 

Mount Davidson
You are surrounded by nature atop this lone hill in the middle of the neighborhoods. Half of it has been clear-cut to reveal nice, Twin-Peak like views without the crowds.

You can't miss this hill - a giant cement cross was built on it a long time ago, and the faithful celebrate there every Easter morning, at sunrise.

Golden Gate Heights Park aka Moraga Park
Picnic time!! This park is truly an unknown SF gem, even to residents. Please take care of this park. It contains some endangered plants near extinction. It is also being eroded because, since the sand dunes around it were built up, no nearby sand gets blown onto it anymore.

Moraga Park is somewhat hard to find, but very well worth it. This is a little-known park in the middle of a silent neighborhood Virtually 360-degree views of San Francisco, and about seven nearby cities.

The purplish rocks at the top of the park used to be at the bottom of the ocean millions of years ago. If you look closely, you can see some of the nearly microscopic animals that became sediment which became the rocks.

It's in the middle of the Sunset district, about a mile or two west of the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF). It's at 14th Avenue and Lawton street. The streets there are so twisty due to the hilly terrain that 14th avenue actually intersects with 15th avenue. It is not a park per se, as much as it is a natural area preserved in its original state of sand covered with iceplant.

The Sunset Reservoir
A medium hill with oversize views! Also great for picnics. They dug out the hill and placed a water reservoir inside of it.You don't really see much of the reservoir, because they surfaced half of it with flat cement, and the other half with a sloping, grassy park, just perfect for picnics and gazing at the view. You get commanding views of the northern Sunset, Golden Gate Park, the Richmond, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin headlands, not to mention the Pacific as it enters the bay. This is slightly lower than Golden Gate Heights as mentioned above, but it is more of a manicured grassy area than the sand-and-seagrass GGH. It's bounded by 24th avenue to 28th avenue, and Pacheco to Quintara streets, You can enter it from anywhere, but I would start at Pacheco and 28th.  

The Carnelian Room
A fine dining restauran atop the Bank of America building. I haven't been to this restaurant 55 stories above San Francisco in a while, so I can't really speak about the food, the service, or the fancy prices but I sure remember the view.

555 California Street
415-433-7500

If you have a specific landmark that you want to view from your table, the best way is to say so when you make your reservation. They know best which table best looks onto what. As a preview, here is a list of the things you see from each side of the building :

View towards the West :
Downtown and hills undulating away until they become The Richmond neighborhood, some of Golden Gate Park, the Pacific ocean and the setting sun, possibly the Golden Gate Bridge

View towards the North :
Some of downtown, Chinatown, North Beach, Coit Tower, Alcatraz, the north bay, possibly the Golden Gate Bridge.

View towards the East :
Downtown, foot of Market street, the Ferry Building, the Oakland Bay Bridge, Yerba Buena Island, Berkeley, Oakland, the bay

View towards the South :
Downtown, the South Of Market (SOMA) area, the south bay, the San Francisco peninsula, possibly some of the Pacific Ocean, possibly some of the Santa Cruz mountains.

Telegraph Hill (with Coit Tower on top)
I'm not sure exactly how tall Telegraph Hill is, but it's tall. Probably around 500 feet or so. There is a parking lot at the top, and during peak periods (late morning on a sunny day during tourist season) there is a 10-minute wait for a parking spot. There is usually a bored cop directing traffic.

Once parked, you can walk around the circle-shaped vista point and see wonderful views of downtown buildings, the bay, Alcatraz, east-bay cities, the Golden Gate bridge, the Golden Gate National Recreational Area, the Pacific Ocean, etc.

Coit Tower sits atop Telegraph Hill, and provides an extra one or two hundred feet of height from which to admire the view. Named after 19^th-century figure Lily Coit. 

The Palace of Fine Arts
Not really outdoorsy in the athletic sense - more like a preternaturally gorgeous formal garden. In the Marina district, abutting with the Presidio. Contains the following :

A Park - A very pretty smallish park (about 4 square blocks) that is sooo beautiful that many people have their weddings here.

An Auditorium - Where Dave Letterman held his show when he came to SF in mid-May 96

The Exploratorium - a fascinating hands-on science museum with nearly 700 exhibits. Holograms, echo chambers, laser beams, a miniature tornado, giant bubble hoops, computer finger painting, language, motion and color exhibits. Open daily
3601 Lyon street between Marina Blvd. And Lombard St.

Ocean Beach
This is the entire western coast of the city. Quiet, low-rise neighborhoods hug the entire seven miles of beach. The water is too cold to swim, even in summer, but it's still good for peaceful walks. The further south you go, the less populated it will be. If you want peace, I would go all the way south, near the zoo. If you want lots of people-watching opportunities, go to the northern part of the beach, between Seal Rocks and Golden Gate Park. Pssst, there's a photo tour of this area in the Neighborhoods page.  

The End of Geary Street
Not so well-known an area. Just tell people you want to reach the end of Geary street, near Sutro Park. You want to be at the intersection of Point Lobos Street and 48^th Avenue. Face West, towards the ocean.

The end of Geary street, which is the intersection of Point Lobos and 48^th avenue, will be one block to your left. Next to you, on your left, will be the Seal Rock Inn which has a decent restaurant for Sunday breakfasts. It's the four-story thing. At this point, you have two choices; Sutro Park to your left, or Point Lobos to your right  
 

Sutro Park - This is the one with the lion statues near the entrance. A romantic's delight. This small park used to be benevolent 19^th century mayor Sutro's mansion grounds. Overlooks Seal Rocks, the ocean. Picnic, read, throw frisbees, kiss your sweetheart.
 

Point Lobos - To your right, there is a field with some trees in the background. Enter that area. At this point, you have two other choices.

Lobos choice one: About half a block into the trees, cut into the pathless wild area to your left. Soon, you will be rewarded with breathtaking views of cliffs and surf. Watch your step!!

Lobos Choice Two: Stay on the wide, well-worn path and make a circuit that brings you to a view of the Golden Gate bridge.

Golden Gate Park
Over 1,000 acres of wonderful green stuff. That's about 50 short city blocks by 9 long city blocks.

Our lush, bucolic, sylvan and dearly beloved Golden Gate park is a totally artificial creation. 100 years ago, it was nothing but sand dunes, but this takes nothing away from the wonderful experience of being there. It has so many moods: tumultuous summer playground, misty early morning peacefulness, golden sunset through the trees, nature museum, home to bunny wabbits, and so on.

If you are there on a weekend, avoid the crowded eastern areas of it, which do contain some of the more interesting places. On Sundays, traffic to this area is blocked except for buses. Therefore, people bicycle and rollerskate freely on the park lanes. There are GG Park maps atop little white pedestals all over the park. I'll list the attractions in the park so you can see if you want to allocate some of your time to go and see them. Everything is free, except where specifically noted.

The park contains :

California Academy of Sciences - Admission gets you into the aquarium and the museum. The planetarium is extra. There is a cafeteria and a gift shop. Recorded information: 415-750-7145 Contains many marvelous exhibits!

Steinhart Aquarium - Take a whole morning to see this. Walk through dark tunnels lined with many huge tanks holding dolphins, blowfish, octopi, penguins, seals, manatees, a recreation of life in the Amazon river, and much more.

Natural history museum - A museum-like walk through dioramas highlighting the anthropological and cultural history of humankind and the other earthlings, the animals. Take a whole morning to see this, too, if you can.

Morrison Planetarium Interesting astronomy shows - You-are-there travels throughout our universe, projected on the inside of a 40-foot dome.

M.H. De Young Memorial Museum (Closed for construction beginning 2003) Various art exhibits which rotate periodically. King Tut was exhibited here when he and his stuff did a tour throughout the world, and it was a big hit. Not free, I assume admission varies with the exhibit.

Asian Art Museum - I especially remember an exhibit of exquisitely lovely hundreds-of-years-old Indian paintings. Wonderful stuff here, check what's showing when you come. Not free.

Japanese Tea Garden - A faithful and beautiful recreation of a (very large) Japanese garden. Not my cup of tea, I'm more of the "unrestrained British garden" type.

Conservatory of flowers - Beautiful, castle-like opaque glass building, painted white, houses not just flowers but exotic plants from other climes. Modeled after the hothouses in England's Kew gardens. There is a small fee to enter.  If you drive by this at night, you can see it lit from the inside and glowing like a magical jewel in the night. If you saw the movie "Inner space", this is where that comic actor freaks out as his face morphs. If you saw the excellent romantic comedy "Hearts and souls" with Robert Downey Jr (Rent It, I command thee!! :) this is where the last shot of the movie takes place.

Strybing Arboretum and Botanical gardens - What a wonderful place! 70 acres of labelled plant life from all over the world, with several educational exhibits.

Guided walks - Conducted by the dedicated volunteers of the Friends of Recreation and Parks. Weekends, May through October. No reservations required. See the local phone book once you get here for more info.

AIDS memorial grove - A loving memorial to the people murdered by this goddamned scourge. If you'll excuse my French.

Miscellaneous Attractions :

Horseshoe pits

Tennis courts

Petanque fields (A French bowling game)

Lawn bowling

Pioneer log cabin

Children's playground

The rose garden

A redwood grove

Rainbow waterfall

Many smallish and medium-sized lakes

Dog running areas

Model yatch club

Senior citizen's center

Fly-casting pools

GGP golf course

Soccer fields

Archery range

Queen Wilhelm tulip gardens

Dutch and Murphy windmills

Handball courts

Stow Lake - Pedal boat rentals available (not free). A very large artificial lake, home to Strawberry Hill, boat rentals, and a Chinese Pagoda which was a gift from the Chinese government to San Francisco.

Strawberry Hill - Find your thrill by hiking around or to the top of this very tall hill at the center of Stow Lake. It is really an island, connected to land by picturesque bridges. There are commanding views from the top.

Buffalo paddocks - Several large buffaloes live here in their own fenced-in area.

Bercut equitation field - Horsies! You can rent them, too, I think and ride them through the park all the way to the beach

Music concourse aka "The Music Bandshell" - They have free concerts here all the time. When opera stars or notable symphonies visit the city, they sometimes put on a free show here. I think there is a regular concert on Sunday afternoons.

GG Park stables - Live in San Francisco yet own a horse!

Shakespeare garden - A nice, private largish garden that contains all the plants and flowers mentioned in Shakespeare's plays. This is where my friends stumbled into that wedding party and were invited to be impromptu wedding guests.

Big recreation Ball Field - Two adjacent baseball fields in one huge area. At the intersection of Lincoln and 7^th Avenue.

Barbecue pits - There are barbecue pits all over the park, check with the locals to find out where the nearest ones are.

All of that and more can be enjoyed in my beloved Golden Gate Park!

Outdoorsy stuff near the Golden Gate Bridge
The northern tippy-top of San Francisco is shaped vaguely like a squat triangle. From the tip of this triangle, the Golden Gate Bridge leaps across the mouth of the Golden Gate to Marin. This vague triangular shape is ...

The Presidio - Bigger than Golden Gate Park. Until recently, an open-to-the-public working military installation. It was used mainly for paperwork, which is why they let people drive through it on their way to the Richmond or to the Marina. Mostly wild, unmanicured areas, lots of eucalyptus trees. Good for bicyclists and nature strolls.  

Fort Point National Historic Site - Located directly under the Golden Gate Bridge, at the very northernmost tip of San Francisco. This is a Civil-War era fort, one of the very few west of the Mississippi. You can check out the gunpowder storehouse, barracks, central courtyard, intricate hallways, military uniforms, swords, a large collection of photographs, and tributes to the contributions of women and minorities in US wars.

If you look at pictures of the bridge, they had to build a special girder section that loops over the fort, in order to avoid destroying it when they built the Golden Gate Bridge.

One Marine Drive, under the South end of the Golden Gate Bridge. Open Wednesday - Sunday, 10 am - 5 pm. 

World War II cannon batteries - During WWII, it was though that the Japanese Empire would try to destroy the Golden Gate Bridge and sink it, very effectively blocking the mouth of the SF Bay, thus corraling all of the naval vessels inside. It would have been a great boon to the Empire if it had worked, but they never tried it.

Just in case tough, these huge cannon emplacements were built, very high atop the massive cliffs to the west of the Golden Gate Bridge. Those cannons could reach out and destroy any ship approaching to try to harm the bridge. Today, only the cement garrisons and the cannon platforms remain, but they are surrounded by unbelievably beautiful and dramatic grass-covered cliffs with the bridge as the jewel in the crown of that view.

Once I was sitting in my car in a gravel parking lot a yard or so from these very high cliffs, reading a book. I looked up from the book to see the massive and very high purple clouds coming in from the ocean and over the mountains. The green and darkened ocean hit the cliffs across the bay at the Marin Headlands, and created these enormous splashes that must have been as tall as buildings but from here looked like little flashes of white. The weak and nearly setting yellow sun was trying to peek under the clouds and lending the whole scene a delicate and unbelievably beautiful cast, almost as if it were Earth as seen from space. It must have been one of the most heartbreakingly beautiful views our home planet has to offer. Pictures can hardly do justice to it.

Baker's Beach (Inside the Presidio) - Located near the 25^th avenue entrance to the Presidio. Drive in and watch for the signs. A pretty long beach, it extends all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge. However, you are prevented from reaching the bridge about halfway down the beach by cliffs that reach the water. It's considered very dangerous to hike through them and onto the far beaches.  

Nude beaches (Inside the Presidio) - If you saw the PBS series "Tales of the City", this is where Mona and that guy come to sunbathe. These beaches are really part of Baker Beach You can reach these by hiking down from the parking lots surrounding the World War II cannon batteries. If you are going, stick to well-trodden paths, some of these cliffs can be very treacherous. Watch your step.. Once there, be sure not to get trapped into a little beach with no way to escape when the high tide comes in. Also, avoid swimming, the undercurrents are said to be very dangerous here. Stick to reading your book at a beach with several escape routes.

The Cobblestone Walk (Approximately 2 hilly miles)
This is one of my favorites. I nicknamed it that because one of the streets near the end of the walk is paved with cobblestones.

If you are concerned about walking in the city at night, you can do this walk at another time when you feel comfortable.

As for me, I used to do this walk after seeing a movie in the Van Ness area theaters. I like to go to the late shows, so I would start the walk around midnight and arrive home in the Richmond at around 2 in the morning. This is a magical hour for this walk

You get to see sleeping mansions, dramatically lit as the sodium lights make a string of pearls down the deserted street. At each intersection, all you have to do is look to the bay to see heart-stopping views of the bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, the Marina district, the Marin Headlands, etc…
 

Start at Van Ness and Broadway

Stand on Broadway street.

Face West

Get on the right side of Broadway street.

Walk slowly. Very slowly. The slower the better. This is not a military drill. It's not a race.

Stop often to admire the way the lights dramatically highlight parts of the mansions. Walk up to architectural details (without trespassing, of course). Smell the flowers. Pet the cats.

Pause at Fillmore and Broadway to admire the plunging 45-degree street. Sit on this very steep sidewalk and admire the view. Continue on Broadway, to admire the tree-encrusted private street.

At Broadway and Lyon, you will reach a wonderful little "elbow" on the street. This is a good spot to pause and look at the view. You will have no choice but to turn left, which is southward. Go one block uphill to Pacific.

Turn right (which is westward) onto Pacific,. Here are your cobblestones!

As you walk, to your right will be The Presidio, a huge park, formerly a military base. It is huge, bigger than Golden Gate Park. The land developers were salivating over it. I'm sure those so-and-sos wanted to pave over all of it, but luckily congress stepped in. In a cockamamie scheme, the park has to be economically self-sufficient, so some of the existing buildings will be renovated and developed for things like film studios. Back to our walk - to your left are some more nice houses. Some of them have wonderful sculptures right up against their plate-glass windows.

Continue walking westward on Pacific for about six blocks until you reach, I think, Cherry street. You can't miss the end of Pacific, as Pacific will become a very narrow, gracious street and at the end you will have no choice but to turn left onto Cherry and go uphill about one block.

Turn right and continue for about three blocks until you reach Stanyan. There will be gracious, leafy mansions.

Turn left onto Stanyan and go downhill. In front of you, seeming to float in the night sky, is UCSF, one of the premier medical universities in the world. Between you and UCSF is Golden Gate Park. Behind UCSF is Mount Sutro. Atop Mount Sutro sits "Godzilla" , our 80-storey radio and television tower.

Continue walking on Stanyan until you reach Clement street. You made it! If it's early enough, stop into one of the restaurants or cafes to celebrate. Otherwise, call a cab home.  

The Atlantis Walk
I love this walk! I call it Atlantis because - well, this sounds silly, but I once had a dream that I lived in Atlantis. In the dream, the feeling was that of a completely safe, competent, and free society. This walk takes place around the campus of world-reknowned University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), a fantastically advanced medical university. I have done a couple of software-engineering contracts there, and the feeling the place gives you is a little bit like that.

This walk feels best for me to be started at the time that the sun is setting.

Start at 7th Avenue and Lawton. There should be lots of parking in the area, especially towards the west, or within the little grassy twisty streets with the apartment buildings to the East of that intersection.

Walk for two blocks Northwards on 7th along the gentle downhill, until you reach Judah/Parnassus.

It's a weird intersection, because Judah becomes Parnassus at that point, so the same street will be named Judah towards your left and Parnassus towards your right.

Take a right onto Parnassus, and notice that you are approaching the campus of UCSF.

The avenue numbers will be getting smaller - 7th, 6th, etc.

Enjoy the bustle of all the people getting off work, and the great feeling of competence that just radiates from the place.

You will go uphill until about 4th Avenue, and then Parnassus will flatten out. Continue on Parnassus.

On the left (Northward) side of the street, you will notice a taller (8-story) black-glass building. Approach its left (westward) edge at street level.

There is an open-air balcony that surrounds the building. Walk all the way out to the corner, and have your eyes pop out at the incredible view. If you started this walk at a little before sunset, there should still be lots of ambient light, but the city light should have begun to twinkle as the Golden Gate Bridge spans a slumbering dark-blue bay beneath a purple sky. This is a good time to kiss your sweetheart. : )

Return to the intersection of Parnassus and the balcony. There, at the left edge of the black building, there are some elevators. Take them all the way down.

Walk down the building's hallway until you reach the street, which is Irving.

Take a left onto Irving. I like to walk down the left (Northward) side of the street, but that's up to you.

I love this little neighborhood walk, with all the cute houses and low-rise businesses, and small shops. The avenue numbers will increase, until you reach 7th avenue. Take a left and walk the slight uphill until you reach your parking spot.

"City Guides" free walking tour
These are free walking tours provided by the public library. They have been doing these tours since 1978, are usually full of historical information and very candid and fun. They are at (415)557-4266 or at http://www.walking-tours.com/cityguides/
This tip comes to you through the fine courtesty of e-Mole, who works hard at the SF Recreation and Park Department doing, among other things, training for teens to run visitor centers.

Victorian Walk
I had never heard of these folks until they emailed me because they saw this web site, and explained their concept. The idea is that they take small groups on a leisurely walk to view San Francisco's pride, our Victorian-style homes. They told me that they don't like the isolating packaged tour approach, so they say that they emphasize small groups, public transportation, a leisurely pace, and that they don't steer you towards any merchants. They also say that they have never had any customer complain (Yes, I asked). They offered me a free tour, which I declined because I wanted to be free to offer my unbiased and uninfluenced opinion. I haven't taken a paid tour yet, so I have no clue what the tour is like, but it sounded like a good idea, so I agreed to offer a link to their home page, so you can judge for yourself.

Half-Moon Bay
This is the place where we traditionally go get our pumpkins during Halloween. A nice day trip, about 45 minutes south of SF. The country, California style. And yes, for informational purposes only, this is from where that little 9-year-old girl took off. She was a pilot and later crashed and died along with her dad and her instructor as they were trying to make a world record. Please try to be respectful of their memory if you visit the airfield.  

Golden Gate National Recreational Area (GGNRA)
The area immediately on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. AKA "The Marin Headlands". If you can see the bridge, you can see the mountains. That's the GGNRA.

This huge area has many places for hiking and communing with nature. There have been reports of Mountain Lions in the area, so exercise due caution.

Mount Tamalpais (Inside the GGNRA, formally in Mill Valley, CA) AKA Mt. Tam
This wonderful mountain is about an hour north of San Francisco. You get there by crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, which is a nice bonus. The local Native Americans believed it to be a great center of spiritual power, and when you get there you can believe it.

There are 200-mile views all around you from the 2571-foot peak, and a deep silence and a sweetness in the air that makes you appreciate how hectic and how far from peaceful our ordinary lives are.

If you are in SF during the summer, try to avoid going during the weekend. It's not overly crowded even in tourist season, but when you are there alone, without the distractions of others, you are filled with a great sense of well-being.

There are campgrounds for people, and other campgrounds for self-contained RVs on the skirts of Mt. Tam. Pantoll campground (for people, I think), for example, has 16 campsites with tables, rock BBQ, a food locker, space for a tent, no showers, first come first served. For a fee schedule call 415-388-2070 or 415-456-1286.

En Route campground is for self-contained RVs of less than 35 feet in length, and is to be used from 6 PM to 9 AM only.

There are bicycle trails and for good reason. This is where the mountain bike was invented, by a Mount Tam-loving bicyclist. However, there is a bitter feud between hikers and bikers. If you are a biker, try to stick to the bike-friendly trails. If you see hikers, please try to be very considerate of them.

There are guided hikes for nature lovers, for a taped message with hike information call 415-258-2410. If you are a hiker, try to be convivial with biciclysts, too.

Sometimes, the mountain is closed because of a high fire danger. Check with the ranger before you go, local phone books have the phone number. Look in the white pages in "US government" (the blue-edged pages) under "Interior, department of"

It costs about $5 on the honor system to park once you get to the vista point atop the mountain.  

Muir Woods National Monument (Inside the GGNRA)
At the foot of Mount Tamalpais. This is a gorgeous 560-acre old growth forest. There is a short paved walkway loop and extensive trails for hikers.

It's 12 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge via highway 101 and California highway 1. Open 8 am to sunset. No picnicking and camping are prohibited, but they are ok at nearby Mt. Tam (see above).

For a visitor center recording, call 415-388-2595. TDD 415-556-2766. No pets (except for seeing eye dogs) on the trails, no smoking anywhere, even outdoors. Lots of poison oak and stinging nettle, so be careful.

There are 6 miles of walking trails, all of which are wheelchair-friendly. (This is liberal California, after all!) :)

Point Reyes National Seashore (Inside the GGNRA)
Oh gods, what a hiker's and nature lover's delight. I just can't even begin to prepare you for how unearthly this place is. I went there last weekend (5/25/96) with "Miss Havisham" (my nickname for a dear friend) and I saw unbelievable land- and seascapes.

It's about 65,000 acres about two hours north of the Golden Gate Bridge, driving through the most wondrous, pleasant, twisty country/forest drives I've ever had. It's just like in the car commercials. This seashore is a funny-shaped peninsula sticking out of the California coast. It's kinda shaped like a T almost lying on its left side. This makes for two bays, Tomales bay in the north and Drake's bay in the south.

Near the Pt. Reyes Lighthouse (pronounced RAY-es - this lighthouse is a worthwhile destination in itself) there is a 40-story, nearly-sheer cliff that seems to overlook half the Pacific Ocean. This is the premier whale-watching spot during the migration season (sorry, I don't know when that is). There were winds that seemed to blow at about 100 mph (no joke) on one side of the cliff, and zero winds on the other. The shape of this cliff seemed to scoop up the wind and funnel it to that spot at the top. You could feel it wanting to lift you into the sky. It was a warm spring day, but at sunset, with winds in the triple digits at this clifftop, I was glad that I had my thick down hooded parka, affectionately known as "The Spacesuit". I needed it, and I'm not playing when I say that.

We saw a group (pod? tribe? pack?) of sea lions cavorting in the beautiful mottled blue/green water seemingly a mile below us. They were playing, rolling, barking in the water. They behaved just like friendly, playful dogs…<sigh>…but I digress.

We also went to a beach that seemed to stretch for dozens of miles with no one but a few people on them. I know that there are beloved hiking trails all over the place. Some of them take you through forests, some through vast grasslands. Most of Pt. Reyes is undulating grassy land. If you can find it, get the book "Exploring Point Reyes", by Phil Arnot, Wide World Inc. I don't know, this book seems to be seriously out of print, the copyright is from 1976. But I'm sure there are current books, I just happen to have (and like) this one.

Car-camping is not permitted, but there are four hike-in campgrounds, for which a permit is required. Get the premit for free at the Bear Valley visitor's center, 415-663-1092. The campgrounds are Sky, Coast, Wildcat and Glen camps. At all of these you get restrooms, drinking water, and a hitching rail for horses. Each campsite accomodates 8 people, except at Wildcat which takes 12 and is reserved for group use.

WARNING! Dogs are not permitted anywhere at Pt. Reyes, except at designated beaches and then only on a leash. Bicycles are not permitted in the wilderness areas.

Marine Mammal Rescue Center (Inside the GGNRA)
Here in the GGNRA, near Fort Cronkhite, you will find the Marine Mammal Rescue Center. They're like a Marine Mammal ambulance service. If you find a beached marine mammal (whale, dolphin, seals, sea lions, etc) they will pick it up and bring it here.

They keep the animals in outdoor pens, where the public can stand behind a rope and see them playing or being fed. Some of the animals are injured, so gauge how your kids will feel about seeing this. Maybe it will cause nightmares, maybe it will teach them not to throw plastic stuff in the lakes, rivers and oceans.  

Beach Blanket Babylon
The quintessential San Francisco experience. A wonderful, weirdly unexplainable show. A total riot. This is the show in "Tales of the City" to which Mrs. Madrigal and Mona went. The show with the giant hats. You have to go.

678 - Green Street
415-421-4222

If you are anywhere near the Richmond (maybe you are visiting the Golden Gate Bridge or Golden Gate Park), go to Clement street, between Arguello and 12^th avenue. (Note: Arguello should be 1^st avenue, but it was renamed "Arguello". Don't know when, and don't know why).

Anyways, Clement street offers a huge number of varied and excellent restaurants. The competition in SF is fierce, so almost any restaurant you step into will be at least very good. Some of the places below are on Clement street.

Here are some of my favorite places to munch :

Mid-price

The Sausage Factory - Pizza place in the Castro District.
Very cool old-time atmosphere with lots of wood, old-style newspaper laminating the tables, and slightly funky atmosphere. A little unusual layout in that there are cozy tables and alcoves along a narrow hallway that leads to the back room, a bar.
517 Castro Street, near 18^th Street

The Mandalay Palace - Burmese food in the Richmond
Cozy atmosphere with some burmese art Tapestries on the wall. Personally, I like the Mandalay Pork, which is like a Chinese sweet-and-sour pork, except it has a satisfying spicy (not hot) flavor. 4344 California Street near 6^th Avenue

Giorgio's - Great pizza in the Richmond.
I have been coming here since high school. The decor has never changed, which I love. Fake trellises above the entire room support plastic grapevines. Bench-seat type booths in rrich Corrrrinthean leatherrrrr line the walls. My favorite is the Calzone. 151 Clement at 3^rd Avenue

Ha's Restaurant - Awesome Chinese in the Sunset
Voted best Chinese food in a reader's poll in the local weekly paper. Ha's is located in the Sunset. Main dishes around $5-$8. Geez, you'd think they could afford to clean the carpet. But the food is excellent. 2333 Irving street near 24^th avenue

Le Soleil - Fine Vietnamese in the Richmond
Slightly upscale atmosphere (cloth napkins & tablecloths), excellent Vietnamese French style (i.e., colonial-period food) The ambiance is elegant and casual, very pleasant. No need to dress up at all, but not to dress down to an extreme, either. Dishes are surprisingly inexpensive, yet delicious. Unless you are keeping kosher, get the #36, pork slices marinated in lemon grass and roasted, yummm.
133 Clement Street between 2^nd avenue and Third avenue

El Toro - Authentic Mexican in (where else!) the Mission
Excellent Mexican, cute ambiance, murals under the false bas-relief arches on the wall. Try to be in this area (within a couple of blocks of Mission street) during daylight or early evening. I walked through there recently at midnight, and both "Miss Havisham" and I made it through unmolested. But as she put it, you could tell that there were people there into certain things such that there was trouble if you wanted it. Not a problem in the daytime.
598 Valencia Street (one street west of Mission street) at 17^th street.

The Crepe Vine - Yummy crepes in the Sunset
Wonderfully casual ambiance, a large room paneled in blonde wood. I happenned to meet the owner as he was positioning a picture near our table, and he seemed like a nice, cool guy. I even remember the bathroom had some sort of personal hand-made art on the door.
624 Irving street in the Sunset, around 7^th avenue

Ti Couz Creperie - Great crepes, also yummy, in the Mission
Not as bad as the third word in their name would suggest. : ) Very cool, alternative French restaurant where the crepes are the specialty. Get the salmon crepe, it's really good. The breakfast crepes are filling, too. This is the cool, bohemian area of the Mission, lots of nice coffee shops, as well as this restaurant.
3108 - 16^th STREET, between Mission and Valencia.

Yet Wah - Good to great Chinese food in the Richmond
There are three locations. One is on Pier 39, but you're not going there, right? : ) The only one I have been to is in the Richmond district. Somewhat upscale, but not so the prices. Can't miss it, it's a big (two-story) purple building.
2150 Clement near 22^nd avenue in the Richmond.

Taraval Okazu-Ya - Excellent Japanese in the Sunset!
I come to this place so often I practically work there. :) I didn't use to like Japanese food, and was scared to try it. All those comedian's jokes formed my thinking. But now, I love sushi and other Japanese dishes. There are several Okazu-Yas in the city, I'm not sure if it's a huge impersonal world-wide chain, or just a local success story. In any case, somehow the feel of the one on Taraval rubs me the right way. If you go on date night, be prepared to be part of a small crowd hanging out on the sidewalk, waiting for a table. If you like unagi but thing the taste too strong, get one of their "caterpillar rolls", mostly avocado deftly balancing the unagi. I hear good things about Ebisu on 9th avenue and Irving but I can't speak to it since I have never been there. Okazu Ya is at :
1735 Taraval St between 27th and 28th avenues

Old Mandarin Restaurant - Wonderful and unusual (in a great way) Chinese/Islamic food in the Sunset near the zoo & the beach. I hadn't been really aware that that China has a Muslim population. This restaurant represents that tradition, and introduced me to some really tasty Chinese dishes with a twist.

For example, there is Sesame Chicken, battered chicken covered in sesame seeds and caramelized sugar. YUM! I also recommend their double mushroom beef, lemon chicken, and their lamb fried rice. The dishes are very very good, the flavors are rich and strong without being overwhelming. Because of the Muslim thing they do not serve pork dishes, but they more than make up for it in everything else.

Since I am no longer there, I can tell you the diverting story of how I know this restaurant. They are next to my old, beloved top/corner apartment which I adored beyond understanding and reason for seven years, and still recall very fondly. It had a sweeping view of the nearby ocean, and so much more. However, the restaurant's rooftop fan two stories below my ocean-view windows had a 60-cycle hummmm that would drive me bananas. I would go down to talk to the new restaurant owners every time the restaurant changed hands, and they would agree to only turn on the fan when they were cooking something. When this owner came, he was more than understanding and I proposed that he get a quieter motor because of noise laws, for which motor I proposed to pay half. He accepted, had a quieter motor put in, and I don't think he ever cashed my check for half. Ever since then, whenever I go into the restaurant he is very happy to see me, hails me with genuine happiness, etc. Even though I moved to something better, I still go there for take-out fairly often. Isn't that a cool story? If you're in a goofy mood you can take a peek at my former ocean view (now imagine 180 degrees of that peek, with the waves practically lapping at your window) or even take a photo tour of my old apartment.
3132 Vicente St between 42nd and 43rd avenues

Tay Giang - Excellent Vietnamese in the Sunset
A quiet, understated atmosphere despite colorful touches like very high ceilings painted as a sky with clouds, and brightly colored bas-relief carvings on the wall.
Noriega near 33rd Avenue

Higher-priced

Café Maisonette - Now closed (mourn)
Not really expensive (entrees $15-$20). Maybe it's just because I've had romantic evenings there, but I highly recommend it.
315 - 8^th Avenue, between Clement and Geary streets.

The Equinox Room - Fine dining in a rotating restaurant
Downtown near the foot of Market Street, fine dining. Awesome for several reasons. Prices for entrees are around $17-$25. Get a window seat if you can; you can say that you are specifically waiting for a window table. They'll take a guesstimate as to how long the wait would be, and you can judge from that answer whether you can live without a window seat. This restaurant is part of the Hyatt Hotel, and is part of the five-building complex known as "The Embarcadero". It's aka "Embarcadero 5". If you are planning on going, I won't spill the beans, but you can spoil the surprise if you like. Otherwise, just wait til you see the lobby. You'll find the awesome view very moving, too.
Embarcadero 5 , at the "Embarcadero Center"

The Cliff House - Closed for reconstruction
Just wanted to have a note letting people know that this famous landmark is gutted down to the steel right now, and being rebuilt. Sorry to those who were hoping.

The Carnelian Room -
Fine dining 60 floors over SF. Already reviewed above.

Coffe and I are like this. I only drink a cup or two per day, but I do love it, and it loves me back so much that it doesn't make me jittery nor does it keep me awake if I want to go to sleep.

Here are some nice non-chain places with some personality where you could go after dinner.

The Toy Boat
Ice cream and toys in the Richmond A really cute and small place with a bluish neo-1950s look. One of their windows is a display of small toys (not for sale, just to lend ambiance). The upper part of the walls near the ceiling are also lined with toys. Maybe not the place to go with a whiny brat (like me! :) but otherwise a fun place.
Clement street at 5th avenue

Tassajara Bakery
A small place in the Haight-Ashbury area. Frequented by many regular people and some nice alternative types. If you are staying in the area, it might be nice to hang out there some Saturday morning and people-watch.
1000 Cole street at Parnassus

The Zephyr Cafe
A combination of some art and a large-ish coffee shop in the outer Richmond. They have art prints in one or two of those display bins that you flip through. I'm unsure about whether the art prints are actually for sale. There are two rooms, the front room which has some cozy alcoves, and the back room which is more big, flat and featureless. I guess it's there for large gatherings, I don't know. As a bonus, since you are so interested in my personal history :) it is near my beloved George Washington High School (at 32nd and Geary).
The Zephyr is at 3643 Balboa at 37th Avenue in the Richmond.

Tart to Tart
After you get done groaning over the cute name, this is a good place sort of near one of the main areas of activity within Golden Gate park. If you are at the museum/bandshell area in the park, you could walk to Tart to Tart. Not overly fancy in its decor, the atmosphere is a little stark except for a very cool back room that looks suspiciously like it used to be a walk-in closet. This room is not really separate from the main room, there are no doors, but it is painted black and is festooned with non-blinking small orange christmas lights. There is a large table surrounded by chairs there, so a you and a group of your friends could meet comfortably, I would think. Also, it is not a commercialistic chain place, which is worth a million dollars right there. 641 Irving st. at 7th avenue

Green Apple Books
A real place with tons of ambiance in the Richmond. You must go! I really, really love this place. It has lots of personality, many hand-lettered signs, narrow aisles where you are surrounded by books up to the ceiling, some wicker chairs so you can sit and read books, they might let a dog in (if both you and the dog are cool about it), you might be able to discreetly put your bicycle inside the store near the entrance, African masks line one of the walls, and a wooden dwarf in a joker outfit, green apple in hand, guards the entrance. If you like books, it'd be criminal to miss this place.
506 Clement street near 6th Avenue

Alexander Book Company
Disclosure note: I am a high school classmate of the owner. A wonderful, interesting hidden jewel in the downtown area. Friendly, knowledgeable staff help you find exactly what you need.  The store has some cool ways of treating people well and while they have the expected full range of all books, the person in charge of the children's and African American section obviously knows what s/he's doing.  It's just off the main drag Market street, it's not hard to find at all, and it has a wonderful homey non-chain feel to it.  It was celebrated in a recent Bay Guardian newspaper article.  Check it out.
50 - Second street (Between Market and Mission streets  

Streetlight Records
I have a lot less experience with Streetlight than with the defunct Revolver, but they seem very cool as well. Their local TV ads feature a campishly made up female impersonator hamming it up, as well as a cute little girl, a young alternative bare-chested guy asking "Do I hafta wear a shirt?" (Answer: "No way!"). Two places:
3979 - 24th street in the cool part of the Mission district
2350 Market street in the Castro district

Amoeba Records
A very cool, large, funky shop near the epicenter of the Haight/Ashbury. Tons of records, mostly vinyl, of every genre. It used to be a bowling alley but was converted in the...80s?
On Haight street near Stanyan

Le Video
Very good selection of videos, some laserdiscs. This is another place that I love! Boy, you guys are sure getting the dirt on the little secret places I like to go to, heh, heh, heh. : ) But Le Video is not such a secret, it is justifiably succeeding wildly. They are expanding, and have a web site. With each movie rental, you get free popcorn; they have a little cart popping corn near the entrance. I think of them as the video equivalent of Green Apple Books, in terms of selection and ambiance. If you are going to Tart to Tart from Golden Gate park, you'll walk past Le Video.
1239 - 9th Avenue in the Inner Sunset.

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