SAN FRANCISCO

When you think of San Francisco, Chinatown and Alcatraz with kids, you have to wonder if they are up for it.  Could we see all of it in a day and a half?  There was no doubt that we could.  And we did.  We were pretty refreshed from our visit to Yosemite and the Redwood Forest.  And since our first stop in Los Angeles, it was time to see what a big city like San Francisco had to offer.  

After a 5 hour drive which included stops for lunch and too many bathroom breaks to count.  We saw the Golden Gate Bridge and it was totally worth the wait.  The kids were giddy as we drove on to the bridge and across the bay.  Wearing shorts and jackets, we hopped out of our car at Baker Beach so we could get a good view of the bridge.  It was cold and windy, but we were starting to get used to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhR9__nF4xg

San Francisco has so much to offer and I knew we couldn’t see it all in a day and a half.    And there is much more here that you can see and do.  But we knew that the must-see places were Chinatown and Alcatraz.

Once we got a closer look at the Golden Gate Bridge, Lindsey wanted to go see a house.  And it was not just any house.  It was the home of the Tanners in the credits from the 90’s sitcom Full House.  

We hadn’t even checked in to our hotel and we were already sightseeing.  So we needed to park our car, put up our luggage and settle into our hotel.  We stayed at the Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf Hotel in the heart of one of San Francisco’s most popular neighborhoods, Fisherman’s Wharf.

Pier 39 in Fisherman’s Wharf was really cool.  There were so many places to see and places to eat.

There were some unique places like a magic store and a store for left-handed people like my daughter.

We kept hearing loud animal noises, so we headed out to the dock and saw some seals up close.

After a very cold day at Fisherman’s Wharf, we headed back to the hotel to warm up.  The next day was going to be a full day so we had to get some rest.

CHINATOWN

The next morning we got up early so we could walk over to Chinatown.  We are pretty sure we won’t be going to China anytime soon so this was as close as we would get to the real thing.

Let me just say that we felt like we were in a different country.  Our kids weren’t sure what to think, but you could tell they loved it.  There were really no signs of being in America anymore.  

If you ever go to Chinatown with your kids, take them into the grocery shops.  It’s not your standard produce section.  You will see things that you have never seen before.  Everyone will be speaking in a different language.  It is really something.  We’re not talking about a few streets, but 24 blocks of this amazing district.

Just when we got lost in the Chinese culture, we saw a penny smasher machine.  It’s one of our families favorite things to collect.

We even found a gift shop that had little street signs with our names on it.

One of the things we knew we wanted to do was go tea tasting.  So we found a little tea shop and the whole family got to learn about and try some different teas.

The other thing we knew we wanted to see was the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory.  They hand out free samples and the ladies will charge you fifty cents to take a picture.

Just as we headed out, we had some mango cake.  Why?  That’s because it looked so good.

We saw so many things in Chinatown and there was even more to explore which you can find here.  But it was time to move on to our last adventure in San Francisco.

ALCATRAZ

Our last stop was the most intriguing during our California road trip.  For the first time ever our family would go to prison together at the legendary Alcatraz Island.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF7Xo0OZigU

We took a ferry from Fisherman’s Wharf to the mysterious Alcatraz Island.  After about a 15-minute ride, we got off to tour this amazing place.

Some of the places were actually kind of pretty.  That’s until you got inside.

This place is actually a national park.  It’s very different from what you would think a national park would look like.  The staff gave us headphones for our audio tour.  The kids loved this because a lot of the audio was from the actual prisoners. 

Some of the audio got a little scary.  By the look on their faces, they were probably hearing about how the inmates were stabbing each other.

I know one thing.  The kids will think twice about committing a crime that would put them in prison.

My son looked at me in horror when he said “they had to take showers together?“

You actually got a really good view of the city from the prison.  I’m sure this made prisoners covet their freedom even more.

We all agreed that the gift shop that was actually in the prison, had some really unique gifts.  My wife loved the prison keys and Liam loved the lunch trays. 

Our tour was through Alcatraz Cruises.  I would recommend them if you ever go.  Just know that they book up weeks and sometimes months in advance.

Well, our time in San Franciso was coming to an end.  It was time to head out to our last stop, Carmel-by-the-Sea.  But we wanted to leave the most crooked way we knew how.

As we said goodbye to San Francisco, we drove down the famous Lombard Street.

Through all the different things we did, we felt safe.  The kids loved all of the different experiences one city had to offer.  We really did leave our hearts in San Francisco.

Have you ever been to San Francisco?