As promised, here’s a thread for our next travel guide installment. This week’s location of choice is the San Francisco Bay Area. (Boston was last week, and I’ve been writing about New Jersey for two days, so it’s time to switch coasts.) If you live in the Bay Area or have visited, please leave comments about things to do and see (especially, but not exclusively, LGBT- and/or family-friendly activities). What are the famous sites that are worthwhile? What are the obscure gems the guidebooks forget? For kids’ activities, what age range will find them most attractive?
Oh what isn’t fun in SF?
Golden Gate park is a great place to just have kids go and run around and go crazy. Loads of flowers, walking areas, and everything else. And it’s free :)
Another one that’s pretty good is Angel Island, we spent an afternoon there. It’s across the bay, past alcatraz, and is sort of a nice go picnic, play frisbee and such kind of place. For kids, especially boys, who are pre-teen, I’d say alcatraz would probably be fun. They also have a combined tour, but for kids I’d probably avoid the Angel Island mini-bus tour as it’s probably going to be kind of boring and I think they’d probably rather run around. (Without kids the evening tour of alcatraz mixes spooky with some really gorgeous and romantic views of SF lights across the harbor.)
If anyone’s into video games, the Metreon would be a good stop. It’s like sort of the ultimate gadget kind of place and it’s not that far from the center of town. Could be pricey, practice “NO! NO!”. Also movies and such. I can’t remember if they have imax, but it might be a good place to hide if it rains, which it probably will.
The wharf is overly commercial and like most overly commercial areas, it is good at providing activities for kids that separate you from your money :)
Really you can just start anywhere in SF and just walk around and it’s fun.
If you like garlic, check out The Stinking Rose :) The crabs saturated in garlic butter/oil are incredible.
Ah, what to cram into a politely-proportioned comment? I wrote a custom guide to my homeland for friends who came for my partner’s and my commitment ceremony, ten years ago. I finished it thus: “The 713-page Works Progress Administration guide to CA, published in 1939, opens with the sentence: ‘California has so great a diversity of places and people and things that the problem of getting it between the covers of a single book seemed almost insovlable.’” I think that goes double for Northern California. But I’m a little biased.
Fortunately, we now have hypertext. So, I’ll just offer up a few links that should help LGBT families who are planning a visit:
Our local LGBT parents’ organization is Our Family Coalition; their site will have lots of events and links on it for LGBT-specific events, places, etc. Many of their events are collaborations with the local COLAGE.
Rookie Moms is a site run by some very nice, very LGBT-friendly local gals. I know since one was in my partner’s mom’s group–at a recent event they had, she was bragging that there were three lesbian mom families on their block alone. On their website, they list a mind-boggling array of kid-bent things to do. Many of them are simply activities anyone can do, but many are activities around and about locally–they even include things to do in other towns. Here’s their page on “A Week in Berkeley.” They pretty much scoop everything I’d think of. Though Little Farm in Berkeley’s Tilden Park is my all-time freebie favorite (it’s, well, a little farm–complete with cows, goats, sheep, pigs, etc.), followed closely by the Carosel there.
Finally, I’d say folks should check the San Francisco Chronicle’s Baby Blog, The Poop. Lots of the posts are just jokey banter, but often they highlight local goings on (e.g. Dan Zane shows, what have you). The “Categories” listing in the right-hand column includes “New Zoo Review,” “Outdoor Fun,” “Activities,” etc.
Between these three links you’d be crazy not to have a great time, kids and all, every day. And if you’re here, and running out of ideas, drop me a line at info AT lesbiandad DOT net. I can’t bear the thought of anyone not enjoying themselves here.