California Question

[LowerCaseRepublican]

My brother has some frequent flyer miles that he can't use, so he getting me a free ticket to come out and visit him in California for a week in the middle of May. Anyway, since there are some CA people here and its going to be my first trip to California, what would be some good things to see/fun things to do while in the San Francisco area?

[whitesoxin']

I went to San Fran a few years ago. I remember liking the lakefront, they had a port type place with lots of shops and places to eat. There is also Coits tower, I believe is the name, on the top of a hill that has a great view of the city. Chinatown is huge and has some good restaurants if you like that type of food. Of course, you have to see the golden gate bridge. I would also highly recommend taking a tour of Alcatraz. They have a great audio tour that is very entertaining. All in all, San Francisco is a cool city.

[Nokona]

Is it Pier 49 or Pier 59, i can't remember but it's really really cool. At least for me being a teen and all. Some nice restaurants, some nice stores, some nice ladies, some nice other stuff.

 

I've always wanted to see Yosemite but thats a few hrs from the Bay Area.

[LosMediasBlancas]

tip: It's a lot cooler, temperature wise, in SF than you might think. Personally, I liked SF, but became bored with it very quickly. I think we saw almost everything in like 3 days and then found ourselves looking for ways to kill time. Alcatraz, GG bridge, tour of Victorian homes, clam chowder, good seafood places, etc.

If you're a wine lover, go through wine country and all the vineyards.

[Soxy]

Sure you've got this one covered but....

Haight-Ashbury (bring your own deoderant)

[whitesoxin']

Is it Pier 49 or Pier 59, i can't remember but it's really really cool.  At least for me being a teen and all.  Some nice restaurants, some nice stores, some nice ladies, some nice other stuff.

 

I've always wanted to see Yosemite but thats a few hrs from the Bay Area.

Yosemite is a really awesome place. We spent half of our vacation there when we went to California and it was really fun. The redwood trees were unreal. The park is HUGE.

[Chisoxfn]

My brother has some frequent flyer miles that he can't use, so he getting me a free ticket to come out and visit him in California for a week in the middle of May.  Anyway, since there are some CA people here and its going to be my first trip to California, what would be some good things to see/fun things to do while in the San Francisco area?

Check out a Giants game. The stadium is awesome. If the Giants are out of town you can always go to an A's game and just take the bart there. Besides that I'm personally not much of a fan of San Francisco.

 

Fishermans wharf is cool and I've only been there for short time and it was so long ago when I went to some of the museums that I couldn't even tell you if they were good or not.

[Chisoxfn]

Yosemite is a really awesome place. We spent half of our vacation there when we went to California and it was really fun. The redwood trees were unreal. The park is HUGE.

Yosemite is awesome. If you have a shot LCR, you should go there cause my personal stance is San Francisco is one of the worse cities out there. Its filthy and there is nothing to do besides Fishermans Wharf and Alcatraz. I swear you can see the whole city in a day's time.

[Chisoxrd5]

California Question, Part Deux...

 

Has anyone ever been to San Diego, because im tentatively planning a trip to check out the Sox while they are down there...1. Does this sound like a good idea? 2. Should I plan on my entire week there or should I take a drive out someplace else while im down there?

 

Thanks and Chisoxfn I'm expecting a response from you!!

[Chisoxfn]

California Question, Part Deux...

 

Has anyone ever been to San Diego, because im tentatively planning a trip to check out the Sox while they are down there...1. Does this sound like a good idea? 2. Should I plan on my entire week there or should I take a drive out someplace else while im down there?

 

Thanks and Chisoxfn I'm expecting a response from you!! 

Yes, go to San Diego. Awesome awesome city. LCR if your reading this, tell your brother to move down to San Diego for the week you visit, lol.

 

Weather will be awesome. I'm going to be going to the 3 games in San Diego. You can go to the Pads games in down town (fantastic stadium) and then afterwards go to the gas lamp district which has bars and all that sort of stuff. Places where you can go and dance too or listen to live music as well, depending on your interests.

 

I try and go there a few times a year and its a total blast. However if you stay in San Diego I'd say spend a couple days there, make sure you go to the beach (its really nice there, Mission Bay). Take a drive out to Coronado Island, very nice. If your interested you can go into Mexico for a day (personally I stay away due to bad experiences there).

 

Then I'd recommend going into Orange County and LA for a day or two to check out the sites there.

[LowerCaseRepublican]

Yosemite is awesome.  If you have a shot LCR, you should go there cause my personal stance is San Francisco is one of the worse cities out there.  Its filthy and there is nothing to do besides Fishermans Wharf and Alcatraz.  I swear you can see the whole city in a day's time.

 

Haha, well my brother isn't going to be there for four days so I've essentially got free reign of his apartment for 4 days

[LosMediasBlancas]

California Question, Part Deux...

 

Has anyone ever been to San Diego, because im tentatively planning a trip to check out the Sox while they are down there...1. Does this sound like a good idea? 2. Should I plan on my entire week there or should I take a drive out someplace else while im down there?

 

Thanks and Chisoxfn I'm expecting a response from you!! 

 

WOW, I already have the same trip planned and purchased!!

I'll be in SD for 5 days, including the 3 days we play the Padres. I plan to do 3 days in SD and maybe driving into Mexico, past Tijuana and to some of the coastal towns that are a lot less touristy. I try to avoid all the touristy stuff when I travel, so I don't plan too much. I just get there and feel it out for myself.

[Chisoxrd5]

Yes, go to San Diego.  Awesome awesome city.  LCR if your reading this, tell your brother to move down to San Diego for the week you visit, lol.

 

Weather will be awesome.  I'm going to be going to the 3 games in San Diego.  You can go to the Pads games in down town (fantastic stadium) and then afterwards go to the gas lamp district which has bars and all that sort of stuff.  Places where you can go and dance too or listen to live music as well, depending on your interests. 

 

I try and go there a few times a year and its a total blast.  However if you stay in San Diego I'd say spend a couple days there, make sure you go to the beach (its really nice there, Mission Bay).  Take a drive out to Coronado Island, very nice.  If your interested you can go into Mexico for a day (personally I stay away due to bad experiences there). 

 

Then I'd recommend going into Orange County and LA for a day or two to check out the sites there.

 

Ha...well it sounds like i'm definitely in now...We might have to do a mini soxtalk get together if we have a few people in attendance.

 

I've heard nothing but great things about san diego and I'm really pumped about checking it out!!

[LosMediasBlancas]

Yosemite is awesome.  If you have a shot LCR, you should go there cause my personal stance is San Francisco is one of the worse cities out there.  Its filthy and there is nothing to do besides Fishermans Wharf and Alcatraz.  I swear you can see the whole city in a day's time.

 

wow, I didn't dislike it as much as you did, but I agree, it felt tiny. Because of the layout of the city and the ocean, it gives the impression that it's huge. Once you've been there for 2 days, you realize that it's pretty small. I didn't think it was dirty, but we did get bored quickly. We went in May and I was freezing, apparently they don't get really warm weather.

[whitesoxin']

Yeah the weather was freezing. We went on SB a few years ago (mid-march) and being an idiot, I only brought one pair of pants thinking that it is California.

 

One more thing, there are lots and lots of Asians.

 

And oh yeah, my stay there got off to a terrible start because the first night there, I was walking around the city with my dad just checking things out. We went into this sporting goods store that appeared to be family run. A gang walked in and my dad told me to get out quickly. Apparently, one of the gang members had tried to pickpocket my dad and he stopped him, then got me out of there. As we were walking out, everyone in the gang ran out with a throwback jersey and went running down the street. It was kind of scary and I felt really bad for the owner of the store.

[BridgeportHeather]

Fishermans wharf is cool and I've only been there for short time and it was so long ago when I went to some of the museums that I couldn't even tell you if they were good or not.

 

Funny thing about Fisherman's Wharf...When the family went on an all-California coastal trip back in the summer of 1993, my parents both wanted to eat there. After a great deal of whining on our part, we ate at, you guessed it, WENDY'S!

 

Go to Telegraph Hill, then there's the twistiest street in the nation there (I think it's called Lombard Ave. or something, but it's been so long that I don't really remember), and you'll wanna check out the Golden Gate Bridge...

Edited April 18, 2005 by BridgeportHeather

[hammerhead johnson]

How bizarre that a thread like this should pop up. I'm going to San Francisco in May for my honeymoon. It'll be my fourth trip out there.

 

My recommendations:

 

-Rent bikes for a day and ride along the ocean & across the Golden Gate Bridge. OMG, is it beautiful.

-Visit Golden Gate Park, Yosemite, Alcatraz, Muir Woods, Coit Tower, Nob Hill, etc.

-Check out all of the Italian restaurants on Union Street

-Check out the San Francisco Zoo, the Aquarium Of The Bay, etc

-Take a Bay Cruise

-Hang out with the seals at Fisherman's Wharf

-Go record hunting at Amoeba and various other music stores. You can't visit a city without digging for obscure tunes, am I wrong?

 

And avoid Chinatown like the plague. I stayed at the Holiday Inn which is smack dab in the middle of that area back in 96, and boy, was it ugly. You've never seen so many teenagers strung out on PCP and begging for change. There are like 100 million Chinese restaurants that are desperate for business, so you know that their typical mystery meat dish is most likely labrador or whatever.

[Fotop]

I went to San Diego last year for a couple Pads games, and let me say I wasn't as impressed with the stadium as others are. But before I get into that bit let me say that San Diego is awesome, the weather is absolutely perfect. Gaslamp (I think that's what it's called) District is pretty fun, and it's the area around the park so it's in close proximity to the game.

 

The stadium however did not impress me at all. I've been to quite a few stadiums (probably about half of them, maybe a little under half) and I have to say Petco is the definition of "BallMall". I know the term doesn't get used all that often, but the place just feels like a damn shopping mall or a hotel or something. Don't get me wrong, once you get to your seat, everything is beautiful, the game itself will be great. However, if you ever have to get up (and you will because there's like zero walking vendors) you have to traverse a maze of ramps and steps to get to the concourse. Once on the concourse, you can't see the game, unless you watch it on the tv's. That's really my main problem with Petco, the baseball isn't really "connected" to the rest of the stadium...if you get my drift. However, if you do get a chance to see Hoffman close it's a ridiculous sight to be seen. That alone made the trip worthwhile.

 

All in all, I was a bit disappointed with Petco, but San Diego on the whole is a great time. A great place to relax and enjoy some awesome weather while maybe taking in a game or two at the shopping ma...err Petco.

[CaliSoxFan]

As the Bay area Rep let me just say that there are some harsh criticisms of my little circle of the world (or Not ). If you are coming to the SF area. I would definatly do some of the tourist things most have suggested.

 

1) Fishermans warf

2) China town. When you get to the warf, and get board take the trolly up to Chinatown, a great experience I think for first time visitors. The trolly also gets on and off near Ghirardelli square. A great chocolate factory.

3)If doing the warf thing go to alcatraz

4) most of the museums are nice. Yurba Buenna area is nice. Have a Mall like structure called the Metreon theatres, playstation store etc....

5) THe wine country is nice. That is actually a two day event. The nort bay is Nappa Valley. In the near south bay is Livermore. THe climents are slightly differnt and the wines have a different taste. I personally like Livermore because of the atmosphere. Not to many tourist know about Livermore (the wineries like that) so it wont be as crowded. If up in Napa. Try a Museum Called Copia is a a great place to learn about foods and art and the like.

6) There is a Microbrewery called Pyramid Brewere here in Berkeley. I enjoy there beer. That would be a great evening out

7) If you like to experience differnt cuisines I am sure SF has some great places, but the east bay especially berkeley is such a melting pot of ethncities. If this interests you I can give you a few to try.

8) There were a lot of comments about how cold it can get. The funny thing about SF is that in one place you will need your coat and a mile a way shorts and a t-shirt. When my parents came to visit me last year. All my dad did was complain that he has to pack three pairs of clothes just for fifteen minutes.

9) The GG is a nice experience, but be forwarned if you take a car that is does cost. I think it is either six or seven to cross. You can always walk across or ride bicks.

10) There is a show out here that is called Bay area Backroads and the host has written a book Backroads a nice little travel companion.

 

See there is always something to do here is the Bay Area.

 

Any other questions I will try and answer.

Edited April 18, 2005 by CaliSoxFan

[DBAHO]

We had a Californian talk to my lecture at Uni today about saving the rainforests in Costa Rica or something. Damn you guys talk real, real, real fast.

[LosMediasBlancas]

Fisherman's Wharf= Nay Pier=tourist trap. IMO .

Someone mentioned seeing a lot of Asian people and that is SO true. All I saw were Asians and Caucasians, ZERO black or Latino people. Just an observation, no biggie.

Overall, the city seemed very safe. I saw maybe one small area in SF that looked 'rough', we were told the rough areas are in Oakland, just accross the bridge.

At the time we were there, they said that SF had more million dollar+ homes than any other U.S city. Maybe I have that wrong, but the Victorian style homes out there really are colorful and amazing.

Ride the trolley, we made the mistake of thinking we could walk all day. Ha, with all the super steep, hilly streets, our legs were on fire in like 20 mins.

[Steff]

California Question, Part Deux...

 

Has anyone ever been to San Diego, because im tentatively planning a trip to check out the Sox while they are down there...1. Does this sound like a good idea? 2. Should I plan on my entire week there or should I take a drive out someplace else while im down there?

 

Thanks and Chisoxfn I'm expecting a response from you!! 

 

 

 

I've been twice and I loved it. Loved, loved, LOVED the zoo...

 

You should try to get to LA also. Catch an Angels game. The stadium is really nice.

[LosMediasBlancas]

I've been twice and I loved it. Loved, loved, LOVED the zoo...

 

You should try to get to LA also. Catch an Angels game. The stadium is really nice.

 

Wow, everyone has told me their Zoo is overrated. I heard they have just as much as Brookfield......and don't have dolphin shows.

[Steff]

Wow, everyone has told me their Zoo is overrated. I heard they have just as much as Brookfield......and don't have dolphin shows.

 

 

I was there in 2000 and while they didn't have dolphin shows they had a cool interactive thing where you could pet them. The one thing I liked was that the exhibits were all wide open and close. They timed animal feedings so that the animals were out when people were there. And it's just visually more pretty, IMO. A ton of landscaping. They really took care of the place.

[hammerhead johnson]

Wow, everyone has told me their Zoo is overrated. I heard they have just as much as Brookfield......and don't have dolphin shows.

 

The zoos in San Diego and New Orleans put the San Fran zoo to shame, but it's still a kick-ass experience.