San Francisco Outing for a Rainy Day

When the weather is icky we head up to San Francisco. There is so much to do!

One of our favorite places to go on a cold or rainy day is the Exploratorium located in the Marina (http://www.exploratorium.com/). Once we get there, it is hard to pry the girls away from all the interactive exhibits. The space is huge and it’s perfect for our active girls. There is something for everyone, educational and compelling for adults too! The one trick I have up my sleeve to quicken our exit from the Exploratorium is to mention lunch at Yank Sing, our absolute favorite dim sum restaurant.

Yank Sing is a great place for lunch with children. Once you are seated, you don’t have to wait for food. The food comes right to your table pushed on trolleys by the friendly and helpful servers. There is a huge variety of dumplings, vegetables and sweets. All you have to do is survey the food that comes by, point and choose. The girls love the place. It’s entertaining, lively and the food is delicious. The only caveat is the expense. Since you just sit there and point at what you want, you could get carried away. There are no prices displayed on the trolleys. The girls like to end their meal with sesame balls…yum, warm, sweet, somewhat crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside. Yank Sing is located at One Rincon Center at 101 Spear St 415-781-1111. If you have time you can walk off lunch by crossing the street over to the Ferry Building. If you are there on a Saturday, you may catch the Farmers Market where you might just be tempted to get beautiful fresh produce, bread, fish etc. Gelato isn’t a bad idea either!

Another bad weather day outing option is the California Academy of Sciences http://www.calacademy.org/. It’s hard to see everything the Academy has to offer in one outing and it can be tiring for the children too. Some tips for your visit. If you think you are interested in the 3D movie or the planetarium, get the tickets for the showtimes you want as soon as you arrive. If you decide you don’t want to attend the shows, then just return the tickets so someone else can use them. Both are popular and the tickets go fast. (We don’t have to worry about the planetarium tickets ourselves, since my older daughter refuses to see it.) However both girls enjoyed the 3D Bugs movie that was being shown on our last visit.

The Academy boasts a Rainforest exhibit, really cool with butterflies and birds flying all around you, and fish swimming under you. It also has a beautiful Coral Reef tank…it is so large you feel like you are actually under the water. Every time we go we like to go the dive show. We enjoy watching the diver interact with the fish and answer our questions.

Besides the beautiful building, the Rainforest and the Coral Reef, my favorite feature of the Academy is the cafeteria! The Academy Café is run by Charles Phan of Slanted Door fame and Loretta Keller, owner/chef of Bizou now Coco500. (I believe she is married to Hubert Keller of Fleur de Lys.) The food is good, I mean good. It is so refreshing to be able to eat good food instead of the usual kiddie fare served at zoos and children’s museums. On a sunny day, we like to get a table outside. We get fresh air and the girls can run around. It’s wonderful!

Since you are already there, an amazing free treat would be to walk across to the De Young Museum as you leave the Academy. You can go up the 144 ft tower and enjoy an expansive view from the observation floor (which is gorgeous with a floor to ceiling glass windows all around). It is incredible! On a clear day you can see the GG bridge, the ocean, downtown. I always feel like a tourist and it actually makes me feel like I went out of town. It’s transportative (ok, not a word but that’s how I feel) and I really feel like I had a chance to get away. By the way, the De Young also has a great cafeteria.

The Golden Gate Park has so many more features! We like the Japanese Tea Garden and sometimes enjoy having tea and Japanese crackers at the little rest place in the Garden. The botanical garden is great. The girls love the playground…the cement slide and the climbing structure there are really fun. The merry-go-round is nearby and when it’s open it’s nice. The Conservatory is another great place to go in the park.

Speaking of merry-go-rounds, our favorite is the one at the Yerba Buena Gardens. Check it out next time you are downtown. After the ride, play at the playground or go ice-skating. Zeum is also there.