san fran w/toddler

We are coming out next week for a couple of days and are staying at the mark hopkins. My son loves trains and cable cars but can you pls suggest some family friendly activities and spots to eat? Is it too cold to take the ferry? We will be using public transportation exclusively. Thank you ahead of time for your suggestions!

san fran w/toddler

Might go to Golden Gate Park %26amp; let the toddler loose on the Arboretum lawn (I have fond memories of doing this with my daughter many years ago). This also places you in a good spot to base your visit to GG Park (presuming you want to do so).

To get there take the N-Judah (getting a street car ride out of it) outbound from any of the MUNI Market Street subwary stations and get off at 9th %26amp; Irving (first part of the ride will be subway, then a few blocks above ground, through a tunnel and . . . . I presume your son will enjoy all of this). This ride would be something like 20-30 minutes (on a good day including wait time), but exact Market Street station you use, day of week %26amp; time of day will impact on this.

There%26#39;s a bunch of restaurants of all varieties within about 2-3 blocks of this intersection and you%26#39;re only a block south of GG Park (right near the Arboretum entrance and also close to the DeYoung Museum, Academy of Sciences and Japanese Tea Gardens, could even stroll over to Stow lake and rent a boat).

The Arboretum has a broad lawn like field which is perfect for you to picnic on while you son toddles around - and if he falls, so what - it%26#39;s nice soft grass.

Consider getting off a few blocks early and/or late and stroll around a little if you want to scope out possible eateries. Plenty of the restaurants have take out, one of my favorites is Gordo%26#39;s Burritos, which ~1/2 block south of the park on the west side of 9th Ave.

Anyway, that%26#39;s one suggestion - I%26#39;m sure you%26#39;ll get plenty of others,

HLO

san fran w/toddler

The weather has been beautiful for the past few days. It%26#39;s been very springlike, sunny and clear, probably a bit cooler than you%26#39;re used to (60-ish). If you wear layers, I don%26#39;t think you%26#39;ll be too cold on the ferry (carry a backpack or tote bag to catch the things you shed as the weather warms up).

The S.F. Cable Car Museum would be a great place for your son. It has historic cable cars and exhibits, viewing windows to look at the underground cables and other machinery, and a mezzanine where you look down on the work floor where some of the cable car maintenance is done. It%26#39;s at Washington and Mason, about 3 blocks (steep downhill) from the hotel.

http://www.cablecarmuseum.org/

The Market St. F Line runs between Castro Street and the Ferry Building, then on to Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf. These comprise the world%26#39;s largest collection of funtioning antique streetcars. Like the cable cars, are part of the City transit system. Once your little guy sees the cable cars or these historic gems, you may not make it to Golden Gate Park or the ferries!

http://www.streetcar.org/

In warm weather, they bring out this ';boat tram,'; which originated in the English coastal resort city of Blackpool.

streetcar.org/mim/鈥ndex.html

have a look at the kid friendly events on this site: http://tinyurl.com/kidfriendlysf (sort by ';when'; for nearest events to today%26#39;s date)

The Fire Engine tour is a trip... you get to put on old firemen jackets to stay warm, ride the fire truck across the golden gate bridge and great photo op. My kids LOVED it. The tour starts at the Cannery and the Blue Mermaid restaurant has been consistently good when we visit - the kids meals (except the mac %26amp; cheese) are served in sand buckets with shovels. Casual atmosphere - but food is good.

My kids also enjoyed riding BART to Oakland and back (I know - weird - but it was something new and different - fast and dark, but not too dark).

Golden Gate park has everything to keep you and the little one happy! There is a huge park (name escapes me, I%26#39;m sure someone will jump in...)with a merry go round and concrete slides. Stow Lake to feed ducks and rent a paddle boat. Japanese tea gardens with fun bridges. The DeYoung has a free elevator to the top for 360 degree views of the bay. Acadamy is amazing but might be hard to get into. Almost any exit of the park will lead you to yummy restaurants. Also, the Haight is a few blocks away, and that is another fun journey...I could go on forever!

The park fashionflyer mentioned, with the concrete slides, is the Children%26#39;s Playground in the eastern part of GG Park, near the Arguello Blvd. entrance. The merry-go-round is a restored antique, maybe 125 years old. And the playground isn%26#39;t just a collection of slides and swings like every street-corner city park in the country. It has those, along with kid-sized ';adventure'; areas, play villages with treehouses, marshes, a stream, and more. Some features are reserved for younger kids.

The map on this website is pretty small, but I was able to copy and paste it onto a separate program and magnify it.

鈥logspot.com/2008/05/childrens-playgroundch鈥?/a>

And Stow Lake is a wonderful attraction for all ages. I go there all the time. Sometimes the simplest things make the biggest impression on youngsters. I grew up in the Richmond District, just north of GG Park, and one or two Sunday afternoons a month, our parents took us kids and any stale bread, crackers, etc. we had accumulated, to feed the ducks. The foot-pedal boats look just like the ones I recall from my childhood, and a couple years ago when I had friends visit from out of state, we did that and a pedal surrey.