We got the CityPass voucher for the 3 of us since it was such a good deal and had a lot of the attractions that would interest us. I also loved that it covered all the public transit fees including the cable car rides.
California Academy of Science was one of the attractions included in the CityPass. Since the museum is located in Golden Gate Park, we also tried to visit some of the other attractions in the park on the same day. We made it to Golden Gate Park early enough to enjoy free entrance into the Japanese Tea Garden, so that was our first stop. The kids really enjoyed this park as there were lots of things to take pictures of. It was also our very first attraction, so I think that had a lot to do with it's appeal. After the Tea Garden we made our way to the Science Museum. We all LOVED this place. We spent pretty much the whole day there. There were plenty of exhibits to see. Maddy loved all the things to do with birds and Ethan was on a major mission to find the exhibit with the Glass Frog. We searched high and low for them and finally found them in the top of the rain forest exhibit. In our studies leading up to the trip we learned about the Great Earthquake/Fire in 1906 and so the exhibit they had on earthquakes was also really interesting. They had an earthquake simulator and the kids now feel like they are ready for the 'Big One'. Haha, just kidding. I had planned to possibly visit the Botanical Gardens afterwards, but we were all exhausted and it was getting late.
The next day was our boat cruise day. This was also included in the CityPass and was provided by the Blue and Gold fleet. We went on a 1hour tour of the harbour that included going around Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate Bridge. The close up view of the Golden Gate Bridge was the main attraction for us because we'd spent a fair bit of time learning about the bridge. We lucked out with beautiful blue skies and the orange bridge looked every bit as gorgeous as all the books said. The pictures here are all from Ethan's camera, so the quality isn't as good, but you can tell that the kids were just 'camera happy' on this trip. After the boat trip we went to see the sea lions at Pier 39. We learned a bit about sea lions before the trip, but I think that the heat of the day, along with the smell of the sea lions turned the kids off a bit. :) We then went to the Aquarium of the Bay. The CityPass gives you option of this aquarium or entrance to Monterey Bay Aquarium. I would have loved to visit Monterey Bay, but it was just too far for me to go with the kids alone. The Aquarium of the Bay was just 'okay'. I feel like we are a bit spoiled with having the Vancouver Aquarium. One highlight that made up for it was the Giant Pacific Octopus exhibit. Maddy studied all about octopus last year and she was thrilled that the octopus here was so active. It really put on a mesmerizing show for us.
On our third day we took our first cable car ride. The kids were really excited for this because we'd learned all about how the cable cars came to be and how they worked before the trip. They loved seeing and hearing the cables running below the rails and seeing the gripman do his job. By the end of the trip, they were well accustomed to the smell of the wooden brakes rubbing on the rails as we cruised down the steep hills. We toured through the Cable Car Museum and then walked over to Chinatown. After checking out the fortune cookie factory and picking up some dim sum, we had lunch in Portsmouth Square Park. From there it was over to the Exploratorium. This museum was really hands on and tons for the kids to do. Unfortunately, I was getting SUPER tired from the day's activities. We probably skipped through more than I would have liked. In hindsight, I would have rather dedicated the time we spent at the Aquarium of the Bay to the Exploratorium instead.
Our Thursday day trip was not included in the City Pass deal. It was completely worth it though. We took the ferry over to Angel Island State Park. Our reason for going there was to visit the USIS (U.S. Immigration Station). We learned a lot about this immigration station in school leading up to the trip. (See the link to the Immigration Station for the historical details.) We were lucky enough to join a school group for a tour of the station and so the guide was spot on for reinforcing the history we learned. Aside from the immigration station, the island was just a fantastic way to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It was awesome to walk from the ferry to the station which led us halfway around the island.
Friday, I had reserved for hanging out at Fisherman's Wharf. Again in hindsight, it did not need as much time as we had. We did tour the ship at Hyde St. Pier and it was pretty cool to walk Lombard St. on the way there. It was while walking down Lombard St. that our bird fanatic Maddy noticed some parrot-like birds in the trees. We thought, 'How strange to see what we know as pets, in the wild?' We later learned all about the San Francisco Conures and the story of Mark Bittner. I think the kids remember this chance sighting more than Fisherman's Wharf! In the afternoon, Josh was done with his conference and so we took the California line cable car to see the Painted Ladies. That night we stayed out late to see the city light from the cable car.
For our last morning, we had Josh with us and it was a relief to have someone else take on the directions. We decided to head to Coit Tower to see the views. It was beautiful and a great way to spend our last day. We flew home that evening and it was just as wonderful to be home. Thanks San Francisco for a great week. What an amazing city!
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