After Hybridfest Green Expo in SF - what to do

Back in 1993 or '94 after dinner at Jack London Square we saw the L. Washington tied up and strolled over to check her out and before we knew it had booked ourselves aboard for its next day's journey across the bay to Sausalito. The Hawaiian sailed alongside and from time to time the two vessels exchanged cannon shots in great gouts of smoke and noise. I got permission to climb aloft to the crow's nest and I'm happy to say I did not use the lubber hole but ascended (and descended) in correct seafaring style - but I did not venture out onto the spar footropes. When we berthed in Sausalito one of the deckhands scambered in his bare feet atop the spars securing things and I got the impression he'd done that at sea with the ship rolling beneath him too, absolutely at home on the knife edge of balance. I was tempted to stay with the ship for its voyage down to San Diego but a small matter of not putting a steady paycheck at risk interceded. One of my red letter days, that little trip.

 

I heard there was a large scale model of the San Francisco Bay area, built by the US Army Corps of Engineers. There's also a scale model railway nearby that has at least one vote for a field trip.

I don't know whether these two places are open on Sunday....

 

If you're referring to US Army Corps of Engineers, it is not worth it. I went to it years ago and was quite disappointed. At the time, I think the water pumping system wasn't working either.

Sausalito itself might be worth a visit though.

There's a fair amount of stuff to see in SF but the parking sucks in much of it. http://www.frommers.com/destinations/sanfrancisco/29_indattr.html should give you some ideas. http://www.sftravel.com/twinpeakssanfranciscopictures.html has a good view as does the Legion of Honor. I've been around the outside of http://www.palaceoffinearts.org/ but never inside. It was featured near the beginning of the move "The Rock". A bunch of rich people like Larry Ellison have houses in Pacific Heights. Older versions of http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pacific_Heights,_San_Francisco&oldid=291372463, like this one include a list of famous residents but the list has been removed in more recent revs.

If you want to venture further south and see buildings of tech companies, there are plenty like that of Oracle, Google, Yahoo, Intel, etc.

If you have time for an amusement park, there is California's Great America | San Francisco's Themed Amusement Park (Santa Clara) (very near Intel). If you're more into animals, there's Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. There is HOME PORT - Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet Museum in Alameda.

For those who have never been to a Fry's, definitely visit one. http://www.frys.com/ac/storelocator/index.jsp has list of locations. But, those from WA and OR likely have been to them before.

I'm not sure how much/which of these would be of interest to folks.

 

All that and no mention of cable cars? Or Golden Gate Park? Walking the bridge and going for a hike in Marin County?

I guess we all have different interests.

edit: OK, frommers lists a wide range of attractions, cable cars included.

 

Apparently there's a ten year Prius Celebration in Malibu on Sunday.

 

Yeah, I was mainly listing things that weren't on the Frommer's SF attractions list.

 

You're right, it is. And it's not like we were looking for more things to do in the two days we're there, or more days of driving on top of the planned four. Too bad driving down and flying home isn't an option.

 

There is a gigantic 10,000 sq ft of train layout in Richmond at the Golden Gate Railway Museum Golden State Model Railroad Museum Open Sunday noon - 5pm. I've been to it and it is amazing. Nice volunteers who run it, too.

Another place that would be fun to go to as a group is right at the edge of Richmond (officially in El Cerrito) is Playland Not At The Beach Playland-Not-At-The-Beach - Museum of Fun Open Sunday 10am -5pm. Very unique place, that is very hard to describe. Your admission includes 30+ pinball machines, all set up for free play, plus lots of penny arcade games. I am definitely going here with my family after the show. Check out the slide show and the FAQ for more info.

Edited to add: Forgot to mention, if you like visiting war-time ships, the Red Oak Victory is docked in one of the harbors in Richmond and is open from 10am-3pm. I haven't visited this yet, but people tell me that often some of the guides are people who were involved with the ship either having served on it in wartime, or actually helped build it at the Kaiser Shipyard in Richmond. Sounds interesting.

There are plenty of great things to do in San Francisco of course, and I could hardly begin to cover all of them. We'll have to brainstorm some more ideas Saturday night at dinner. I'm sure the locals will offer plenty of suggestions.

 

You should go to Pier 39 and buy an overpriced bowl of clam chowder.

 

Good suggestions, Eric. Something else that would be fun for the Expo is a racing sim console, like say an xbox running Gran Turismo 4. It's got a Prius in it, and the emissions are just pixels, so it's green, right?

 

You should race your Priuses down Lombard street. duh why didnt i think of that before.

 

Alcatraz?

if you do take the first boat and position yourself to run up the hill before others do
Alcatraz Island (U.S. National Park Service)


Muir woods just north of the GG bridge?

Muir Woods National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)


SF botanical gardens?
San Francisco Botanical Garden

heres a map
San Francisco Botanical Garden - Map and Tour


never been here--Cliff house for food
watch the intro....bring a fire extinguisher
The Cliff House

 

double post