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Pcakes2
Member
08-29-2001
| Monday, March 01, 2004 - 3:23 pm
This is her first trip out here from Wisonsin. One of the things I always recommend for people to see is Beach Blanket Babylon. It is a true San Francisco classic!
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Lucy
Member
10-08-2002
| Monday, March 01, 2004 - 3:34 pm
Yay, BidD!!! I also think you should visit Carmel, i.e., Pebble Beach, 17 mile drive, and walk around town in search of Clint Eastwood. When are you going to be out this way?
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Grannyg
Member
05-28-2002
| Monday, March 01, 2004 - 3:49 pm
BigD is going somewhere without me?????????? pffttt
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Bigd
Member
09-13-2001
| Monday, March 01, 2004 - 4:32 pm
Well actually..... I am going to meet my dear MIL in San Fransisco April 27 - May 2. She is receiving an award for her ROR program. She is older and so I am meeting her there to accompany her on this trip. (You can read about her at this link http://www.shreveporttimes.com/html/9CFA1F16-CB2B-4BD5-9D7D-ECE85A94544C.shtml ) I will be entertaining myself alone for a couple of days while she is in her convention, so keep the ideas flowing. I would love to meet for lunch one day, so ANYONE that is interested let me know!
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Monday, March 01, 2004 - 4:48 pm
You should definitely go to the wharf and Ghiradelli Square.
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Landi
Member
07-29-2002
| Monday, March 01, 2004 - 5:15 pm
take an hour drive to the wine country. the napa valley NATURALLY and visit moi!
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Lucy
Member
10-08-2002
| Monday, March 01, 2004 - 8:35 pm
BigD, Will you be renting a car?
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Pcakes2
Member
08-29-2001
| Monday, March 01, 2004 - 8:58 pm
Typical tourist things to do: -take the ferry over to Alcatraz -walk across the GG Bridge -if your into hiking, go hiking in Muir woods -ride a cable car -drive or walk down Lombard Street -have some clam chowderin a sour dough bread bowl at Fisherman's Wharf I'm sure I can think of more.
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Justavice
Member
07-12-2003
| Monday, March 01, 2004 - 9:23 pm
Pcakes beat me to it, but another vote for the clam chowder in a sour dough bread bowl. Especially if it is an overcast day. Chinatown is really interesting if you have never been there before. And there is always shopping at Union Square.
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Landi
Member
07-29-2002
| Monday, March 01, 2004 - 9:38 pm
pier 39 and see the seals. crab at aliotos.
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Egbok
Member
07-13-2000
| Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 12:22 am
BigD, you definitely must take the cable car down to Fisherman's Wharf/Pier 39. There are lots of shops and fun food choices too....like crab at aliotos!! And you've got to cross the Golden Gate Bridge either by car or by walking. It's a must do and must see from the Marin County vantage point looking back toward San Francisco! It's very windy there so pack a lightweight windbreaker. Also, there's Golden Gate Park that has an arboretum and garden that is beautiful and a nice place to take a walk or sit and read a book, especially if the sun is shining! Have fun in San Francisco!
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Sanfranjoshfan
Member
09-17-2000
| Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 12:48 pm
Beach Blanket Babylon is a MUST SEE! All the other places mentioned are nice, but they are basically nice areas to buy souvenirs and t-shirts while looking at a pretty view. BBB is a hysterically entertaining musical review that features topical musical numbers and huge outrageous hats. I have tried to explain this show to BBB virgins and I wind up with a quizzical puzzled look from them. It HAS to be seen to be believed. I have taken several friends and family member to see it when they finally made it to SF for the first time and none of them have EVER been disappointed....they are ALWAYS impressed and walk out of the club with huge smiles on their faces....and then they talk about what they just saw the rest of the night (I'm not exaggerating......) Here is a gallery of some of the costumes at Beach Blanket Babylon: http://www.beachblanketbabylon.com/NewInShow.cfm The musical numbers consist of an ever-changing repertoire of current events parodies and celebrities in the news.....they poke lots of fun at all these folks and they do it with real talent. I think they put tickets on sale a couple of weeks in advance for particular time blocks....tickets sell out fast, though. You MUST call ahead and put them on a credit card in order to get a seat, and you must be the credit card holder in order to claim the tickets at the box office on show day. (I haven't been there for several years but that's the way it's always been when I went) The main web site has a phone number to call for tickets and info: http://www.beachblanketbabylon.com/ Oh yeah...I have found that the best seats are the 1st row balcony seats. It's a small cabaret club and if you don't get these more expensive reserved seats in the front row of the balcony (Magnin [sp?] seats), or the mezzanine you'll have to wait in a long line for the best general seating. Those front row balcony seats are assigned seats. The general seating is first come, first serve and people get in line an hour or so before the performance in order to get a good view at one of the little cabaret tables on the main floor. I just LOVE this show....it is truly the most entertaining thing I have done in this city that I have lived in for the past 25 years. The worst part is that you must call ahead to get tickets after you find out when you will be here and they sell out fairly quickly. The upside of that is that they sell out quickly because the show is phenomenal and the club is pretty small so it is a very intimate and inviting space. Here's one of the outrageous hats in the finale of their 1988show:
Here is the finale hat from the Xmas show (In the final number, the tree rises and the train set underneath starts up and moves around the tree on tracks!

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Pcakes2
Member
08-29-2001
| Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 1:30 pm
I totally agree SanFranJoshFan...ya notice it was my firsy post on this thread! I was just thinking that I haven't been in a couple of years, and would love to go again. Big D, (or anyone else for that matter), if you would be interested in going, I would go with you...let me know.
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Sanfranjoshfan
Member
09-17-2000
| Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 2:12 pm
Yeah, I noticed your BBB post, pcakes2! That's what prompted me to mention it again, just so I could give it a bigger endorsement...because it really is THE defining San Francisco experience! I have a friend here in the city that had never seen it and I finally took him there for a Xmas present (back when I had some expendable income) and he was amazed buy it, wondering how he had let it go for so long without ever seeing it. Oh yeah a couple of other visitors I took went back the next time they were in town. (Can you tell I love this show? I think I've been to it about 7 times in the last 20 years!)
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Tabbyking
Member
03-11-2002
| Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 2:17 pm
you know, i think 'hairspray' might be playing then and i think the 'lion king' will still be in town..."beach blanket babylon" looks like a hoot! i know tv shows always have the people jumping on cable cars and heading here and there, but the last time i got on a cable car, it was after a 3-hour wait and after 10:30 at night. so don't expect to ride a cable car unless you really luck out!
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Dipo
Member
04-23-2002
| Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 4:50 pm
Lion King is really good, saw it last month. It's always fun to take the ferry to Tiburon for brunch at Sam's. Be sure to sit out on the deck!!! We used to always take friends for Irish Coffee at a resturant at the Cable Car turnaround, can't remember the name, but it was a famous place. (I am sure SanFranJosh will know where I am talking about). Also do tea in the Japanese garden in Golden Gate (that may be gone now) but High Tea on Knob Hill was fun. I loved going to the Cliff house to look out at the ocean and see the old bathouses. The houses are really cool in that area as well, we would drive around the streets and admire them. This was many years ago, but hopefully others can update my ideas.
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Bigd
Member
09-13-2001
| Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 4:56 pm
I am furiously taking notes.......
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Tess
Member
04-13-2001
| Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 5:06 pm
Dipo, we were just back there last summer visiting relatives (I was born and raised in SF) and we did most of the things you mentioned. The Cliff House is on the way to my family home right off Ocean Beach. I've never had trouble getting a cable car but I think that's partly because I always used them as public transport and not as a tourist thing. Just take a flying leap, hang on and there you are! BigD, I'm sure you will enjoy your visit. We'll be back again next year.
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Landi
Member
07-29-2002
| Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 5:39 pm
the famous place for irish coffe is the Buena Vista. see description below. my hubby took me there on our second date...so long ago. Buena Vista Cafe 2765 Hyde St Corner of Hyde and Beach St, San Francisco 94109 • 415-474-5044 Description: Located in Fisherman's Wharf and most notable for its role in the movie, "When a Man Loves a Woman," this area cafe is a pleasant stop for late nighters looking for a place to have drink with friends. Drinks range from a nice menu of cocktails to a variety of specialty coffees. Famous for its Irish coffee. Expect crowds as this place is usually packed. Smart casual dress. tessums when you come, you have to let me know so i can plan for a dinner!
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Babyruth
Member
07-19-2001
| Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 5:54 pm
I wanna go to San Francisco, too! Haven't been since 99. And the time before that, I was only 9 years old. Tess, when are you going and for how long? 
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Tess
Member
04-13-2001
| Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 7:21 pm
bubbles, you've got it girl! Babyruth, we're going next summer (2005) as part of our trek out west. I'm not sure how long we'll stay in the Bay Area at this point as we were also thinking of heading up Juju's way AND taking Sarah and her cousin down to Disneyland. That all might be a bit ambitious and we may just end up doing one or the other. In any case, we'll be in S.F. area for 3 or 4 days. sometime between mid-June and mid-August. How's that for keeping my options open? 
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Sanfranjoshfan
Member
09-17-2000
| Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 7:44 pm
I just remembered something. The Castro theatre is a huge and beautiful old 1400 seat movie theater that has been restored back to it's ornate, gilded beauty of days gone by. They still have the old pipe organ and before the main show, the organist plays a bunch of tunes, ending with "San Francisco" as the organ slowly lowers into the stage, the audience applauds in appreciation and then the movies start. It's not just another movieplex theatre, it's an experience! Here is a beautiful picture of this place taken 82 years ago. To be honest, the restoration did not bring it back to this high a level of detail, but it is still an ornate and stunning room: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~angell/thsa/castro2.jpg (Much of the complex ornamental design is gold) http://www.castrotheatre.com/history.html Starting March 12, they are having their annual Wizard of Oz interactive presentation....they play the Wizard of Oz and even have a bouncing ball with lyrics at the bottom of the screen so the entire audience can join in for all the musical numbers! Some folks dress up as their favorite characters, etc.... I like to think of it as a "G" rated Rocky Horror type movie experience. It's a really fun event and the audience participation turns it into SO much more than just an old movie. Oh yeah, on opening night of this run they will have a real live munchkin on hand! http://www.castrotheatre.com/coming-soon.html SING-A-LONG WIZARD OF OZ AT THE CASTRO THEATRE MARCH 12-25 EMCEED BY CONNIE CHAMPAGNE EXCLUSIVE BAY AREA ENGAGEMENT! OPENING NIGHT FRIDAY, MARCH 12 HOSTED BY KRON'S JAN WAHL WITH SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCE BY MUNCHKIN MARGARET PELLEGRINI AND RENOWNED DOROTHY GALE INTERPRETER ELAINE HORN THURSDAY, MARCH 18 TOTO LOOK-A-LIKE CONTEST MARCH 12-25, 2004 CASTRO THEATRE, 429 CASTRO ST. SAN FRANCISCO Mon. - Sun. Eve 7 PM Wed., Sat., Sun. Mat. 1 PM Mon. -Thurs. & Sun. Eve $20 Adult, $12 Child Under 12 Fri. - Sat. Eve. $22 Adult, $15 Child Sat., Sun. Matinee $20 Adult, $12 Child Wed. Matinee $15 Adult, $10 Child 10% GROUP DISCOUNT For tickets contact Ticketweb 1-866-468-3399 http://www.ticketweb.com Information- 415 863-0611 hostess2@earthlink.net ------------------------------------------------------ Btw, this theatre is in a nice part of town (the Castro District), in the heart of the gay district in SF, but it's not just for gay folks! The theatre is a popular movie house and historical landmark that usually shows revivals and film festivals.
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Tabbyking
Member
03-11-2002
| Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 8:12 pm
i suppose finochio's (sp?) is all gone. what a blast that was! tess, even when i lived and worked in san fran, i could never find space on a cable car, and that was 1977-78. didn't matter what time of day it was. we used to go to the sutro baths, too, and i'll bet they are long gone. s#it! i'm getting not young!
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Tess
Member
04-13-2001
| Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 8:48 pm
Ah, I moved in 1978 but used to take the cable car in the few years before that. Then I would take them occasionally when I'd go back on vacation during the 1980s. Had fun hanging on for dear life. I don't think I could make the leap on or off now. We were down by the Cliff house in July but didn't go down where the Sutro Baths are/were. Finnochio's closed in 1999.
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Butrflynet
Member
12-29-2003
| Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 9:36 pm
Born and raised in the SF Bay Area...there's so much to see, an entire lifetime isn't long enough. Here's a start: Take a ride on BART, visit Monterey Bay Aquariam and the Cannery, gawk at The Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz, check out the Exploritorium, Japanese Tea Garden, drive down one of the infamous hills in SF such as California Street, take the ferry to Sausilito and wander the artists community, take a cable car ride, have lunch at the Nut Tree in Vacaville, head up to wine country and tour a winery, make a day of touring UC Berkeley, take a drive out to the North Beach, the Sutro baths in SF.
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