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Trip Report yk's Trip Report - Frozen in San Francisco, May 2009

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Hi Everyone, my husband and I spent 4 days in San Francisco over the Memorial Day weekend. For a change, we actually didn't do too much on this trip, so hopefully this trip report won't be as lengthy and verbose as my usual TRs.

It seemed like we visited SF during the worst few days in May. When I checked the weather forecast before we left, it predicted mostly sunny with temps to be in the low 70s daytime, and mid-50s at night. I packed clothes for 60sF temp. Unfortunately, the actual weather turned out to be cloudy and very windy the entire time, with high temperatures barely reaching 60F during the day. With windchill and no sun, it felt much colder - so cold that I ended up buying a jacket from Nordstrom (and paid 9.5% sales tax for it - mind you, no sales tax on clothes in MA).

Why San Francisco?
I had just visited SF last fall with my mom, over the labor day weekend. (Trip report here: http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/yks-san-francisco-bay-area-trip-report-focus-on-food-and-museums.cfm ) Therefore, I hadn't planned on re-visiting SF so soon. However, a few months ago, we received a wedding invitation from one of DH's friend, so I thought that's a good reason for a re-visit.

When?
We arrived late Wednesday night, departed late Sunday night over Memorial Day weekend - therefore we had 4 full days in the city.

Transport in SF
I was undecided about getting a MUNI pass before our trip. A 3-day pass is $18, which is not inexpensive, considering a regular ride is only $1.50 (plus free transfer). Even though we were there for 4 full days, we rented a car for the last 1.5 days, so we only needed public transport for the first 2.5 days.

In the end, we did get the 3-day pass, and I didn't regret it. True, if we stuck with regular metro and buses only, we probably would have spent only about $13 per person for all our rides. However, it was nice to be able to ride the cable cars (which I hadn't done for probably a decade), and it was nice NOT to keep watching the clock to ensure we can use a transfer, and it was nice NOT to have to have change for all the rides.

With regards to the rental car, prices varied a lot depending on the company. I wanted an in-town pick-up, and an airport drop-off. My favorite company, Hertz, wanted over $200 for this 1.5-day rental, no matter which discount code I plugged in. I finally found the cheapest rate at Budget - with some discount code I found on the net - for under $50 total. I thought that was a pretty good deal.

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