My wife, baby, and I will be in San Fransico during October for two days before going to a wedding in Palo Alto. Any favorite spots that we must see? Also, would we be better off renting a car or taking public transportation?

Jeff, you're going to want to rent a car when you're out here! The Bay Area is really spread out with many things to see and do. The public transportation system in and around San Francisco is pretty good, but you'll probably want to do more exploring. If this is your first trip out here, you'll want to try and do the Wine Country (especially if you have the luxury of travelling mid-week). If that doesn't work out, no fear...the area is filled with sights. Depending on how old your baby is, there's a popular theme park callled "Marine World" that's located in Vallejo (about 20 miles east of SF) that's real popular with young families around here. Enjoy your visit!

Two days is not enough to see the City so I would not agree with the wine country trip. Alcatraz is a fun trip and very popular. You need to book reservations about 1 week in advance. You can also take a Bay cruise or simply the regular ferry from SF to Sausilito. I also recommend a car to get into the city, but take cabs to get around as parking is terrible. If this is your first trip, you may want to just take a bus tour of the city to give you a good feel of where to go back, Email me with any other questions, I live in the Bay Area.

If you're only going to be there for two days, I suggest you NOT rent a car and only visit sights within or near to San Francisco itself. Take the cable cars to Fisherman's Wharf (VERY touristy but still great fun to shop and people watch), and then take a tour of Alcatraz (make reservations NOW).Visit Chinatown, Lombard Hill, Golden Gate Park, Coit Tower, the Exploratorium. Before you know it, your two days will be gone, and a car (you would have found) is nothing but a major inconvenience if you never leave The City. When you re-visit the Bay Area for the week or two to REALLY need, then rent a car.

Jeff, sorry about that. I tried posting yesterday and had no luck. A couple thoughts--you will not want your car when in the city, but when you go down to Palo Alto, you will certainly want one. I therefore suggest you take a taxi or Super Shuttle to the hotel in SF and then rent a car for the wedding. Taxis for Palo Alto would run about $50 and back from P.A. to SFO would be close to that again, so a car makes sense. Another caveat--I don't know how old the baby is, but you won't be able to push a stroller around Alcatraz. If you can put him/her in one of those backpack things and if you are hearty (there's a lot of climbing on Alcatraz) you could do it. If so, call the Blue and Gold fleet ahead to reserve tickets and dress warmly--including baby. You might want to ferry over to Tiburon or Sausalito instead. Enjoy.

Thanks for the responses. Based on them, I'll rent a car for the weekend to get around Palo Alto, however, resort to shuttles and cabs to and around the city. The baby is only 3 months, so his mere 14 lbs will make it quite easy to carry him in a little pouch. Does anyone have an opinion on what they think would be the best city BUS TOUR??
Thanks!!