MO, not sure when you were in San Francisco and went to Forever 21, but they recently moved into a newer bigger store, in the former multi-level Virgin Records space. You'll just have to comeback.

I would agree with making a trip to the Ferry Market Bldg on a Sat morning (if that's possible - the earlier the better) for a glorious foodie morning.

You mentioned that you are outdoorsy types & like history. i LOVE SF for those precise reasons. If i may offer a few suggestions:

- Lands End Trail. The views of the Golden Gate are amazing. Continue along the trail & you will find the my 2nd suggestion,

(everything is walking distance from one point to another)

- the Sutro Baths. Explore, then mosey on over to

- Camera Obscura (if open) & have lunch at the Cliff House (historic, but havent eaten there...yet).

- Golden Gate Park. You can spend days here. I HIGHLY suggest getting a map ahead of time - good luck locating one once ons-site. Sundays the main road inside the park - jfk dr - is closed to vehicles & you can bike (you can rent one fairly easily all around sf). Note the food stands sell hot dogs, ice cream...and uh that's it. pack snacks and change or else you'll starve like i did :/

Highlights of the park: cement slides, carosouel, dutch windmill, buffalo (!)...so much.

other rad san francisco stuff i like:

- off the grid. food truck heaven.

-twin peaks is very famous to see the views & hike, but it's often crowded & you may want to check out Mt. Davidson instead

- japantown. There's a mall here, which sits mostly restaurants it seems, but still worth trip. Bookstore, photo booth place, crepes, many toy stores - all japanese

- for shopping, if you hit up the westfield center in union square i have a good food court tip. The food court food is actually not bad, but it gets crowded quickly. There's a huge dome on top of the building; beauitful really. There's a patio with public access on the ROOF of the building - that's right, you can enjoy your lunch on the roof top of the westfield center mall. Pretty rad & not that many tourists know about it.

I use Yelp to plan my SF trips, you may want to too! it's a great resource. Happy traveling!

>>westfield center in union square<<

Slight correction - it is not in or on Union Square. It is a few blocks south down Powell, on the corner of Market & 5th.

Stu Dudley

<<<There's a huge dome on top of the building; beauitful really. There's a patio with public access on the ROOF of the building - that's right, you can enjoy your lunch on the roof top of the westfield center mall.>>>

I live here and I had no idea! The dome is beautiful -- it was part of the original Emporium Capwell department store, and when they remodeled it into a mall, they were required to keep the dome. At Christmastime it was lit with moving pictures, like snowflakes.

>>part of the original Emporium <<

Where my wife purchased her wedding dress in '71.

Stu Dudley

Thanks all! I have come back with a notebook so I can plan my itn. We are also going out to Stanford for an afternoon...Any tips on that drive? Is there a scenic route?

Are you driving down to Stanford? If so, take Hwy 280 south from SF (280 was once named the most beautiful highway in America) rather than 101 (industrial). You can exit at either Sand Hill Road (campus is about 3 miles to the east of the freeway) and turn onto campus at any of a number of different spots, or exit 280 ay Page Mill/Arastradero Rd. (Same thing).

Just put a whole bunch of info together for a friend headed to SF soon. Made me nostalgic. Maybe.....

One last question...I'm thinking of exending an additional two days to see outside the city in addition to Stanford. Suggestions? Is there a beach town within a drive, and exceptional resort worth an overnight? A national park thats known for its views? While I'm excited to be in San Fran, we live in a city and to feel like it was a real vacation I'm thinking a day or two out of the city would be nice.

The Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay is gorgeous.

Capitola is a cute beach town

You could go north to the Pt. Reyes area. Stay at the Olema Inn.

Carmel is always a slam-dunk.

Muir Woods. It is our cathedral.

http://www.parksconservancy.org/visi...FQNntgodhSq-AA

ok, one last ask....what about if it rains? I'm hearing from friends who went last year that they didn't antisipate the 40 degrees or rain. I want to make sure I prepared for that.

For clothing?

One word: layers

StuDudley - I agreee with what you say, but you're almost as picky as I am.

tomsd - suffering from streams of unconciousness?

vbarone - Check out Stu D's comments on some other posts about SF. Methinks he knows about everything.

So Stu what to do in the rain. Looks like rain everyday we'll be there. :(

I second the votes for Beach Blanket Babylon! and layers of clothing.....you never know what the weather will be like!

FYI, under-21s can only do BBB on Sundays.

Good point, sf, I forgot the OP was travelling with a teenager.

Didn't want them to try and then be disappointed!

Hey, everybody, thanks for all the information! I will be in San Francisco in about two weeks for a meeting, but I am planning to skip many sessions so I can go sightseeing, especially after reading the posts here!