SF/East Bay Duers: I'm going nuts and I need to get away. I would love to spend a week

[Mike 03]

back in San Francisco or the East Bay area.

It's been...twelve years since I've visited my home town. My father is not doing so well and I was thinking about trying to inspire him to making a trip back to SF and the East Bay. We had such a great time together there.

What I miss most, and these are the places I want to take him, but I'm not sure whether or not they even still exist:

The Cliff House

All the fantastic bookstores near Berkeley, like Moe's and Cody's.

My father's favorite place to eat, called Kip's. He used to attend Berkeley.

Pier 39.

Fisherman's Wharf.

The museum "Ripley's Believe it or Not?"

Ghirardelli Square.

And any other memorable places in that general area.

ON EDIT:

The museum known as the Legion of Fine Arts or Palace of the Legion of Fine Arts, or something like that, lol, (I think) He loved that place.

[XemaSab]

1. Didn't Cody's close?

:shrug:

[Gormy Cuss]

2. Yep.

[Arugula Latte]

6. NOOOOooooooo!

:cry:

Ah, crap. I have so many great memories of hanging around that place in my student days... DAMN!

edited to ask: Does anyone know if Larry Blake's is still around?

[Gormy Cuss]

3. Most of it is still there, but Berkeley is a bit sanitized now.

There are still good indy booksellers, minus Cody's. Don't know "Kip's."

The Cliff House is in fine form (renovated but still with the killer views.)

Your last item is a meld of two places: the Palace of Fine Arts (still there, undergoing an extensive renovation) and the Palace of the Legion of Honor.

The first looks like this:



and the second like this:



The newly rebuilt Academy of Sciences in GG Park is a good destination too




And of course the cable cars are still here. The Embarcadero has blossomed since the '89 quake and there's an historic streetcar line that runs down Market St and the Embarc to the Fisherman's Wharf area.

There's also the Strybing arboretum and the Conservatory of Flowers in GG park.

[Forkboy]

4. Swing by Mass and pick me up on the way.

I've never been there. I could meet the cool DUers from there, and kick the ass of the one shithead DUer from there at the same time. :D

[CreekDog]

7. you will not kick my ass

:yoiks:

[Forkboy]

8. Not you, silly.

:toast:

[Hell Hath No Fury]

5. The Clifff House...

has been completely remodeled -- you will probably not recognize it. The Legion is still fantastic, but the new deYoung museum in the park is a depressing shadow of its former fabulousness. :( The new Academy of Science is open -- lines are crazy -- you would really need to get online ticklets in advance if you want to get in, even during a weekday.

The other SF places you mentioned are really much as they were. I would add a day trip to Muir Woods across the bridge, and a stop in Sausalito for a nice lunch. A cable card ride up California to the Fairmont for late afternoon drinks at the Tonga Room followed by dinner in Chinatown is also a big favorite of mine. The whole Embarcadero is really alive now -- much more happening than in years past -- if you're lucky you'll hit it the day the farmers' market is set-up.

If you make your way out here, let me know -- there's all sorts of cool places/things to do I can point you to! :hi:

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

9. Palace of Fine Arts. n/t