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| | California | San Francisco | |||
| San Francisco - Golden Gate Park | |||
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In the late 19th century, what is now Golden Gate Park was just a bunch of sand-dunes. Starting in 1870, and over next 50 years, this unpromising landscape was transformed into one of the most beautiful parks. At the eastern edge of the park, there are museums, botanical and rose gardens. Throughout the park there are numerous artificial lakes, biking and riding trails, where kids can enjoy the outdoors. The western edge of Golden Gate Park ends at Ocean Beach, with windswept views of the Pacific. |
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Picnics – Golden Gate Park is the perfect place for a picnic. You can spread a picnic out wherever there is a grassy spot. There are picnic tables near the Children's Playground, Rose Garden, Pioneer Cabin, and tables and bar-b-que grills in Lindley Meadow, Marx Meadow (along John F. Kenney Drive, west of Crossover Drive.) | ||
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Children's Playground and Carousel (Keezar Drive) – This large playground is a favorite place for local kids. Swing on the swings, crawl through big tubes, climb on the multi-colored, whoosh down the long slide, balance on a plank, jump on a merry-go-round. Little kids will also enjoy the old-fashioned carousel. | |
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California Academy of Sciences – The California Academy of Sciences is currently closed for reconstruction and remodeling. It will re-open in 2008. In the meantime, you can visit the Steinhart Aquarium (875 Howard St.), near Yerba Buena Gardens. |
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De Young Museum – What's great about the de Young Museum, in its brand-new building, is it has an American art collection, as well as arts from Africa and Oceania. There's stuff here you won't see in other museums, and it's beautifully exhibited, so you can really enjoy the artworks. First stop, after you've sat on all the nice Andy Goldsworthy stone boulders at the main entrance, is the observation tower. You don't even need to buy a ticket to the museum to go up the tower (it's free and open when the museum is open). From the observation tower, there's an expansive view of Golden Gate park, San Francisco neighborhoods, the Golden Gate Bridge and Marin headlands in the distance. When you buy your tickets, rent the children's family audio tour, which is well worth it (get the audio tours at both the main entrance and lower level entrance). The de Young isn't a mega-museum, where you have to take a deep breath before setting out to explore the galleries, but the pieces are well-chosen, and the museum is designed to wander easily from room to room. Some of our favorite pieces – Three Machines (that's three gumball machines) by Wayne Thiebaud, the New Guinea clan wood carvings, African masks, exquisite Maya goodies, and a costume collection in the textiles gallery, with haute couture dresses. (Tip: Use your San Francisco CityPass.) |
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Japanese Tea Garden – This Japanese-style garden was created for the 1894 Exposition. It was designed by Makoto Hagiwara, who is also credited with the invention of the fortune cookie. Today, explore this exquisite landscape with a beautiful red pagoda and temple gate, ponds, waterfalls and sunken gardens. You'll want to go over the Moon Bridge several times. Look for hedges shaped like Mt. Fuji or a dragon. Stop in the tea house for Japanese snacks, sweets, green tea and soft drinks. | ||
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Stow Lake – Stow Lake is a large artificial lake with an island, Strawberry Hill, in the middle. Rents boats at the boathouse – pedal boats, row boats and electric boats are available. As you boat around Stow Lake, you'll pass by the Golden Gate Pavilion, a Chinese-style gazebo with green-tiled roof, and man-made Huntington Falls (the water may be running.) | |
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bikes – Next the boathouse, you can rent bikes, scooters, skates, and pedal surreys for two, four, or six people. Surreys
(carriages you pedal) are ideal if you have little kids. There are miles
of bike paths in Golden Gate Park, and John F. Kennedy Dr. is closed to
traffic on Sundays. |
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| Climb
up Strawberry Hill – Cross over the rustic bridge, and climb up
the path to the top of Strawberry Hill. At the top, there are fine views
of the Golden Gate Bridge through the cypress trees. |
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Pioneer Log Cabin – If kids need to use a restroom, this is the place. This old log cabin is made of redwood logs, floated down the river from Northern California. Close by the cabin is a 1914 statue of "Pioneer Mother," a sculpture of a mother dressed in typical pioneer clothing, serenely standing over two itchy-looking kids. | |
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Spreckels Lake – This shallow lake is where people sail their model boats. Many of them are radio controlled, but you could also bring a toy boat, and launch it on the lake. | ||
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Golden Gate Park Stables – The stable offers pony rides for little kids, or take an hour trail ride, accompanied by a guide, on the 20 miles of horse trails in the park. In the summer, there are full day and half riding camps for kids of all ages. | ||
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Bison Paddock – Bison, or buffalo as they are more popularly called, are long gone from the American prairies, but you can see them in Golden Gate Park. Bison have been grazing in Golden Gate Park for over a 100 years. Very homey. | ||
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Beach Chalet and Dutch Windmill – Stop in the Beach Chalet, now a Vistor's Center and restaurant. In the visitor's center, there is a wonderful diorama of Golden Gate Park (complete with gobs of miniature trees.) The murals on the walls depict scenes from San Francisco in the 1930's. | ||
| Next to Beach Chalet is the "Dutch Windmill." This 75 ft. windmill was originally built to pump water for use in Golden Gate Park. The windmill has been restored and the arms move, although it no longer pumps water. Around the windmill is a garden, planted with thousands of tulips. | |||
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Ocean Beach – The western edge of Golden Gate park ends at Ocean Beach, a long expanse of beach that extends for miles south. Ocean Beach is a place to enjoy the beach, not the water. There are rip currents, rough surf; even people wading have been caught by big waves and drowned. It's a beautiful spot to run on the beach, or dig in the sand, just don't wade or swim in the water. |
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