Oh, and if you make it to Chinatown got to Hang Ah’s tea room for lunch on Hang Ah alley. It is very plain, but it is the essence of Chinatown.
Well, I really like to pick up old obscure RPGs, and to do that, I pretty much need to look in major urban areas when I get to visit them…
I don’t know the current hot restaurants either, but if you do go to Fisherman’s Wharf it would be worthwhile to have a meal at Alioto’s, if you like seafood.
North Beach is great for live music. You could just head up to Grant and Columbus after, say 9pm, and just follow your ears to the music; there are several places all within a couple of blocks of each other. When I was there it was mostly traditional blues-based rock-and-roll; don’t know if that’s still the case. Except for Jazz At Pearl’s, which has–er–jazz. Columbus Avenue is the backbone of the Italian district. There are some great Italian restaurants in the neighborhood that I’ve eaten at, but I couldn’t tell you the names of them now. But anyhow you could easily try one of them out then hit the pubs after dinner.
If you have free time during daylight hours, you might consider walking the Golden Gate Bridge. A local suburban bus line, I think it’s called Golden Gate Transit, takes you from somewhere around the Civic Center to the Sausalito end of the Bridge, then you walk back over.
Boy I wish I’d read this last weekend! Looks like there are several awesome things I missed that I could have fit in, even with the two kids along. My husband and I are already wondering when we could possibly go back by ourselves. We really want to do Monterey again sometime too.
The umbrella advice has proved useful, but incomplete. I should have brought two. The goddamn wind destroyed the one I brought within a couple hours of walking around this morning and getting it repeatedly inverted.
Monterey is nice, but realize that it really is mostly a tourist destination with the stock tourist stuff. The aquarium is very nice and a good time for kids of all ages.
Stranger
There’s a very nice gaming store in Oakland, right near a BART stop. It’s called Endgame and it’s across from the main convention hotel, not a sketchy neighborhood at all.
Hello Candid!
What are you doing this rainy Sunday (besides having umbrellas destroyed?) I live in downtown San Francisco. PM me if you’d like… I may be able to suggest a few things if you aren’t too busy this evening.
I had the first session of my conference, then took in a movie at the Metreon. Kind of checking the SD sporadically, since I hate using laptop keyboards. 
I’ve decided Wednesday evening will be the big touristy day - Cable Car to Fisherman’s wharf, then back as far as the Cable Car museum - then over to Chinatown. That’ll cover the major stuff besides Alcatraz and the Golden Gate bridge - and I can always come back for those.
I’m from San Francisco, and I haven’t done a lot of the things mentioned in this thread because they are, of course, for tourists. But I want to give a shout out to a trip to Alcatraz. I’d never been until a few years ago when a friend came to visit (I was visiting, too, btw, I haven’t actually lived in the Bay Area for a long time, so we just crashed at my parents’ house and ate their food) and really wanted to go. I was like “oooh, this is gonna be so laaaaame, I can’t believe you’re making me do some tourist bullshit.” (I know, tourist stuff can be neat, but tourists continue to go to baffle me by going to Fisherman’s Wharf so I already know I can’t trust their judgment.)
And it was SO COOL. Really, really interesting. I was totally wrong. You should definitely go!
I always like going to Angel Island, too. My mom and I went a few years ago for the first time in years and years and we had such a nice time.
Chinatown sucked, do North Beach and Coit Tower. Your calves will love you.
Heh. This is the most intense walking I’ve done since college. And I gotta do Chinatown - I’m going to get a picture of the place where Emperor Norton died!
Thanks for all the input, folks! I am back home now, and I have a list of things that I didn’t get to do that I can try to do on another visit. 
You’re lucky I didn’t see this until after you headed home. I love Barting over to SF and never tire of that most beautiful city. I even like the sea lions! My family was here last weekend and we did as much tourist as we could. While at Pier 39 we ate lunch at Bubba Gumps for the third time, and for the third time we all had an excellent meal. I love seafood and eat it often, and cannot find fault with the place. The have real shrimp cocktail, including the little dot of horseradish.
If you return in mid spring to late fall you should come over to Berkeley and go to the Rose Garden. Then give Chez Panisse restaurant a try. Bring money.
Where did you end up going? How did you like it?
Cartoon Art Museum, MOMA, Chinatown, rode the Cable Cars but did not get to the Cable Car Museum due to unexpected total failure of the Cable Car system, Fisherman’s Wharf, the Metreon, Musee Mechanique…
Considering I was basically working with Sunday and Wednesday afternoon as my free time, not too bad. I also just spent a lot of time wandering the streets and taking pictures of buildings - I’ve never seen a city that’s just so pretty as San Francisco.