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The hospitality of the Americans is outstanding and truly leaves you with a humble taste in your mouth.
Yes, the Alcatraz tours are a bit pricey and you will want to make reservations ahead of time. But this is a fabulous option for singles, couples and parents with kids. We enjoyed the entire experience and, even though it was a Saturday afternoon, the island didn't feel crowded.
I suggest starting off your visit to the rock with the informational video--it gives some people on your ferry a head start to the main attraction (the prison) and also gives quite a bit of interesting information before you head up there yourself. The video was only about ten minutes long, so even kids could stay entertained. The island itself was extremely interesting--we could have spent most of the day roaming the gardens and other areas.
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America’s “Devil’s Island” didn’t operate as a prison for very long, but it can still evoke a chill.
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“The Rock” is always a hit with older children, particularly boys, who relate immediately to the grim, quasi-military aspects of the place. The wildness of the island’s natural beauty, as well as the great ferry ride out and back, will also delight. Smaller kids might find the place a bit frightening.
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An ideal place for a full-day family outing. You can picnic, swim, hike, kayak, camp, or take the tram tour that goes all around the island, with a guide who points out sites of historic interest – dating from the days when the place was a rather forbidding immigrant clearing station (see Angel, Treasure, and Yerba Buena Islands).
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A trip out to Angel Island, now a state park, can make for a very pleasant day of picnicking, biking, hiking, kayaking, and swimming. But in the early 1900s it was the “Ellis Island of the West,” where would-be immigrants, mostly Chinese, could be detained for months. During World War II, it served as a prisoner of war camp and later as a missile base. Treasure Island was built in 1939 for the Golden Gate International Exposition and was a US Navy base during World War II; it is now once again owned by the city and has recently become San Francisco’s newest suburb. Yerba Buena Island is a Coast Guard station and is mostly closed to visitors.
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"Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings."
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation with a focus on designing and manufacturing consumer electronics and closely related software products. Apple develops, sells, and supports a series of personal computers, portable media players, computer software, and computer hardware accessories. Apple also operates an online store for hardware and software purchases, as well as the iTunes Store, which sells digital downloadable music, audiobooks, games, music videos, TV shows, and movies. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of personal computers, the iPod line of portable media players, and the iPhone.
Apple Inc.'s world corporate headquarters are located in the middle of Silicon Valley, at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California. This Apple campus has six buildings which total 850,000 sq ft (79,000 m²). In 2006, Apple announced its intention to build a second campus on 50 acres assembled from various contiguous plots. The new campus, also in Cupertino, will be about one mile east of the current campus.
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Part of Golden Gate Park’s California Academy of Sciences (see Steinhart Aquarium), the Steinhart Aquarium is a big hit with kids. The darkened corridors are filled with softly glowing tanks in which some of the weirdest creatures on the planet disport themselves. Then there’s the Touching Tidal Pool if kids want to get up close and personal with their finny friends. At Fisherman’s Wharf, UnderWater World gives an even greater undersea experience, with walk-through transparent tunnels surrounded by sea life (see Aquarium of the Bay).
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This hands-on museum is aimed directly at children. Kids will be able to interact with an underwater sea tunnel, an art studio, a science lab, an engineering lab, the “Maze of Illusions,” and a media center, among other things.
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Its days as “Berzerkly,” when student protesters and tear-gas clouds filled the streets in the 1960s, are only a fading memory now, although Telegraph Avenue still keeps some of the countercultural traditions alive. A great university, “Cal’s” faculty boasts some dozen Nobel Laureates, while beautiful parks, tree-lined streets, and unique shops typify this East Bay enclave. Berkeley continues to give more “power to the people” than any other US city, with a host of public services and aid to the disadvantaged that puts other communities to shame.
Sather Tower, Berkeley campus
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The next community up from Stinson is a hippie artists’ village that time forgot. Intensely private, the citizens regularly take down all road signs indicating the way to their special place to keep visitors from finding them. Potters and other craftspeople sell their wares in the funky gallery, organic produce and vegetarianism are the rule, and 1960s idealism still predominates.
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Anniversary of the Sea Lions' ArrivalSan Francisco's Pier 39 celebrates the anniversary of the arrival of a troupe of sea lions in the Bay. Visitors can get up close to hundreds of sea lions and talk with experts from the Marine Mammal... Read more
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Dine About Town San FranciscoSan Francisco's Dine About Town event takes place twice a year. Many of the city's best restaurants offer prix-fixe lunches at US$21.95 and dinner at US$31.95. Read more
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California International Antiquarian Book FairLos Angeles' Concourse at SF Design Center hosts the California International Antiquarian Book Fair, America's largest rare book fair. Around 200 dealers from all over the world offer everything... Read more
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Chinese New Year ParadeThe Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco is the largest celebration of its kind outside Asia. It ushers in the Year of the Boar in 2007, with spectacular floats and world-class decorations. Read more
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