Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
280
Active families should check out the
Embarcadero Bay Bicycle Trail.
The 3-mile trail
along the waterfront from Jack London Square to Alameda's Park Street Bridge is part of
what will ev entually be a 500-mile long S an Francisco Bay trail that, when completed,
will connect all nine Bay Area counties, 47 cities, and major bridges cr ossing the bay.
WHERE T O DINE
You'll find sev eral family-friendly r estaurants at J ack London
Square, such as Cocina Poblana (Mexican), Kincaid's Bayhouse, Il Pescatore (Italian), and
Hahn's Hibachi (Korean BBQ), as well as chains like Subway and Tony Roma's. The best
place to dine at J ack London S quare is
Yoshi's
(510 Embarcadero West;
&
510/238-
9200;
www.yoshis.com), a Japanese restaurant and jazz club. Yoshi's Sunday matinee jazz
concerts ar e tailor-made to intr oduce y oung audiences to jazz, and matinee br unches
offer special-priced options for families. Kids under 15 are $5 and doors open at 1pm for
the 2pm concerts.
A short walk from Jack London Square takes you to Broadway, Oakland's Chinatown,
renowned for some of the best dim sum in the B ay Area. A couple of blocks off B road-
way, at 1007 Clay S t., you'll find
Le Cheval,
serving terrific Vietnamese food at large
round tables in a v ery family-friendly atmospher e (
&
510/763-8957;
www.lecheval.
com). Off Broadway between 40th Street and MacArthur Boulevard lies
Bay Wolf
(3853
Piedmont Blvd.;
&
510/655-6004;
www.baywolf.com), one of O akland's most endur-
ingly popular r estaurants, offering flav orful California far e made with top-quality , sea-
sonal ingredients. The dining r oom may be too small for some families, but the fr ont
deck has heat lamps and a radiant heat floor , allowing for y ear-round alfresco
dining.
Near the shores of Lake Merritt,
Zza's Trattoria
offers great pizza and other I talian fare
(552 Grand Ave.;
&
510/839-9124
).
11
3
POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE
Once y ou trav erse the G olden G ate B ridge, a pleasant 1-hour driv e thr ough M arin
County and S amuel P. Taylor State Park leads y ou to Point Reyes National Seashore, a
mix of wild coastline and for est of unequiv ocal appeal to hikers, natur e lo vers, and
wildlife-watchers of all ages. The rocky shore along this part of the coast is a direct result
of earthquake activity. The San Andreas Fault separates Point Reyes, the nor thernmost
landmass on the P acific P late, fr om the r est of California, which r ests on the N orth
American Plate. Point Reyes is moving toward Alaska at the rate of 2 inches a year. Dur-
ing the 1906 earthquake, it jumped north 20 feet in an instant.
Point Reyes Station, the minuscule town nearby, is a tourist magnet on the weekends,
so it supports a handful of good restaurants and craft shops within its 4-block radius.You
can easily drive to Point Reyes, spend the day, and get back to S an Francisco by dinner,
but if you'd like to spend a night or two, the aea is well served by B&Bs. For information
on what's available, contact
Point Reyes Lodging
(
&
800/539-1872
or 415/663-1872;
www.ptreyes.com).
To r each Point R eyes, cr oss the G olden G ate B ridge and exit on S an Anselmo/S ir
Francis Drake Boulevard. Turn left, heading w est on Sir Francis Drake and stay on this
road as it passes thr ough the pricey suburbs of S an Anselmo, R oss, Woodacre, and
Lagunitas. The drive to park headquarters takes an hour in light traffic.
WHAT TO SEE
At the junction of H ighway 1 and S ir Francis D rake Boulev ard in
Olema, follow the signs to the
Bear Valley Visitor Center
(
&
415/464-5100
) about a
minute away. The center has maps, informativ e park rangers, a book/gift section, and
