Since it was Saturday, my wife didn’t have to work. YAY! We all slept in late until about 7:00. I must have wore the kids out the previous day!

Exploratorium

My wife wanted to take the kids to the Exploratorium, which is a children’s science museum on the waterfront. It was the most recommended place from my co-workers, so we had high hopes the boys would like it.

Instead of going with them, I was going to sneak away and watch a movie at the Metreon plaza next door to the hotel. The latest Star Wars movie had just come out, and I wanted to see it in their premium Dolby Cinema theater. I go to those theaters often when I’m in San Francisco for work as they are the best theaters I’ve been to.

The boys demanded to go to the Exploratorium via the cable car. Luckily my wife had enough cash, which is a rarity as she never has cash. She didn’t know about the muni app I had used the day before. From Fishermans wharf, Tomatico directed them to the park near the Ferry Building he had seen the day before. He has a good sense of direction, though he didn’t know that it would have been a shorter walk from the hotel directly to the park. Taking the cable car was the long way around, but they did want to ride the cable cars again, and they got some good exercise.

They made the 5-minute walk from the Ferry Building to the Exploratorium once it got close to opening time. They all had a fantastic time with the exhibits, displays, and presentations. There was a ton to do, and they were engaged.

Lunch and Railway Museum

As lunchtime approached, I walked from the hotel to the Exploratorium to meet them. When I finally got there, we decided to go back to the Ferry Building to eat there. We ended up back at Gott’s again and even sat in the same seats watching the same people put the orders together. The boys still found it just as entertaining, and the food was just as good as the previous day.

After lunch, Tomatico decided he wanted to go back to the hotel with me while my wife and youngest went back to the Exploratorium for some more action. Tomatico and I had a quick dessert before heading across the street from the Ferry building to visit the San Francisco Railway Museum.

The museum was more of a small shop with displays chronicling the history of the city’s railway systems. There were several models and artifacts, including the cockpit of an old trolley kids could play in and get their picture in. Tomatico was uninterested in getting his picture taken.

From there, we walked back to the hotel to relax in the room. My wife and youngest continued exploring the Exploratorium and had a blast. They ended up taking a Lyft back… to the wrong Marriott hotel. There are several Marriott hotels around Union Square, and they picked the wrong one when entering the destination. Our youngest was able to lead them back to the right hotel.

Dinner

Once they were back, we all headed to the lounge to see what they had to offer. Tomatico and wife found enough for dinner there while my youngest and I headed across the street to Mel’s Diner to find some more to our liking. Mel’s Diner is a staple for my business trips, and I go there often enough some of the staff remembers me.

Back in the room, we watched the end of a Christmas movie before calling it a night. It had been another busy day! There is never a shortage of things to do in San Francisco, and we had another working day lined up tomorrow.