The locals just call it 'The City'. San Fran or Frisco mark you as tourist, but hey you'll be one, so who cares? The City is crazy with tourists and driving/parking sucks but it's well worth it. My recommendations: Take the BART train from outside the city and just walk, take cabs and public transport and you avoid all the car hassels. THE LIST, in no particular order: Alioto's restaurant on Fisherman's Wharf. Get crabs(the kind you eat). Walk a few blocks and get some sourdough bread from the Boudin bakery. Walk another few blocks and get some Ghirardelli chocolate, eat it while you watch the street performers. Go to a Giant's game at ATT park. Lots of bars and restaurants right next to the ball park. Ride the trolleys, go to China Town. Drive accross the Golden Gate. You mentioned Alcatraz. Treasure Island, Golden Gate Park and The Presidio are also pretty cool. You can do an evening Bay Cruise. Dinner and drinks, amazing views, floating under all the bridges. If you somehow get on two wheels, head south about an hour and ride Hwy 9 to Alice's restaurant. Redwood forests lead to the Pacific Ocean. Drive down Hwy 1. Santa Cruz, Monterey, Carmel are all within a day's drive of Petaluma. There's plenty of beaches closer like Half Moon Bay. Take a whale watching boat tour. That's awesome too. The list goes on but those are some of my faves. Don't expect sunny LA. NoCal is cold and foggy, especially near the coast. Bring some long sleeves and a jacket although if your from the east coast you may not need it. Hope this helps, have fun and don't forget to report back on the experience. Also bring $ since Cali is kinda expensive.
