Disclaimer: For this trip, we were hosted by Visit Concord for our accommodations and received complimentary passes to Hurricane Harbor as well as some local restaurants. All opinions are 100% my own.
Since this is the last summer with our daughter living at home, we wanted to make sure we created lasting memories as a family. We decided one of the best ways to do this would be to go on a family vacation. The difficult part was choosing where to go. Everyone wanted to go somewhere different, but unanimous among the kids was a beach and a visit to Alcatraz. Because San Francisco isn’t known for it’s warm weather and beaches, we decided we’d head to Maui for a week and then make a 3 day stop in San Francisco.
The last time I visited San Francisco (19 years ago), I swore I’d never return. We were celebrating our one year wedding anniversary, and as college students, money was tight. We stayed at a motel in a bad area of town, and I’m not joking when I say, I’m pretty sure a murder happened outside our door. I was terrified and I wanted out of there! So while I agreed to take the kids to San Francisco to visit Alcatraz, I did not want to stay there.
Concord, California is just outside of San Francisco and was the perfect place for our family to stay. It’s far enough outside of the big city limits, yet close enough for a day trip into the city. Concord is the kind of place I could live, and was more comfortable for our family. In fact, their town moto is, “Where Families Come First.” If you want to visit San Francisco to see the unique things it has to offer, but stay in a place where it is easier to get around, less traffic, easier to park, cleaner, quieter, etc. then Concord is a great fit. Now that I know there is also an airport there, I think if I want to visit the Bay area again, I’ll fly in and out of Concord as well as stay here.
We stayed at the Hilton Hotel in Concord and were so impressed with our rooms, the staff, the onsite restaurant, and the location. We were close to shopping, local parks, and restaurants, and I felt much safer here than the last time I visited Northern California. The rooms at the Hilton are spacious with the most comfortable pillows I’ve ever slept on, a nice size bathroom, a mini fridge (which is a major plus), a desk, wifi, etc. It is clean and modern and was in great condition. There is also a heated pool and fitness center at the hotel, but unfortunately, we didn’t have time to use either of them, but they both looked great!
We started each morning off by eating the breakfast buffet at the onsite restaurant, Plate & Vine. This was the best breakfast I’ve ever had at a hotel. They have so many options to choose from (waffles, eggs, french toast, bacon, sausage, fruit, muffins, danishes, juices, etc.) and we all left overly full each morning. In addition to the breakfast buffet, you can also order from the menu, and the options looked fabulous. Plate & Vine is also open for lunch and dinner.
We got into Concord mid afternoon, and after checking into the hotel, we needed a break after the traveling. We changed into our swimsuits and headed over to Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Water Park. Hurricane Harbor is a blast, and appeals to all age groups. At the park you will find a lazy river, wave pool, water play ground for the kiddos, water slides, and then the ever popular, thrill rides. Our favorites were of course the Thrill Rides, more specifically the “The Tornado” and “The Break Point Plunge.” Both of these are unique and like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Our youngest son, couldn’t get enough of them. The Park also has a few places to eat, however, I’d suggest eating before you go because like the parking and lockers, it’s pretty pricey.
After spending hours in the sun, we were starving by the time we left Hurricane Harbor. We went back to the hotel and quickly changed so we could go out to dinner. We were all in the mood for Mexican food, so we went to Canasta Kitchen for dinner. The food was great and the chips and salsa were even better. After we ate, we headed over to Todas Santos Plaza (a park with shops and restaurants around it) and walked around. It’s a pretty spot with lots of green grass, a playground for the kids, and lots of outdoor dining. A definite place to go when you’re in Concord.
Saturday morning we ate breakfast at the hotel and then headed into San Francisco for the awaited visit to Alcatraz. This former high security penitentiary is located on a small island in the San Francisco Bay, 1.25 miles from land. Alcatraz was home to many “troublemakers” such as Machine Gun Kelly, Al Capone, Bumpy Johnson, Mickey Cohen, and The Bird Man. Alcatraz operated for 29 years before it shut down due to high maintenance costs and building decay in 1963. The stories that are told during the tour of Alcatraz are one of a kind. If you ever have the chance to visit “The Rock,” make sure and do so.
Three levels of cells
Some of the most well known prisoners who served time at Alcatraz.
The cell blocks are all named after major American Streets
One of the cells where an escape took place. It’s believed that hole was dug out with spoons over a years time.
After our Alcatraz tour, we headed over to Pier 39. Here you will find waterfront dining, shops, live performances, and of course sea lions. I don’t know if it’s because we were visiting on a Saturday, but Pier 39 was packed, like shoulder to shoulder crowded. We stopped and ate lunch at Wipe Our Bar & Grill. This is a cute restaurant right at the front of the Pier and they had something for everyone. We finished off our time at Pier 39 by having dessert at Doughp Cookie Dough.
On our way back to Concord, we took a small detour to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. The day was so cloudy and foggy that it was actually difficult to tell that the bridge is red, but at least we were able to check it off our bucket list.
The traffic was crazy and so it took us quite some time to get back into Concord. We drove around for awhile and then ended up back at Todas Santos Plaza. We walked around looking at the different shops and then stopped for dinner at Naan ‘n’ Curry and then topped off our dinner with quite possibly the best ice cream sandwiches at Cream.
On our last day in Concord we slept in, which was heaven. We ate at the hotel and then packed up and headed out. We had a couple hours to kill before we needed to leave for the airport. Across the street form the Hilton is The Veranda, an outdoor shopping center. We decided this would be a great time and place to do some back to school shopping for the kids. It’s not very often that they want to spend their summer vacation shopping, so it worked out well.
All in all, I enjoyed this trip to San Francisco much more than the first time. My whole family really found Alcatraz interesting, and the safer quieter place to stay made for a more relaxing close to our vacation. Hopefully our kids will have good memories of the time we spent together as a family, and hopefully we will be able to create more in the future!