last weekend, b’s parents came to visit. they have come a few times before but always with b’s siblings so it was fun to hang out with just them and be on a double date the whole weekend. b’s parents have been to san francisco a number of times but had never been to golden gate park. b and i love golden gate park and knew they had to see it (remember it is on my top 5 parks in the bay area?). golden gate park is so vast and has such an assortment of activities it was hard deciding what to show them. stow lake kept coming into my mind every time i started to plan the weekend so that is exactly what we did.

it was a blustery day in the city when we arrived but there was no turning back now. i think the overcast weather actually helped it be less crowded and easy to find a parking space (score).
we arrived in the afternoon and headed to the stow lake boathouse where we decided on a large peddle boat that would hold 4-6 people. the peddle boat cost $34/ hour but really one hour is all you need. the boathouse also offers electric boats and row boats (last time b and i rented a row boat he did all the work so he insisted we get everyone involved with a peddle boat). the peddle boats are rather slow and don’t pick up speed even if you peddle as fast as you can. it was a calming pace though and allowed us to really take in all the scenery. i really wish i had brought my nice camera but was a little skeptical bringing it on a boat.

the lake is one large loop with many beautiful bridges that you get to pass under. there were also a plethora of geese, ducks and seagulls so bring some bread to feed them. b’s mom had come prepared with a granola bar, which entertained us for a good 30 min. the geese would eat right out of your palms. b was in heaven. the ducks were less adventurous though so we had to throw them their food.

after we finished boating, we decided to stay in the park and grab some soft serve ice cream. i had heard wonderful things about twirl and dip and knew we had to try it (we were about to try it many months ago but realized they only accept cash and we were out of luck so this time we came prepared). twirl and dip is known for their frozen yogurt dipped in dark chocolate and sprinkled with salt. it was really tasty but a little hard to eat since the hardened chocolate on top is quite thick (granted i had it in a cone so a cup might have worked better). i would say it is worth the mess though. the salt sprinkled on the rich chocolate was delectable. twirl and dip also offers different types of sundaes that all looked tasty as well. b’s dad had a sundae and loved every bite. next time we go i will be sure to try a sundae.

after our sweet treat, we thought it would be fun to explore the rose gardens (also located in the park). unfortunately, the road to the garden was blocked off and we tried a few different routes with no luck. it was a bit of a bummer but i will just keep it on my bay area must see/do list.

what are your favorite things to do in golden gate park?

linked to : local adventurer